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Published: October 31st 2014
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Screaming at the top of my lungs in the Plaza de Viña is how I started my day today. If you had just gotten out of a
colectivo and noticed that your left thumb did NOT get the memo you might have done the same thing. I can only hope that most people did not understand the words that came out of my mouth as I stood in front of a busy
colectivo stop emitting a blood curdling cry. I slammed my thumb in the
colectivo door! I don't even mean that I banged my thumb with the door. No. I mean I slammed the car door completely shut and my thumb was in it! I have never been so clumsy as I am here. It was like this last time too only this time I've seemed to "up the ante".
Last week I almost fell out of the shower. That dang almond scented Le Sancy! That's what I get for buying a Chilean body wash with a French name.
Double espuma (double lather) is not always a good thing, especially if there is no shower mat. As I felt myself slipping, about to go down with the ship, I
was determined not to fall OUT of the shower...which is the direction I was headed in. I pivoted quickly and ended up bashing my hip, cutting my knee open and smashing through the shower curtains only stopping as I smacked my hand against the toilet. At least I didn’t hit my head? I ended up shrieking for Brittney to go get Mama Sussy to no avail. The girl sleeps WAY too hard. But Mama Sussy heard me all the way from the kitchen and she brought me a Band-Aid. Yay! I also fell on a lady's head on the
micro a couple of weeks ago. And dare I mention when I went on an emergency cereal run and accidentally swung around a pole like a lady of the night? This was the result of a perfect storm: a
micro going rapidly down hill, then abruptly veering right before it halted to a stop. I was sitting in the very front of the bus and grabbed the pole for leverage but ended up spinning around it instead looking like a complete professional. Wow.
Part of me feels like I have to represent here because I might be the only black person that some people meet and get a chance to interact with. So I would appreciate it if I didn't look like I was auditioning for the Three Stooges!
Speaking of "representing", Picha, her friend Carolina, and some guy named Pablo took me out to some club last night called "Lion Club: Black Music". The sign literally said that. They wanted to take me because they thought it would be
super bacán (cool), to go with an actual black person. They play reggae, dancehall, and some hip-hop. The dancing was a lot cleaner than clubs in the United States that play similar music which was refreshing. This other black girl came who had an awesome afro and she was dancing so skillfully! It felt like we were the experts in that place! It was so enjoyable to be out with my host sister and her friends and amazing that there are places in South America that celebrate my culture too. When I'm not participating in accidental slap-stick comedy and screaming in Plazas, I am truly flattered. :-)
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