English in Buenos Aires
By Delores Johnson / Jan 09 • Categorized as Living Overseas •
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Buenos Aires City
I picked up the phone, dialed the company, and asked for someone who spoke English. My husband spoke directly to the technician in English and together they solved the problem over the phone. We have come to realize that many professionals in Buenos Aires understand and read English without problems. If they don’t speak it, it is due to lack of practice.
Medical doctors are a good example. All doctors in Argentina use textbooks in English when they study for their medical degrees but not all of them have the opportunity to speak English. They do have the chance to hear English. Movies, except those for children, are shown in Argentina with their original soundtracks. That means that a movie from an English speaking country has an English sound track. I often go to the movies once a week and enjoy seeing the latest releases in English.
It amazes me that in Buenos Aires there are so many clubs and sport groups where I can socialize in English. There are movie clubs, bridge clubs, mah jong clubs, wine groups, gourmet clubs, etc. This list goes on and on.
English speaking golf players gather together one day a week at a public course. Tee times are arranged via email. My name is on the email list, and I need only reply to share the time being outdoors. Of course, after the last hole, we gather for drinks at the club house. The cost to play 9 holes is $10 U.S. What a bargain!
Learning to play golf is a dream come true for me. I did not know how to play golf before coming to Argentina. It was too expensive for me in the States. Here I take classes with an English speaking instructor for $15 US per hour. She used to play on the Ladies Professional Golf Circuit in the USA. When she was injured in a car accident in the States, she returned to her native Argentina to teach golf.
I also started playing tennis in Buenos Aires. This game I used to play as a child with my brother, but I find that I am enjoying it even more as an adult. I play one day a week and receive coaching on another day. This is all via an English speaking tennis league. At the end of the season there is a tournament and an awards banquet. Twelve weeks of games, lessons, the banquet, and tournament fees cost me $270 US.
There are some sedentary pursuits to balance out all this activity. I belong to a book club where I can check out books in English. These are current hardbacks. Dues are the equivalent of $40 US per year. The members are a mixture of newcomers who will only spend the time that their company dictates living here and others who moved here ten, twenty, even thirty years ago. We get together twice a month for coffee and to ask each other about the books they are reading.
With so many English-speaking opportunities, I can become too busy. I have to pick and choose. It is a nice problem to have
About The Author
Delores is the author of an eBook about moving to Argentina published by EscapeArtist: Moving to Argentina – How to go about it.Argentina Residency and Retirement
Very interesting! A question though, would you think it is possible to get a job in English? What are the options regarding finding employment where English is the language used?
Thanks!