Caught up on sleep, emails and general internet-ish, then headed out to meet Ayelen (my cello-playing, poetry-writing, French-learning 21-year old Spanish teacher from my language school) for coffee. Remember, when Ayelen plans to hang, she allocates hours to do so. No quick one-hour hi and bye for this girl. We meandered through the old crumbling streets of Montserrat/San Telmo with no particular destination except my sole requirement of coffee at some point. We stumbled upon the "mysterious" Túneles en la Manzana de las Luces, which I had never heard about, and she had forgotten that she had visited when she was in primary school. Apparently they're so mysterious because no one knows exactly why they're there. There are some educated guesses about the Jesuits building them to help safeguard the city... or something. The building housing the tunnels has a quiet, spacious courtyard which was the perfect place for a cafe con leche, probably one of the more unique to be found in the city. Three hours later, my Spanish quickly progressed from rusty to somewhat manageable, just in time for my two hour class with Martha, the Argentine married to Mickey, the Bronxian. (I remind you, dear readers, because I know I'd sure as hell get confused if I didn't have a face with the names...)
Probably the most enjoyable class thus far, where Martha offered me yet another round of coffee (this time made with an Italian coffee-maker, on the stove, similar to a percolator, but not plugged in). We sat at her kitchen counter and discussed my various trips, the internship, she gave me a few books to read, offered to put me on her family cell phone plan, gave me a tour of her palatial and amazing house (the rooftop terrace alone had me at hello) and discounted me an hour for the class. She could be my home away from home. I'd be happy with that. Also turns out she's a fellow member of the tribe. We're everywhere!
By the time I got home it was after 9 and I spent the night half-watching the Life of David Gale with Spanish subtitles, writing more emails and simply enjoying the rare freedom of having an apartment to myself in South America.
This morning I slept in a bit, dreading the inevitable chore of the day: my taxes. Robin graciously brought my W-2s and 1099s down, and I hunkered down over some newly discovered delicious Greek yogurt, yellow plums (so sweet and juicy) and cereal and began the annoying task of plugging numbers into TurboTax's software, keeping an eye on the ever-falling amount of money I'd get in return. It ended in the black, after dipping to the red for a minute, but with a huge sigh of relief I will be getting SOMETHING back... just enough to keep me here an extra week or two I'd say.
After double-checking the numbers with H&R Block's software, I picked the cheaper of the two services (TurboTax with Capital One's 25% discount if anyone's wondering), showered, and headed out to meet Gonzalo for coffee. Gonzalo is my other teacher from the language school, 24, studying literature and also wise beyond his years. Was great seeing him after the month hiatus, having seen him everyday for my first month here. Showed him some pictures of the trip on my new iTouch, he complimented me on my Spanish (score!), we discussed various relationship topics, gossiped about the few people we know in common, and then it was off to meet Mike and Jurgen, the couple from Casa Felix who are traveling the world, 91 days at a time in various cities. Met up with them in a literary/arty cafe-bar called Poesia in San Telmo, their 'hood, so they could bring along Chucky, their aging and slightly injured French bulldog. We sipped our blonde artisanal beers (little more than $3 a piece), devoured bowl after bowl of peanuts in their shells, talking about ex-pat life, BsAs, their travels, monetizing websites and blogs (they seem to be quite good at it... how they're making a living actually). They have 6 more weeks in BsAs then they're off to Bolivia, which I keep hearing more and more great things about. Apparently there is a developing wine industry there as well... must look into that.
I've finally begun to really budget myself, after two months of not reallllly giving a damn and living more like a rock star than I should have, and it's caught up. I've dug way into more savings than I'd planned, and am eagerly awaiting the internship to cover some of my expenses. Finally heard from Karim today, who informed me that the Italian winemaker won't be joining us for the harvest, which is now also pushed back a week. So instead of just a few days after my mom and Robin leave, I have two weeks free... I know it sounds silly, but the thought of not doing anything concrete for so long actually has me in a panic. That, and I'd have to figure out where to stay. Maybe negotiate with Hostel Lao for a discount on an extended stay? So not my personality to have nothing planned, so of course my mind is racing. Maybe my mom will stay an extra week! Maybe I'll take a hiking trip somewhere. Maybe I'll go to Salta and taste the hell out of Torrontes. Maybe I'll ask someone to fly me to Europe! Ha. It's funny what the mind thinks up when it has the time and freedom to not be bogged down with a 9-5.
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