The latest

So the last few days have been really hot, and the mosquitoes will not stop! I was in class and we watching the movie Nueve Reinas, or Nine Queens, which was really good and so Argentine, really worth seeing to get a feeling for how people talk and what they are like.

Today was the last day of class for the week, because everyone gets the day off tomorrow for Good Friday. Actually most people have today off too, so it was awesome, like there was no one here. I was literally walking down Corrientes, a very busy street, with my arms oustretched, and I didn't run into anyone. I admit I probably looked really weird, but it was a crazy feeling to have that much space around me while walking down the street. And, it only took 1 hour to walk, instead of the usual hour and a half, because I didn't have to keep waiting for a small coutry to get out of my way first.

Now, I know I have the disease where I think, when I am running late, that people were actually put in my path to piss me off, but here I think it really is the case. People walk in packs, with at least 3 generations at a time walking together, making one or two middle-aged people, a geriatric with (usually) a walker or a cane, and then a toddler or, more likely, a stroller. And it wouldn't be so bad if they would just go somewhere, but they always seem to be somewhere on a very busy street and have no destination, so they will stop at any time, or will decide all of a sudden to turn onto a street or cross the street, and it's like a wave of people tripping you up or stopping quickly in front of you, and they all come up to about my collarbone, so I am literally tripping over them. I also love when they all stop to look at something in a window or decide just after they passed something that that was where they wanted to be. Ugh!

And it was even worse this past week because there was a strike on the subte. Normally there is always a strike about something here in this country, but this past week there was no subte for two days. This is a big deal.There were riot police down there, but I don't know what they were doing. Just kinda hanging out and being yelled at by some workers, from what I could see. Anyway, to get to school I usually need 15 minutes. On the bus I need an hour. I was shocked to find the subte closed Tueday morning so I grabbed the bus, which was packed, of course, so I had to stand smooshed between a whole bunch of strangers, some of them with really bad breath, and stand for an hour. At this point, not even to the Obelisco yet, I was totally late and not even to school so I decided the traffic was so bad it would be faster to walk, and I was right! I hopped off the bus, was behind some daydreaming 12-year old with a weaving way of walking that made passing frustratingly impossible, but after a while I broke into a slow jog and passed his ass, then the stupids in front of him, ti lI got to Florida. And there, looking over my shoulder, I saw that I had actually beaten the bus by a few seconds. Sheesh, thank God the subte is running again! Makes my life SO much easier!

We have a long weekend which will be great, I plan to enjoy the mellowness of an emptied city, go to the park if it's warm or, if it finally cools down break out the poncho and march proudly through the streets begging for compliments and showing off my knitting prowess.