June 8th

Hola!

Today and yesterday have been very cold here in the south. I didn´t take the advice, as usual , of my mother prior to my departure. She told me to bring gloves. They aren´t necessary, but they definitely would help a bit right now. The other 5 or 6 days I have been here have been beautiful. Temperatures reaching mid to high 60s with the sun shining. Right now it foggy with temperatures in the mid to low 40s. Hopefully the sun will come back.

I had my first bad experience two nights ago. I went with a few kids from the program to an enormous club in Palermo (the eastern part of the city). The music and the atmosphere were both great. So great that I didn´t notice an Argentine man reach into my pocket and steal my phone. I only had it for 3 days and it was quite the hastle to figure out the technology in Spanish, but I have to get a new one. It´s a good thing I was given a wallett with a chain on it for Christmas from my dad or they might have stolen that as well. I´m going to start wearing that dorky fanny pack again to ensure that nothing more is stolen.

The night life here is amazing. It starts very late and ends very early. We usually eat dinner at about 930 in the evening. Many clubs don´t even open until 130 in the morning. Beacuse of our early classes we try to find clubs that open earlier. Most bars play only American music. I think I have heard more Brian Adams here than at home. At the clubs they play techno and electric rock. When walking into a club the beat is felt instantly. The Argentines usually dance until 6 or so in the morning. Some go as far as staying out all night and continue to party in the morning. That doesn´t sound very fun to me but it definitely helps that I am a night person.

Yesterday, after class, me and a couple students walked around a main strip of the city. They have thousands of little shops and street vendors everywhere. The stuff is mainly junk, fun to look never the less. It was very exciting, also, because of the tango demonstration that was taking place. 4 dancers, all dressed elaborately, danced for a few hundred people circled around in attempts to make a bit of money. Their efforts have inspired me to take tango lessons. It helps that my host mom is a tango teacher.

On a flattering note, when I showed my host parents pictures I brought from home, they kept on thinking that my grandma on my mom´s side was my mother. They couldn´t believe how good and young she looks. They also thought my mom was in her late 30s and that many of my friends could be models. I guess American´s age well.

Bye for now,

Chris