Azúcar

Friday we had a history lesson at COPA, all about Peron. It was interesting, but pretty much repetitive for me because I took Latin American politics and I’ve read books on Argentine history. When I got home, we had no power. The man from downstairs, Marcelo, was in the apartment connecting the power from the hallway to our living space. We needed power because we had an entire cow’s worth and an entire pig’s worth of meat in the fridge. Friday night I didn’t do anything. By the time I left COPA, got home and had dinner, I was basically asleep at the table anyway.

Saturday morning I woke up and pealed beans. We were making stew, which included beans that had to be pealed – one by one. So, I pealed while Gil (mi mamá acá) cut the meat into little pieces. The stew is called locro. Its corn-based, with beans which are mashed and basically become sauce, meat, more meat, bacon, salami, more meat, and squash which is mashed into the sauce as well. We made enough for 10 people and probably 10 more servings of leftovers. Gil only makes it once a year, so it was a special occasion. We made me a small pot without beans, which means I wasn’t really eating locro, but hey, I don’t know the difference. After pealing beans, and running out to buy frutillas (strawberries, Gil swears they’re different from ours, but they’re not), I went to a café with my friends. We sat outside for the first time in over a week. It was pretty chilly, around 16ºC I think.

Then I went shopping and got a shirt, sweater, and pair of black flats because I realized I didn’t have clothing to wear out. I got home at 7 and basically passed out on my bed. I woke up at 10, really hungry and got empanadas delivered – so dangerous. They’re fantastic and they came in like 15-20 minutes from across the street….its going to be a bad year….j/k.

Then, in loser-Argentine fashion I went out at 1 AM (that’s too early to be cool – cool is going out at 2 AM). I met a bunch of people at Azúcar, a salsa bar/club. We danced for hours, and I figured out that I’m pretty bad. It took me about an hour to figure out the 3 steps needed to salsa. By 3:30, I basically had it down.

Sunday morning, I woke up early because my body thinks 9 is the perfect time to wake up every day (thanks crazy COPA programs). I helped Gil with the locro and preparations for having the family come, which included buying more stuff because she was busy cooking. I figured out that the panadería around the corner has the most fantastic pastries…which is also really bad.

The family came at 1 PM, Gil’s adorable grandson, age 7, thinks he’s Jack Sparrow, errr Capitan Jack Sparrow. His mom managed to get him out of her thigh-high boots, rings, and handkerchief, but he arrived with his eye make-up still on. I had printed info on baseball from the internet because the grandson was interested it. He tried to play with Gil in his apartment; I think they had 5 bases in all the different rooms- the kitchen, bathroom, his room. I don’t think he actually has a baseball, either. I’m pretty sure they were using a wiffle-ball bat and one of the dog’s tennis balls.

Then Gil’s cousin, his wife, daughter, son-in-law, and 14 year-old grandson arrived for lunch. We ate and it was fantastic; everyone had seconds. After we ate, we played this game called Buraco. It involves putting tiles with numbers down in arrangements, with the goal being getting rid of all of your tiles. I won twice. It was pretty sweet. The boys tried speaking in English, which was hilarious. They kept messing up blue and red (the tiles are colored). They also kept eating, all afternoon. Every couple of minutes Gil would be offering more ice cream, frutilla, apples, bananas, chocolate.

I think everyone finally left at 7ish, which meant it was time to start the dishes, which took about an hour. Afterwards, I translated an article (English to Spanish) about Gil’s friend who had died. Her friend was one of the principle editors of the Buenos Aires Herald (the English-language paper here). Gil can read English, but the friend’s daughters cannot.

Monday, I went to some classes, but I’m not going to take either of those. The first was supposed to be about poetry and its function in society. What the title failed to mention was that it was German romantic and classic poetry and philosophers like Kant. Thankfully, the class was only two hours, because I would have died if it was the normal four hours (all classes at UBA are four hours, or two hours twice a week).

After my class at the UBA, Universidad de Buenos Aires, I met my friend Jen and we went to the oldest café in Buenos Aires. It near the Plaza de Mayo and a major tourist trap. The next class I went to was one I wasn’t planning on taking anyway. It was pre-colombian art history of Argentina and the Americas at USAL – Universidad del Salvador. I want to take the fourth time period because it’s the 20th century. That class will be on Thursday. Tuesday, I went to the UBA again for 8 hours of classes. The first one was pretty terrible. It was mainly theory based and the function of “markets” and literature, whether literature and authors exist inside markets, or outside. The first thing we have to read is Karl Marx. So, that class is not going to happen. Luckily, we have all this time to try out classes. After a cold empanada for lunch, which only cost 1 peso, my cheapest one yet!, I went to a class on Spanish short theater and its influences in Latin American. I didn’t love the class, but it’s the best UBA one yet.