It just got weirder

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Hi folks,
It has been a while since I last wrote, about 3 months. Oops. Here's a quick update: last time I left you, I was struggling with a lack of heat and hot water in the dead of winter. Well since then, I moved a few times, and I have finally ended up in one of the most upper class neighborhoods in Buenos Aires. That's right, I am talking 80 years with so much plastic surgery that they look 20, and 12 year olds with so many designer clothes that they look 20....long story short, in my new apartment I have heat, hot water and 2 great roomates from Spain and Peru. (Note: ladies, my roommates are gorgeous and single, so you should all come visit me).
Hope this update filled you in a little bit on the whereabouts of your long lost friend, but that is not why I am writing today. I decided to return to blogging because I wanted to tell you guys about my evening.

I spent this evening hard core moshing to an all girl punk rock group in a derelict alternative circus in a sketchy neighborhood in Buenos Aires, and trying not to get beat up by the police in the process.

That's the short story, the long story is this: It was all fake, so don't worry. The punks weren't hard core, the band couldn't play nor sing, and the police were actors (although they wore real uniforms and were just as violent as the real Argentine police). A classmate of mine is filming an independent film and she asked me to come and be an extra at a punk rock concert. You know me, I can't turn down an acting gig, or a weird experience, so I went.

The place is this strange street circus/ freak show space, where the mass quantity of circus people (that's right, there is a pretty popular "circus" subculture in Buenos Aires) goes to practise juggling fire, or swinging from trapezes attached to the 50 foot high loft ceiling. I didn't see too much of this though, mostly the circus people were just sitting aroung smoking weed and spinning a frisbee on a stick. But they all wore a lot of stripes.

It was time to film, so they ushered the 25 extras into this huge performance space and told us to mosh. It was me and a bunch of girls with mohawks and piercings through their cheeks, upper ridges of their noses and chins. The bad part was that these extras were not actors but friends of the crew, so they didn't really understand the concept of "acting" and instead did everything for real. Even worse, the police officers didn't know how to act either so things got pretty dangerous. In the first scene we had to mosh, and smash into each other. In the second scene the police come and we all try to escape, some of us get away and some of us get beat up. Whether you managed to escape or not all depended on your luck, and on how fast your ran (a.k.a. nothing was planned out). All in all it was pretty fun. We did 11 takes and my battles scars only included getting hit in the mouth once by a punk mosher, thrown down to the ground by my hair by a policeman and getting hit in the forehead with a police baton. Overall, I would say I made out pretty well. It is a small price to pay for my debut in an Argentine film.

Tomorrow I have to give a speech to 200 Argentine high school kids about the benefits of studying abroad. I wonder if I should tell them this story.

I would love to hear from all you. FYI, I haven't figured out to respond to you guys when you post comments so I am going to respond to the comment board. So if you leave a comment, check back to see the response. And if anyone knows how to respond to comments, please let me know.

Besos de Buenos Aires!

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Photos

School Project
This is what I have been up to: my classmates and I are doing a documentary about a blind man that sings in the subway.

The Thinker
Just doing some thinking with The Thinker in Plaza Del Congreso, Buenos Aires

Comments

[jessum]

geez
Jesus debby is this what I am in for? You should have explained acting to them. Your the master. See you soon! lovies jess

[Debby B]

It's all good in the hood.
Don't worry, you are in for a lot more than that. Road trip 2007! Hello Cordaba, Goodbye Rosario!

[Erin Noethen]

Story to tell!!!
I often get asked by folks here in Aspen, how is that adorable little Debbie doing over there? Thank you Debbie, I now know exactly how to respond. Great story love. Miss you!!!