SPANISH CONVERSATION CLASS* (EVERY) Wednesday.
Next lesson: Wednesday 10th June 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.
Email us at BAevents@saexplorers.org to reserve yourself a place.

Mate: Learn about it, how to make it and then....DRINK SOME!!!
On Saturday 13th June @ 12pm in the Clubhouse, two young Argentine sisters, Natalia and Cecilia Fernandez, will be giving a talk on the famous Argentine drink, Mate. They will be demonstrating how to prepare the drink (there are a few variations that have developed and every Argentine takes their mate in a different way) and will be available to answer any questions you may have. For example, you must not confuse the mate (the vessel the drink is taken from) and the yerba (the actual plant ingredient for the drink). The talk will be in Spanish, but both girls can speak English very well (they're too modest to say so though!) and of course the SAE team will be on-hand to help out with any translations that may be needed. However, it's like an extra Spanish conversation class for you all!

AR$ 5 (members)
AR$10 (non-members)

The talk will last for about an hour, during which time we will be sampling and enjoying some freshly prepared mate. Who knows, you may even like it so much that you go out and buy your own!

Please RSVP by sending an email to BAevents@saexplorers.org

ADVANCED WARNINGS!

Truco Afternoon - Wednesday 10th June @ 5pm in The Clubhouse
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.

Do you have something to sell?

Our Clubhouse here in BA is a good place to sell stuff. Why???? Because people pass through here all the time. We are willing to set up an agreement with anyone interested in selling something (for example, if you make great bags, jewellery or you want to sell some art) whereby we take care of the sales for you in exchange for receiving a small percentage of the purchase itself. Interested??? Email us at baclub@saexplorers.org

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

Jessica Dufresne - our new marketing intern! - ADVERTISING WITH SAE
We have a new member of our team here in the BA Clubhouse as of this week. Jessica is from Michigan, USA and will be working with us mainly on marketing until August while she takes a break from her studies back home. If you want to talk advertising with us, she's your lady. You can email her at advertiseBA@saexplorers.org

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 www.myspace.com/saebuenosaires and www.facebook.com (search for Buenos Aires Clubhouse SAE.)

Acorn are having a party! Tuesday 9th June @ 9pm, Venezuela 474 in San Telmo
Acorn International was founded in 2006 in Buenos Aires. They are an organisation that campaigns for basic human rights, such as public housing, basic education, clean air and water and they are also constantly battling against pollution. This Tuesday they are having a fundraising party in order to raise money and further promote their organisation. It promises to be a fun event, even though it is a Tuesday evening, so why not check it out. I've also left you a link to their website address below:
www.acorninternational.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=65:about-acorn-argentina&catid=39:acorn-argentina&Itemid=40

International Human Rights Film Festival
The only one of its kind in Latin America, this festival shows short films and documentaries dedicated to raising awareness about the abuse of human rights by local and international film makers. The festival is held at The Cultural Centre in Recoleta between 27th May and 10th June 2009. It's an annual event and the cost of the film tickets, as well as the times, does vary. For this reason, the website address for the festival is given below to help you plan your film experiences with more ease.
www.derhumalc.org.ar

Ciudad Emergente Music Festival
Well, I'm excited about this festival and plan to pass by this weekend. Not only are the events FREE of charge, but the music is all about fresh, undiscovered talent that probably falls best into the category of soft rock and pop, injected with a distinct indie flavour. The groups are from Argentina and beyond and so each evening promises diversity if nothing more, but music events are not the only things on offer during this festival. There are also poetry readings and what the centre describes as 'rockumentaries' - music documentaries about rock. How exciting!

Where: The Recoleta Cultural Centre, Junin 1930
When: 11th - 15th June
What Time: there are various things going on, so get in touch with them and see.
Contact details: +54 11 4803 4556/9774

www.centroculturalrecoleta.org/

The British Arts Centre, Suipacha 1333
This is a place that you should check out (says the Brit!) but only because it has a range of stuff going on. Two events that I have picked out for you though are the following...

On Fridays and Saturdays at 9pm, you can enjoy a play entitled 'One for the Road.' It's a comedy about enjoying the opportunities life throws at you before you reach 40. Always going to be some laughs surrounding that kind of topic.

On Tuesdays and Fridays at 6pm, they show episodes of 'Little Britain.' If you're a fan (like our very own Amelia Edwards) I doubt you'll be able to resist the calling.

Failing that, long on to the website below and look for yourself. This place is packed with cool things to do.
www.britishartscentre.org.ar

Los Jardines Botanicos
The best thing about the botanical gardens, located on Las Heras and Santa Fe, stretching as far as Plaza Italia??? The smells!

A couple of weekends ago, I spent a very peaceful two hours strolling around these gardens with an Argentine friend and, even though the gardens are not very big, I was pleased by the variety of plant life and the presentation given to the gardens themselves. There are various different sections inside the gardens, including cacti, roses (although these flowers were not exactly flourishing, I have to say) and an area of conifers. However, I have by no means exhausted the list and if you visit, you'll find that there is a lot more to enjoy

I'm a very big fan of plants used in cooking or those that are used to make different kinds of tea, so for me it was worth visiting the gardens just to rub the cedron plant leaves between my fingers and enjoy this plant's wonderful aroma. It really does have a strong smell and had me captivated for a good couple of minutes (a fairly long period of time to be stood alongside a small plant, when you think about it). The lavendar was a little disappointing, but we'll stick with the positives

The pathways are also beautiful to walk down - some a burning orange in colour - and even though two major roads run either side of the gardens, it's very easy to forget that they're there. Inside the gardens, the noise of the traffic is dampened and there are many people enjoying a little quiet time on some of the benches placed throughout. Indeed, one visitor was enjoying a deep sleep with a wide open mouth....clearly dreaming of all things wonderful in the world of flora!

In the middle of the gardens is a huge red bricked house where a very old map of Buenos Aires can be found inside. I'm a fan of maps and so enjoyed having a good look at that, trying to find some of the places that I knew with an enthusiastic zeal only shared by other fanatics. However, even more memorable was the notice placed on the entrance. All visitors were kindly asked to be careful with the door as it was 128 years old. Little things like this always grab my attention and, as expected, I had to photograph the memory!

Over and above the various trees, cacti, herbs, teas and bushes, the gardens are dotted with various different statues and water features, which add to their beauty and agrandise the entire feel of the place, and the place is swarming with cats. There are simply everywhere: in the trees, lazing on the grass, grooming each other or walking around with an air of ownership. Very eerie in my opinion and worth a look if you're passing by.

www.mercadolibre.com ... South America's answer to E-bay
If you didn't already know, Argentina is one of the South American countries that makes use of the internet trading site 'Mercado Libre.' It is, in effect, exactly the same set-up as E-bay and, at the point of its creation, made a deal with the makers of E-bay to share some of their knowledge and their software. However, that deal is coming to an end in the near future and the owners of Mercado Libre are a little concerned that E-bay will perhaps not renew the agreement. The site has proven successful and there is a fear that E-bay will now want to take advantage of that fact. Time will tell on that score.

Aside from this issue, Mercado Libre is a good place to sell stuff that you don't need anymore on your travels or indeed pick something up that you might be missing. I am certainly thinking of selling my camara through the site and will have a little look at what camaras are being sold too while I'm am it.

However, do be aware that sometimes electrical companies in Argentina use the site as a cheap form of advertising. They place items on the site that can be bought in the store, sometimes with added benefits that you wouldn't receive online, for example a warranty for your product. My advice is to check out who the seller is, make a note of the online price and then head to the store that's placed the advert, just to check that you're getting a good deal. Other than that, it's resource that could come in very handy to you.

Alucinante meaning 'amazing' or 'incredible' because so much about Buenos Aires is just that. It's obviously an adjective and therefore normally used with the verbs 'estar' or 'ser'. For example, 'Las chicas del Buenos Aires Clubhouse estan alucinantes!' If you tell us that when you come to visit, you'll make us very, very happy.

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LAST WEEK'S ANSWER.... Plaza Cortázar is most popularly known as Plaza Serrano and found at the intersection between Honduras and Serrano in Palermo. It was renamed in 1994 to pay homage to the Argentine writer of the same name (1914 - 1984) who used Palermo Viejo as inspiration for many of his stories. It's a popular place to go out and eat or drink at night and popular during the day for shopping and for its funky market. The area also has a little of the Bohemian about it. Be aware, therefore, that in conversation you may be spoken to about Plaza Serrano, but when looking on a map you'll need to look for Plaza Cortázar.

THIS WEEK'S QUESTION.... How many Havana Cafe outlets can be found in Buenos Aires (including the provinces)???

Answers to: buenosairesclubhouse@gmail.com

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

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 me at buenosairesclubhouse@gmail.com for more information.