the buenos aires timewarp

i've been here 3 weeks and it literally feels like months. loads of people who have been here for a while speak of the "BsAs time warp" where you lose track of the hours, the days, the weeks, even the seasons. not sure if it's because the seasons are swapped or the fact that the nights are so long and you sleep so little, but the concept of time is a funny thing here. and it doesn't help that my watch, the only watch i've brought out of the many i own, sputtered to a slow death a week ago and i have yet to replace it. i've literally worn a watch every day of my life for at least the past 10 years, from the moment i got my first Swatch with the little gnomes from around the world on the band. not having instant access to time layered on top of the time warp really made me crazy at first. but then i realized... why do i need the time, anyway? no one is in a rush here, not the waiters who make you ask for the bill (you can spend hours lounging after a meal and no one will kick you out), not the people strolling on the sidewalks (i'm trying not to be the crazy NY'er pushing around everyone), not even the people in line to check out at the grocery store. the latin life is so much less rushed, and hence less stressful.

then there's the besos. since everyone literally kisses each other hello and goodbye, it's only natural to sign emails or texts with a kiss. whether it's "besos," "abrazos," "x," "un beso," etc., it is a must, even if you've never met the person before, if it's your Spanish teacher or someone you may not like. men also kiss each other upon meeting, which to me, is the best. a few american dudes have confessed it still makes them uncomfortable, but that's the puritan american for you.

as for the last few days, it was my first break from going out so hard. friday afternoon began with a quick empanada on the street (less than $1!) before my private Spanish class with martha (a bit pricey at $20/hour, but she has an amazing house right in San Telmo and is very strict when i say something incorrectly, which is what i need). then it was off to yoga at Heather's, who has the most amazing, charming apartment i've seen. if i'm still here in July, i've offered to take over her rent. then finished off the night with a quiet, drawn out dinner around the corner from our apartment where Jo, the new british roommate, and i talked for quite some time about life. a nice break from the plethora of 24 year olds around. she is now the 3rd person in as many weeks to invite me to visit in london. might just have to visit big ben sometime soon.

woke up early to go for a long run with Jo, whose birhtday it was. we ran to the Palermo Park (mini Central Park) and joined in a public salsa aerobics class we happened to stumble upon. had a good laugh at how terrible we were and then wandered off to the rose garden. then i spent the afternoon sunning at a pool of some new american guys i met who have been living here for a few years. one thing BsAs definitely has on NY is the plethora of private pools at apartment buildings. come on, NYC! then had an hour of Spanish class with another new private tutor, which was $10 an hour very well spent.

last night was a dinner party at my wine teacher's girlfriend's apartment with some of my fellow winos. he's the ex-lawyer, ex-actor, sommelier trained wine teacher, she's a tall, hot, thoracic surgeon. 3 others from my class were there, one married couple and the chilean girl who wants to open a restaurant in Santiago. sushi was ordered in (they put cream cheese on almost all rolls, gross), un picada (basically an antipasto of assorted cheeses, olives, hams, nuts and roasted pepper) and of course lots of wine. the white sparkling malbec (yep, white MALBEC) from alma negra was my favorite of the night. the 5 hours of conversation was 75% in spanish, which was great practice for me. discussion was pretty typical for a dinner party, whether it's american or argentine. discussed recent seasons of TV shows, current events, WW2 and nazi jokes (they were unaware how sensitive this was... awkward), traveling to the States, etc.

today was spent walking around the San Telmo market and la Boca (the dangerous neighborhood you only go to during the day and stay on one street, El Caminito, which is one of the most colorful streets here). waking up early for another run with Jo since we just treated ourselves to some ridiculous Argentine desserts. pictures to come soon, but now i have to do homework.