La Semana Tres

AY CHE! My head is spinning. It's insane how humans can feel so many emotions at one time. According to my research, a human starts feeling two emotions simultaneously around age 3. That explains why at age 22 I can feel 5 at once. I haven't decided if this blog is going to be a happy, sad, angry, angsty, or tranquil one. It's hectic in this "casa". Vanessa's daughter and mother have arrived along with another volunteer. There are now 5 people in a 2 bedroom apartment. Volunteers in one, vanessa and her hija, Constanza, in the other, and abuela sleeps in the living room. Constanza (Connie, Mally, or Conicita) is a rad 17 year old. She's a tiny Chilean hipster with tattooed arms and gages. I dig her. Tessa is a volunteer from Beverly Hills. She is 18, is going to school in Scotland next year, and is into theatre and dance. Her half sister is a well known tango dancer in Buenos Aires. Tessa arrived Tuesday and we've already taken the 45 minute commute to the capital twice since she's been here. Although she is having a tough time due to homesickness and culture shock, it's much easier to go out in the city with a companion. I'm a wee bit jealous of her for two reasons. 1. Tessa has a sister who has lived here for 4 years to help her out. 2. Constanza is going to volunteer with Tessa, so Tessa has someone to help her plan activities and translate to the kids. I can't say I'm home sick, but I'd cut off my pinky finger to have a friend or family member here, or to have help at my volunteer project (Tessa and I work at different community centers). Speaking of pinky fingers....I had a little accident. While prying a toddler off of his peer, as to not witness a homocide, the little rascal managed to bite my "menique" with great force. I now have no sensation in my left pinky finger. It's been 3 days, and still nothing. I'm no doctor, but it looks like a severed nerve to me. I love kids. I really do like my volunteering gigs, but I'm itching to escape to the capital. It's really an amazing city from what I've seen so far. I stopped by 3 different hostels today in an area called San Telmo, all of which looked SWEET! For a single room, rates are around $20 U.S, and for a dormitory setting, rates are like $8 a night! The subte system is really easy to learn, but the union workers go on strike about once a week, so subways don't always run. They are also jam packed like sardines. One must always be quite careful of their belongings. My indefinite plan is to stay in hostels around the capital, attend spanish classes, and check out the theatre scene as much as possible. I also have the contact info for this woman who lives in Patagonia and teaches rock climbing. That's a must. However, for the next 13 days I'm stuck in Lomas de Zamora and I'm getting antsy. The charming man from the internet cafe and his girlfriend are bringing me to a concert, and then to a place called Puerto Madero on Saturday night. I am forever indebted to these people who go out of their way to make the foreign girl feel welcome. THANKS MATIAS AND INES! I need to get some sleep jefes. Keep the comments coming! They fill my heart with apple pie and ice cream. Miss you!

La semana 2.5

My faithful followers, What a weekend! It all began Saturday night after a terribly frustrating afternoon at Coy Aike. I felt like I was standing in the middle of a tornado, with everybody spiraling around me. I had no idea what was going on for 4 hours straight. I went back to the apartment and had a minor break down. I needed some American love,so I came to the internet cafe and read your beautiful comments, and while there I meet a cool dude! The worker of the internet cafe always greets me with a glorious smile, so I attempted a conversation and.... SUCCESS! He ended up sitting at the computer next to me, and we typed to each other in google translator. I stayed an hour after he closed, and just chatted. I know what you´re thinking...a romance is brewing. No! He has a girlfriend and I´m not interested, but I really appreciate anyone who takes the time to communicate with me and make me feel comfortable. Twas glorious, but I had to run, because I was invited to a party Saturday night by a girl who works at Coy Aike, Ines. Parties here don´t start until 10 the earliest, so she picked me up at 10:30 in a car with 2 seats but 7 people in it. The party was in a small courtyard between two apartment buildings. The boys hosting the party had decorated the courtyard with colored lights, balloons, piñatas, and a big statue of Santa Claus (Papa Noel). Don´t ask. We were some of the first quests there, so it was not intimidating, and everyone wanted to talk to the foreign girl. They wanted to show me their English "skills", and by that I mean they say "Hello, Goodbye" and then crack up laughing. I made it a point to be as outgoing as possible. There ended up being about 60 people including a bartender, and a dj. The hosts (a group of friends that all went to high school together) put on a concert, and there was salsa dancing and confetti! Argetines know how to throw a party! I tried the local alcohol, called Frenet. It is made out of yerba (herbs), and you drink it with coca-cola. It is bitter, but delicious! I´m going to try to bring some home for everyone to try. I also met a boy there who preceeded to dance with me allllllll night long, and I mean all night, until 5:30 in the morning. Parties typically end at 6 or 7am. We couldn´t speak, but we communicated through dance...or so I thought. I obviously didn´t communicate well, because now he thinks he is my boyfriend. Oops, I did it again ;) It´s amazing that he danced with me for so long, because I was by far the worst dancer there. Latinos know how to groove, expecially the boys. So that was Saturday. Sunday, I spent my day planning lessons, but at night I went to my first concert here. It was a reggae concert, and probably the best one I´ve ever been to. It consisted of 8 people, guitar, bass, keys, flute, drums, singer/ 2nd guitar, and 2 percussianists. It was just like the reggae we know, but in spanish of course. People were smoking ganja in the bar and drinking 40s that they brought with them, and there were little children there. I guess the laws are pretty relaxed. Marijuana is illegal though. I would say 80 percent of the people there had dreadlocks or as they call them here "rastas". Sexy. Needless to say I now have an addition to my body! That´s right folks....Katie Howe has ONE dreaklock :) A man did it in 5 minutes for 8 pesos (2 dollars). TA-DA! What a great weekend! Today at work was difficult. Every child in the kindergarten cried at least once. There was lots of kicking, punching, hair pulling, spitting etc. If I could speak to them, I know I could help discipline them and influence them in a positive way, but as for now, all I can do is say "STOP" and "NO FIGHTING" and pull them apart. I seemed to have had a positive effect on one of the bullys, Thiago Paz. It´s ironic because his last name means peace, and he is chaos. He loves me though. Today he shared all his toys, and only hit when someone hit first. I was very proud of him. My theatre lesson didn´t go so well with the teens. Most were too shy to participate, and this one kid mimicked me the whole night. I did the best I could, and I was proud of my work. AHHHH I have to go because the internet cafe is closing. PAZ Y AMOR!