Boy was the milonga quiet yesterday. There were plenty of people, sure. But the energy of the place was a bit… bajo. Low. And the floor was too slippery so it was hard for people to totally relax when dancing.

I was chatting with a friend I usually dance with, and he said that it’s probably so “blah” feeling because of not only the winter blues that everyone gets, but also a bit of confusion over the (hopefully temporary) closure of El Beso, stress over the problems re: the campo, lack of money to go out very often… un po’ di tutto, as it is said in Italian.

If I were in Seattle it would be mild and sunny, and I would be wearing a pink belly dancing costume at this very moment, getting ready to shimmy down the streets of Fremont with Delilah in the Fremont Solstice Parade. Summer solstice, that is. Here in Buenos Aires it’s the beginning of winter, and my body is a bit confused. It’s June!

Of course, I’ve just checked the weather and Buenos Aires, in its first days of winter, is only a few degrees cooler than Seattle, which is in its first days of summer. The sky is blue here - very blue, and when it rains it doesn’t take on that awful grey cast that Seattle is so known for. I love Seattle but I don’t like grey.

I miss my belly dancing girls. The Solstice Parade is the one thing I can’t miss in Seattle. I’ve done it three years in a row. This year I’m in Argentina.

I’m alone right now, apart from one of my roommates, in this large apartment with french doors that open on to tiny balconies. The heat is on low, the sun is spilling in, and I’m working, in my PJs. I’ll get up soon, put on a coin scarf, and dance around the house a bit, to show my solidarity with the sisters of Visionary Dance.

P.S. Yes that’s me in the photo, the morning of the parade in 2006.

Asi se baila el Tango - Thursdays - Peru 571 - 8pm to 1am -

organized by Pedro Sanchez and Alejandro Gee

The new milonga hosted by my dear friends Alejandro and Pedro has been going on for several weeks now. They’ve been working hard to get this thing started, and I must say it really is lovely. Hopefully I’ll see some of you there! (Those in BsAs who read this, anyway)

Of course, now that I’m living down here, I get lots of e-mails with questions about visiting Argentina. Lots of invitations to meet for coffee in order to get tips from me about getting around in Buenos Aires. Lots of questions about where to do this, how to find that. Requests to help find Tango shoes (something I like, though I’m still trying to learn how to leave all money at home for those outings, to avoid temptation).

On one hand I really like this, because I enjoy meeting new people, I always have an opinion on what might be fun to do, and because I’ve had many an expat take the time to meet me in other cities around the world. And most importantly, connections are being made in one way or another.

For example, Buzz, a student and friend of Cherie and Ruben, recently put me in touch with his kind-spirited, adventurous daughter M who is around my age, who then put me in touch with her fabulous friend P, who arrived a few days ago in BsAs, and she got together with me a couple of times for coffee and even came to check out a milonga. We clicked! Yesterday P invited me down to San Telmo for the day, and it turned into a wonderful girls’ day out between me, her, her Hungarian friend, and two American girls she met a few days ago, one of whom lives here now. I ended up making wonderful connections (and finding a pilates teacher) and having one of the best Sundays I can remember so far. I’m smiling just thinking about it. (Thanks Buzz, if you’re reading this!)

That is an example of some of the great things that can happen when you are open to them.

On the other hand, I get a little exhausted when people get everything they can get from me and then disappear. I am a very social person and like to make personal connections - if I can’t make the personal connection, I almost don’t want to help. It almost hurts me to meet someone, help them out, maybe take them to a store, think I’ve made another social connection, and then never hear from them again - not even so much as a thank you.

These are the same people who flake out, people who forget that unlike them I am not on vacation, people who think I can just up and change my hours for them when in fact it’s not quite possible since I have a life and I have to work, and it’s just annoying. There are also the ones who you think you click with, but, perhaps unintentionally, they complain, complain some more, wrap you up in their personal problems, drain you of all your energy and then “ciao!” they’re gone.

I’m not looking to make best friends with everyone I meet, but I do expect a little common courtesy! “Thank you” goes a long, long way. And it’s amazing how few people know how to say it.

It’s such a fine line because I absolutely love making connections with people and helping out, as more often than not, it comes back to me. But the question is, how nice can I be? And when should I say no?

Hey cool, I get to be in DiosTango magazine this month, along with fellow blogger Cherie, in some pictures that were taken at the opening night of the new milonga, Asi se baila el Tango (Thursdays, Peru 571, 8pm to 1am)…

The images can be found on Cherie’s blog.

In no particular order,

1. Sweet indulgences like mousse de chocolate at Las Violetas or churros (with dulce de leche) at La Giralda

2. The subte!

3. Las tardecitas

4. Being Tia Tina to little Isabella Azul

5. Friends such as Miss Tango, SallyCat and Cherie, who have made this city their home

6. Avenida Corrientes at night

7. The architecture on Avenida de Mayo

8. Asados

9. My cool room in the cool apartment that I share with 4 others

10. Tango of course!

(update… I got the idea from Romancing Argentina…)

I met a girl from the States the other day who had been taking lessons with my old friend.  We connected right away and chatted about the things we love about Buenos Aires, etc.  I asked her how long her stay here was going to be, and she responded, “Well, actually… I was supposed to leave 5 days ago…”

Sound familiar? 

I set off on a new adventure while in Cachirulo on Saturday, opting to dance to “Cafe Dominguez” with someone I had never danced with before.  That’s tough for me to do, when it comes to D’Agostino, especially Cafe Dominguez.  Not just anybody can dance to that.  Not with me.  But, I really really really really really wanted to dance.  So I accepted his “cabeceo” from across the room.

As I embraced him and he embraced me and the music moved us, I found myself grinning, ear to ear… I opened my eyes for a bit and looked over at the two ladies I get to sit next to at the milonga now… I thought about how much fun I was having on this beautiful night… I thought about how NICE this guy’s embrace was and how perfectly in tune we were, musically speaking.  My heart swelled up with joy, as usual, and I thought to myself,

“I am so extremely grateful to have this dance in my life.”