Life Happening

I realize that I haven’t really written much about my life lately.  The most I’ve written has been about food or voting, and that’s about it.

I suppose it’s because the longer I’m here, the more ordinary my life feels and I don’t have so many interesting things to say.

I don’t write much about Tango really, as I am not a tango tourist anymore and I am only dancing once or twice a week (and no more than that, because, as the title of this entry says, life is happening - I have other things to do and not a whole lot of money to throw away on milonga entries or taxi rides home).

I don’t have anything to say about how amazed I am about cultural differences here because I guess I’m just not that kind of expat, and I don’t find the culture that shocking at all (I’ve lived in Italy and find a lot of similarities).

But I realize that those of you at home who are wondering about me might want to be updated.  Also, I’m sure my life must seem interesting to someone out there - I’m getting enough blog hits to let me know that.  So I’ll write.

Apartment. I am finally fed up with living in Once (a district in the barrio of Balvanera), the transvestite prostitutes on my street, the drunks on the corner keeping the neighborhood awake at night, the ugliness, the sad feeling in the air, etc., and I am moving to another neighborhood in November, at the beginning of the month.  It’s in the barrio of Paternal.  A nice apartment on a quiet street, with only one roommate.  A little farther from the centro, but still convenient in terms of public transportation and it’s a tourist-free neighborhood, as far as I know.  I look forward to it.  I have to say that the more I am in Once the more things I find to like about it, but in the end, I’d like to feel a little more comfortable in general.  And so, I am moving.  I will keep some very valuable memories of this house and the people in it, and I’m sure we’ll still get together.

Dancing. I’ve had some revelations about my dancing lately, and I am happy about it.  My dancing has really evolved since I’ve been here.  I stopped stressing myself out with lessons back in March or April as you know, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been learning and growing.  And working closely with Pedro, my milonguero friend, assisting him and interpreting for lessons, has done wonders for me as a dancer.  That, plus dancing with who I feel are the best dancers when I do go out.  Along with Pedro, there are one or two other very wise dancers who shall remain unnamed, who I allow to give me input once in a great while.  I am so grateful for it.  I feel like my embrace has improved, along with my sense of balance, my walking and most of all my enjoyment of the dance.  The best compliment I received from a friend who I regularly dance with was the other day: he commented that he really likes the way I soak up pauses these days.  He noticed that when he pauses, I don’t just lazily, sleepily wait for him to lead the next step, instead I pause with him - like really pause, soak it up, participate, enjoy it.  That’s a big thing for me to hear from someone I respect in tango.

Love. I’ve got a boyfriend now.  In fact a month ago today we went to our first dinner together, at Plaza Asturias on Av. de Mayo.  We met through Miss Tango, as she and the Pelado used to work with him.  I was hard on him at first but now I’m relaxed and enjoying it.  He has left comments here as Ariel, which is his middle name.  He lives just outside of Capital, so I’m riding the train a bit more these days, and discovering places I would never have thought of before.  He does not dance Tango.  He gave me the necklace you see in this picture. :-)  I’m happy.

Work. Spring is here, and I believe we are turning our clocks forward this weekend, which means I won’t be so behind my Italian clients.  Work was great last month and is a little slow this month.  I really hope it picks up, as I need the money.  My roommate’s boyfriend finally returned from his vacation and I gave him his English students back.  I am teaching English to one person I know from tango, once a week.

And that’s about it.  The change in weather has been hard on me, we had sun and beautiful blue skies (and me sneezing a lot) last week, while this week it’s just gloomy and grey and rainy.  I’ve always hated the transition into spring, as it’s always so bumpy.  Soon, however, it will be steadily warm.  And then summer will come and I will wonder what I was ever complaining about.

**In case you’re wondering what happened to What’s Cooking Wednesday, I had written a whole entry on Pappa al Pomodoro, a delicious Tuscan tomato/bread soup, and then the blog entry disappeared.  I do not want to write it again, so go HERE for the recipe.