Unbelievable

Wow.  So much going on with the Sexy Spanish Club.  I’ve decided I can’t possibly write about everything here…I’ll just have to save it for the book.

Suffice it to say that I am connecting with the most amazing people.  I am humbled and honored and grateful.  I feel my brother Dennis (who died of AIDS in 1990, LOVED Latin America, languages, teaching…) all around me. 

 I’ve decided that I shouldn’t work too hard at this.  I need to be open, let it all happen without feeling like I have to be totally fair or direct everything.  This is about love and connection.  I am choosing the ones who are meant to be a part of this…but really, I’m watching them come to me.  The right ones are making a beeline straight here and all I have to do is say, “Oh, yes, YOU!  I’ve been waiting for you.”

 Honestly, I could go nuts just trying to interview all the teaching candidates, but instead, I am going with the ones that make me go “WOW” right off the bat.  Same with the Club members.  Throwing all the “rules” out the window, like the midlife thing.  There are women I’m connecting with who are so fascinating, so strong, so hilarious…and the ones who feel like a good fit are like bright lights.  They shine brighter than the others in some way…not necessarily on paper, but just the way it feels.  So, I’m going with my gut on this. 

I might not have the sexiest teacher…but I WILL have the one I absolutely LOVE.  And the women?  That’s easy.  I get to pick the ones I KNOW I want to be friends with, the ones I KNOW have something really special to share.

What a trip.

Yes, but are you SEXY?

This process is evolving.  I guess I hadn’t really anticipated that there might be TOO many applicants for the teaching position in our Sexy Spanish Club, nor had I considered that I might actually have to get picky about which women we allow to join us!

 So, now I am feeling a bit like a snooty sorority sister.  I am actually having to respond to women’s emails by explaining that there are a lot of women interested, we have to limit the size in order to keep it manageable, and so would you mind telling us a bit about yourself?  Yeah, it’s weird.  But what else can I do?  I mean we can’t let everyone in, and it’s pretty important to have a good fit.  Fortunately, it seems like the women who are sending emails with “PLEASE LET ME JOIN!” as a subject line are a whole lot like us, so it’s not as though we won’t have a good group.  It all comes down to size. So many things do.

 I am asking all teacher candidates to send an email with more info about themselves and why they think they’d be a great teacher for us.  Christine and I will pick the top ones and interview them next week.  The delicate thing is that matter of wanting a teacher who is sexy.  I mean, that CAN come across in an email, but you gotta meet to really see that quality, that spark…and I don’t mean it’s about looks, it’s more about a flirty sort of style, you know? 

I’ve done my share of interviewing and hiring, but this is FAR more interesting than any previous “project”…

Someone dished a little crap my way about how you could never list these qualifications for a real job: ”Must be 30s, sexy, handsome, fun, Argentine, male, and gay”…  Well, my friend, we aren’t just hiring someone to teach us.  We are hiring someone we will ADORE. So,  we’re not really using the rules of hiring…we’re using the rules of LOVE, which is a whole different thang. 

Totally subjective?  Oh, yeah.  Unfair?  Absolutely.  But hey, love is not an equal opportunity proposition.

The whole Sexy Spanish Club book concept has captured the attention of a lot of people.  So, now I am actually taking it quite seriously.  Whether this turns into a novel or a nonfiction book, it could be really fun.  I have all the pieces, a great editor friend, and will have a new agent soon. So….again, just riding the wave and having a good time with it….

Sexy Spanish Club candidates

Well, things are getting interesting.  So far, I’ve received some funny emails from guys in BA who are interested in casually dropping in at the restaurant where we will be meeting for the Sexy Spanish Club.  They thought they’ d just show up and eavesdrop on our sexy letter reading.  Ha!  We are far sneakier than that.

We’ll have to keep this under wraps, or there might be a mob.  I’m serious.  There is a great deal of interest.

And here’s what I love about it:  it’s totally creative!  This isn’t your typical Spanish class.  And it’s certainly not a typical writing group.  The way I see it, we’re going to start with assignments like this:  “You see someone you’re interested in.  You’ve never even had a conversation.  Write a note to tell this person that you are captivated and want to meet.”

We’ll move on to things like: “You really connected with this person, and after hours of talking, your first meeting ended with a fiery kiss.  Write a letter expressing how you feel .” 

And later:  “Things are getting really intense.  Your lover is absolutely obsessed with you.  Write a letter expressing your passion but also your fear that things are getting a little too hot too soon.”

Perhaps I wasn’t clear in my initial post, because a number of people assume that we’ll be reading Spanish erotica.  Nope.  Well, we MIGHT, just for fun.  But this is a creative writing class as a means of getting motivated to learn Spanish–it’s not a lit course or a comparative culture course. 

And the teacher candidates?  Well, we’ve got several good ones, plus a couple of guys in their 20s (sorry, too young) and a couple of straight guys (sorry–gay men know what we like and it won’t get weird…plus, Tom is being pretty clear about sticking to the gay requirement!).  We even have a fascinating guy–would love to meet him!–who would be perfect except that he lives in the US and wants to teach us online.  Ah, no.  See, we ALREADY spend too much time online!  We want to meet in PERSON!

I’ve got some great recommendations as well from people I trust–sexy, fun gay men.  So, we will actually have to have interviews or something to decide who to hire.  Well, someone’s gotta do it.

And I am DEFINITELY going to write about this.  DEFINITELY.  It’s got everything–chick-lit characters (strong, fascinating women!), sex, exotic locale, funny gay man, boomer appeal.  I mean, it would be the PERFECT Book Club book.

But the main thing is that there are lots of possibilities for fun and learning.  The final destination doesn’t matter.  It’s the PROCESS we love!

And boosting that LOL quotient is key.  Christine and I have already laughed ourselves silly over this, so we’re on the right track.  We’ll just keep laughing and see where it takes us.

WANTED: Sexy Spanish Teacher (The first BANewcomers post re: Sexy Spanish Club)

There’s an online forum here in Argentina called the Buenos Aires Newcomers.  Lots of people post questions there about things like good restaurants, tips for navigating the visa process, where to buy certain things, how much to pay your maid, etc.  I cruise through the postings regularly, but never really get involved. 

Until now.

You see, I had an idea.  A great idea, if I do say so myself.  But I needed some help to make it happen. 

 Here’s what I posted on the forum:

***********

WANTED:  SEXY SPANISH TEACHER

Okay, let me explain.

Christine and I are both American women who have been living in BA since
July/August—in Recoleta and Belgrano.  As it turns out, we are both:
*married—for over 20 years
*mothers of four daughters, ages 15ish to 20-something
*writers
*bright, creative, fun and–yes, okay–sexy

Since we spend most of our time writing/speaking in English, we’re not
really getting that full immersion experience.  We speak rudimentary
Spanish, and though we’d like to learn more, our eyes glaze over at the
thought of memorizing “I’d like to order the steak—rare, please” dialogues
or doing homework.

We need something….spicier. And we need a special teacher to help us.

The format:  we want to learn Spanish by writing steamy love letters to
our imaginary lovers.  Our teacher will provide vocab lists (nouns, verbs
and adjectives—oh my!), terms of endearment, metaphors and inspiration.
Each week, we’ll meet at a Palermo restaurant over lunch or coffee, read
our steamy letters, have them corrected, and get the next batch
of words and a new assignment.

We are looking for an Argentine man who is:
*able to easily translate English/Spanish in this particular niche
*direct and bold (If you can’t talk about orgasms, this won’t work.)
*FUN, handsome and sexy (Hey, we’re writers—we need to be INSPIRED!)
*30-something  (It’s our game—we get to make up the rules.)
*gay (Sorry—we just think it would be more fun that way.)

We will pay you well.  In fact, it might turn out to be quite
lucrative for you if others join in.

In addition, if we adore you, we are likely to write about you.  Who
knows? You might be a character in a best-selling book.  Who will play you
in the movie? (Did I mention we are creative?)

I will be interviewing all applicants.  I’m totally serious.
Let me be clear: There is no hanky panky involved—it’s all about the
words, baby.

Please reply to me personally at Maya@MassageYourMind.com

Ladies–care to join us for our “I’ll have what she’s having” gatherings?
Contact me directly.

Thanks all.  Sorry if I offend anyone.
**************

Okay, Maya here.  Anyway, I have had some interesting responses so far.  More than one person wanting to know where we are meeting so they can “watch”….    But we are keeping this group rather intimate.  We are going to be picky about who we hire as our teacher, and we get to choose who we let into our little club. 

Is this fun or what?  NOW I’m feeling motivated to take Spanish…hahaha….  Like I say on my website, it’s all about RELEVANT LEARNING STYLE and MOTIVATION…..

Pole-Dancing, Sleep Deprivation and Science

Taeko is in NYC.  It’s been, what, four days now?  And so far she has managed to distribute a dozen resumes, go to a wine-and-cheese gathering at Columbia, sign up to be a guinea pig in experiments there (48 hours of sleep deprivation:  she figures she will see a lot of videos for free AND get $300….an hour-long MRI…and assorted psychological tests…)

She is looking for apartments in the area.  Went to one and met the two girls who lived there, and ended up talking for two hours.  (That’s SO Taeko.)  One of the girls teaches pole dancing.  The other is an entertainer at a club.  Yeah.  But, as Taeko pointed out, they can get her into bars AND provide plenty of entertaining stories.  Besides, she assured us that they were very sweet girls….from ALABAMA and NEW MEXICO.  As if that is the sweetness stamp of approval.   

We trust her judgment.  She hasn’t decided which apartment she’ll move into yet.  And hey, she WAS planning to go to the Congo, so NYC seems pretty innocuous by comparison.  She’ll probably strike up a conversation with one of the researchers at Columbia and get some sort of fabulous grant to go to grad school there.  Nothing would surprise me. 

Tara Survives Norwalk Virus

Though the Norwalk virus managed to sicken hundreds of students at Mount Allison University in Sackville, New Brunswick,  my daughter Tara survived untouched–one of a handful of Healthy Ones in her dorm. 

 But then, that shouldn’t be surprising.  She’s traveled to India and Nepal.  She’s lived in Brazil and Mexico.  You don’t think she’d let a CANADIAN virus take her down, do you?  No way.

Nice immune system, Tara!

George Chaikin, Mara Haseltine, Waltz of the Polypeptides, Biopolis

Today I got an email from Taeko.  She took a train to NYC from Toronto, and had the good fortune (she is a person who sees herself as extremely lucky so these things ALWAYS happen to her) to sit next to George Chaikin, an artist, architect, and professor who has done a lot of well-known work related to curves and perception.  They talked for hours, exchanged info, and Taeko plans to attend one of his lectures soon.

 Here in Buenos Aires, I’ve been having an ongoing conversation with Juan, an Armenian Argentine, about the cosmos, art, color, and science.  Yesterday I went to the Museo de Bellas Artes and soaked up the Picassos, Monets, the Pollock and Kandinsky… and headed to another museum to drink up the multi-media displays. 

Art and science go together like, like…I don’t know.  I’m at a loss to describe it.  Good thing there is an organization whose mission is to educate the public about this link between art and science!  It’s Art and Science Collaborations, Inc., and you can learn more at www.asci.org

While you’re there, you might check out the work of artist Mara Haseltine.  She does whimsical installations of biology-based art.  You can see her “Waltz of the Polypeptides” at www.calamara.com

Don’t miss her gorgeous and fascinating SARS art.  Yes, SARS.  She was a finalist in a competition to design an art installation at Biopolis, a mega-complex of buildings serving as a compound for biomedical research in Singapore.  Her beautiful bronze sculpture depicts the SARS Protease Inhibitor, which was discovered by an international team of scientists working at Biopolis.  Learn more about Biopolis at www.one-north.com

Art and science…beautiful.

Virus Hits Mount Allison University Campus in Sackville, New Brunswick

My daughter Tara is having an interesting week. 

Following the long Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, students returned to campus and by Wednesday, started getting sick.  Really sick.  Going-to-the-hospital sick. 

At first they thought it was some sort of food poisoning from meal hall, but now they are realizing that it is actually a highly contagious virus.  Everything has been canceled until Monday, most dorms are deserted except for students too sick to move.  Well over 100 students have been severely sick, others somewhat sick, and the healthy ones are leaving town. 

Tara, who lives in a residence there, feels just fine.  She is one of the healthy ones.  At first, she thought it was because she had avoided meal hall after overindulging on Thanksgiving food over the weekend, sustaining herself with apples, soup, crackers, etc. in her room.  Now she is not sure WHY she is not sick–she’s just grateful.  They’re saying it’s maybe from the bathrooms, so now certain bathroom areas are quarantined for the sick.

Tara and her healthy friends are doing Gatorade runs for the sickies and otherwise providing comic relief.  She thought about leaving town, but it’s just so darned interesting watching all the national news teams on campus. 

OH, and it’s Friday the 13th.  Many jokes about the sick ones turning into zombies at midnight tonight, etc.  Ah, college life.

Thank goodness she’s feeling fine.  Nice to know her school is getting national attention.  Go Barf U!

Super Serendipity/Synchronicity and www.Noetic.org

I’m in the flow this week.  Things are just sort of swirling around me and connecting in exciting ways.

Too many things to mention, but here’s an example. I have a friend in the US, Wilson, who wrote to tell me that there is a chapter of the Institute of Noetic Sciences here in Buenos Aires and I should look it up.  Cool.  If you don’t know about IONS, it’s about global wisdom and consciousness.   Learn more at www.noetic.org

I have Google Alerts set up for “Buenos Aires” and “Argentina”.  One day a couple of weeks ago I got a link to an article written in a newspaper in the States by a woman named Beth Cushman who had just moved to BA with her husband and two kids.  Wow, I thought–I want to contact her and meet her!  I sent her an email and we set a time and place to meet and then had to cancel.  She’s had guests, went to Chile for a while, etc.  Anyway.

Then I get a cryptic phone call from some guy who doesn’t identify himself but says he is from the Institute of Noetic Sciences and will call back.  Hmm. 

So I go online and do a little search, and the first thing that pops up is an article with Beth Cushman’s name.  Turns out her dad was Wink Franklin, a much beloved past president of the Institute who passed away a couple of years ago! 

Now I really, REALLY have to meet Beth. 

Anyway, that’s just one small thing in a series of so many delightful little life synapses that have been snapping all around me this week.   What would Wink say?

Mother’s Day is October 15th in Argentina

That’s right.  It’s Mother’s Day! 

Seems like I just celebrated Mother’s Day–because I did–TWICE.  We were living in Mexico in the spring, and they celebrate Mother’s Day midweek–a much bigger deal, everyone takes the day off to take their mothers out to lunch, etc.  And a little later in May we celebrated the traditional US Mother’s Day.

I’m not really one for Hallmark holidays, except that there’s always chocolate involved.  Now, who am I to say no to chocolate?  Well, I’ll do my best as a mother to accept whatever chocolate comes my way on Sunday.