Dog days

The last few days have been a little slow (thus the title), which actually suits me right now. On Sunday I went to a huge, open-air antique market in the neighborhood San Telmo, ran into some friends, and had an excellent, authentic porteño lunch….

Dana, Dana's host-brother Fran, Hanna, me, and Ed. That sandwich I'm holding came with chicken, ham, egg, lettuce, tomato, and onion. I urge you to compare the size of the sandwich to the size of my mouth--or anyone's mouth. Needless to say I packed up about 3/4 of it (and took off the ham and onions--yuck). Photo stolen from Dana.

The last two days have revolved around making sure I’m registered for classes and figuring out when my classes start—processes which are much more difficult and time-consuming than one might expect. I’m trying to join a choir, but in Argentina things like choir are extra-curricular, not taken for credit, and everyone I talk to tells me something different. I’ve finally gotten in touch with someone who seems to actually know what he’s talking about at Universidad Torcuato Di Tella—a school where I am not, in fact, enrolled in any courses—and I might be able to sing in the choir and also take a beginning guitar class.

The weather has been beautiful, so I’ve been spending a lot of time walking around and reading in parks. I really enjoy Parque Las Heras, which is about two blocks from my house and full of people sunning, reading, guitarring, picnicking, and playing with dogs and children. I’ve also walked around enough that I’ve completely oriented myself in my neighborhood. For most people this only takes a few days, but those of you who are familiar with my sense of direction, or lack thereof, can be proud that it’s only taken me three weeks.

Speaking of walking, walking in this city makes me a little crazy. People tend to walk very slowly and in the middle of the sidewalk, making it difficult to get around them. Really, most things about this country are a lesson in patience (as has been the case in my other Latin American experiences…). Waiting in line at the grocery store takes at least 15 minutes no matter what time of day it is, waiters at restaurants let you sit at the table for quite a while before bringing you a menu or, at the end of the meal, the check, and the registration process at the universities is more convoluted than I could possibly explain here. And don't get me started on public transportation. It's efficient, but very confusing.

I have my first class tomorrow at la Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, aka la UCA. It’s called Migraciones Internacionales en América Latina, which sounds great, but it’s a course designed for foreigners, so I’m probably going to drop it. The rest of my classes start next week and the week after.

I’m sorry I don’t have anything funny or terribly exciting to report, but I am feeling better than I was last week, so that’s good news! Thanks for the e-mails, comments, and general encouragement (especially from Suzy! I appreciate it!). I'll try to have a good story soon!