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!