'Aca'

This, my comrades, is the word used for ‘here’ in Buenos Aires. Those of us trained in the Spanish language by U.S. institutions often have trouble adjusting to its sound. We prefer ‘aqui’ to ‘aca’ if for no reason other than its ubiquity in the ‘asking directions’ section of first-year Spanish textbooks. It seems appropriate to begin my little blogging experiment with this word because, of course, here I am. And because, just like the word ‘aca’ in my mouth, I am awkward.

For those of you interested in Argentine slang, I have discovered this useful link. For those of you interested in my musings on the city, you’ll have to wait. Tomorrow I plan to settle into an apartment and from there I will begin the whirlwind writing of dissertation chapters and blog posts.

Until then, my little friends, romans and countrymen, saludos!