¡Qué quilombo!

One of my favorite things about Argentines is that almost every one of them that I have talked to for more than five minutes has said to me, "Cualquier cosa, avisame." Translation: Anything you need, let me know. Most people seem to genuinely care about me and want me to have a worthwhile and lovely experience in their home country. I went to the gym Friday to make up for my lack of attendance during my stressful week, and for the first time, I ran into someone I knew. At first I thought she was a trainer since she had a clipboard, and I assumed that she was about to tell me that I was riding the stationary bike incorrectly or something absurd like that. Then I realized that she looked extremely familiar and was from one of my classes, but I couldn't remember which. She kissed my cheek in greeting even though I was grosser and sweatier than everyone else in the gym; how sweet! After a few minutes of talking I realized that she was in my Freud class because she started referencing the final this week. She told me to let her know if I needed anything, and we made plans to go to an exercise class the next day. Her name is Maite, which makes me think of mate. Maybe someday I will drink mate with Maite.

While on the topic of the generosity of porteños.. Most of them that I have talked to have asked me what I like about the people of Buenos Aires. In their opinion, they are all in a hurry and mean to people they don't know. I have not found this to be the general truth of my experience here and I wonder why it differs. Perhaps once they find out that I am a foreigner, they are a lot more interested in making me feel at home, whereas everyone else just assumes that no one has time for them, so they all treat each other with indifference. My friend Valeria who I met in Spanglish is back from Formosa and her mother is better :) We went on our usual Starbucks date and I had fun talking with the cashier who called my hometown Chicago "la ciudad de los vientos" (The Windy City). I thought he was pretty cute and told Valeria in a slightly giggly voice, but she immediately pointed out that there was a good chance that he was gay. Go figure. I too often have crushes on boys that don't prefer my gender. I told Valeria that I was not able to stay in my host mom's house after the 9th of July because that is when the program officially ends and she has to prepare for her next study abroad student. This leaves me two weeks without a fixed home. I was planning on living in a hostel since they are cheap, but wasn't over the moon about the idea. Valeria piped up right away and offered up lodgings in her apartment. I really appreciated her offer and am very excited about living with her for 10 days. She has become one of my very good friends and it will be like a slumber party every night!

I am trying to make an effort to see friends from the program that I haven't seen in a while because things are really winding down. I'm scared that certain people are going to leave before we have a chance to say goodbye. Since they're from all over the US, there's not a huge change I am going to see them often in the future, but maybe they will be the excuse I need to visit Pennsylvania or Houston. On Friday night I went to a bar called Jobs and lost horribly at Checkers against a friend. I guess I just don't have strategy. As I was walking home, I realized that there are certain security procedures that I just do by second nature now. For example, I usually keep my phone and keys in my pockets and my money in my shirt in case my purse gets robbed. I am glad that I have gained street smarts but I do not like that I have to suspect everyone on the street as someone who might try to steal from me or jump me. Hopefully this people paranoia won't last when I go back to the States.

On Saturday I went to a full body workout class at the gym with Maite.. and man did I get owned. It was really exciting and just like in the videos, but it definitely caused me pain. We did a lot of kick boxing moves and jumping up and down to fast-paced music; unfortunately there was a mirror across the whole front wall so everyone could see my uncoordinated attempts at following along. Then we did arm weights against the wall, a strenuous abdominal workout, and then squats. These were the hardest. I thought I was going to pass out and everyone else looked like it was the easiest thing in the world! I guess this was my first class whereas everyone else probably goes regularly, but that didn't lessen my feeling that I was a blob who was behind on her exercises. We were definitely working muscles that I am not used to using. After this intense session, I went back to La Viruta, the milonga from a few weeks ago. I went to the intermediate tango class instead of beginner and I learned a lot more. When we actually got to the free dancing part, it became interesting. There are so many different levels of dancers at a milonga and I had different experiences with each person I danced with. Some of them were quite good at teaching me and guiding me, while others just expected me to know all the steps and then dismissed me after a struggle. There were two people that I meshed really well with and I felt very accomplished and happy with my improvement after we danced; I actually felt like a graceful and rather seductive tango ballerina! I think the main thing that I have to work on is focusing less on the particular steps and the order of the steps that I learn during lessons and more on communication between partners and realizing what feels natural.

I decided that I am going to marry my cat, Toto. He always loves me and wants to cuddle. He is there for me when I am stressed and always puts me in a better mood. Does anyone object?

I went to a show called "Fuerza Bruta" (Brute Force) on Sunday night, and it was pretty awesome. My friends Sarah and Enrique and I were in the section called "campo", which was the standing section in the middle of the arena where all the action takes place. It was sort of a circus show, and it involved a lot of people dressed in pretty costumes flying through the arena on strings. We were sprayed with water and covered in pieces of paper and styrofoam. There were dancers in the air on shiny walls and boxes of paper exploding all over the place. There was a main group of people who played the drums loudly and sang at the top of their lungs to introduce and close the show. There was also a business man who was on a treadmill-like apparatus who began walking, then started jogging and then broke into a sprint, and then was "shot" and fell to the ground. He got back up numerous times, removed his bloodstained suit under which there would be a clean one, and the process started over again. Other people appeared on the treadmill and fell off around him while he kept moving. Then some started following him without falling. He eventually reached a staircase but then jumped into a crowd of other people who started dancing. The whole thing was very symbolic and I think it was something about the feeling that you're going nowhere in life, overcoming obstacles, and who knows what else. It was very interesting to watch. There were also huge tanks of water that appeared right above our heads with people swimming in them. The last part involved a huge tarp being draped over the audience (this part was a bit claustrophobic) and then a hole was cut in the middle so the flying actors could pick up audience members and fly them through the air. If only I had picked the right spot..

As I was coming home from Fuerza Bruta, I learned that River (the fútbol team that I had seen play last week-end) had lost their final game and therefore was relegated to the second division for the first time in 110 years. An example of how seriously Argentina takes their fútbol.. There were massive riots and over 2200 police officers were sent in to calm the 50,000 fans. They had to spray them with fire hoses and tear gas and bring in attack dogs. Helicopters were ordered to fly over the stadium. Fans burned garbage and parts of the stadium and ripped down metal street barriers. Many fans and police officers were injured but no one died. The River team members were crying because they were being relegated to division B. The Belgrano team members were crying because they were so happy that they had won. ¡Qué quilombo! Translation.. what complete chaos! All of this was really terrifying to hear on the News, especially since I had friends at that game. In general, I do not think that sports should ever be a reason for riots, injuries, and death, and it shocked me that people got so infuriated and out of control. The non-profit group "Let's Save Football" recorded that 287 people have been killed by football-related violence since 1924, and 14 people have died from this in the last 16 months. More information about Sunday's riots at the River game can be found on this site: http://www.570news.com/sports/article/246116--violence-breaks-out-after-river-plate-is-relegated-to-the-second-division.

I was happy to find out I received an 8 on my State and Religion final because while one of my answers was wrong, the professor liked my justification. This means that I got an 8 in the class, which translates to an A- (or AB at Madison). Now just two finals left! I have been talking a lot with my family lately and I am so excited to see them and spend time with them this summer. I am really looking forward to seeing my Gram and Granddad, and my aunt and Grand-Nan in Chicago. I can't wait to have movie nights and Navy Pier adventures with my brother Kevin and read and have long conversations with my mom and dad. It will be refreshing to have a month to catch up with them before heading back to Madison and starting my life again there. I will be working at my Indian restaurant Kama Bistro when I get home; I was very happy that Agnes and Vikram gave me shifts even though I will be home for such little time. Although I will miss my favorite cook, Parvis, it will be great to be working and hanging out with all my co-workers again. And of course, it will be wonderful to cram as much delicious Indian food into my system while I have it available to me. Love to all my friends and family and can't wait to see you all!