SPANISH CONVERSATION CLASS* (EVERY) Wednesday.
Next lesson: Wednesday 15th 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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1. FREE Latin American Dance Course (Tuesday 14th July @ 1.00pm)
2. FREE Theatre Class, delivered in Spanish (Thursday 16th July @ 11.00am OR 4.00pm)
Amauta Spanish School (situated on Federico 2129) is offering the above TWO courses at their school for all SAE members. If you’re not a member, I’m afraid you cannot go! But if you are a member and are interested in going to any of the events….Please RSVP by sending an email at BAevents@saexplorers.org and reserve yourself a place.

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Palermo Gallery Hop
Friday 17th July @ 5.30pm
We will be visiting several places in Palermo Viejo, checking out what this area's art scene has to offer. We will be meeting at 'Papelera Palermo' (Honduras 4945). There is a gravel area out front of this specialist art store and we will meet you all there @ 5.30pm. From there we'll begin our art tour, finishing up at ‘El Boutique del Libro,’ where we can relax in the small cafe inside with a comforting warm drink and naughty little snack to discuss the evening’s artwork in peace and tranquility.
Please RSVP by sending an email at BAevents@saexplorers.org and reserve yourself a place.

We have a new team member at SAE and, yes....... it’s another girl!
Caroline Stephenson from Wales has joined the team to help us push forward on our marketing needs and plans to be with us for at least three months. She’s slotted in excellently, strengthening the girly madness of our BA team to good effect. Reach her with any Brazil queries at volunteerba@saexplorers.org

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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.

The Power Jazz Trio @ Thelonious (a live jazz bar on Salguero 1884 in Palermo)
This trio will be announcing the release of their first CD on Sunday and therefore the atmosphere in Thelonious should be at its best. Book ahead by visiting the website www.thelonious.com.ar as they have limited capacity and are very popular.
Cost: 15 pesos
Time: 9.30pm

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Ciclo de Cine ‘Ojo de Pez’ @ Matienzo 2424
Wednesday 15th July @ 9pm
This week, for all those fans out there (as you do have to be quite a specific type of person to love his films), Woody Allen’s ‘Manhatten’ is being shown at the above address. For more info, check out the website www.clubculturalmatienzo.blogspot.com but when you see the price, I’m sure you won’t be able to resist the bargain!
Cost: 5 pesos

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La Noche Francesa @ The Cigale, 25 de Mayo 722
Tuesday 14th July, 11:45pm
All things French – food, drink, music, everything! If you’re a lover of ‘la cultura francesa’ this will be a night for you. Enjoy!

Piramar on Salguero, in-between Arenales and Beruti
(...it sells great take-out foods of all different kinds)
Half-way between Las Heras and Santa Fe is a tiny little take-away spot called ‘Piramar’ on Salguero in the heart of Palermo. It is a fantastic little take-away place because the menu is incredibly varied. They have meat and vegetable dishes outside of your average recipe here in BA.

For example, they serve meat balls with spices, different kinds of lentil dishes with spices or tomato-based sauces, stuffed vegetables with rice or other grains, meat in peppercorn and onion gravy and more. The food is cooked fresh every day and the prices are very reasonable. It stays open until late and does deliver to anywhere in the area.

In addition, even though it’s only a take-away joint, the presentation of the food is really good and therefore makes the whole thing more appealing. It’s a simple place and therefore very else little to say. However, the variety of food will speak for itself. If you’re staying/living in Palermo, give it a whirl one evening.

Coffee Shop inside the train station at Retiro
.....a step back into 1920s London

It also makes me feel as though I should be wearing a pair of 1920s make-shift stockings with the classic black line drawn on them free-hand using eye liner, or that I should be wearing a small city girl’s hat with matching purse and leather gloves and the cut of my dress should be one that shows off the shapely hour glass figure I was born with. Jeans and a puffer jacket just simply don’t sit well in this place which somehow seems to have managed to remain deep within the beginnings of the past century and where I always expect to hear air raid sirens sounding, sending everyone down into the basements with a nervous but well-rehearsed flurry.

Why there’s a coffee shop with such a strong ‘English of days gone by’ look about it here in Buenos Aires is something that I’m not all that interested in. The fact that it exists is what has captured my attention and if you have to make a trip down to the bus station to buy a ticket as a way out of the city; the next step on your travelling calendar, take the time to stop by this enchanting little place for a coffee (taking the weight off of your feet from a while and escaping from the whirlwind of activity that seems to envelope Retiro day and night, Monday through to Sunday), find a quiet little corner amongst the large heavy furniture distinctive of the 1920s classic style within and soak up a little of the nostalgia.

It’s easy to find – inside the train station itself – and it so big that it’s never busy. Passing some much needed quiet time in this living homage to history (in its own way) is nothing but ease and pleasure.

Dangerous Driving
It’s a fact. Argentines – particularly here in the city – like to drive fast. Only this week was a taxi driver killed during the morning rush hour after having driven into a hole (poor road maintenance!) on a busy street in the provinces and I was actually quite shocked to see that the news camera crew were allowed to film the emergency services zipping up his body bag at the scene. It felt more like watching a movie the poor man was objectified to such a extent. Still, perhaps this is way things are reported here in BA. However, this accident is just one of many and whilst you’re travelling around Argentina or indeed if you’re making a little life for yourself here in BA for a while, it may be of interest to you to read up a little more about life in BA’s fast lane.

For instance, in the province of Buenos Aires there is a neighbourhood, ironically called El Peligro (the danger), that has over the past couple of months been campaigning and protesting out on the streets in order to force the government into punishing people who exceed speed limits in their area with more conviction. The people of El Peligro have recently caused a lot of disruptions to traffic when people have been trying to return on Sunday evenings, having spent the weekend outside of the capital, due to the scale of their protests. They have been desperately trying to make themselves as much of a public nuisance as possible to gain audience with the authorities responsible for improving traffic safety. Visit this link to read a little more. http://www.clarin.com/diario/2009/06/15/um/m-01939556.htm

However, in defence of the Argentines, there are many South Americans from other countries including Venezuela and Colombia, for instance, that say in their countries speed regulations are not adhered to either and motorists are definitely the superior force out on the streets. (Interestingly, the Chileans do not place themselves in the same bracket and believe that in their country motorists respect pedestrians and driving laws as a matter of course. Visit this link to read an article on the subject. http://www.clarin.com/diario/2008/08/17/laciudad/h-01739584.htm).

Speaking from a British point of view, having lived 28 years of my life in London, I have to say that our taxi drivers can be particularly lethal on the roads. In fact, they seem to enjoy trying to intimidate cyclists in particular and rarely stop for pedestrians crossing the street, but then London taxi drivers are a particular breed of motorist. However, nothing compares to the Argentine motorbike madness. Only last week did a guy on a motorbike literally drive up to my feet and only stop when he realised I really wasn’t going to move. He was very annoyed and seemed to think that even though the green walk sign was on, he had the right of way. Stubborn English heritage kicked in at this point and I think I won!

The message? Follow the green cross code that you learnt so avidly as a child and ‘look’ before you cross. That’s my BA tip of the week!

The answer to avoiding the bank queues in Buenos Aires.
I have been living in Buenos Aires for over two months now and since that time I have been researching into the problem with the bank queues in order to make your lives a little less annoying. If, like me, you get paid via a check then every payday you’ll have to take yourself off to a bank in order to cash it and feed yourself!

Buenos Aires has a reputation for being a banking nightmare in that the queues are really long, all day long. However, I have found one bank that is not like this. The HSBC branch on Parana in between Tte. Gral. Juan Domingo Peron and Bartolome Mitre during the hours of 11am and 1pm is the place to go for all things financial. When you enter, you take a ticket from the machine for the ‘caja’ if what you want it to do some kind of normal transaction with a cashier and then you get to sit down and wait your turn. No queuing for hours on end whilst you suffer from perpetual back ache and boredom! No! In this bank, there’s always a sit to wait patiently and in comfort and I have never had to wait more than 10 minutes in this branch during these times.

On speaking with the cashier, the process of withdrawing my money also only ever takes a matter of minutes and then I’m out of the door and swiftly on my way with a spring in my step. If you have banking annoyances, try ‘my bank’ to make your life just that little bit happier.

Chaucha is the name given to the large green bean here in Argentina. Yes, I am referring to that common string bean that we all know and love. Depending on where you are in South America, the green bean has various different names. For instance, in Venezuela it is called ‘vainita’. Therefore, if you have been a little confused about how to refer to this green bean, chaucha is the word you need.

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LAST WEEK’S QUESTION.......What is ‘lunfardo’? Lunfardo is a special, secret language that developed at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th amongst the lower classes of Buenos Aires and Montevideo. It is a very popular form used in tango lyrics and it’s probable that you’d need some understanding of it to make sense of certain songs. Characteristically, it makes use of word play to disguise the original meanings of particular words and phrases somewhat. Look it up and educate yourselves a little on the subject.

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THIS WEEK’S QUESTION.......What is ‘matambre’?

Answers to: buenosairesclubhouse@saexplorers.org

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

Last week, Maraya Loza-Koxahn took a beautiful photograph of an Argentine in action that made us all at SAE smile. This week, Graham Newhall has sent us in another one of his albums called Telltale Signs It’s a real mixture of iconographic features that each speak something different about BA. Well, this is my interpretation; these are my thoughts. You may well feel something different when you click on the link underlined above to see for yourself.

Remember, the aim is to take a better photograph than the previous winner (this week Graham). If we don’t receive any worthwhile contenders, Graham will stay in our newsletter next week too. Can you send us something more unique and thought-provoking than Graham’s ‘Telltale Signs’?

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