Tango, Pinamar and a few cultural differences I've noticed!

Last Thursday was my first tango class, and I loved it!  Although I'm a bit clumsy I think I did pretty well, at least I didn't step on my instructor's feet.  I'll definitely have to get used to how close you stand to your partner.  I felt so uncomfortable that I stared at the floor the entire time, but this was also partially because I felt like I needed to watch my steps to learn them.  I definitely learned a lot in an hour though, and best of all it only costs $15 an hour for a private lesson!  My instructor is really nice and super patient with me.  I can't wait to go back and plan to do so every Thursday. 

This weekend I went to the beaches of Pinamar with a group of about 15 students from my class, and it was an absolute blast!  We arrived late Friday night and had dinner around 11:30 (another thing I'll have to get used to, because this is actually normal)  and didn't go to the boliche until 3am!  We danced the night away and had soo much fun!  The drinks here are much cheaper than in the states, and often times a drink (or unlimited drinks) are included in the cover charge.  My only complaint is how aggressive Argentine men are on the dance floor.  I actually had to push a guy away from my friend and I, but apparently they are persistent because they are used to women playing hard to get.  Anyway, we danced until the sun came up and finally went to bed around 7am.  I woke up around noon and met my friends at the beach.  The water was SO warm and felt amazing.  I loved seeing all of the families on the beach enjoying each others company.  I also saw lots of butt cheeks; all of the women wear thong bikinis.  Saturday night we went to a "funk club" called Black Cream, that played a mix of Will Smith, Blackeyed Peas, JLo, Christina Aguilera, and reggaeton.  Luckily we only stayed out until about 430 that night because I was wiped.  Sunday we spent another few hours on the beach before taking the bus home.  The bus, by the way, was amazing.  It was $56 for a 10 hour roundtrip that included snacks, movies, and reclining seats!

And at last, just a few observations I've made over the last week and a half:
-PDA is completely acceptable.  My class actually stared at this elderly couple making out in a restaurant the other day in shock.
-This is the city of bad hair for men.  Many have mullets, and some even have mostly short hair with just a couple of dreds in the back.  Also, unibrows are everywhere...
-Breastfeeding in public is also common.  I saw a woman running across the street the other day with her baby clutched to her chest.  
-Last but not least, habits like crotch-scratching and nose-picking without a care in the world are also very prominent. 

I guess Argentines just seem to be more honest with themselves than Americans.  They show affection whenever they please and take care of what really needs to be done (like nose-picking). 

I hope to travel to Gualeguaychu for Carnaval the first weekend of March and maybe Patagonia between now and then!

Asado and first days of school!

Saturday night's asado was incredible!  Our landlord cooked 5 different kinds of meat, potatoes, and bread on the grill- que rico!  My favorite was the chorizo.  He cooked a total of 10 kilos of meat and we barely had leftovers.  The meat was all unseasoned, but far better than any meat I've had.  I hope I can find the meat market he told us about; I can't believe you can buy a kilo for just $2.  We met a lot of nice people that George knows and ate and ate and ate all night.  I still have to get used to eating so late; we didn't get to George's until 10 or so and and stayed until about 1am.  I like going over there and when he comes over because he has a cute dog named Bruno.  He also has a bunny named Miguel at his house, and Miguel and Bruno are friends! 

That was also my first time riding the subte, which I now use to get most of the way to school.  I cannot believe it only costs about 30 cents U.S. to ride.  As much as I love public transportation in Seattle, Buenos Aires can't be beat!  This brings me to the first couple days of school.  Yesterday was my orientation and placement test for my intensive Spanish class.  Everybody is really nice, but unfortunately they all speak English.  It seems like I'm going to have to go out of my way if I want to practice Spanish outside of class.  I'm also going to have to buy new clothes!  There is a strict dress code at the school, which just about none of my clothes follow.  I guess its a good  excuse to go shopping : )  I got sushi with a group of students that all go to American University before heading out on a shopping excursion on calle Florida.  That trip has brought me one step closer to deciding to dye my hair brown, although I'm not sure dark hair will disguise me because I'm so pale haha. 

I had my first day of actual class today!  My profesora is very sweet, but very hard to hear.  She speaks so softly that I'm afraid I'll have to move to the front of the class to make sure I understand what she's saying.  Tomorrow we have a city tour after class.  I'm excited to finally see other neighborhoods like San Telmo and Palermo that I have yet to explore.  I bought my ticket to the Shakira concert today, emailed an instructor about starting tango lessons, and signed up on couchsurfing.com!  My new roommate said that she met a language exchange partner that way and I hope to do the same.  I have announced on ModelMayhem that I am in Buenos Aires, so I hope I get some responses.  That's all for now and I promise pictures are soon to come!