Thursday, October 1st, 2009

Hi Íbero blog followers,

How is everyone's week going?? We hope everyone is enjoying their classes, getting to know the city and practicing their Spanish! We want to tell you about the activities we have planned for next week. Remember, you can invite your friends and even your roommates to our activities. No need to rsvp, just show up and enjoy! See you around!

For Monday we will have our weekly Argentine film screening here at Íbero! We are going to watch a movie called Elsa y Fred, a drama that tells the story of a unique couple that falls in love. The movie was filmed in 2005, and got great reviews. If you are looking to watch a good movie at the same time as practicing your Spanish you should join us! Meet us at the school at 2 pm in the film room. ¡Los esperamos!

Tuesday night we are hosting our traditional welcome dinner for new Íbero students. We are going to a very well known Buenos Aires Pizzería . The restaurant is called Romario, and is a great place to go with friends or even to have a romantic dinner. We are going to get to know our new students and have a conversation in Spanish with our activities director, Juan Ignacio. If you would like to come, we will meet Tuesday at 8:30 PM on the corner of the streets Ayacucho and Arenales in the neighborhood of Recoleta. Bring around 25 to 30 pesos for dinner per person. ¡Nos vemos!

Wednesday afternoon we are going to visit the Museum of Decorative Art of Buenos Aires. This is a very important museum that is housed in an antique house. The house belonged to a very prestigious family of porteña society and today functions as a museum. The house itself is interesting to see and you can check out all of its rooms and salons, all of which are very well kept. We will meet at the school Wednesday at 3 pm to journey together by Collectivo. Entrance to the museum is only 5 pesos.


Thursday we will have our activity for our students who take classes in the afternoon. We will visit a café and practice Spanish Conversation together. We will meet at a café in the barrio of Palermo called: Establecimiento General del Café, part of a chain of Argentine cafés that has grown over the years. The café is known for selling coffee from around the world, from places like Tanzania or Kenia. We are going to meet at 11 AM at the café on Avenida Pueyrredón 1529, between the streets Arenales and Beruti. Come join us to use the Spanish you are learning at Íbero!

Friday we will have our taller de conversación or Conversation Practice, this time in the afternoon, for those who take class in the morning. We will meet at Café La Paz, on Corrientes Avenue. This café was a hot spot for artists, poets, revolutionaries and intellectuals during the 60's. If you want to practice Spanish outside of school we will see you at 6 pm on the corner of Montevideo and Corrientes. Look forward to seeing you!

Sunday afternoon, we are going to visit the Feria of Mataderos. This is an excellent feria to visit, located outside of the city. The Feria showcases customs and craftwork typical to the rural culture of Argentina's interior. Many people from Buenos Aires say this feria is one of the best, even better than those of Recoleta and San Telmo. In addition to trying regional food and browsing work by local artisans, the Feria has different performances by musicians. People also perform traditional dances from the interior of Argentina. This is a very unique feria that everyone should experience. We are going to meet at the school on Sunday at 3 pm to take the collectivo from Plaza de Mayo to the feria.

We hope you find our activities interesting, and look forward to seeing you all this week!

¡Nos Vemos!

-Thanks from the Staff at Íbero

Monday September 28th, 2009

How was everyone's week??

Hi Ibero blog followers,

We hope you are doing well, enjoying Buenos Aires, despite the rainy weekend we had. Although it has been chilly we did not let this get in the way of our activities and hope you have been taking advantage of everything our beautiful city has to offer. We would like to tell you about what we were up to last week. Remember, you can check out the activities for this week in the previous blog post.

Monday, September 21st was the first official day of Spring and ¨Dia del estudiante¨, or Student Day. We kicked off the week with our weekly conversation practice that took place in bar Cumaná. Also a restaurant offering different types of regional Argentine food, the bar was a great place to have an informal conversation in Spanish. Around 6 students joined Juan Ignacio for 2 hours of conversation and trying mate along with excellent savory and sweet empanadas. Without a doubt we had a great time, and bar Cumaná is a good place to try typical Argentine food at reasonable prices.

Tuesday we had a welcome lunch for those students new to the school. We went to a very well known pizzeria called Pizzería Güerrín, one of the classic pizzarías along Avenida Corrientes that has been around for more than 70 years. 8 students joined Juan Ignacio and shared a great lunch porteña style. This is definitely a place to visit again!

Wednesday we went to the Museum of Spanish Art, Enrique Larreta. This is a museum that is in a colonial house in the barrio of Belgrano, near china town. We toured the house and saw many works of medieval art. We also walk around the park of the house which was very impressive. The museum was a very interesting place to visit, from the art work on exhibition to the beautifully kept antique house.

Finally, Friday afternoon we saw the movie "Nueve reinas", a very famous and well received thriller filmed about 7 years ago. The film is full of action but has a complex and suprising plot that everyone who watched it enjoyed. At Íbero we believe watching movies in Spanish is a great way to practice listening and comprehension. Students have the option to turn on subtitles in English or Spanish for extra practice. This week we are going to see a movie called "No sos vos, soy yo",Thursday afternoon at 2 pm, we hope to see you then!

We hope you have had a great week and we look forward to enjoying the activities planned for this week with everyone. See you around!

-Thanks from the Staff at Íbero

Friday September 25, 2009

Our plans for next week

Hi Ibero blog buddies,

We hope you are doing well, enjoying Spring in Buenos Aires where each day is more beautiful. Hopefully you are getting out to explore the city, meeting new people, and of course, learning Spanish! We would like to let you know about the activities we have planned for next week. As you all know, our activities are free of charge and you are welcome to invite friends to come along. No need to rsvp to events, just show up!

Monday afternoon we are having our weekly conversation practice or "nuestro taller de conversación". We are meeting in a bar near the school to have an informal chat about whatever interests you. This week we are meeting at 6 pm at Estilo Bar San Telmo, a café/bar on Perú 259. Here, we are going to try Mate, a typical Argentine tea-like beverage. If you would like to come, meet us at Estilo Bar San Telmo at 6 for fun Spanish conversation with friends. ¡Nos vemos!

Tuesday morning we are going to visit the Museum Sívori, a very famous art museum in the city. It is not the largest musuem, but it is without a doubt one of the most important in the city. To the students who are interestedin art or those who want to practice their Spanish, we are going to meet at the corner of Avenida del Libertador and Avenida Sarmiento at 11 am. See you there!

Wednesday we are going to visit el Museo de Arte Popular José Hernández. This is a very special museum: the building is where they have exhibitions on popular art, from clothing to china and including religious art from the 19th century. This is a unique opportunity to get to know the culture and a little history about Argentina. The barrio where the Museum is located is in a part of the city that is really beautiful. We will meet at the school at 3 pm and entrance to the museum is free!

Thursday we will have our weekly film screening. Every week we watch an Argentine film so that we can practice hearing Spanish as well as see some excellent movies made here in Argentina. If the students need subtitles in English or Spanish we watch the movie with subtitles. This week we are going to see "No sos vos, soy yo", an entertaining comedy with many well kown actors. If you want to practice your Spanish while watching a fun movie we will see you Thursday at 2 pm at the school.

Friday afternoon we are going to a café called "Ateneo Grand Esplendid". It is actually a bookstore that used to be a theater and is now also home to a café. We will meet at 6 pm on the corner of Riobamba and Avenida Santa Fe, half a block from Ateneo. ¡Nos vemos!

Saturday afternoon, we are going to tour La Boca and the Caminito. We are going to walk around this colorful barrio in the south of the city and see the very unique houses that make up the neighborhood. We will also pass thorugh the feria and a few smaller markets that are located along the street. We will also see the famous mural of the Boca Juniors figurine, the fútbol club which originated in this barrio and along with River Plate, is the largest and most important fútbol club in Argentina. If you would like to join us, we will meet at the school at 3 pm. We will take a collectivo and return around 6 in the afternoon. You don't want to miss it!

Hopefully you can find at least one activity that sounds interesting.

We look forward to seeing you and have a great week!!!

-From the Staff at Íbero

Tuesday September 22

How is it going?

Hey there Íbero amigos,

We hope you are having a great time in Buenos Aires. We just wanted to take a minute and tell you about some of the things we did last week and the places we went. Remember that our schedule of activities for this week is already published in the previous blog entry. You are always welcome to bring friends along to our activities and there is no extra charge to participate. We hope to see you this week!

Last Monday we went to see the performance of La Bomba de Tiempo, that takes place every week. The percussion peformance La Bomba de Tiempo has become very popular with the art and music circles of Buenos Aires. The performance showcases 17 percussionists that improvise using a language of symbols, led by the director. The show takes place every Monday at la Ciudad Cultural Kónex. 12 students and Juan Ignacio met at the school at 6 pm and took Subte linea B to Abasto, and walked to Kónex. Everyone had a great time, dancing to the music and having drinks with friends. If you haven't been, don't miss out on this unforgettable experience!

Wednesday, we went to visit the Museum, MALBA (Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires). We met at Íbero and took collectivo line 102 to MALBA. There was an exhibition of two very famous Argentine artisits whose work we were able to see. We had a guided tour in Spanish, which was a great opportunity to practice listening to the language. MALBA is an excellent museum that we enjoyed and that no one visiting Argentina should miss.

Thursday, we had our movie screening at the school. We watched the movie, El Hijo de la Novia, a very well known Argentine film which is also recognized internationally. Watching movies in Spanish is a great way to practice, and if students want extra help we put subtitles in English or Spanish.

Friday afternoon we had our weekly conversation meet-up. We went to café Tortoni and had a good time hanging out in this historic cafe, practicing Spanish for over 2 hours. 7 students and Juan Ignacio had coffee and relaxed, chatting in Spanish. What a great way to use what we are learning in class!

On Saturday, we spent the day in Tigre. We met at Íbero in the morning and went together to Retiro train station where we took the train to Tigre, which is just outside of the city. We walked around the Fruit Market (one of the largest ferias in all of Buenos Aires), and walked along Paseo Victorica, near the border of the river, stopping to have lunch at a parrilla. It was a beautiful day and we got to know a tranquil place outside of the city. You should go to Tigre! If you are interested in escaping to Tigre for a day or two and aren't sure how to get there, you can ask Juan Ignacio. He will tell you exactly how to get to Tigre, as well as recommend a number of other interesting places to visit.

Hopefully you have enjoyed last weeks activities as much as we did!

¡Nos vemos!

-From the Staff at Íbero

Wednesday September 16th, 2009

Hey there Íbero amigos!

Hopefully you are enjoying the great weather here in Buenos Aires as well as your Spanish classes. We wanted to let you know about the activities we have planned for next week. You are always welcome to bring your friends who don't go to Íbero to our activities. The activities are totally free (if we are going to a museum you might have to pay a small entrance fee) and there is no need to rsvp. We hope to see you this week!

For Monday afternoon we are going to have our weekly conversation practice, or "taller semanal de conversación". The point of having these weekly conversations is to meet somewhere outside of the school to practice what we are learning in class. We always go to a bar or café close by and enjoy coffee or another beverage while having an informal chat with Juan Ignacio about ourselves, where we come from, Argentina, or whatever we want to talk about. More than practice Spanish, students get to know each other. This Monday our taller de conversación will be at 6 in the afternoon in a café where we will try the traditional argentine drink, mate. The bar is called Estilo San Telmo and is located on Perú at 259 ¡Nos vemos!

On Tuesday we invite the students of Íbero to join us for lunch. We are going to a very traditional pizzería in Buenos Aires. Corrientes Avenue has always been a place full of cultural offerings and has many excellent pizzerías. We are going to eat at Güerrín, one of the most classic pizzerías which is very famous among locals. Buenos Aires has great pizza, some say better than in Italy! If you want to have some good food with friends meet us at 1:30pm at the pizzería on Corrientes at 1368, just two blocks from the school.

Wednesday we are going to visit a Museum of Art in the classic barrio of Belgrano. The Museum of Spanish Art, Enrique Larreta, has many works from the re-birth of the Baroque period. The museum is located in the barrio of Belgrano, which is an old exclusive barrio of Buenos Aires, with lots of green spaces and antique houses. If you are interested in art or just want to get to know a different part of Buenos Aires, we are going to meet at 3pm at the school to take the bus together.

Thursday we will have our conversation practice, or "taller de conversación" in the morning for the students who have class in the afternoon. This get together will be at a 11 AM in a bar similar to the one we are visiting Monday, called Cumaná, decorated in the style of an Argentine ranch. At Cumaná we will also drink mate and have "pan de campo" with jam and cookies. Also, this restaurant is a great place to buy dessert empanadas, filled with dulce de leche and different types of marmalade. If you would like to try some Argentine delicacies and have conversation in Spanish we will meet at Cumaná on Rodríguez Peña at 1149 at 11 in the morning on Thursday. See you there!

Friday we will have our weekly movie screening. This activity, along with our talleres de conversación, is held every week. Watching an Argentine movie with subtitles in Spanish or English is a great way to practice listening, as well as getting to know Argentine Cinema. This Friday at 2 in the afternoon we are going to watch a film called, "Nueve Reinas", a thriller that is considered on the best Argentine films of the last few years.

Lastly, Saturday we are going to visit the Buenos Aires Zoo. This Zoo is located in the zone of Plaza Italia. The Zoo is without a doubt a frequently visited site for all those coming to Buenos Aires. The Zoo is pretty large, and you can spend a day meandering through the exhibits and enjoying the sun. Entrance to the zoo is just 12 pesos, and we will meet at Íbero on Saturday at 3 PM to take the Subte together. We should finish our visit around 6 PM, but you are welcome to stay as much time as you want (as long as the Zoo is open!)

Hopefully at least one of our activities strikes you as interesting. Taking part in these events is a great way to get to know Buenos Aires and improve your Spanish.
Let us know if you have any questions and we will see you out at the activities this week and next!

Thanks, from the Staff at Íbero!

Monday September 14th 2009

How was everyone's week?

Hey Íbero blog followers,

Spring is getting closer and it is already starting to get warmer. Now is the perfect time to go to a park and enjoy other places out in the open air of Buenos Aires. We had a great time last week and wanted to let everyone know about the activities we enjoyed. Just a reminder, that the activities for this week are already published in the previous post. Remember, our activities are open to everyone, so feel free to invite your friends! Any question you have don't hesitate to contact us. ¡Nos vemos!

Monday the 7th of September we had our weekly conversation practice, or "taller de conversación semanal". More than 10 students joined Juan Ignacio at Café La Paz. We had coffee and spoke in Spanish about ourselves and our respective countries. The result was a very interesting conversation for all and an excellent exercise in practicing what we are studying in class. The Café La Paz is a very famous cafe because during the 60's it was a gathering place for many intellectuals and poets. We talked a lot, till about 20.30! Needless to say, we had a great time.

Tuesday we had our weekly screening of an Argentine film here at Íbero. We watched "Kamchatka", a well known Argentine film that tells through the protagonist, a 10 year old boy, a story of a family that escaped the dictatorship of the 1970's. Watching movies like this is a great way to practice understanding Spanish, and it helps sometimes to watch the movie with subtitles while listening to the Spanish. This week we are going to watch "El Hijo de la novia", one of the most famous Argentine films and a candidate for the Oscar in 2001. If you would like to join us for a great movie we will see you Thursday at 2pm!

Wednesday we went to the Japanese Garden of Buenos Aires. Tucked away in the barrio of Palermo, spending the afternoon in this garden is a great way to enjoy being outdoors in Buenos Aires. The park has a lake filled with Koi fish and is decorated with oriental bridges and statues. Five students from Íbero joined Juan Ignacio to walk around the Garden and take pictures. Students were able to talk with Juan Ignacio in Spanish while enjoying the great scenery .

Saturday we went to the famous Recoleta Cemetary and walked around the Fería at Recoleta. We were able to see different statues in the cemetary, exploring the walkways throughout the various tombs. We saw the tombs and mausoleums ofmany important historical figures that Juan Ignacio explained. We took a lot of pictures thanks to the photographer among the students. After visiting the cemetary, we went to the feria, where we saw all kinds of artisanal goods, crafts, clothes, etc to buy. Students bought gifts for family and things to remember Buenos Aires by as well as enjoyed an sunny saturday afternoon.

We hope you have enjoyed our activities as much as we have! We will see you this week!

Thanks, from the Staff at Íbero

Wednesday, September 9th 2009

Plans for the week of September 14th

Hi there Íbero Amigos,

How is everyone? Hopefully you are looking forward to a beautiful Spring in Buenos Aires, getting to know new friends, and of course, learning Spanish. We would like to let you know about the activities we have planned for the week to come. Remember that you can always bring a friend along, we want everyone who is interested to enjoy what we have planned.

See you this week!

For Monday night we are planning to see a famous drum troup well known by the youth of Buenos Aires. The performance is called La Bomba de Tiempo, and is a percussion band of 15 musicians that improvise and comunicate between each other using signals the group developed. The show is a really interesting musical performance. The show takes place in the Cultural Center in the barrio of Balvanera. The performance takes place from seven in the afternoon to around ten at night. If you are interested, we will meet at six in the afternoon at the school to go to the show together. Entrance to the performance is $20 (veinte pesos). You don't want to miss it!

Wednesday we are going to visit MALBA, which is the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires. This Museum, along with the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, are two of the most important art museums in the city as well as being the largest. Malba has Latin American art from some of the most important figures from all over Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina. Malba also has an excellent collection of European Contemporary art from the 20th Century. We will see an exhibition of works from Brasilian Surrealists, Mexican muralists, work by Frida Khalo as well as art from many well recognized Argentine artists like Agustín Xul Solar and Emilio Pettoruti. If you would like to join us, we are going to meet at the school on Wednesday at 4 pm. Entrance to the museum is only $5 (cinco pesos). ¡Nos vemos!

Thursday we are going to watch an Argentine movie called: "El Hijo de La Novia", a film made in 2001 that tells the story of a son and his parents. This film is one of the most famous contemporary Argentine movies and was a candidate for the Oscar in 2002. If you want to see an excellent movie and practice a little Spanish we will see you Thursday at 2 pm.

Friday we will hold our weekly taller de conversación or Spanish conversation practice. The idea is to share an informal conversation in a bar or café close to the school. This time we are going to café Tortoni, the oldest and most well-known café in Buenos Aires, founded in 1858. During the 60's, Tortoni was a hot spot for intelectuals and writers like Borges. We will meet at the café (Avenida de Mayo 829) at 4 pm. Don't miss this opportunity to practice your Spanish in a beautiful and historic café!

Saturday we are going to get up a little early to take advantage of a trip that is definitely worth it. We will meet at the school to travel to Tigre, just north of the city. Tigre is a small but modern city made up of little river inlets. We will see one of The largest and most important ferías or markets in Buenos Aires: the Fruit Market, that offers stands selling everything. There is also the Delta in Tigre as well as many islands where people live, we will board a boat to take a trip around the Delta. We will eat at a very well known parilla near the Fruit Market. To get to Tigre we have to take a short train ride from Retiro, so we will meet at Íbero at 11 am to leave for Tigre!

We hope you find these events interesting and look forward to another exciting week at Íbero!

¡Chau y nos vemos!

Monday, September 7th

Hi there Íbero Friends,

We hope that you are having a great time in Buenos Aires. Remember, just a few more days before Spring arrives! We haven't let the not so perfect weather slow us down and we want to tell you about the activities we participated in last week. The schedule of activities for this week is already published and you can find it in the previous post. Don't forget to invite your friends to an event, we look forward to seeing you this week!

¡Nos vemos!

Monday night we had a welcome dinner for students new to Íbero Spanish School. The dinner was at El Sanjuanino, a restaurant in Recoleta specializing in food typical to Argentina. In particular, El Sanjuanino specializes in empanadas from the province of San Juan. Six new students joined Juan Ignacio and tried delicious empanadas Sanjuaninas along with an excellent sangría (if you don't know what a sangría is, click on the link). The food of course, was excellent and the dinner was a good way to experience Argentine food and relax with new friends. The restaurant Sanjuanino is definitely one to recommend. We will surely be returning.

Wednesday, September 2 we had "our weekly taller de conversación" in a café called, Establecimiento General del Café, on Avenida Pueyrredón. Six students met to have a conversation with Juan Ignacio while enjoying coffee (¡Que rico!). These weekly gatherings are extremely helpful in improving conversation skills, the more students that participate the better the practice!

Thursday afternoon we had our weekly Argentine movie screening. Students watched a film called, Historias Mínimas, which was filmed entirely in Patagonia, a region of Southern Argentina, and was an excellent preview for the students thinking of planning a trip to the area. Watching films produced in Argentina, made for Argentine audiences, is an excellent way to become familiar with certain customs and get used to hearing Spanish. It is also a very good way to improve comprehension. This week we are watching Kamchatka. You're invited!

Friday afternoon we met at the school to go to a very cool art museum called, el Museo Xul Solar. Xul Solar was a very important Argentine artist who made a large impact on Argentine art from the first half of the 20th century. The museum is in the barrio of Palermo, located on the street Laprida, although it is not very large it includes many works by Xul Solar from various periods of his career. For lovers of art this is almost a required activity when visiting Buenos Aires.

We really enjoyed the activites from the past week and look forward to more exciting times throughout the week.

Thanks and nos vemos!
-Íbero Staff

Wednesday September 2nd, 2009

What are we up to next week?

Hi Íbero internet friends,

We want to tell you about the activities we have planned for the coming week. Remember that you are always welcome to invite your friends and travel companions. It is not needed to let us know before hand if you want to participate, just show up and enjoy! Don't forget to check out the schedule of activities for this week which is already posted in the previous entry
¡Nos vemos!

For Monday, September 7th we have planned our weekly Taller de Conversación, or spanish conversation workshop. This is an activity we have every week, the idea is to visit a different cafe or bar every week and have an informal conversation in Spanish with our activities director (Juan Ignacio), meanwhile we drink tea or coffee. It does not matter if you know a little or alot of Spanish, the idea is to practice and improve your conversation skills. This week we are meeting in a classic café in Buenos Aires, called Café La Paz, which is on the street la Avenida Corrientes. We will meet at 6pm at the corner of Avenida Corrientes and the street Montevideo. Take this chance to experience an elegant cafe and practice your Spanish! We look forward to seeing you Monday afternoon!
For Tuesday afternoon we have planned our weekly film screening of an Argentine movie. Every week we screen an Argentine film in our movie room at the school. Watching a film in Spanish is an excellent opportunity to learn vocabulary and get used to hearing Spanish. If the students need, we put on subtitles in English or Spanish. Tuesday we are watching a movie titled Kamchatka that tells the story of a family that escpaed Buenos Aires during the military dictatorship of the 1970's. This movie received excellent reviews and has two of the best actors of Argentine film. We will see you Tuesday at 2 pm in the movie room at Íbero.


Wednesday afternoon we are going to visit the Japanese Garden of Buenos Aires. This is a beautiful park constructed by the Japanese community of Buenos Aires. The park is very calm and has a Japanese restaurant inside for those who like Japanese food. We are going to visit Wednesday and we will meet at the school at 3pm to take the collectivo together. Entrance to the Garden is only 5 pesos. ¡Nos vemos!


Friday afternoon we are going to take a trip to the National Museum of Bellas Artes. This is the most important museum in the city, and yes, the largest. There is an entire first floor of European art from every century and on the top floors there is Latin American and Argentine art showcased. Without a doubt, for art lovers, this museum is a required visit during your stay in Buenos Aires. If you would like to join us, we will meet at 3pm at the school to go together. Remember that entrance to the museum is free and that if you know someone who is interested in art they are more than welcome to come along.

Saturday we are going to the Feria de Recoleta and visit other tourist sites nearby, like the Cultural Center and the Recoleta Cemetary. The fair is known for its size and for being one of the most important in the city, it is an excellent place to find gifts to remember Argentina by and to buy arts and crafts in general. There are always musicians that perform at the fair playing different types of music. For those who are interested, we are going to meet on the corner of the street Junín and la Avenida Las Heras at 3 pm on Saturday. Don't forget to bring your cameras!

We will see you this week!

Thanks from all the Staff at Íbero!