Why do we revel in a great conversation and what are the elements of just such a conversation that makes it memorable?
This is something I’ve been wondering for some time as I’ve been doing Your Story. What are the dynamics of a great story or conversation? What are the things that we sometimes do well and we sometimes could change to improve conversations? Are these things simply good luck, part of our nature and environment or are they skills we can learn?
It hasn’t been just since I’ve been doing Your Story that I’ve had the complement paid to me. It’s happen on and off all my life. We’re wrapping up the conversation and the person I’ve been chatting with mentions that they had a wonderful time and really enjoyed it. I can sense that they genuinely mean it, as though as we part it feels like something special was shared.
But what?
It was three years ago when I was reflecting on my life and wondering what I should do with my newly discovered inspiration of doing a podcast that one of the things I considered is the number of times this scenario has occurred in my life and that it’s one of those things that I find profoundly rewarding. Maybe I have a little natural ability or maybe I’m simple curious about others and that helps them feel engaged but it doesn’t always work, sometimes it falls flat so there are things that I know that I can improve.
I’ve been wondering for some time what is it that people get from a great conversation and what is missing from a poor one? What are the elements that make a conversation simply polite and courteous verses one that connects two people in some deeper way?
I have a few ideas, some of the things that I use are…
Deby has been in Buenos Aries as a visitor and now permanently since 2000. Originally coming to Buenos Aires to surround herself in the world of tango, she sold up everything in California in 2004, relocated to Buenos Aires and is now looking forward to becoming an Argentine citizen.
While falling in love with lifestyle here she has had the experiences of someone learning to understanding a new culture in order to become part of it. Now she is fully immersed into the life as a local and defends it vehemently.
Deby explains how it is for a local, how when you don’t earn in another international currency and the multiplier effects of exchange rates how difficult it is to live here. She gives us a small overview of the world and industry of tango also taking us on a discovery of the cultural differences in the way men and women interact compared with her home country of the US.
Several days after this recording we meet again at a milonga where we spent a few lovely hours together with friends. I look forward to returning to Buenos Aires again one day and this time with more time and experience on the dance floor I look forward to having a real tango with her.
Today we talk with Eric, a local Argentine, born and breed in Buenos Aires, about his journey and frustrations of feeling that he was independent in his thoughts on how to live a good life and how by chance he came across Dr Ron Paul during the 2007 US Republican Presidential Campaign. Discovering that his ideals and beliefs resonate with others and that there are opportunities to share these opinions. Motivated by what Dr Paul was doing Eric established a Spanish Version of the Ron Paul web site to help facilitate his message and to help expand the concepts that he lives by. Eric and I discuss how he came to develop these ideals, the importance of thinking for ones self and his motivation for the site.
We also chat briefly about life in Argentina, the potential that has been missed in this once great country and the current personality of the culture, just one day before Independence Day on 9th July.
While sitting in the airport waiting to head back to my home in Australia I thought that it was time to share my thoughts on my time in Buenos Aires, it’s time for a wrap up on my visit. So I pulled out my Zoom H4 here they are, additional to the last Your Story Addendum where I sat down with my friends to give you an overview.
I also mention that I spent some time the night before with some Libertarians who mentioned some interesting political points. I would have loved to have recorded some of these conversations but alas it’s not possible on this trip and hopefully by staying in touch with them through some of their online systems, when I return I will have the opportunity to share some political stories and history of this once and maybe future great country.
I decided to sit down and have a brief discussion with a few of my friends of our appreciation of Buenos Aires, now that we have been here a few weeks and it’s time for a few of us to start heading home.
What is Buenos Aires, and how do we appreciate it from an outside view, without the cultural understanding of the people who live here. We chat casually about the character of the people, the shopping, the food and how it would be for someone similar to us visiting here.
We recorded this on the roof of the house that we are staying in and in amongst the conversation there is the din of the city in the back ground, the sound that is impossible to avoid and a constant curse to find somewhere quiet.
Shops, Shops, Shops.
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Yanqui Mike, as he is known here in Buenos Aires now lives a life of duality as a migrant from the US to Argentina. From a corporate career in transport logistics in the US, living in the Mid West and Chicago, Mike has learnt and now continues his wife’s family heritage as a rancher in Argentina.
Over a few beers (and many more later) we chatted about what brought him here and what keeps him living a country life on the Campo and a cosmopolitan, cafe life in the heart of Buenos Aires. His love for the people and culture and why he is happy to stay in Argentina and not to return to the United States of America.
Contrasting his love for Argentina, Mike is heavily involved in the US ex-pat community having started Democrats Abroad in Argentina and takes great pride in being involved, in his small way towards the election of Barack Obama, involving the US citizens here, with the aptly named Drinking Liberally.
While walking through La Boca in Buenos Aires with Bernard and Heather we had one of those experiences of travel where an opportunity grabs you, that insists that you experience something unique.
We were checking out the numerous market stalls and engaging with the roving cafes and restaurant hawkers who constantly encourage us to come inside for a coffee, meal or whiskey. Anytime we stop to watch the street side tango displays in front of the businesses designed to slow our movement, they were on to us.
Then ferreting our way down a quiet lane to see what we may find, where few people lingered we heard the sound of the traditional tango music played on a Bandoneon by a single busker in the window of a store.
We all agreed that it made us feel like dancing so Bernard and Heather put down their goods, embraced each other and on impulse danced street tango. Nothing flash, without the show and pizzazz that was all around us in the main street, but in the style of two people connected in the moment, carried off with the music.
I whipped out my phone and grabbed this video of them. A moment that the three of us will cherish, along with the 20 something crowd that stopped to see the true essence of tango. Spontaneous, carefree and uniquely Buenos Aires.
As part of this trip that I’m on here to Buenos Aires and as part of getting into the whole tango scene we went last night to the Carlos Gardel Tango Show.
Carlos Gardel is the Tango hero of Argentina, with his beautiful baritone voice and matinee idol good looks he rose to fame in the 1920’s before dying in an aircraft accident in 1935. He was the Elvis of the tango scene and like Elvis even though he is dead the legend continues to live and grow, maybe even more than when he was alive.
Due to the idol status of Carlos Gardel there are images of him everywhere with themes and memes that permeate so much of the tango and Argentine culture. Including in the cultural theming is the show we went to, and what a show it was.
The venue is a brilliant purpose building with a huge stage and dinner seating on three levels for 500. The quality from the entrance to exit of everything from decor to meals to show were perfect in every respect. The staff were stunningly efficient at insuring our wine and water never stopped with a quality restaurant meal that would shame most high end establishments.
During the meal a film showing the history of Tango and Gardels roll in it was screened before the live performance that transitioned from the older traditional tango towards the modern styles now being developed. The quality of the performances took our breath away which has to be seen to be realised but I did manage to find this clip to give you a bit of an idea of the standard.
Yesterday I had the good fortune to have my first lesson with Pablo Nievas and Valeria Zunion. I’ve heard, over the last couple of years a great deal about this professional couple and their amazing tango skills but until now I hadn’t had a chance to take a lesson with them despite the fact that they have been to Australia on several occasions.
After 90 minutes of learning this sequence I have only the rudiments of the sequence but with some practice I look forward to reinforcing it and eventually developing the skills to feel comfortable with it.
This little video is what we recorded as a take away to remind us of the sequence to add to the knowledge that they gave us. It’s actually quite difficult to remember the sequence and it’s a huge help to have this resource.
The grace and ease in which they move is a far cry from where mortals like I live but being in their company give others the chance to learn from the masters of this dance form. Check out their site from the link above.
Your Story A Podcast Series where everyday people like you, tell us about their lives. Sometimes challenging, sometimes amusing but always interesting. It\’s Their Story, it\’s Your Story.
came across Dr Ron Paul during the 2007 US Republican Presidential Campaign. Discovering that his ideals and beliefs resonate with others and that there are opportunities to share these opinions. Motivated by what Dr Paul was doing Eric established a 
one of those experiences of travel where an opportunity grabs you, that insists that you experience something unique.
We all agreed that it made us feel like dancing so Bernard and Heather put down their goods, embraced each other and on impulse danced street tango. Nothing flash, without the show and pizzazz that was all around us in the main street, but in the style of two people connected in the moment, carried off with the music.
As part of this trip that I’m on here to Buenos Aires and as part of getting into the whole tango scene we went last night to the 
The venue is a brilliant purpose building with a huge stage and dinner seating on three levels for 500. The quality from the entrance to exit of everything from decor to meals to show were perfect in every respect. The staff were stunningly efficient at insuring our wine and water never stopped with a quality restaurant meal that would shame most high end establishments.
