Nothing Gets Done With Dust in Your Gun

What a week. I'm sorry I haven't updated but things got crazy on Monday and haven't slowed down til today. So...

I've decided that transportation here is analogous to the general Argentine psyche in general: chaotic, emotional and disorganized but with the very best of intentions. On Monday we went on a bike tour of the city, that I thought was going to be just a quiet nature tour of the Ecological Reserve. How wrong I was. We ended up dodging buses and motorcycles on highways and overpasses, on cobbled roads and narrow streets, and I think we gave new meaning to the phrase "dumb Americans". The 20 of us must have made quite a sight, rickety orange bicycles in a line trouping down Avenida del Libertador, among other highways. Stopping only for quick photo ops mostly at places I had already seen, the main attraction of this experience was the first hand look at Argentine driving practices. Especially concerning speed limits and traffic lights, they don't follow the rules. Usually in the States vehicles will yield to people on bikes, but not here. Numerous times our group was separated and once I almost got hit by a bus. Our tour guide seemed indifferent to the mortal danger we were all in and rarely looked behind her to see if we were keeping up. The entire debacle was quintessentially Argentine, crazy and chaotic but with the seemingly implicit knowledge that everything would be all right in the end.

I also took the "collectivo" or bus system, for the first time this week. This, too, is a system uniquely porteno. The Subte, or Metro, is not as convenient as in DC because there are 5 lines that all generally start near the Plaza de Mayo and go in straight lines outwards, almost like a hand. So if you don't happen to live near any stops, you take the collectivo. There is a guide to the system called the Guia T which tells you which lines run where and supposedly where the stops are, but to find them you usually have to ask someone. My experience was relatively painless, I got lost but managed to find myself again and get where I was supposed to be. 

On Friday I went to my first tango show!!! Ohmigod. There is nothing I have wanted to learn more in my entire life, except maybe how to waterski. The place we went to was kind of like a dinner theater, with a prix fixe meal and the show after. I'm a sucker for a sparkly extravaganza, and this fit the bill. The whole thing was done in a sort of 40s style costume, and the dresses were incredible. The dancers were amazing as well. Tango is a beautiful dance to watch because the man and woman move so seamlessly together. I will have to overcome my WASPy awkwardness to even be a fraction as good but it will be worth it. Some friends and I are going to a club for lessons on Tuesday. 

Other news... we had our parcial for the intensive course on Thursday. It was easier than I thought it would be, which is good because it means my Spanish is getting better. I have not really made any Argentine friends yet to practice with (everyone in the intensive course is American) but the security guards in my building are super nice and love to talk to me. Surprisingly, taxi drivers are pretty chatty too. I had a great conversation with one on Friday about how much George Bush sucks. Also, for some reason they always ask me if I'm single and when I say yes they start talking about how great Argentine guys are. Super...

I started running again on Tuesday, after a week hiatus. There is no gym at UCA and not one near my apartment building but I feel safe running around the neighborhood since the Naval Prefect guys are everywhere. The Ecological Reserve is as great as I thought it would be for running, also the diques are beautiful to run around and there is always a nice breeze. However, while in the U.S. you would see joggers everywhere in such an area, I am only ever one of a few and always the only woman. For how thin the women are here, I would have thought I'd seen more. I've been told about four times now that Argentina as a country has the highest rate of eating disorders among women, which seems pretty credible to me. There are many girls I've seen who definitely need to start eating more, and have not yet seen an overweight Argentine woman. It is another Argentine paradox: most of the food is meat, carbohydrates and cheese but instead of eating more vegetables I guess the women just don't eat anything. While I guess it's a norm here, it doesn't make it any easier to see and breaks my heart. I'm doing well though since Nancy is relatively health conscious and keeps plenty of fruit and veggies around for me. 

There is so much more to say but this post has gone on too long already. I've realized that you cannot put the experience of being abroad into words, you can just pick experiences and thoughts to expound upon. If it gets boring, or anything you're dying to know about that I haven't written about, let me know!! 

Le extraño muchisimos! (I miss you guys super a lot!) Besos,

N

N.B. title of the post: line from the song "Going North" by Missy Higgins. No, I have not seen any guns here.