Randoms

So now that school only lasts for 3 hours a day, that's given us a lot more time to do.. well, anything! I've gotten in the habit of waking up around 9, meeting up with Becca at a nearby park and going for a run, chased by some yoga. I hate the feeling of waking up late and moseying to class without having gotten anything productive done, so I think we've found a pretty good balance. For the most part, we've been exploring new parks after school, going to museums and just crossing random things off of our bucket list, although there's still so much more to do!

Speaking of parks, this week we went to the Palermo Park, where there's a beautiful rose garden and some man-made lakes. All around the park there are paved paths for bike riders and more importantly, roller bladers. Roller blading is taken really, really seriously here! They're everywhere! There's a bit part of me that's pretty jealous.. because I can't remember the last time I went for a stroll on my blades. You can rent them, and so that's definitely on the bucket list for the next park trip (I didn't have socks, and wasn't willing to risk growing moss between my toes). We did see one man in particular who was doing some serious self-expression while on his blades... he was doing some sort of interpretive dancing, and holding little clicking things in his hands (reminds me of a gypsy or something). He was totally skating to his own beat, stopping every once and a while to just... enjoy the moment? Haha, just watching him brought a smile to my face.

Yesterday was a GREAT day! After some yoga and running in the morning, I went to class and then walked to a nearby indoor rock climbing gym. I suppose after Patagonia I feel pretty inspired :) We paid 20 pesos to use the boulder wall- let me tell you, it's so much harder than I thought it was going to be. There were beds and mattresses on the floors that caught us when we fell, and believe me, we used them. My fingers and arms are definitely sore today! It was really cool to do that though, hopefully I'll be back soon- I really want to go back when I can belay and actually climb up the rock wall, instead of just doing the bouldering. After the gym I came home and had some dinner with the fam, and then went out with 4 other girls for a night on the town! We went to an Argentine's apartment (he was friends with one of the girls) and pregamed there for a bit, though it took us a long time to find his appt in the first place considering he lived waaay across town. It was fine though, we got to know each other (only one guy knew English so it was really fun speaking Spanish all night!) and then headed out to a salsa club! Let me tell you, the people in this club might as well have been professionals. It makes me so jealous that this dancing is an integral part of their culture, I wish we embraced more sensual and interactive dances! After getting myself a drink I was watching on the outskirts of the dance floor for a little bit with the girls, and in the corner of the floor I saw a pack of guys who blatantly didn't fit in. They weren't salsaing at all, which was a dead giveaway, and they just looked foreign... so I went up to them and asked them where they were from. I must have a good eye, because all 4 guys were from Spain and 2 were from Sweden! We all laughed and ended up spending the night making fools of ourselves and practicing our Spanish. I'm happy- I feel comfortable having conversation, and that's exactly where I wanted to be. I mean, I still clearly have a US accent and that's something I'll only be able to get rid of with time, but I'm glad that I can carry on a convo for an entire night! Looks like this intensive program is working out after all! Anyhoo, they met all my girlfriends and by the end of the night we had gotten ourselves invited to their apartment for an asado (it's a big dinner party, with tons and tons of meat) next week... Count me in!

Today Becca's parents got here so after school we met up with them and went to an Arabic place to get some lunch! It was cool meeting them and seeing why she is the way she is- they're just as nuts as her, so it all makes sense. They actually remind me of my parents a bit.. it must be so cool sharing this with family! Jealous! (cough cough mom and dad you should probably look into buying flights here... only a month and a half left!!) Her parents are staying in B.A. for the next few nights, so about 10 of us are going to their hotel tonight to pregame and then go out on the town together! Can't wait!

Chau amigos :)