From a Cafe on Sante Fe

First and foremost, this is my flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/63494086@N03/
Does that work for all of you?  I've never used flickr before...

Que pasa hermanos? I'm writing this from a cafe called Havana on the corner of Thames and Santa Fe.  The mocha lattes are delish, if you ever want to come give it a try.  The atmosphere is relaxed, although it seems to be a bit high end.  I'll label it the Argentinian Starbucks.

Anyway, I've gone to two full days of school now.  Unfortunately, my school is almost an hour's commute from my house in Palermo, which makes for a long day of travel.  Let me tell you, I broke a cold sweat yesterday morning as I wandered aimlessly for a solid 45 minutes in search of the correct bus stop which would take me across town to class.  As you all know, I tend to be pretty chill, but I also tend to know where I'm going.  When these two personality quirks converge, the FermiLab in my brain pops out a new particle.  Fortunately, no black hole formed today, and my external chillness didn't waver.  My ability to find my way prevailed.

Although the bus system here is daunting at first, boasting at least a hundred routes, transportation is generally easy to figure out.  The subway is simple, and the colectivos (buses) come every 5-10 minutes.  After just two days of school, I already feel pretty comfortable getting there and back.

Of course, I have a few qualms about my new life here.  First, I live with a pretty old lady.  She has difficulty moving around (back issues, weight issues), and she sleeps a lot, which worries me a bit, to be honest.  I hope she's in better health than I suspect.  It's a two bedroom apartment, and we share a bathroom, which means I get to shower with an old lady's underwear hanging in front of my face.  I guess she dries her undergarments in the bathroom...surprise!

Another issue: people don't do a very good job cleaning up after their dogs here.  I'm all for owning a dog (shout out to Mable!  And I guess Betty too...), but you gotta clean up after it, especially if it's doing it's business on the concrete sidewalk.  Thus far I've been fortunate enough to evade any such land mines, but I've seen a lot of smushed fecal matter decorating the sidewalk.  I won't be so big headed as to declare that I will go another 5-6 weeks without smelly sneakers, but I do take pride in my innate skills at this game of urban dodgeball.

I'm pretty hyped on learning Spanish and reading Lit (whether it be English or Spanish) right now.  I'm trying not to fall into the vortex of indecision which I constantly orbit, but man, it's hard to justify the monotony of economics when humanities linger with such welcoming arms.  I can't help but laugh at myself for being so unsure of my own interests.  I don't plan to think too much about my academics/career right now though, and instead I'll focus on the beauty of my time here.

The school is very political.  I'll take more pictures later this week.  This was
outside the school.  Not tied to Wisconsin protests...

The Subway stop is super nice.  My picture isn't very good...

Host mom gave me a really old, decrepit nylon guitar.  Better than nothing though!

This weekend I'm going to a Rugby game, which will bring back some good memories from high school.  Although I would probably not play again after my concussion, it's certainly a fun game to watch--lots of action and physicality.  On Sunday (and Monday) I'll be in Uruguay, which I'm pretty excited about.  I'll be sure to take lots of pictures of both excursions.  Hasta luego!

It is our choices that show us who we really are, far more than our abilities.

J.K. Rowling (Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets)