más or menos.

My meat man may or may not have tried to flirt with me tonight. I can't even flirt when I'm speaking English, much less with my stuttering español. Of course, because I have difficult understanding people at a normal speaking pace, I had to have him repeat. He didn't even bother to ask "de dondé sos?" (where are you from?) Awesome. The less I have to hear that dreaded question, the better. Then he asked if I had a lot of friends here. Of course I didn't stop to think what he was really trying to ask me, and I replied cheerfully "más or menos." Which doesn't even really make sense in hide-sight. I was so distracted, I don't know how to ask for meat?! Meat: it comes in packages at the supermarket. Not laying flat on it's dead side for me to decide how I would like it. Now I'm standing here in front of all this carne. And this really attractive guy who cuts my carne. And I'm supposed to know what to ask for?
Maybe we'll have Parker Pose situation, like in Party Girl, when she seduces her falafel guy. Only this is better because he's my meat man. And we're in Argentina.


Today was the first time I spent an afternoon just lounging around in the park, drinking mate and eating yummy food with friends. And it got me thinking, I need start doing more things that don't start at after 1:00am. Now I just need some suckers I can guilt into doing these things with me.

• Go swimming at a public pool....the heat is one, people. The heat. is. on.
  
• Talk with Spanish-speaking animals the Bio-park in Escobar.... "Hola jiraffa!"
• Voy a una peña. A place where they play traditional Argentine folk music. You know how I like the folk.
  
• Dance on a stage....last year my birthday was a success because of this fact.
• Spend the night outside. I miss the stars.
  
• Meet an Argentine that keeps their word...you know just for fun, I'd like to try this out.
• Start practicing Yoga.
  
• Try out a more "adventurous" sport....we'll start slow with something like white-water-rafting....then move to bungee.
  
• Spend an entire day speaking Spanish. Well, one can hope.
• See a futbol match.
  
• Give a stranger a high-five

I'm especially determined with the last one. Today on the street there was this little boy riding his bike, and he looked so blissfully happy, and all I wanted to was just slap him a giant 'high-five.' I don't even like high-fives all that much, but sometimes when you're just so happy, you gotta high five someone. You know what I mean?

I like lists and plans, but lately I haven't been much for planning, obviously, since I'm randomly living a year of my life in a foreign country for no apparent reason. In light of my forthcoming twenty-fourth birthday I feel like I should lay some new foundations down. First of all, as some of you may have started to notice, I'm going to try to start writing more. I miss it. I miss being creative. After only a few months I'm already starting to not like teaching, and the only classes that I do like are the ones where I don't even 'teach' per se. Maybe because the new classes I have I'm actually having to explain concepts and grammar that I don't give a shit about. And after spending a year at home working somewhere I didn't like, it's hard to repeat that. Even though, I do like my job because I get to meet Argentines and I can more or less make my own hours.

So tonight, I made my delicious carne, asparagus, and brown rice dinner for one. Drank some beer. And wished I had better sources for bootlegged movies.

Damn, wish I could take back that "más or menos," right now.

-E.