how can we all fall
so hard on our own with this
huge world under foot
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sunday, November 25, 2007
November 25
I know I just wrote a really long post so this won't take long...
I know you probably don't remember me mentioning this over 4 months ago when I first got here... but I was worried about turning cold hearted: cold to the trip, cold to people, just cold. Luckily Katiana talked me out of worrying about it... so I haven't. And these past few weeks have been really fun and enjoyable.
But, people tell me I'm cold. Since I got here Argentines have talked about their perception of Americans and the first thing they say is that they are cold. Well, I conveniently thought they just didn't know any. But now people know me, and they still tell me I'm cold. I think Pablo told me I was cold, partially because I wouldn't have sex with him... but it still hurt a little bit. I thought I was being very friendly and considerate about the whole thing. Then last night... William told me I was cold. William, my close friend... the awkward, hands in pockets, Austrian. He said he thought I had changed since he met me... and that I seemed cold. Then he searched for a different word... and unable to find one returned to cold. I know I don't talk much... I'm self-conscious to almost no end. I keep telling myself and other people I just don't speak Spanish well... I don't want to bore everyone with the tediousness of trying to talk to me. I say I'm shy... nope, it just happened when I wasn't looking... I'm cold. And my heart mourns with the knowledge. I told Lauren the other day that I was wondering what my friends at home would think of me when I go back and don't talk because I got so used to it here... cold.
I know you probably don't remember me mentioning this over 4 months ago when I first got here... but I was worried about turning cold hearted: cold to the trip, cold to people, just cold. Luckily Katiana talked me out of worrying about it... so I haven't. And these past few weeks have been really fun and enjoyable.
But, people tell me I'm cold. Since I got here Argentines have talked about their perception of Americans and the first thing they say is that they are cold. Well, I conveniently thought they just didn't know any. But now people know me, and they still tell me I'm cold. I think Pablo told me I was cold, partially because I wouldn't have sex with him... but it still hurt a little bit. I thought I was being very friendly and considerate about the whole thing. Then last night... William told me I was cold. William, my close friend... the awkward, hands in pockets, Austrian. He said he thought I had changed since he met me... and that I seemed cold. Then he searched for a different word... and unable to find one returned to cold. I know I don't talk much... I'm self-conscious to almost no end. I keep telling myself and other people I just don't speak Spanish well... I don't want to bore everyone with the tediousness of trying to talk to me. I say I'm shy... nope, it just happened when I wasn't looking... I'm cold. And my heart mourns with the knowledge. I told Lauren the other day that I was wondering what my friends at home would think of me when I go back and don't talk because I got so used to it here... cold.
Saturday, November 24, 2007
November 24
There have been a couple things on my mind that I want to share with you... about Porteños... apart from the fact that they don't sleep and eat all the time... (those are exaggerations btw) they have a thing about deodorant. They all carry it around with them. Now this wouldn't be such a bad idea except that when they put it on... they spray it (cause everything comes in aerosol cans down here, and they wonder why the ozone layer is so big...) for a least three seconds under each arm. Apparently on spray won't do. They have to feel it dripping before they are satisfied.
Another thing is Porteños and the zodiac. Almost everyone here has asked me what my zodiac sign is. Apparently it tells them something... though when I ask what it tells them... no one knows. shrug.
On Tuesday night I went to see Lions for Lambs... the Robert Redford movie. It was really... really intense. I didn't want to see it, but I didn't know what we were seeing until the movie started... and from the beginning when the voice of a female news reporter started talking about the war in Iraq I was like oh, I don't want to see this. I knew it would depress me... but what was I going to do. It was actually amazing. Really well put together. And it's amazing that these days people can put out movies like this about something that may be happening TODAY! I recommend seeing it. I think it's important for people to consider the themes it brings up... but beware. Particularly if you have someone you care about over there now.
Wednesday... I was going to sleep... because I hadn't had a more than 6 hours of sleep for almost 2 weeks... but that didn't work out so well. I went to dinner with Lauren and the fabulous Argentines we hang out with. That led to a bar with an angry waitress, lots of sangría, and coral music (because the group I was in are all in the same choir and like to break out into song... I actually love it, it's like living in a musical!) That led to a Milonga to dance chill and dance tango ( I really only danced about three times, the rest was spent judging the other couples and playing a game with Lauren in which when a guy passes the table you have to say whether you would hookup with him or not... it was hilarious) until they kicked us out at 4am. For a while there was a couple of two men dancing tango together. It was fabulous! So... I actually went home that night... 'cause when I go out in Belgrano with Coco... we stay at her house cause it is so far away from everything... but I didn't get there until after 5. And I even went to my spanish class in the morning.
Thursday Lauren and I went for our first waxing experience... and let me tell you: Steve Carell wasn't acting. It hurts like a bitch. Afterwards, Lauren asked me if it hurt more than my tattoo... and I couldn't remember... but I think it probably did, I don't think my tattoo hurt very much at all. Then I went to my tango class and met the parents of one of the other girls in my class who were visiting from N. Carolina. They were very nice and I was in a very enthusiastic and sociable mood for someone so sleep deprived so we talked for awhile. We talked about school and how I'm a junior and have no idea what I want to major in, much less do after I graduate. If I graduate. She said a couple things like "you might as well have fun, because then you have to get a job and that's the rest of your life..." and "that's what we told our daughter too, you have four years and then you are on your own..." First of all... my job will NEVER be the REST OF MY LIFE. I read something about Porteños before I came down here: Americans live to work, Porteños work to live. And it's true! But for me, I'm neither. I want work to be a part of my life that I enjoy and am proud of... but it will never be all of my life at any one point. Neither will I probably work in one place for the rest of my life... THE REST OF MY LIFE... no. Now is the only life I have. And the now that is my life will never be DEFINED by my job. About the second quote. It made me think of a conversation I'd had with my Pakistani friend about the difference between family in Pakistan and U.S. I had been talking about trying to get out of school because it cost so much and I didn't want to be in debt. He'd been surprised by this. He asked if my parents weren't supporting me. I said no... I've always felt extremely supported by my parents. But in the U.S. it's not common for parents to pay for all their children's school and doings after they graduate from high school. He was surprised and said... it's their duty to support their children in whatever until they grow up and start supporting them. Well, needless to say, this is not the way in the U.S. Some people are financially abandoned when they turn 18. I consider myself very fortunate for the support that I get from my parents... and I don't think that my parents will abandon me completely after four years of college like Kelly's mom was talking about. I don't know. I know it's a lot of money, but... shrug. One of these days I will start supporting myself I promise. But I hope that my parents aren't waiting for May of the fourth year to pull the plug and say nope... it's my money... all mine!!! I don't know... i guess I just don't view money as THAT important. You may think that naive... but like I said... my life will not be defined by work... and neither will it be defined by money. I'll do what I can do... and that will be enough. John Lennon was brilliant.
Later that night... I guess that was Thanksgiving... I went to a small dinner party graciously provided by a girl in the program. She and her host mom had cooked chicken (they don't really have turkey here) mashed potatoes, really good stuffing, and apple pie in a small celebration of Thanksgiving. It was very nice and delicious. Then Lauren and I (I love that after only four hours of not seeing each other we have so many things to talk about) were going to walk to our perspective buses, but noticed an odd man kindof following us, so we doubled back a few times and kept crossing to the opposite side of the street when he crossed in our direction. So I invited Lauren to come to my house so we didn't have to wait for any buses alone. The next morning was the wedding of two of my roommates: the cook (28 years old) and the rock star (30). The guests started to show at about 8:30 am. There was cooking and preparation until noon when we walked in procession about 10 blocks to the civil union center, or whatever you call them, and we all crowded into a small room where the man behind the desk with the big book read some things about the law and marriage. Then they kissed and signed the paper. Then we waited outside for them and threw rice on them. Back at the house we waited until they showed up to start eating all the different kinds of empanadas, salad and fruit. Then there was chorizo (sausage) and asado (like steak). Then there was of course cake. 4 different kinds. All with Dulce de Leche in them. At that point I was about to burst. Good thing it was all spread out over some 4 hours. Then I went to my dance class... stupid and full. My teacher advised me that she was going to give me a 5 in the class which is about equivilent to a D+. I was annoyed and frustrated as I thought I had been doing quite well for someone who had never studied Martha Graham modern dance before. Sigh. I've never gotten so many poor grades in my life before, and I don't like it. Then I went back to the party where an Argentine man attached himself to me. He'd just spent 10 years in various places in the states and spoke okay English. It was probably very inhibited by the fact that he'd been drinking beer almost continually since 12:30 that morning. It was very annoying that he wouldn't stop speaking to me in English and that he wouldn't stop trying to get me to go places with him. It was very awkward. Finally he disappeared and I went to bed. The party actually ended at about Midnight... very early for Argentines... but I was very greatful. Last night was the first time in a long time in which I slept as much as I wanted... apparently 12 hours. yay!
Hope you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for you all in my life! I miss you. I love you!
Another thing is Porteños and the zodiac. Almost everyone here has asked me what my zodiac sign is. Apparently it tells them something... though when I ask what it tells them... no one knows. shrug.
On Tuesday night I went to see Lions for Lambs... the Robert Redford movie. It was really... really intense. I didn't want to see it, but I didn't know what we were seeing until the movie started... and from the beginning when the voice of a female news reporter started talking about the war in Iraq I was like oh, I don't want to see this. I knew it would depress me... but what was I going to do. It was actually amazing. Really well put together. And it's amazing that these days people can put out movies like this about something that may be happening TODAY! I recommend seeing it. I think it's important for people to consider the themes it brings up... but beware. Particularly if you have someone you care about over there now.
Wednesday... I was going to sleep... because I hadn't had a more than 6 hours of sleep for almost 2 weeks... but that didn't work out so well. I went to dinner with Lauren and the fabulous Argentines we hang out with. That led to a bar with an angry waitress, lots of sangría, and coral music (because the group I was in are all in the same choir and like to break out into song... I actually love it, it's like living in a musical!) That led to a Milonga to dance chill and dance tango ( I really only danced about three times, the rest was spent judging the other couples and playing a game with Lauren in which when a guy passes the table you have to say whether you would hookup with him or not... it was hilarious) until they kicked us out at 4am. For a while there was a couple of two men dancing tango together. It was fabulous! So... I actually went home that night... 'cause when I go out in Belgrano with Coco... we stay at her house cause it is so far away from everything... but I didn't get there until after 5. And I even went to my spanish class in the morning.
Thursday Lauren and I went for our first waxing experience... and let me tell you: Steve Carell wasn't acting. It hurts like a bitch. Afterwards, Lauren asked me if it hurt more than my tattoo... and I couldn't remember... but I think it probably did, I don't think my tattoo hurt very much at all. Then I went to my tango class and met the parents of one of the other girls in my class who were visiting from N. Carolina. They were very nice and I was in a very enthusiastic and sociable mood for someone so sleep deprived so we talked for awhile. We talked about school and how I'm a junior and have no idea what I want to major in, much less do after I graduate. If I graduate. She said a couple things like "you might as well have fun, because then you have to get a job and that's the rest of your life..." and "that's what we told our daughter too, you have four years and then you are on your own..." First of all... my job will NEVER be the REST OF MY LIFE. I read something about Porteños before I came down here: Americans live to work, Porteños work to live. And it's true! But for me, I'm neither. I want work to be a part of my life that I enjoy and am proud of... but it will never be all of my life at any one point. Neither will I probably work in one place for the rest of my life... THE REST OF MY LIFE... no. Now is the only life I have. And the now that is my life will never be DEFINED by my job. About the second quote. It made me think of a conversation I'd had with my Pakistani friend about the difference between family in Pakistan and U.S. I had been talking about trying to get out of school because it cost so much and I didn't want to be in debt. He'd been surprised by this. He asked if my parents weren't supporting me. I said no... I've always felt extremely supported by my parents. But in the U.S. it's not common for parents to pay for all their children's school and doings after they graduate from high school. He was surprised and said... it's their duty to support their children in whatever until they grow up and start supporting them. Well, needless to say, this is not the way in the U.S. Some people are financially abandoned when they turn 18. I consider myself very fortunate for the support that I get from my parents... and I don't think that my parents will abandon me completely after four years of college like Kelly's mom was talking about. I don't know. I know it's a lot of money, but... shrug. One of these days I will start supporting myself I promise. But I hope that my parents aren't waiting for May of the fourth year to pull the plug and say nope... it's my money... all mine!!! I don't know... i guess I just don't view money as THAT important. You may think that naive... but like I said... my life will not be defined by work... and neither will it be defined by money. I'll do what I can do... and that will be enough. John Lennon was brilliant.
Later that night... I guess that was Thanksgiving... I went to a small dinner party graciously provided by a girl in the program. She and her host mom had cooked chicken (they don't really have turkey here) mashed potatoes, really good stuffing, and apple pie in a small celebration of Thanksgiving. It was very nice and delicious. Then Lauren and I (I love that after only four hours of not seeing each other we have so many things to talk about) were going to walk to our perspective buses, but noticed an odd man kindof following us, so we doubled back a few times and kept crossing to the opposite side of the street when he crossed in our direction. So I invited Lauren to come to my house so we didn't have to wait for any buses alone. The next morning was the wedding of two of my roommates: the cook (28 years old) and the rock star (30). The guests started to show at about 8:30 am. There was cooking and preparation until noon when we walked in procession about 10 blocks to the civil union center, or whatever you call them, and we all crowded into a small room where the man behind the desk with the big book read some things about the law and marriage. Then they kissed and signed the paper. Then we waited outside for them and threw rice on them. Back at the house we waited until they showed up to start eating all the different kinds of empanadas, salad and fruit. Then there was chorizo (sausage) and asado (like steak). Then there was of course cake. 4 different kinds. All with Dulce de Leche in them. At that point I was about to burst. Good thing it was all spread out over some 4 hours. Then I went to my dance class... stupid and full. My teacher advised me that she was going to give me a 5 in the class which is about equivilent to a D+. I was annoyed and frustrated as I thought I had been doing quite well for someone who had never studied Martha Graham modern dance before. Sigh. I've never gotten so many poor grades in my life before, and I don't like it. Then I went back to the party where an Argentine man attached himself to me. He'd just spent 10 years in various places in the states and spoke okay English. It was probably very inhibited by the fact that he'd been drinking beer almost continually since 12:30 that morning. It was very annoying that he wouldn't stop speaking to me in English and that he wouldn't stop trying to get me to go places with him. It was very awkward. Finally he disappeared and I went to bed. The party actually ended at about Midnight... very early for Argentines... but I was very greatful. Last night was the first time in a long time in which I slept as much as I wanted... apparently 12 hours. yay!
Hope you all had a beautiful Thanksgiving. I'm thankful for you all in my life! I miss you. I love you!
Monday, November 19, 2007
November 19
Wow... over a week. Again.
The craziness continued this week... though really a lot more of the same stuff. Lots of food and friends and late nights. At least last night we fell asleep on the floor for a couple hours. :D
The most exciting thing that's really happened is that ROYCE HAS A TICKET TO ARGENTINA AND IS COMING HERE IN 2 1/2 WEEKS!!!!!!
So there's that.
I can't remember what I did on Saturday. OH yeah, we went to a Tango concert of a friend. He plays piano... and very well I must say. Then we (Me, Lauren, and Coco) walked around all night finding food and buses and argentine folk music and dance. I sucked at it, but hey, i'd never done it before.
On Sunday I went over to visit my friend from Pakistan. He graciously fed me again (YAY!!!) and we spent the afternoon talking, philosophizing, and sharing stories. It was great! After I spent a frustrating hour and a half trying to catch a bus to a free comedy concert. I couldn't get on a bus because they were all full of people who were also going to the concert. But I got there eventually. I actually understood a little bit of it! I met up with some friends (American and Argentine) after and we went to Coco's house to party until the wee hours of the morning... luckily this time no one took their pants off. Then we all just fell asleep on the floor until Coco's mom called at 8:30 and we decided to make our way home. But needless to say, I'm tired. I don't know... it was a good week and I feel like I'm always learning a lot... but I am not as adept as Katiana at putting it into words... I still feel like conversation and honesty will get you everywhere. It's nice to have friends.
In other news... on the way home in the bus I witnessed a car run into a motorcycle. The bike was pretty bent up but the two guys who were on it jumped off and started yelling at the driver of the car so I think everyone's okay.
The craziness continued this week... though really a lot more of the same stuff. Lots of food and friends and late nights. At least last night we fell asleep on the floor for a couple hours. :D
The most exciting thing that's really happened is that ROYCE HAS A TICKET TO ARGENTINA AND IS COMING HERE IN 2 1/2 WEEKS!!!!!!
So there's that.
I can't remember what I did on Saturday. OH yeah, we went to a Tango concert of a friend. He plays piano... and very well I must say. Then we (Me, Lauren, and Coco) walked around all night finding food and buses and argentine folk music and dance. I sucked at it, but hey, i'd never done it before.
On Sunday I went over to visit my friend from Pakistan. He graciously fed me again (YAY!!!) and we spent the afternoon talking, philosophizing, and sharing stories. It was great! After I spent a frustrating hour and a half trying to catch a bus to a free comedy concert. I couldn't get on a bus because they were all full of people who were also going to the concert. But I got there eventually. I actually understood a little bit of it! I met up with some friends (American and Argentine) after and we went to Coco's house to party until the wee hours of the morning... luckily this time no one took their pants off. Then we all just fell asleep on the floor until Coco's mom called at 8:30 and we decided to make our way home. But needless to say, I'm tired. I don't know... it was a good week and I feel like I'm always learning a lot... but I am not as adept as Katiana at putting it into words... I still feel like conversation and honesty will get you everywhere. It's nice to have friends.
In other news... on the way home in the bus I witnessed a car run into a motorcycle. The bike was pretty bent up but the two guys who were on it jumped off and started yelling at the driver of the car so I think everyone's okay.
Sunday, November 11, 2007
November 11
I think I may actually be insane.
So the tally is now five nights in a row that I have gone out. I need sleep.
This is a warning for those of you who don't want to know... I talk about sex in this blog.
So, Lauren told me there was a party on Friday night. Yay! As of then I had not been to an Argentine house party. So of course I went. We got there at about 1ish. It was a tiny apartment with a bathroom and tiny kitchen, and the bed was on the floor in the living room where everyone was sitting. Luckily there was also a balcony with a fair view. It was someone's birthday, i didn't know her. We all sat around drinking wine and beer and talking. It was very much like any party. But the atmosphere was chill and the people were fun. There were a bunch of streamers hanging straight down from the ceiling, but oddly enough they never seemed to be in the way. And there were a bunch of bottle of bubble stuff, so I ended up blowing bubbles for a good portion of the night. Coco is a friend of Lauren's and she's the one who invited us. She's adorable. She's one of those people that EVERYONE is in love with. She's really outgoing and just great. Anyway, She also doesn't speak English so when we want to hang out with her we speak Spanish, which is great. She and I made some make shift Sangria with the fruit in the fridge. It turned out to be pretty spectacular. The birthday girl, Gaby, spent some time studying at CU in Boulder and we were impressed by her Skippy peanut butter, and she even gave us some Big Red gum... it was amazing. Argentine gum is odd. Anyway, we ended up staying there until almost everyone else left and it was just Coco, Pablo and Emmanuel (Argentine guys), Gaby, and Lauren and Me. At that point... and no one knows why... the guys decided it was time to take their pants off... so they were running around in their boxer-briefs for a while. Yes, Lauren has pictures on Facebook. Eventually we talked them into putting them back on... but then they wanted to play some form of Argentine strip poker, to which we turned them down. We did play a rather illuminating game of Never Have I Ever in which we had a list of things (almost exclusively sexual in nature) to which you may have never done. If you have done it, you have to drink. This was basically the most culturally illuminating experience I've had here, as up until then, things seemed pretty normal to me. But in the world of sex, Argentines are very different from Americans. I consider myself to be pretty open about the subject and generally comfortable with my sexuality. But compared to Argentines I'm a prude. In this culture, sex is something like eating. No one is embarrassed about it and everyone talks about it in detail to those little more than acquaintances. The most surprising thing to me is how lightly everyone treats it. No one seems to bothered by the concerns I have about STDs and getting pregnant. I found out most of the Argentines have done things like had sex with more than 3 people in one night (that's separately mind you). And not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's just so weird to me coming from a country that politely ignores that people have sex. Unless they are gay of course, because then they are obviously have sex and that's against the law. oh wait, that's a different subject I don't want to get into here. After Never Have I Ever, they played some kind of kissing game that got increasingly more... exciting?dangerous? We finally left when two of the Argentines actually just started having sex on the floor. And as is was a one room apartment, we decided it was time to leave. At least is was her apartment. And it was her birthday, she deserved it I guess. :D
Anyway, we didn't leave until 7:30 ish... then we walked a couple blocks to Coco's house to make french toast. But none of the grocery stores were open yet so we just had instant coffee and crackers. After I went to Laurens house where we made french toast with apple bread (amazing) and chilled for a while. I finally went home at about 1. It was so cute when I got on the subte. I know I looked tired because everyone kept making room for me to sit down and offering me seats and stuff. They are so sweet these Argentines. lol. I also bought something from the people selling stuff in the train for the first time. I bought highlighters. lol. I needed some. shrug. I got home and crashed for about 4 hours. It was the first time in my life (i think) that I'd been up for over 24 hours without napping... and not having been on a plane. I talked to Royce all afternoon and went to be around 10:30.
I was awoken an hour later by Lauren who was calling to see if I wanted to go out and sing karaoke. ummm... i'm asleep. So I told her I would think about it and if I called her back I was coming, and if not, I was asleep. So I rolled over and closed my eyes and thought, "I just want to sleep, I have so much homework tomorrow, but then again I decided last week that the one thing I was definitely not going to regret about this semester is not having spent enough time studying... besides, I can sleep when I'm dead right?" So my eyes popped open and I got out of bed and went out to Karaoke. That is SO not like me. We got there at one... and saw the end of a really fun blues band. Lauren and I were the only ones there as Coco hadn't left her house yet. After a while Coco's other friends who I didn't know, but apparently Lauren had met before, showed up. It was really fun. I didn't sing. But the friend who's birthday it was sang and it was amazing and fun. Lauren sang a Coldplay song in English. I was impressed. I got home again after 4:30 and this time went to bed in earnest. I didn't get up until 2:30 this afternoon. horrible. Anyway, I still haven't studied, nor have I seen all the friends I wanted to see this weekend... but I am apparently a party animal... lol. go figure.
on another note, Lauren pointed out to me that if I drop my International Studies Major and just do Philosophy, I can graduate on time. And now I'm thinking about it. Who wants to take 5 economics classes anyway...
So the tally is now five nights in a row that I have gone out. I need sleep.
This is a warning for those of you who don't want to know... I talk about sex in this blog.
So, Lauren told me there was a party on Friday night. Yay! As of then I had not been to an Argentine house party. So of course I went. We got there at about 1ish. It was a tiny apartment with a bathroom and tiny kitchen, and the bed was on the floor in the living room where everyone was sitting. Luckily there was also a balcony with a fair view. It was someone's birthday, i didn't know her. We all sat around drinking wine and beer and talking. It was very much like any party. But the atmosphere was chill and the people were fun. There were a bunch of streamers hanging straight down from the ceiling, but oddly enough they never seemed to be in the way. And there were a bunch of bottle of bubble stuff, so I ended up blowing bubbles for a good portion of the night. Coco is a friend of Lauren's and she's the one who invited us. She's adorable. She's one of those people that EVERYONE is in love with. She's really outgoing and just great. Anyway, She also doesn't speak English so when we want to hang out with her we speak Spanish, which is great. She and I made some make shift Sangria with the fruit in the fridge. It turned out to be pretty spectacular. The birthday girl, Gaby, spent some time studying at CU in Boulder and we were impressed by her Skippy peanut butter, and she even gave us some Big Red gum... it was amazing. Argentine gum is odd. Anyway, we ended up staying there until almost everyone else left and it was just Coco, Pablo and Emmanuel (Argentine guys), Gaby, and Lauren and Me. At that point... and no one knows why... the guys decided it was time to take their pants off... so they were running around in their boxer-briefs for a while. Yes, Lauren has pictures on Facebook. Eventually we talked them into putting them back on... but then they wanted to play some form of Argentine strip poker, to which we turned them down. We did play a rather illuminating game of Never Have I Ever in which we had a list of things (almost exclusively sexual in nature) to which you may have never done. If you have done it, you have to drink. This was basically the most culturally illuminating experience I've had here, as up until then, things seemed pretty normal to me. But in the world of sex, Argentines are very different from Americans. I consider myself to be pretty open about the subject and generally comfortable with my sexuality. But compared to Argentines I'm a prude. In this culture, sex is something like eating. No one is embarrassed about it and everyone talks about it in detail to those little more than acquaintances. The most surprising thing to me is how lightly everyone treats it. No one seems to bothered by the concerns I have about STDs and getting pregnant. I found out most of the Argentines have done things like had sex with more than 3 people in one night (that's separately mind you). And not that there's anything wrong with that, but it's just so weird to me coming from a country that politely ignores that people have sex. Unless they are gay of course, because then they are obviously have sex and that's against the law. oh wait, that's a different subject I don't want to get into here. After Never Have I Ever, they played some kind of kissing game that got increasingly more... exciting?dangerous? We finally left when two of the Argentines actually just started having sex on the floor. And as is was a one room apartment, we decided it was time to leave. At least is was her apartment. And it was her birthday, she deserved it I guess. :D
Anyway, we didn't leave until 7:30 ish... then we walked a couple blocks to Coco's house to make french toast. But none of the grocery stores were open yet so we just had instant coffee and crackers. After I went to Laurens house where we made french toast with apple bread (amazing) and chilled for a while. I finally went home at about 1. It was so cute when I got on the subte. I know I looked tired because everyone kept making room for me to sit down and offering me seats and stuff. They are so sweet these Argentines. lol. I also bought something from the people selling stuff in the train for the first time. I bought highlighters. lol. I needed some. shrug. I got home and crashed for about 4 hours. It was the first time in my life (i think) that I'd been up for over 24 hours without napping... and not having been on a plane. I talked to Royce all afternoon and went to be around 10:30.
I was awoken an hour later by Lauren who was calling to see if I wanted to go out and sing karaoke. ummm... i'm asleep. So I told her I would think about it and if I called her back I was coming, and if not, I was asleep. So I rolled over and closed my eyes and thought, "I just want to sleep, I have so much homework tomorrow, but then again I decided last week that the one thing I was definitely not going to regret about this semester is not having spent enough time studying... besides, I can sleep when I'm dead right?" So my eyes popped open and I got out of bed and went out to Karaoke. That is SO not like me. We got there at one... and saw the end of a really fun blues band. Lauren and I were the only ones there as Coco hadn't left her house yet. After a while Coco's other friends who I didn't know, but apparently Lauren had met before, showed up. It was really fun. I didn't sing. But the friend who's birthday it was sang and it was amazing and fun. Lauren sang a Coldplay song in English. I was impressed. I got home again after 4:30 and this time went to bed in earnest. I didn't get up until 2:30 this afternoon. horrible. Anyway, I still haven't studied, nor have I seen all the friends I wanted to see this weekend... but I am apparently a party animal... lol. go figure.
on another note, Lauren pointed out to me that if I drop my International Studies Major and just do Philosophy, I can graduate on time. And now I'm thinking about it. Who wants to take 5 economics classes anyway...
Friday, November 9, 2007
November 9
I cannot believe that I haven't written in here in over a week. I've been so busy I could barely check my email. Good for me huh?!
Lauren introduced me to Jem and Sia! YAY! They are bands...
Actually up until Tuesday I hadn't written anything because I didn't have anything too interesting to say. I went to a Halloween party last Friday. It was fun, but it wasn't a very Argentine thing to do. And my costume pretty much sucked so, shrug. Saturday my roommates had another loud, live music party in our living room... through which I slept because I hadn't had much sleep the night before. Sunday, Lauren and I continued our tradition of sitting around, drinking mate, eating lots of food, and pretending to do homework. Monday morning we got up and had some really yummy oatmeal with maple syrup and then, inspired, I made french toast before dragging myself off to class. Later I did some homework.
Tuesday is when things started to get interesting. Lauren helped me skip tango again (turns out I'm getting bored with it), and we went leather shopping and ate ice cream! Then we went to her house to think of something to do... it was like, "um, this is lame. We are in Buenos Aires and we can't think of anything to do..." so I looked for some activities on the internet and we ran across an advertisement for the opera Madame Butterfly. So at 7:30 we decided to go to an Opera that started at 8:30. Lauren loaned me a cute black dress and some really fun light pink heels and we headed to the opera. We each paid 10 pesos for standing room tickets and entered the hall to my first professional opera experience. Luckily there weren't very many people there so we got to sit down anyway. It was fun! I think the most fun thing for me was that we could spontaneously decide to just go watch an opera. After it was over we walked to a pizza place and had some pizza and chocolate cake. We were rather starving as we had neglected to eat dinner. Then we tried to find a bus for a while before giving up and taking a cab. I slept at Lauren's house so I wouldn't have to pay for a cab. Wednesday I got up early to go home and change before my Spanish class. Then following the spending money theme of the week, Lauren and I went to lunch. After my dance class at 9 pm Lauren sent me a text that they were going to a tango club. So, of course I couldn't miss that. I quickly changed my close and returned to her house from which we walked to the house of a friend of a friend (raised eyebrow) and chatted for a couple hours in intermixed Spanish-English... not quite Spanglish... just in whatever language we felt like saying any one sentence. Then we went to the tango club and watched and danced tango for the night. It was quite fun I must say. I know I just said I was bored with Tango but what I really meant is that I am bored with the class. Anyway, I managed to get home around 5... a good 4 hours of sleep before I had to get up and go to the other side of town to finalize my student visa. Then for dinner I went out with some other friends from FLACSO to a Japanese food restaurant. We spoke mostly Spanish all night as one of the girls brought her friend from Colombia who doesn't really speak English. It was pretty good sushi despite the lack of flavor in the salmon. But it was fairly expensive. Oh, well.
It sounds less exciting on paper (or screen...), but Lauren and I are very proud of ourselves... going out three nights in a row... wow. lol. Anyway. I'm glad I'm finally taking advantage of being here. Now if only I can pass my international relations class... I'll be perfect! -ish.
Lauren introduced me to Jem and Sia! YAY! They are bands...
Actually up until Tuesday I hadn't written anything because I didn't have anything too interesting to say. I went to a Halloween party last Friday. It was fun, but it wasn't a very Argentine thing to do. And my costume pretty much sucked so, shrug. Saturday my roommates had another loud, live music party in our living room... through which I slept because I hadn't had much sleep the night before. Sunday, Lauren and I continued our tradition of sitting around, drinking mate, eating lots of food, and pretending to do homework. Monday morning we got up and had some really yummy oatmeal with maple syrup and then, inspired, I made french toast before dragging myself off to class. Later I did some homework.
Tuesday is when things started to get interesting. Lauren helped me skip tango again (turns out I'm getting bored with it), and we went leather shopping and ate ice cream! Then we went to her house to think of something to do... it was like, "um, this is lame. We are in Buenos Aires and we can't think of anything to do..." so I looked for some activities on the internet and we ran across an advertisement for the opera Madame Butterfly. So at 7:30 we decided to go to an Opera that started at 8:30. Lauren loaned me a cute black dress and some really fun light pink heels and we headed to the opera. We each paid 10 pesos for standing room tickets and entered the hall to my first professional opera experience. Luckily there weren't very many people there so we got to sit down anyway. It was fun! I think the most fun thing for me was that we could spontaneously decide to just go watch an opera. After it was over we walked to a pizza place and had some pizza and chocolate cake. We were rather starving as we had neglected to eat dinner. Then we tried to find a bus for a while before giving up and taking a cab. I slept at Lauren's house so I wouldn't have to pay for a cab. Wednesday I got up early to go home and change before my Spanish class. Then following the spending money theme of the week, Lauren and I went to lunch. After my dance class at 9 pm Lauren sent me a text that they were going to a tango club. So, of course I couldn't miss that. I quickly changed my close and returned to her house from which we walked to the house of a friend of a friend (raised eyebrow) and chatted for a couple hours in intermixed Spanish-English... not quite Spanglish... just in whatever language we felt like saying any one sentence. Then we went to the tango club and watched and danced tango for the night. It was quite fun I must say. I know I just said I was bored with Tango but what I really meant is that I am bored with the class. Anyway, I managed to get home around 5... a good 4 hours of sleep before I had to get up and go to the other side of town to finalize my student visa. Then for dinner I went out with some other friends from FLACSO to a Japanese food restaurant. We spoke mostly Spanish all night as one of the girls brought her friend from Colombia who doesn't really speak English. It was pretty good sushi despite the lack of flavor in the salmon. But it was fairly expensive. Oh, well.
It sounds less exciting on paper (or screen...), but Lauren and I are very proud of ourselves... going out three nights in a row... wow. lol. Anyway. I'm glad I'm finally taking advantage of being here. Now if only I can pass my international relations class... I'll be perfect! -ish.
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