THE WEEKEND IS COMING...
Hello Anne and readers!
It’s 11:30 pm and we’ve just come back from my mother’s in law. We always go there to have dinner on Friday so I’m free and I don’t have to cook!
First of all I want to explain the meaning of “porteño”. It was a shame to me not to know it; I really felt very bad yesterday. While I was cooking, it suddenly came to my mind and realized what it did mean. Then I checked the information with my husband.
There is a story behind it but to sum up I can tell you the following:
The people who are born in Buenos Aires City (I mean the federal district) are called “porteños”. “Bonaerenses” is quite different and identifies the people born in the province of Buenos Aires. Some dictionaries make a big mistake telling that “porteño” and “bonaerense” are the same. The origin of “porteño” started in the 19th century and was used to name people who were living in the city where the main port was located.
The word “porteño” is spelled with the letter “ñ” and you pronounce it like “portenio”.
By the way, Steve looked very happy sitting at the table. Was he having breakfast or dinner?
You must be a very good cook!
Here is a recipe for you (this is very easy)
SPAGHETTI WITH PESTO AND ZUCCHINI
Dice the zucchini, sprinkle with salt. Then fry them for 3 minutes in olive oil and with a whole clove of garlic.
Remove the garlic and add the pesto. In the meantime cook the spaghetti in plenty of salty water, drain when “al dente”, then mix with the sauce, the diced mozzarella and the chopped parsley. Serve immediately.
Hope you like the pasta. Oscar loves it.
At what time do you Anne and readers usually have dinner? Here it’s very common to have dinner at 9 pm or 10 pm during the week. At the weekend people usually have dinner later.
Anne, it’s great to have some days off. Try to make the most of it, unwind and share your spare time with your kids and husband (he is like another kid, isn’t he?) :- )
I like your kids’ picture; especially the mat you put on the floor so that Joshua could sit down comfortably and without getting dirty. Both of them look very quiet. I guess they behave very well.
Anne, I feel a tad upset with me. Most of the mistakes you remark are silly and I shouldn’t have made them. I didn’t use to have so many mistakes. However your corrections make me consider that I need to revise and practise more. Thank you for being so strict.
About the prepositions, I filled in the blanks.
1) Round the corner of my house (I cannot find any other suitable preposition)
2) Talk trough the phone (is it wrong to say “talk by phone”?)
3) I’m on the balcony
4) I take the bus at/on the corner of my house
5) He helped me to attach these pictures
Now, the readers answers
Ana Paula, I’m glad you liked B.A.
Vlad, here in B.A. is very common to have a 1 hour journey to get to the office too. There’s a lot of traffic jam due to the high increase in the number of cars. I reckon I’m lucky to work near my house and I value it a lot.
Leila, thank you for your comment. You are always welcomed.
Mercè, as I mentioned in a previous blog, I’m an accountant. I think that the equivalent in Spain is “Administration graduate”. I prepare our clients taxes, salaries, social charges and other legal requirements.
Hyoshil, thank you for telling me where Lincoln is. However I didn’t hear anything about the earthquake.
Tanya, I’m pleased to read that you liked B.A. It’s a modern city and we have an important theatre (“The Colon Theatre”). Many important dancers come to dance there.
Anwar, If I were you I would come to B.A. in Spring. November is the best month because it’s neither too hot nor windy.
Erika, actually we have plenty of parks, but the air is polluted as any other city air is. However we are lucky because at night the wind from the west sweeps the dirty air off.
Ernesto, unlike you, I never wanted to grow up.
Well, I’ll close for now.
Annie, hope your dish will be a success.
Have all of you a nice and relaxing weekend.
Bye…….
Cristina
Comments
Hi Cris, About the time of having dinner, here in Belgium, I can imagine that it depends from the families and their origin but I think that a standard time for dining is between six and seven pm. Most people come back home from work at six pm. Most shops and stores close at six pm too, only some supermarket remain open till eight pm. Antonio
Hi Cris! It's happy to know that my comment got your feedback. The weather in Hong Kong these day is not so good, as it covered with a thick mist. Back to your question, I usually have my dinner at 8 pm, it seems a bit earlier than you. Also I watch TV during my dinner time. Cris, don't be so upset with your mistake, I know you can do much better next time:) Be frank, I know I must made a lot of grammatically mistakes, as I'm poor in grammar, and also writing? But anyway I will try my best to work hard on both of them, let's fighting together =D Have a great weekend, Erika.
Hi, Cris! Just have read about how you recommend cooking pasta: what mean the word “pesto”? I cannot find it in the dictionary. About dinner: I don’t know which time have a dinner local people here, in Ireland, but as far as I am concerned, my dinner usually has the time at 1-2 p.m., shortly after late morning. Or is it a lunch? In reality, I badly understand what dinner is and what lunch is: in the ex-Soviet Union we don’t know much about lunch. I only know that the very big meal of mine I have between 1 and 2 p.m. If I have a dinner about 9-10 pm I would be very fat! Best wishes,
Hi Cris! Yummy! Your recipe sounds delicious. I´ll try it :-). I have dinner around 9:00 o´clock everyday and on weekends we usually don´t have dinner. Enjoy your weekend, Ana Paula.
Hi Cris! Thanks for informations about suitable time to be to B A. If god wants i'be there next Spring because always i wait to visit Argentina .I have been to more than thirty countries frome diffirent continents ,in American continent i have been to Canada ,USA, prasil .By the way i think the Spanish translation of accountant is contable.Bye
Hi Cris! I'd like to try your recipe, but I've heard about "pesto" for the first time in my life. As far as I understand it's a sauce, isn't it? Do you cook it by yourself or buy it in a shop? As for your daily routine, you are very lucky to have the office near the house. I waste 2 hours to get to the university and usually stick in the traffic jams. So big cities have their highs and lows. Looking forward to your next entry, Irina.
Hello Cristina, thank you for explaining the term Poteno. I liked the recipe you shared with us all. As for the dinner, we usually have dinner between 7:00 and 7:30 pm, even at weekends the routiene remains the same. Best wishes, Naheed
Hello Cristina, Anne and readers. I read your blogs everyday and i really enjoy both of them! Cristina, this recipe must be good,the ingredients are very popular here in Italy!:-D I think I'll try it! Bye for now. Anna
Dear Cristina, After a long time I opened my computer and started to read all your post and comments written by all readers and I feel shame on me that I lost great opportunity to learn interesting things about your country and your daily routine life in proper time. You mentioned that you I had to apologise to my godson because I forgot to tell his name. But I want to raise a question that either you want to apologise to reader or to your godson. Similarly you thanked Anne for marking your mistakes in an unusual way. But I want to ask you that you thanked her for marking your mistake in a usual way or unusual way. If she marked mistakes in an unusual way, then is this the first time she did it diligently and make us aware for our mistakes.
Hi Cris! Thank you for your comment about your work. As you say it's similar to "Administration graduate". Is it a hard job for you? Do you like and enjoy it? Have a beautiful Monday! Goodbay for now. Mercè
Hi,Cristina How are you and all your family? I just wnat to tell you "cheer up" and your writing is fantastic for me.A few mistakes are not a big deal, And you have a wonderful teather,Ann,who will help You during your time here.People say you will learn from your mistakes and practice makes perfect so dear friend please don't be upset or disappointed.I am looking forward to reading your letters. Have a great day and see you!xx
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