After I left the cafe.....when was that?.... Tuesday, I think..... I walked back from San Telmo to El Centro, taking some pictures as I walked. I went to Veronica's work and walked back with her from her office (she's a lawyer) to the place we're staying. It's so interesting to live in El Centro! Half the time I feel like I'm living in downtown New York. Everything is always so happening! I gathered my things and then hopped on the 39 ( the colectivo -AKA city bus) to Palermo. There I went to this place where Nate's staying to hang out with him and our friend we dubbed "Janis." The place he's staying is wonderful.... he met some bohemian woman at the Recoleta fair with an extra room and turns out it's nice as hell. He's got a way artsy room with like a queen sized bed, she makes him food sometimes, AND there's a beautiful lush patio. AND it's only 300USD a month, which is a reaaaally good deal. Anyways, the three of us just hung out and Nate played harmonica and guitar and I drew.
Here's a drawing I did of Nate while he was sewing a patch on one of his shirts:
Later on that evening, there was an incredible lightning storm! We sat and watched it on his rooftop while tomando cerveza. It was really nice. I took some really cool photos of this but am using a computer at IES right now and therefore have none of them with me. Sorry.
We ended up all three of us falling asleep in his bed at about 2 or 3 or so (me still wearing my glasses, haha).
We woke at 5:30 the next morning, went up to his roof, set up Nate's hammock, and watched the sunrise. It was wonderful. It was especially great because the weather was perfect and cool and during the day it's always SOOOO SOOO hot! I wrote a lil' poem while up there:
After last night's storm,
we watch the sun rise in Palermo from the rooftop.
Nate lies enveloped in a neon-pink, plaid coccoon hammock
while Janis sits on the ledge and sets lilac flower petals on fire.
We are above the trash,
before the birds are drowned out by autos, motos, colectivos,
and it's too hot to sweat without sweating.
A tiny yellow bug, smaller than a sunflower seed,
slowly crawls over the knotches of thread on the knee of my jeans.
Everything is so clear, Boludo:
the shadows of terraza railings,
the tall hedges trimmed like skylines,
the brown and withering leaves
hanging beside violet handfuls of similies, like
nothing else I know
and I really don't know
much.
It is the first of diciembre.
Sun climbs through summer branches,
through dark-skinned fingers,
and humbled by clouds bearing rodocrosita,
I ask,
What world am I in?
(I will trust you with all that I own,
and even more,
with all that I am
without them.)
When our stomach growls got annoying enough, Nate and I went out and bought some eggs and cebolla, and then Nate made Janis and I scrambled eggs with some mozzarella he had in the fridge. Janis and I ended up leaving at about 8, 8:30ish, and from there I took a bus back to El Centro. I quick got a pair of glasses fixed (I randombly broke the ones I like about a week ago - - the lens popped out) for only 10 pesos, which is about $2.50 in USD!!! That was pretty exciting. From there I went to Florida st to take care of some registration things for the coming semester. THEN I took a subte to Villa Crespo to check out a possible apartment option. After that, I went to drop off a few applications in Palermo. After THAT I came BACK to IES in El Centro to get some work done on the computer. From there, I went to the park on Montevideo y Juncal with my Brasilero buddy, Kasper. We sat at the park for like 2 hours, just talking and drinking mate. It was super nice. Dang! There's so mucfh more I want to write about concerning thoughts and such but I kinda gotta rush through this to get to tango.....
From the park, Kasper y yo fuimos a una verduleria (vegetable stand) and we bought some stuff there, and went back to his place. I was absolutely EXHAUSTED by this point so he made me dinner by himself, some delicious rattatoille type thing with tomatoes, green beans, onion, carrots, cucumber ("pepino" -- I just learned), potatoes, and maybe something else I can't remember. That with rice on the side and cerveza. It was wonderful! We ate at around 11, san on his terrace overlooking the mounds of midnight traffic, and then I walked home and went to bed.
TODAY: (phew, if I wasn't in air conditioning, I'd be working up a sweat!) This morning I woke up at 11ish, showered, cleaned up my stuff a bit, and took Lara (the puppy living at the apartment) for a really pleasant walk around the park. I brought her back, and then came here to do some computer business (there's no wi-fi in the apartment). NOW I'm gonna go catch a subte to Palermo, dance some tango, and then go to a Chanuka celebration thing. Then tomorrow, there'll be new plans, and new bus routes to be learned.
I'll be in touch!
Best of health to those of you back home reading this in your wool sweaters and socks!
CHau!
PS: I almost forgot! Every night of chanukah, because I'm not with my family, I thought I'd make a drawing so they'd know how I'm spending my chanuka. Here's a doodle I did last night on a little pad of paper:
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