Movies and Literature

OK so I start with my volunteer stuff today. I have to meet them really soon so I just wanted to make a quick post before I run. I went to try to get an eye exam today at the public clinic, but it was going to take too long, so I have to go back tonight. Nice that they have something like that though, it`s going to cost me about 10 pesos, less than 4 bucks, to get checked up, then I can get me a pair of glasses, and maybe contacts, but I´ll be set!

Last night I saw Alice in Wonderland (Alicia en el pais de las maravillas) and loved it. It was really cute, the story was nice, and the visuals were awesome. I guess they have it in 3D too, and I think it would have to be really awesome to see it like that. Also, on the way home from that, I decided that I needed a book. I don`t have  friends yet, so when I`m not at the bar, I`m alone. Not in a sad way, it`s just how it is, I`ve only been here 5 days.. So I got The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (La Maravillosa Vida Breve de Oscar Wao) in Spanish, obviously. I saw it on the shelf and could almost hear my friend Kristina screaming at me to get it, because she loves that book and its author, and Dominicans. So I couldn`t pass it up. Learning Spanish by reading is pretty easy because everything sounds exactly how it`s written. I`ve been watching TV in English, with Spanish subtitles, then the other way around, and it`s actually helping a lot.

Lucky enough, I have a bunch of uncashed savings bonds at home that I didn`t know about, so knowing that I have some money coming means I can buy a backpack, a mochila! I have been carrying all my little things around in a plastic bag from the grocery store, so it will be so nice to have a normal thing again. And I`ve been nervous with this bag because I`m kind of like a child... sometimes when I`m carrying something for a long time, my hand just lets go of it, I don`t realize, and later I don`t have what I thought I was carrying. Weird as hell, it sounds like something one of my old roommates, a total space cadet, would do. But anyway, I`ll go try to find one. Everything is pretty cheap here, and I was pointed toward the Canal Street of BA so I can buy a bunch of knockoff stuff for nothing. But I don`t get the knockoffs because the quality is shit, and I don`t even like Ralf Lauren anyway....haha. Or Dulce & Gabana. Argentinian knockoffs are awesome.

So here I start my first day of routine in BA. I like waking up early, without having gone out the night before. I feel like a totally different person! And I bought coffee at the supermarket, which is actually pretty hard to find. All of the coffees are already mixed with sugar, and I HATE sugar in my coffee, but I got a bag. Then I decided I had to try mate because literally everyone drinks it here, nonstop. Always. They carry a lunch box with their water pitcher and gourd everywhere. So I tried it and it`s really good, just like tea. And I think it has more caffeine than coffee, and it`s maybe a little better for you (or probably not) so I can adjust and feel more like a Porteño (someone from BA). Yesterday I did a lot of walking around, and have been taking note of all kinds of awesome spots here. I feel like it`s the same as NY in the sense that there are so many cool places and you want to try all of them, but I will probably end up going to a bunch of the same spots over and over again, same as back home. But I`ve been looking out for vegetarian stuff for Kendra because it`s a little tough here, but I think it can be done, no problem. Ok, I`m grabbing lunch with my Volunteer Coordinator, and then I`ll go meet some new friends!