Tango Time

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I spent most of yesterday afternoon exploring the downtown area. I think I walked for four hours straight. I explored Avenida 9 Julio (the famous really really wide boulevard with the big phallic obelisk in the middle) and its surrounding barrio. I still can’t get over the quantity of bookstores here. There as at least one per city block, and some blocks have as many as three. People cannot possibly read that much- can they? Then again, every restaurant and cafeteria (not what we call a cafeteria, more of a coffee house) is full of people reading.

I also had a tango lesson. It was all women, and all American. We took turns with the male and female parts of the dance. Actually most of what we did was practice the special kind of walking they do. It’s actually simple, that part. You just move your feet as if you were skating. The trick is to be in step so as not to step on your partner’s feet, as you have to dance very close. Too bad it was all women. I was looking forward to tango-ing a hot che. Well, I’ll have to try the other school. At least I met some cool girls to go around town with. If only they would speak in Spanish. I’m really good about it, but apparently when you are not in school and in a social situation with all English speakers (who are also studying Spanish) it is un-cool to speak it. I need to find some local friends fast!

But I did what I needed to get started today. I bought my subtepass and familiarized myself with the neighborhood around the school. Which by the way, will be my neigborhood the last week, as that is where the student apartments are located. In one building. And yes, most of the women I met today live in said building. On one hand, that would be fun, but on the other, I really like using my Spanish at home as well as in school. Well by that final week I hope to have local friends who I can speak Spanish with.

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