There I was- politely sipping my
Fernet & Coke, eating my weight in mediocre potato chips, and attempting to conceal my general confusion by laughing along to someone's animated story. "I should probably stay in and work on my essay," I had told my host mom when she asked me if I planned to accept my invitation to her son's housewarming party that night. She chuckled when I immediately inquired if she and her husband would be going as well, "¡No no es para
los jóvenes!" Then, "¡Una
horita, no más!" she added convincingly. So off I went, accompanied by my Colombian housemate Alejandra, to a
fiesta that proved to be quite
inolvidable.
My thirty-something host brother had assured me that it would be a low-key night, which it was until Ale and the other Colombians in attendance decided that the only thing missing was some serious salsa dancing. They put on a YouTube
video and started moving their bodies in ways that rivaled the cast of
SYTYCD. "This is great!" I thought with relief, "Everyone will turn their attention to the dancers and I can continue nomming on chips without having to socialize too much!" But before I knew it I was dragged onto the living room "dance floor" to
bailar with them. Though my clumsy attempt at salsa was far from my
Step Up fantasies, my new friends very graciously abstained from laughing (too much) at my inability to circle my hips correctly, and I had a new tutor for every song. (And oh yeah, the hour my host mom had promised transformed into like three...)
Although I can safely say that it was simultaneously the most humiliating/uncomfortable/hilarious experience I've had so far this semester, I have to admit that I'm proud of myself for leaving the comfort of my room that Friday night and semi-successfully interacting with a room full of strangers. Not to mention the fact that they came to the consensus that my dancing wasn't all that bad for a
gringa!
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After almost 2 months (
¡¿cómo es posible?!) I really feel accustomed to life here. I'm used to dogs without leashes and their poop on the sidewalks. I hardly even notice the comments from men as I walk by (though I do find it comical that I tend to receive the most compliments when I look the most unattractive). It doesn't surprise or even bother me when I show up to class and it's been canceled without notice. It doesn't seem weird that people smoke in the hallways of the university. I realize that a waiter will not acknowledge my existence in the time between bringing me my food and when I request the check (which involves signaling wildly with my arms to get his attention). I know I'll probably never allow enough time for traveling from one place to another, and I've accepted that the
colectivo is almost always the most unreliable at the most inconvenient times. Though each of these things annoyed me at one point, I'm learning to embrace the
porteño lifestyle and approach my days with a more go-with-the-flow attitude.
Además, I think I'm about to surpass the longest amount of time I've ever gone without seeing a single member of my family (hint hint come visit me), but I'm grateful to have a routine that gives my days just enough consistency to feel settled. From my daily breakfast of frosted flakes with
yogur liquido and café con leche, to my slow-paced planning and fast-paced teaching periods at Centro Conviven, to Sunday night pizza dinners/game show watching with my host family, there's the perfect amount of predictability/stability in my life.
BUT (as very evident in my salsa story) that's not to say I'm not having new/exciting/sometimes scary adventures! Two weekends ago our group traveled to the beautiful city of Mendoza. After a 16 hour bus ride we dropped our bags at the hostel and went straight to a bike tour of the vineyards. Though the gravely (Creeper-Trail-like) road we rode along between
bodegas made for a slightly painful journey, the wine samples once we arrived at each stop more than made up for it!
Later that day we went on a city tour. At one point we ascended a hill with a monument and to
my horror our surprise encountered a monkey that had escaped from the zoo, who proceeded to approach our group and snatch the banana out of my friend Shweta's hand. So yeah that was
terrifying (maybe just for me personally, but I mean how is it OK that animals are escaping from the zoo and running wild through the city and attacking tourists?!) cool! The following day we went trekking, which basically means hiking but there's no path/the incline is really steep/it's hard to breathe/your legs burn/etc. Contrary to popular belief, I am not necessarily the outdoorsy type (I had you all fooled, right?!), so this was a struggle but not altogether unpleasant. That is, until the descent. The slippery rocks/lack of path/light rain meant I more or less fell down the mountain, so by the time we got to the rappel portion I wasn't even daunted. After that we spent the afternoon eating and relaxing in the thermal pools (natural hot tubs); this was obviously my preferred vacation scene.
Unfortunately I fell ill the next day, so I had to take it easy the rest of the trip (though it was challenging to convince the haters [mom] that my sickness was not a scheme to avoid the rafting excursion). Having survived the bus ride back despite extreme stomach issues, I can now say that the trip was
un éxito overall
.
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| Which of these things does not belong? |
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| Yep folks, that's yours truly on the right. |
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Despite spending hours on my first academic evaluation of the semester (essays about Cristobal Colón and Bernal Díaz del Castillo-- woo hoo!), this past weekend had its fair share of fun as well! Obviously the house party was on Friday night, and then on Saturday I went out to lunch with friends to a restaurant that was participating in BA Food Week. This means we paid a flat rate of like 15 bucks for a three course gourmet meal (see below)-
MUY rico!
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| 1. Fish tempura |
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| 2. Rice + seafood teriyaki |
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| 3. Apple crumble with vanilla ice cream |
On Sunday Sarah, Rachel, and I attended mass in Recoleta. Since Rachel and I had only ever been to
una misa once in our lives (in Panama and Spain, respectively), we deferred to Sarah, the only Catholic among us, for cues on the logistics of the liturgy. Though the service was quite the departure from the CityWell style of things, I enjoyed hearing familiar verses and messages. I also felt pretty impressive when I was able to recite the
Padre Nuestro from memory. (But I left the church with a mysterious craving for Bruegger's Bagels?)
That's about all I've got, but I'll leave you with a fun fact: apparently the current
pope used to live right down the street from my homestay! My host mom started making fun of the tourists who take pictures by his house just as I was formulating my own plan for a selfie...
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p.s. huge shoutout to Mry for the
sweetest letter that came a couple weeks ago! xoxo
