¿Porque no?
Cuando estudio con mate estoy tranquilo.
***
Another week of Spanish classes has come and gone. I dissected sentences, conjugated even more past tenses (there are several... sigh) and I got my head around a wide variety of pronouns. Not the most stimulating of topics, to say the least. In truth, it's just been plain difficult for me.
But midweek, Patricio (mi profesor) and I got on the topic of mate, and things began to pick up.
For some reason there's been a sudden inflation in the price of ground coffee in Buenos Aires and our wallets are feeling the pinch. In weeks past a 500-gram bag of coffee without sugar cost around 21 pesos, but all of a sudden the price leapt to over 30. ¿Porque? No one we've asked seems to know. If you can stomach coffee pre-packaged with 10% sugar, as it's normally sold here, the price has stayed even at around 11 pesos. Commodity dumping? We have no idea.
Anyhow, Patricio hipped me to all things mateada -- the ritual of mate -- from types of yerba (con palo versus sin palo (with or without twigs)) to how to heat the water (caliente, pero no hervida). As in any worthwhile ritual, there are many rules.
So now our class moves along briskly and Spanish is making more sense than before. Assimilation or simply caffeination? (Pardon me, mateination)
Whatever it is, I'm going with it.
I just said "Necesito mas cafe!" and you deliver--much like the heladoras! Gracias, mi amigo!
ReplyDeleteThis development es muy bueno--I am happy for you! Z and I had a whole conversation about my inability to understand HOW to study a foreign language because I started much later than everyone else (high school) which is much later than anyone should be starting anyway. Sigh.
My favorite memory of Spanish class is the semesterly popularity I'd gain when I promised to bring cerveza to the celebration at the last class. Pense cerveza se cocacola! Ay dios mio... Lo siento for causing further verb confusion as I remember nada re:past tenses.
I am having mate right now as I do my work. Maybe you are also! I personally think mate wakes me up better, sometimes when coffee won't.
ReplyDeleteOf course, why not have both? :)
I was getting ready to send you guys some coffee until I read the one about the post office.
ReplyDeleteMarty fully subscribes to the why-not-have-both theory!
ReplyDeleteSatoshi, it took me a while to figure out who you were! Oh that would be so good of you to send coffee, and yet, now we know, maybe not. Sadly.
Yeah, sorry Z. This is the only gmail account that I have linked to blogger. Glad you figured it out. I thought the suit and gasmask would probably be a good clue. I'll totally try and send coffee if you want to challenge Kafaka's "the Post Office" again.
ReplyDeleteThank you for trusting in my detective abilities! I am tremendously grateful for the _idea_ of you sending coffee... and should probably leave it at that!
ReplyDelete