I grew up in world where traveling afar was part of the course, I have been around world again and again, and being able to get by in many languages was all that was expected of me, until now! I get my rightful comeuppance from Sebastian Airaldi, Experience Director at Buenos Aires Experience – he starts:
I often hear ex-pats and visitors ask, ‘Spanish what’s the point’, I must say that question does have me in two minds.
On one hand, it surprises me. Why would anybody in his or her right mind think like that? It is ludicrous!
On the other hand, you live surrounded by other ex pats and English-speaking locals who can actually maintain dialog and use more than five adjectives or verbs and they sympathize and understand your difficulty learning their language.
In addition, when I listen and read the rubbish and negativity spewed by our media, our governments, and the opposition, and some Poteños, I often feel that foreigners are protected by their ignorance of the Spanish language.
Then I think, wake up girls and guys. We Argentines have a rich culture and our peoples, from all walks of life, are educated, informed and forward thinking. You are missing 90% of what is going down in Buenos Aires and also 99% of what us ‘Argies’ have to say. It is a real pity.
In particular, shame on our chairperson who speaks little Spanish and invests in all sorts of South American companies. I am now giving Mac lessons three days a week and for those of you who might be interested in our corporate structure, Buenos Aires Experience recently became part of the Mainline Security Ltd group of companies and I refer of course to Andrew Rae McCance (‘crickey they’ve tumbled me, I thought they thought me strong and silent) who has interests in many businesses in Argentina.
He has more than got by in Argentina, on and off, for nearly twenty years – simply amazing how he pulled off this astonishing feat living and conducting business as a ‘dumb mute’ – jeje! Had to get that in here somewhere!!
You might have gathered from earlier posts to this blog that I am Porteño (ex-pat – read on to find out what I mean) who apart from running this tourism venture for a few years, I have also been teaching languages for nearly 20 years. I am fluent in Spanish, English, Portuguese and French, so there very few places where I can not communicate.
I myself have been an ex-pat. I have been an immigrant for half of my life on many different continents as the dutiful son of an Argentine career diplomat. In addition, I have been the ‘career expat’, a nomad, but that is another story – believe me I have many! I have guided family and friends visiting us all over the world since a very tender age.
Be it France, Algeria, Uruguay, Bolivia or wherever our father took us, I was THE accomplished guide. I fully understand what it means to be lost in translation. Going through life only hearing a bla, bla and bla becomes wearisome. It gets to a point that people are total aliens to your ears, your thoughts, your brain rots…’non-entities’ surround you – how sad. So you just shut yourself away, you isolate yourself in your memories and ideas. You are pretty much just day dreaming your Buenos Aires Experience. You walk about like a mute zombie. Sometimes you try to concentrate and for a second you believe that you can grasp an idea, but only for a second, then you fall back into a communicational abyss. Read More>GO
‘Bloody Nora’ – is that me? Nah, I have a full time personal assistant, I understand every thing?@!
Sebastian is the Experience Director at Buenos Aires Experience one of the most successful tours companies in Buenos Aires run by homegrown local talent who really know Buenos Aires and offer the most amazing tours, we promise you will not find their tours anywhere else because other guides just do not have their talent and flair – I will take it in the neck for that statement, but I mean what I say!
You may remember that we chose Buenos Aires Experience last year as our preferred provider….nothing has changed, the company goes from strength to strength and the tours get better and better. Watch this space for Buenos Aires most talked about tour released 1 February 2010.
Sebastian is the son of a diplomat, is very well traveled, and like me a devilish purveyor what’s best in life and fun in life, which he now shares with his clients in Buenos Aires. Seb majored in International Relations and completed post graduate studies in Luxury, Travel & Tourism. He does a proper job, with a passion and without the BS.
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