It is 5:54 AM and I am so tired I can't feel my face! Good sign. It's weird to think that I showered at this time yesterday to wake up, and I just showered now to go to sleep. Even though they use the 24 hour clock here, 24 hour hours isn't enough to live the Argentine lifestyle. Sleep sleepy empanada! sleepy sandwich Tupperware! sleepy I just ate a yogurt! Tango the dog enjoys stealing my bathing suit when it's hanging on my hamper. Maybe it's the brightly colored stripes. Or maybe he thinks it would SUIT him. Hahaha, get it? My condolences, my drowsiness is reaching its peak. Sometimes my mamá is speaking Spanish when I'm not in the room and I can't tell if she's talking on the phone, to the dog or cat, or to me. She's in a choir and sometimes she sings around the house, and she has a beautiful voice. I was in a locutorio (internet café/printing store) the other day and as I was trying to figure out where to put my flash drive in the computer (sometimes it's in the way back), the lady next to me introduced herself. Her name is Virginia and she told me that she provides accommodations for visitors in her home. So if anyone decides to come to Buenos Aires on a whim, let me know and we can tell Virginia!
After hearing so much about them, I finally made it to my first boliche (club) in Buenos Aires. It was a hip-hop club, and it was ridiculous. There was smoke all over the place, constantly flashing strobe lights, ground-shaking music, and a crack-ton of people. Buenos Aires is so friendly! Everyone was smiley and just hoping for a fun night with friends and new people. I witnessed excessive amounts of dreadlocks and gangster hats at the club, and the famous signature rat tail hairstyles. Everyone was intensely squeezed together on the dance floor and I felt as though people with claustrophobia or epilepsy would have difficulties with the atmosphere. Music was loud loud loud - I still can’t hear anything. When everyone is so densely compacted, you can't help but be completely immersed in the radiation of excited energy and just let yourself dance with the beat until you forget all your problems and time doesn't exist. I feel like the song "More Than Alive" by The Ready Set accurately describes my feelings about this situation:
"You go for seconds and days
I live for moments to say
That I may never get a second chance
Don't throw it away
Living for dollars and dimes
They'll all diminish in time
Oh let the motion come crashing like a plane from the sky
...
I'm running through a stop sign
Cuttin' out the break lights
I don't want to slow slow slow slow down down
I'm running through a stop sign
Living so it feels right
I don't want to slow slow slow slow down down
Don't wanna slow it down."
At the boliche, I saw the coolest breakdance battle I have ever seen in my life. I just stood awestruck as I watched these crazy youth flip, balance on their heads, and move their bodies like they were being wonderfully and creatively attacked. They never lost their balance, or if they did, it was impossible to tell. A smaller woman in a green shirt was the best. She looked like she was flying while on the ground. How does that even make sense? As they tried to one-up each other and impress the crowd with their best tricks, you could feel the competitive heat between them. Afterward, they all hugged and kissed like best friends. Buenos Aires sure knows how to have a good time.
There is so much going on that I need a calendar 10 times bigger than me! Goals for this week-end:
*Go running in a park
*Help paint a mural
*Go bowling
*Play soccer with Argentines
*Meet more of my host family
*Smile a lot and give many hugs
I just put toothpaste on my toothbrush without noticing, so.. Time for bed.
No comments:
Post a Comment