"No hay moneda," he says.

"No tenes moneda" (You don't have change), I say. This is the second kiosk where I have tried to buy a small piece of chocolate solely for the purpose of receiving change for the "colectivo" (bus). "Donde puedo encontrar moneda?" (Where can I find change?) "No se." (I don't know.) "Pero necesito moneda en colectivo, no?" (But I need change on the bus, don't I?) "Si, necesitas moneda." (Yes, you need change.) "Entonces, que debo hacer?" (Then what do I do?) "Tenes que ir al banco." (You have to go to the bank.) Mind you, it is 7:00PM Friday and I am on my way to a class on the syrahs of Argentina at the wine school in Belgrano. I have an hour to get there but even if I had more time, though the Argentine schedule is different, there are no banks open at this hour on Friday. "Pero el banco no esta abierto ahora" (But the bank is not open now,) I say. "Si, es una locura. Pero no hay moneda," he says. (Yes, it is madness. But there is no change.) So I don't buy the chocolate and proceed north in the hopes of finding change. I am not desperate because I can always hail a taxi but I prefer to go in colectivo. A few blocks past the last kiosk I spy a small mercado and eye the cash register drawer before perusing the chocolate. Hay moneda. I leave the mercado with change and a power bar. It is just a short walk to the first stop for the colectivo.

I hope to update you at a later date on the wine class. Briefly, for over 2 1/2 hours I sampled 8 syrahs accompanied by a dish of rice and veggies with a side of bread. I listened to the expert along with 10 other students, all Argentine. These scenarios are humbling. In this instance both my fluency in the language and knowledge of wine were tested!