*The doorman at Universidad del Salvador and I exchanged an "hola, ¿cómo andás?" (hello, how are you?) last night, as we always do. We both said it at the same time and neither of us answered the question. I continued on my way and realized that maybe we weren't looking for an answer. Maybe these pleasantries are just said out of habit, and no one really cares how the other person is doing. I feel like the only expected answers are "bien" (well), "muy bien" (very well), or "cansada" (tired). What if I took that question seriously and immediately started pouring out my heart about my academic concerns and worries about the future? That would be socially unacceptable. Then why do we ask if we don't want real answers? Of course we care how are friends and family are doing, but maybe for everyone else it would make more sense to just say "hola."
*I am very immersed in certain books when I am reading them and I feel like they are really impacting my life and emotions. However, when I finish them they just go on a shelf somewhere or back to a library. After some time I often forget the plot lines and important dialogue. Do these books that I enjoyed thoroughly at the time still impact me after I forget the character names and endings? Or did they just serve for that immediate experience? It frustrates me when I try to have a fruitful conversation with someone else about a novel that I have read, but realize that I have forgotten most of it. Sometimes I wish I had a photographic memory. Other times I wonder if that would be annoying.
*One of the assistant professors in my Psychology of the Personality class has very very long, straight hair, like most women in Argentina. The other day she had it pinned back in a flowery clip and it flowed down her back like a waterfall. It made me think of Iguazú and I had trouble concentrating in class.
*I have not seen my friend Valeria in a while because she went back home (to Formosa, 8 hours from Buenos Aires) to take care of her mom, who is having heart problems. I really hope she gets better; she is one of Valeria's bestest friends in the whole world.
*There was a problem with the drainage in the bathroom on the 11th floor (the one right above us), so someone punched a hole in the floor that goes through to our ceiling. For a few days our whole floor was soaked and large chunks of foundation were sporadically crashing into our bathroom. Needless to say, I was not able to shower in our apartment for a few days. This wasn't so bad; it gave me extra motivation to go to the gym, since that is the only place where I could cleanse myself.
*Toto always freaks out at my computer cord, camera cord, and any sort of ribbon. I thought it was just in cartoons that cats acted like that. Is there some sort of evolutionary reason why they are drawn to string? Did it help them fight off the Wooly Cat Mammoths?
*I had my last Structure of Subjectivity class two nights ago and I couldn't help it.. I cried! Even though this isn't a class where I made amazing lifelong friends, I really liked it. The 3 and a half hours every Tuesday were nowhere near as unbearable as I thought they would be. I gave my teacher a card that I made. On the front, I drew a cartoon with two sections, one representing neurosis and one psychosis. The difference between these two is that neurosis can happen with everyone; one does not lose grip on reality but simply chooses to ignore it. Psychosis is when one is disconnected from reality and creates a new version of it (this is not considered normal, rather pathological). To demonstrate neurosis, I drew a girl saying "I am the only girl in my boyfriend's life!" while her boyfriend is standing next to her with a flower and 4 other girls. Under psychosis, I drew a girl saying "My boyfriend is sensitive, kind, and very handsome!" and she is kissing a horse. Corny, I know, but I am easily amused.
*There was a gigantic volcanic eruption in Chile, so tons of areas of Chile and parts of Argentina are currently covered in ash. A lot of my friends who have been traveling have not been able to fly back to Buenos Aires because all of the flights are being delayed or cancelled. My friends Matt and Josh had to take a 40 hour bus ride back to BA from Calafate! I don't know much about the volcano but I really hope everyone is okay. I have to find out more about it.
*Ana Lucía and Suky and I had dinner last night and I cried with laughter the whole time. We talked about names we liked in both of our languages, cracked up for 10 minutes at how she pronounced "potato", and then we somehow ended up singing "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion. I love living with them and even though I am excited to see my host mom again this coming Monday when she gets back from Greece, it will be sad when Ana goes back to living her in her apartment.
*I looked up the word "charcas", the name of my street, and found out that it means a pond, or a pool of water that is collected to congeal into ice. I also looked up the word "cachafaz", the name of my favorite alfajor, and it means sneaky, crafty, or rascally. This does not surprise me since those delicious devils always manage to trick me into buying them when I pass my favorite kiosk.
*I am going to miss street vendors. Forgot your lunch? Don't worry! Here is a delicious bagel. And fried almonds. And a variety of fruit! Do you have a cold? Here's some Kleenex. Or a pretty scarf! I could not resist the temptation and bought a gigantic Argentine flag to hang in my Madison apartment (I am wearing it in the above picture).
*Yesterday Roberto the doorman asked when I was leaving. When I told him July 19th, he said "ayy falta poco!" (not much time left). Don't tell me that! I still have to become a professional tango dancer, learn to speak Spanish better than I speak English, and become a practicing psychologist. When I told my Freud teacher the other day that I might become a psychologist, she got really excited and announced to the class that I am going to be the one of the few psychoanalysts in the US. I didn't want to burst her bubble but I really don't think I want to start a career based on interpretation of children's drawings, repressed memories, and how psychosexual stages affect people later in life.
*I was in the elevator with a 4 or 5 year old boy and his mother who were going to the 9th floor. We arrived on the 9th, the boy mumbled something cute and Spanish-y and then the mom said, "querés ser un caballero?" (you want to be a gentleman?) The boy nodded and they accompanied me to the 10th floor just so he could open the lift doors for me and then head back down to their floor. It was the most adorable occurrence of my day and made me chuckle for 5 minutes afterward.
*I love my life here. Sometimes I think things go by too fast, but other times I think that if I love what I am doing and where I am, it's always going to seem too fast. Maybe it's actually the perfect amount of time. If you add more hours to a day, would it really make a difference? Or would it just be like adding money to the circulation? There would be more of it, but all together it has the same value. After my first month here, I did not see myself ever coming back to Buenos Aires. I have completely reevaluated and now have friends and family here. Vacations are always more fun when you have someone who loves you to go back to. I no longer feel like a tourist. You're not a tourist if you're studying, or adapting to the culture. You're not a tourist if the place you're visiting feels like home.
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