Good day to you all!

Last week’s Beer Tasting Event was a blast. Thanks to all those members who came to the talk and drank all the beer. (I've included three pics here for memory's sake). We know it must have been a difficult thing to do, so we really do appreciate the time that you spent doing it! If you missed this one, we are pleased to say that it’s going to be a regular event –  once a month – so there’s always time to catch up on those cool things you missed.

9th July is an important date in the Argentine calendar and if you want to know why you’ll have to come to our talk with HOT CHOCOLATE AND CHURROS on Tuesday to find out. (See Clubhouse Events below for details).

Don't forget, you can always email me at buenosairesclubhouse@saexplorers.org

Take care
Tracey

SPANISH CONVERSATION CLASS* (EVERY) Wednesday.
Next lesson: Wednesday 8th July at 3:30pm @ the clubhouse.
Learn how to string your words together! Join us every Wednesday for an informal conversation class with a teacher from ELE BAIRES. RSVP encouraged.
FREE for members and $8 pesos for non-members.
Please RSVP by sending an email at BAevents@saexplorers.org and reserve yourself a place.

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FREE Truco Afternoon (Argentine Card Game)
Wednesday 8th July @ 4.30pm in The Clubhouse (straight after conversation class)
Do you know how to play the Argentine card game called 'Truco'? It's a very cool game, full of subtle looks and signals between the different players that makes for an entertaining afternoon. Amauta Spanish School are sending some of their experienced representatives to the BA Clubhouse to teach you all. It's going to be a fun afternoon - delivered in Spanish, so more practice for you (with us on hand to translate as always) - and the best thing is that we've organised this activity to run directly after the Spanish conversation class on Wednesday. That means that you don't have to find time to come to the Clubhouse on another day and your Spanish will be nicely oiled to participate in the game too. How can you resist?!
Please RSVP by sending an email to BAevents@saexplorers.org and reserve yourself a place.

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English/Spanish Language Exchange
Tuesday 7th July @ 3.30pm
Calling all Spanish speaking natives and English speaking natives! Come to our clubhouse @3.30pm on Tuesday to spend time talking in both languages FOR FREE!!!! We provide a comfortable environment where you can talk and you get the chance to share information and make some future contacts for your language practice. Also, you'll be able to find a little more out about South American Explorers and find out about all the other events we organise.
Please RSVP by sending an email to BAevents@saexplorers.org and reserve yourself a place.

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5 pesos for members
10 pesos for non-members

Please RSVP by sending an email to BAevents@saexplorers.org and reserve yourself a place.

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Gallery Hop in Palermo
Friday 17th July @ 5.30pm
We are pleased to announce that we are planning another Gallery Hop, but this time in Palermo. At present, we are confirmed for ‘Thames: Galeria’ on Thames 1776 and ‘Boutique del libro’ on Thames 1700. This second gallery has a lovely little cafe inside and we will finish our tour here so that we can relax with a little coffee and a few snacks to warm the soul. Our final venue and meeting place will be confirmed this week, but the time for all the excitement to begin is definitely confirmed for 5.30pm.

10 pesos for members
20 pesos for non-members

Email us at BAevents@saeplorers.org to reserve yourself a place.

ADVERTISING WITH SAE!!!!
We are at present focusing a lot on advertising. This is because we have a new publication coming out (a guide book that we will be selling here in the Clubhouse) which will be full of tourist and expat advice that can’t be found in other guide books, because we’re writing it! It is first-hand knowledge, written by real expats who live here in BA and is therefore the most up-to-date information that can be found. If you want to advertise with us, making yourself known to expats and tourists who pass through our office or who live in BA, contact our Marketing Manager, Jessica Dufresne at baadvertising@saexplorers.org

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Storing Luggage at The Clubhouse
Please remember that if you want to store or pick-up luggage you need to make an appointment with us beforehand via email. This is because we store all luggage at a different location and we will need to organise a time to meet. Email all luggage correspondence to baclub@saexplorers.org

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Poke us, befriend us.
Please visit our facebook page because it includes lots of stuff about events, contact details (that are up-to-date!) and more. Find us online at

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WE HAVE TELEPHONE CONNECTION!
Finally, the powers that be here in BA have managed to get around to connecting our telephone line and so you can now call us from anywhere the city on 5275 0137 (+54 11 and then the number if you're calling from outside Argentina or if you're using skype to call us). Also, if you need to make a local call to any landline here in the city you can do so from our office for FREE.

EVERY DAY
Che Part 2
Clearly this is not only a BA thing, but I think it’s an important one for the calendar, film-lover that I am. They are countless numbers of cinemas in the city that will be showing the second part of this epic story, directed by Steven Soderbergh, and you can expect to pay between 12 and 20 pesos as a rough guide. For a good listing of all cinema line-ups, pick up a copy of The Buenos Aires Herald, a daily printed English paper found in almost all of the kioscos city-wide.

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Tuesday 7th July 2009
Ladies Night at Tea Connection (15% discount) – there are outlets in Palermo and Puerto Madero
Women do get it good here in BA (discounted entrances into bars sometimes for example) and now a regular discounted ladies night in all the Tea Connection outlets in BA. However, only on a Tuesday girls. Basically, if you are an all-girl table, enjoying a tea, coffee, light snack you will be charged 15% less. Why not watch Che Part 2 and then go for a tea to talk it over.
www.teaconnection.com.ar

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Friday 10th July 2009 @ 9.30pm AND @ 12.30am
Live Jazz @ Thelonious (two separate shows) – Salguero in Palermo
The first set will be given by a quintet including sax, guitar and drums. The second is a trio made up of piano, drums and guitar. It will be a much lighter set; background sweetness. It’s best to reserve, as this place is fab, they have a limited capacity and you’ll get a good table this way.
www.thelonious.com.ar

Topeka, Parana 550
O.k. This place is great. I stumbled across it one morning as I was making the daily walk to work. Set in the heart of the Microcenter on Parana 550 (in between Tucuman and Lavalle) this little cafe/restaurant has a lot of charm and a few specific elements that set it apart from the endless list of cafes that line the streets of Argentina’s throbbing capital.

For instance, if you really are just a little sick and tired of medialunas, facturas, tostadas and rich coffee every morning, and you’re on the lookout for somewhere you can go to every now and then when you need a savoury shot to kick-start your day, look no further. For a whopping 5 peso bargain, you can enjoy a dish of three scrambled eggs in Topeka instead. They also serve (for a little more cash) different types of omelettes with ham and cheese and other variations all day long. Or, if you really are on a budget, you can opt for the 1.50 peso fried egg.

In addition to the food, the place itself is markedly different to many other places in the city. The cafe area, located in the front section, is full of large armchairs and comfortable sofas, but with a very particular, funky design. There is an air of elegance and grandeur in the furniture form, contrasting with modern materials and prints that make this place almost an event in itself. The lighting too is clearly from a 70s throwback age gone by, the large, round, orange lanterns creating a warm glow and inviting atmosphere where you can relax with a book and enjoy your coffee in peace. (Yes, this place may well serve eggs and other savoury bites, but we’re still in BA and so large, coffees with alfajores on the side are still well and truly part and parcel of the merienda menu in Topeka).

Stretching back a fair way into the distance is the restaurant section; a very different feel with white, clean tables and a fresh, almost outdoor feel. There’s no orange 70s lighting here. The space is divided up really well, almost making you feel like it’s made up of two different spots in one. You can choose to dine in style or relax in comfort. (It is important to note though that at present, due to lack of personnel, Topeka closes at 6pm – ordinarily an 8pm closure - and is not open on Saturdays or Sundays. Therefore, normal Argentine dining hours don’t really happen in this place).

It’s recorded in the menu as a type of cereal bar and so at first I thought it simply was a type of health food bar in a packet that I could easily buy in a 25 hours for example, particularly as it only cost 6 pesos, one of the cheapest items on the menu. However, this was not the case. This naughty little snack is a huge bar made up of cereals, large fresh almonds (Mmmm!) and a forest fruit filling, served with a forest fruit coulis on the side. The only problem was that it was incredibly difficult to eat. I was given a knife and fork, but the bar is actually quite hard and so every time I cut into it I did have the fear that it was going to zoom off of my plate in a way similar to that of Julia Roberts’ snail when she is dining with Richard Gere and his business associates in Hollywood’s 90s flick, ‘Pretty Woman.’

However, one of the things I was most impressed by during my trip to Topeka, run by a very cheery staff I’d like to add, was the Braille menu out front. That’s right....Braille!  As well as the bog-standard menu for the lucky masses, Topeka also has a menu for the blind or those with poor eyesight; a symbol of a place that has put a little more thought into taking care of the needs of all its clientele than the average cafe or indeed all the huge chain cafes seem to do at times.

Topeka.....what a winner!

Centro Cultural Borges
This Cultural Centre located on the corner of Viamonte and San Martin in the Microcenter is a hub of activity for the tourist passing through, with countless performances and exhibitions every week. However, for the expat it is also a great place to sign up for classes in the arts, ranging from photography seminars to regular ballet lessons with teachers of the highest calibre.

The ballet lessons that I have taken in CCB have been awesome. They’ve been challenging, invigorating and welcoming all at the same time. I cannot recommend these classes enough for someone who has a history in dance and who has perhaps had to leave their passion by the wayside whilst they make time for travel. The jazz lessons are also well worth the money, teachers offering their classes some inspirational routines to learn and practice, with unique choreography that is both pleasing to the eye and rhythmically engaging for the dancer.

I am yet to try an acting course or writing course often offered at the centre, simply through sheer fear that my Spanish would still not be good enough for such a feat. It’s one thing to be able to communicate in another language, but something else entirely to be able convey feigned emotion and respond to the improvised text of someone working opposite you without making your partner’s experience less than fulfilling, having to wait for you to be able to conjugate the imperfect subjunctive from the verb ‘venir’ (to come) in your head! If anyone is brave enough to do so, I’d love to hear a first-hand tale.

The exhibition space on the first floor is forever changing and completely free. Whilst wandering around Galerias Pacificas on a Saturday, it is the easiest thing in the world to walk on through to the large white space at the far corner of the shopping mall and spend a little time getting a weekly well-presented culture fix. Tango performances of an evening in CCB are also much cheaper than your average Microcenter large-scale theatre too. The space is intimate and the work is always of high quality.

Finally, because this centre is so centrally placed, it’s easy to get to from wherever you’re staying in the city and therefore ticks all the boxes in terms of convenience too. A big thumbs up from the English culture vulture!

What is a ‘miga’?
A miga is a type of Argentine sandwich. The title, miga, refers to the type of bread used to make the snack itself and you’ll see (if you’re up early enough in the morning and out and about) lots of different vans delivering the specially made bread to the various panaderias that simply line the streets of this city.

The bread used to make a miga sandwich is a large, square loaf, which appears to have had the crusts cut off. However, this is not the case. The bread is made in this fashion and therefore produces a very slim sandwich (the slices of the bread are also very thinly cut) without any edging.

At first, the miga was a strange thing for as I was raised in a typical working class London family environment, where you ate what you were given and were not allowed to leave the table until you had almost licked your plate clean. There was no pandering to finicky eating habits in my household and one of the things that my father simply would not tolerate, was eating the inside or the flesh of the sandwich and leaving the crusts on the side of my plate. ‘The crusts are where all the goodness is,’ my mother used to say.

However, here in Argentina, the miga lives a proud life. A very common miga is of ham and cheese, a simple filling to match a simple style of bread, and they are very tasty. The bread has a kind of sweet taste to it and because they’re so thin, they’re really easy to eat. They go down very quickly and before you know it, you’ve consumed half a loaf!

If you’ve not tried a miga, do so. Nearly all panaderias serve them, so your hunt is not going to take you long. Also, just to throw it out there (always nice to know), ‘miga’ actually means ‘crumb.’ How sweet!

Buy an adaptor for electrical stuff
Uruguay, in between Corrientes and Sarmiento

Last week I had to buy an electrical adaptor for one of the computers in the SAE Clubhouse as the laptop was bought in Britain and so has a plug that is obviously quite useless. It then occurred to me that it perhaps might be useful to share this knowledge with our members as a travel adaptor is one of those things that everyone needs. So.....

On Uruguay, in between Corrientes and Sarmiento, there are a number of different hardware stores full of helpful and knowledgeable Argentines ready to sort out all your electrical issues and needs in a flash. As is common here, when you enter you draw a ticket from the machine and wait peacefully sat on a chair until your number is called. The service is quick and hassle free, paying at another desk and then collecting your item as you exit.

My helpful electrical dude was sure to ask me before selling me the adaptor whether or not my laptop was already configured to change its voltage use or whether I needed to buy an adaptor that would make those necessary changes instead. He didn’t want me to buy an adaptor that the allowed an electrical current of such a strength to pass through and damage my laptop and so I felt like I was getting an all-round service and will now always go back to this shop in the future.

When you feel like you can trust the people you do business with it makes all the difference, especially in a foreign country! Therefore, take all electrical queries and needs to Uruguay (the street, and not the country, that is)!

Goma literally means ‘rubber’ or ‘gum’ (incidentally, in Venezuela it also means ‘glue’) but it is also a lunfardo term for ‘condom.’ (And if you don’t know what I mean by lunfardo you’ll have to read up next week! Jejejejeje!

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LAST WEEK’S QUESTION.......What is ‘Faina’? ‘Faina’ is a side dish that you order in a pizza joint to accompany your meal. It is made with chickpea flour, a little cheese and baked in the oven (when cooked, appearing like a pizza with nothing on it). It is normally placed on top of your slice of pizza, thus making a kind of sandwich pizza and, in BA, quite useful as the pizzas here are sometimes a real gooey mess of tomato and cheese and the faina soaks up all the grease in a neat kind of a way. More could be said, but I won’t go on. I leave you to order one and try it for yourself!

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THIS WEEK’S QUESTIONS.......What is ‘lunfardo’?

Answers to: buenosairesclubhouse@saexplorers.org

Next week, I'll publish the answer....Ooooo!

Last week, Maraya Loza-Koxahn and Hank Putnam gave us a delightful little package of photo and poem – I feel we were a little spoilt!. However, this week, Maraya is going solo. This is a beautifully natural shot and far beyond your average tourist pic. This photo has clearly been taken by someone very at home and settled in the true Buenos Aires and one that I hope will make you smile.

Remember, the aim is to take a better photograph than the previous winner (this week Maraya). If we don’t receive any worthwhile contenders, Maraya will stay in our newsletter next week too. Can you send us something more heart-warming and natural than Maraya’s Argentine caught in action?

To enter our weekly competition, simply send in your pics to my email address buenosairesclubhouse@saexplorers.org (please put PHOTO COMPETITION in the subject heading) and be sure to include a little info about the photo along with your details so that we can give you credit.

Interested in putting a classified ad in this e-newsletter? Our e-newsletter goes out to over 2500 people weekly, in and around Buenos Aires. Contact SAE’s Jessica from the BA Clubhouse at baadvertising@saexplorers.org for more information.

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Looking for a place to stay????
SMALL BEDROOM WITH PRIVATE BATH IN LARGE, SUNNY PALERMO-RECOLETA APARTMENT.   FULLY FURNISHED, WIFI, WASHING MACHINE, CABLE.
AR$1400 PER MONTH
CALL REBECCA 15-6416-2219 or email me @ rhinely@gmail.com

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Learn Spanish with AMAUTA SPANISH SCHOOL
Finally in Buenos Aires! AMAUTA brought over 12 years of experience in Spanish Language and cultural study from Peru to Argentina. Exacting standards and engaging teachers put AMAUTA at the top of its class. Beautiful location with garden and terrace. Amazing discounts for the opening of the new locations ánd, we give away THREE ONE WEEK SPANISH COURSES per week, totally for free! Write now and you might be the lucky one. Till June 30th only. Also special discounts at our Cusco location.

www.amautaspanish.com, info@amautaspanish.com, www.spanishschoolsblog.com

or visit us: www.facebook.com/people/Amauta-Spanish/1500927779?sid=0&ref=search

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FOR SALE
The SAE shop has expanded! Guide books from $15 pesos to $80 pesos (Lonely Planet South America on a Shoestring $60 pesos), Hiking Maps of Patagonia and road maps of Buenos Aires are now available. Come by to see more, or email us: baclub@saexplorers.org

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EXPAT INFO
www.livinginargentina.com is an online publication for expatriates in Argentina. It is written in English, Spanish and French. It covers almost everything that an expat might need to know and offers some interesting articles to read at the same time. Check it out!

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LANGUAGE CLASSES
Learn Spanish with Elebaires!!!
We offer a variety of intensive Spanish courses for all levels in both private and group classes! All Elebaires teachers are university accredited and will do everything they can to help you meet your linguistic goals. Contact us via email at info@elebaires.com.ar or visit our website: http://www.elebaires.com.ar.

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TOURISM
BA: Mallory Outdoors - Located in Palermo, Mallory offers a plethora of camping and ski equipment as well as custom knives and outdoor clothing. Stop in and browse the selection and receive a 10% discount on any purchase with your SAE member card. English and Spanish spoken.
Open Monday-Friday 10:30-21 and Saturdays from 9-15