Home Sweet Home!

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Mid-terms week is over, mostly A´s I'm proud to anounce! One B, but I guess I can live with that since GRAMMAR has never been the strongest aspect of my spanish... or my english for that matter. I've recently been using my time to explore things a little bit closer to home, with the exception of the "Gaucho Party" of course, and Rosario has held some surprising experiences for me in the past few weeks. To begin with, I had the surprising joy of discovering the arabic community that is ragingly strong here in the city. The arabic community is the third largest group of immigrants in Rosario, and it turns out that they regularly get together to celebrate their history and culture in what they like to call "parties," but that I would more call "get togethers." Meeting them is one of the interesting stories. There I was with a large group of students from the program when I looked over and saw a hookah sitting on a table in the bar that we were in. I was slightly shocked to have come all the way to South America and be right back in the thick of Hookah culture once again. I wandered over and asked them if I could have a try, and started talking with them about what I was doing in Rosario and how I was enjoying my experience. They told me that they went to that same bar basically every day, so I went back the next night to see if I could find them. Well, I did and we hung out again. They told me that they were from Lebanon and Syria mostly, a different culture from the Saudi Arabian one that I'm used to. They invited me to come to one of their "parties" and I went to investigate (I'm way too curious for my own good sometimes). It was great though! All bellydancing and drums. Since then I have become good friends with one of the guys, Charly, and am going to try to find out more about why there happens to be such a large arabic community here in a city in the interior of Argentina. What makes people immigrate to the places that they do? Well, I wouldn't mind living in Mendoza, and I guess a lot of people would ask me the same thing.
One of the most horrifying things that I have experienced also happened last weekend. I was walking down the main street, Córdoba, with Randi and Charly. We stopped outside of a bar in order to decide whether we wanted to go inside or not, and while we were talking I went to move a chair, planning to use it as a prop while I tied my shoe. I saw something dark beneath it, and I should have checked to see what it was and not just assumed that it was a shadow. When I moved the chair, a terrified black and brown dog darted out from under it and straight into the street. A car wasn't able to stop and hit the dog as it ran. I wasn't able to keep watching and just started crying on Charly's shoulder. Charly and Randi swear that the dog got up and ran away, but I'm still absolutely horrified. I could have sworn that I killed a dog. I want to find him and adopt him for the rest of my time here, just to make up for it!I knew thatI would see a dog hit by a car eventually, I just wasn't prepared for it to have been caused by me! More careful next time.

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Photos

Absolutely crazy!
This is a group of some of the guys that I met here, they are extremely fun, if a little bit crazy!

Comments

[Daniel (Reinier)]

shocked
more hookah? well I'm not THAT surprised but I'm glad you've found another home. don't stay away forever! poor dog! you never saw it again? so, i assume you'll be making your way to brazil and then oregon... have fun and stay in one piece!