nothing to do with julie andrews

.I woke up this morning puking and my stomach is exploded. It's not food poisoning or a hangover or curable by Tums. It is a disaster, and it is hard to digest water. Parasite? I do not know.
.If you ever get to try palmitos, they are yummy on pizza. Buenos Aires loves pizza. And there is some odd nacho-cheese-squirt-thing that is available called salsa. I don't understand! And the national tequila is tasty and sweet and cinnamony. I've never felt so dreamy about it ever.
.I like the olives that sit on top of the pizzas in a geometric sort of formation, I think.
.There are very cute little plates that the restaurants put out of tiny little snacks, and I know I love that!
.I'm giving up toilet paper and cutting back on meat and won't buy a pack of cigarettes until Monday.
.The phones/celulares are really confusing even with help. The number systems are a disaster, and the phones still won't work. I like the little tunes that come from it, though.
.Q: Where's the second world?
...Oh, A: Were the communist states aka it fell down the sink.

friends, drag show, yay

I went to my first drag show at a lesbian bar yesterday! Wee! Emily and I made friends with some local girls who wanted to get down. They invited us for dinner and drinks tonight in Amalgro! Err, all of them were extremely sweet sans uno. There was an extremely beautiful girl that was interested in me, and I should've kissed her after I told her I was down with boys and one in partic. Why not, eh? No harm done. We left and went to a rather yicky club in Palermo which is very extremely vibrant and lovely and clearly upper class. Everything was crisp and trendy and colorful. Unfortunately the club turned my head into a robot and made me regret leaving the purple bar with no rooms and lots of women and the cutest bartender I ever did see. I must take him home and introduce him to a gay boy, I must.
I feel rather ill today, and adjusting to staying out until 5 am or later on a daily basis is doing a number on my already confused bod. It's okay bod, we'll adjust. I just hope I'm not getting sunstroke for I'm wickedly warm and haven't sweat all day. Blehblehblehhh. Bye!

ahhh no sleep

I have met so many people from here and Colombia, and it is so lovely. Everyone is on vacation and wanting to chat for so long.
A man from Colombia came and sat down next to us while we watched some boys playing soccer. He liked to speak a great deal, and I don't ever know what to make of that. He kept quoting poems. In the end we lost him because he walked up to another pair of girls he wanted to chat with. I do think he was trying to take us to the sex room. La Boca's colors make you feel like you are hanging out in a box of Crayolas. If that were so, everything would have melted. We snacked and watched a tango show. I think it must be easyish to do if you think of foreplay the entire time, a lot of wrapping legs and things. A boy from La Boca saved us from heading to Las Barraccas at night. When we were headed that way he said, "Son loca?" Though we knew he told us how to say don't bother me and also not to talk to strangers and where we can get back safely. Thank you Axle! He also gave me a cigarette. Thank you Axle!
I went to a grocery store for the first time also. I didn't see fresh food at this one so I only purchased wine. I got 2 litros of wine and 2 litros of beers for 6 dollars? Holy moley.
We popped into a bank transformed into a bar-club that turned out to be quite fun. I met some from Chile, some from Buenos Aires, and one beautiful one from Colombia. The dj was playing boring music, but you could still dance to it. Alex, we will promote you. I will be your gig pusher. Easy. I did not take ecstasy nor go home with strangers, but I did do other things. The bartenders are rather dumb and pretty, and they give you quite a lot to drink. Walking home was beautiful as well, and there are vast expanses of greenery amidst the trash and the dog poop and buildings. I love the area we were walking in. It's hot even in my room. I am napping while I wait for Emily.

sunny days, off to play

There are nice friendly dogs in the plaza and also tables where the servers don't stop people from trying to sell things from you. I need to buy some earrings from one of the men there last night. They were exquisite and hand crafted, and he must be working very hard doing them. There are also a lot of children asking for money, and my district does have lots of cartoneros. I just want to help them. I wonder where the children doing this go at night. A drunk man stopped at our table asking for more to drink. He was quite boozy and thought Emily and I were dating. He wanted to be in on a little secret that didn't exist! Another man came over to talk to me while Emily was in the bathroom, and he thought that I was French. I tried to play along with it and act like I didn't know what he was saying, but he was funny so I told him the truth. He said I was like the sky, and it was wonderful because I could converse with him fluidly and laugh about everything that was being said.
I made friends with lots of pups too. They have the loveliest eyes and are so spontaneous. One kept giving us his paws and laid down next to me until he decided he wanted to go for a stroll. Mi perrrro, quiero mi perro, I sang, but he was over it. Quite a laaarge mob was celebrating something by the Obelisk last night as well. From a significant distance I heard loud-loud drums and marching and saw flags. Everyone was dancing, and holding up traffic for at leeeast 15 minutes. There must have been somewhere upwards 2000 to hold down a 16 lane thoroughway.
The people in the hostel are quite nice and share their Quilmes and stories about innards with me and run over to say hello when we are sighted on the streets! Everything is illuminated. I do hope the water is working today for this girl needs a shower.

what do i collect?

-science articles in spanish and all other related things
-recipe books
-other books
-crystals
-little bunches of cards and/or matchbox
-odd glass...things
-seashells
-slips
-velvet
-zoo memorabilia
-crushed flowers
-pretty lamp from market
-.....................................................
-paintings

must obtain quickly:
-bathing suit
-working knowledge of the public transportation system
-umbrella
-fruits and tea and medialuna mornings
-pens
-shoes with treads, preferably peddlers
-tobacco and papers

misty images of wild babies and their cohorts

A few passing images:
-the accidental ordering of fat steak aka vacio. it sounded a bit gnarly. it was. i am glad i didn't accidentally slice myself with the knife i was drunkenly wielding.
-it is easy to be drunk after 4 glasses of wine. i suppose that they do fill up their glasses very high so it is beginning to make sense.
-each of the bathrooms have very distinct toilets. in my drunken bumbling upstairs, having the courage to ask where they were located properly, i landed myself in a stall that had a toilet with extra parts and metal intestines. i missed the button on the top of the toilet and started fumbling around with one of the wind-a-bobs on the intestine and the toilet starting spraying me. i squealed, fixed it, and saw the button right where it should be.
-there are lots of art shows and pretty people talking about pretty things under the paaale moonlight.
-the children here, that is the ones who are not below the poverty line, appear to have very happy childhoods. i'm surprised i didn't mention this earlier. i haven't seen a single parent yelling at their kid nor kids being bratty. i have seen little girls in their little skirts carting toy strollers with baby dolls, little girls playing the accordion, little boys with rat tails on their parent's shoulders, little kids making wild little kid noises through open car windows and disappearing when someone sees them, and little kids with straps this way and that all around them for the sole purpose of carrying around their favorite stuffed animal of the day on their backs. they have very unique fashion senses, and some are extremely outspoken.
-the craft fair a few blocks away has a booth that is selling knives and machetes and something i thought was a flute before i noticed the weaponry and didn't stand around long enough to get another look.
-i am in love with this city, and it is making my emotions all wonky so much so that i almost burst into tears when i saw a storefront with these beautiful antique slips and artifacts a la the very beginning of titanic.
-there is to be a rather enormous downpour later, and i came inside so i didn't fall on my rear in the midst of it. mostly because i didn't have any cigarettes, and my tum is so full of wok vegetales y camarones. i just discovered i could stand in my window and be outside. i might just play i spy and name all of the produce i see at the little market across the street.

the loss of the stars, funny? or just everything else.

I woke up today and thought it was the time on my computey. I went back to sleep. My morning consisted mostly of forgetting and uncertainty. I woke up and remembered that it was an hour later than I thought. I smoked in my cozy room in the nude and looked out the lacy curtain on my door that likes to flap. The French couple could have seen me if they were descending the stairs outside. To them, I'd be that naked girl smoking the cigarette in her room in Argentina. I'd be okay with that. I've talked enough about nudity on this blog so far so moving on.
I thought I was checking out with some woman who was sitting at the front desk. I said, "Hola!" She kind of looked flustered and smiled and ran away. I sat there not really sure what to do. I walked up and down the stairs since I couldn't leave without a key. I whispered something to the googly eyed siamese kitty, and he looked offended so I pet him instead. The man who gave me a room came through the door as I was walking down the steps to wait for someone to came in so I said "Gracias y chau!" That was fun.
I came back to the hostel I was meant to stay at and a smiley woman named Mali showed me my room. She said, "Soy Mali." I said, "Que es un Mali?" And then laughed at my mistake when she pointed at herself.
I left immediately to try to find the landlords office in the center of Buenos Aires, about 3 miles and who knows how many km away, and realized while I was walking I didn't know the number of the office. I went anyway. I couldn't find it anyway. Another man approached me and tried to sell me socks. Where are they getting these socks? Most people on the street are wearing flip-flops? I'm not sure socks are a street business you'd want to get into for a living. What are you doing by pushing socks? Anyways.
I plopped down at a cafe and ate the most delicious medialuna with ham and cheese and the most magical orange juice with pulp that never sinks to the bottom. Since the ATMs hadn't worked for me I've been trying to conserve my cash. This means one meal a day not exceeding 30 pesos. I started reading the Autobiography of a Brown Buffalo while eating and felt dirty hearing the words "the big brown monster exploded" while I'm around men whose...
After a eensyweensy nap I went out in search of an ATM that will give me money. All along I thought the ATMs that were protected with a door and a card swiper were for people who were members of the bank. I tried my card anyway, and it worked! It made up for all of the stars dying in a trillion years from now! Though the comparison is weighted more on one side in terms of what is more poetic.
I celebrated with an eensyweensy scone of Los Kilotos del Whiskey at a gelataria. It was dreamy. I realized I forgot again to look at the address of my next destination again. My mishaps are getting all very funny to me, and it is making me smile at everyone I see. Even creepy boys who say "Hello, I love you" or "Hola mamacita, como anda?" I say "Hooola" very coyly and resume walking.
I've been sitting with the window to my room open, and there are little kids making little kid noises, and some apartment building adjacent to the hostel has been practicing their music for a long time now. They are very well-rounded. I've heard some hard rock, some belly dancing worthy ensemble, some samba, and some very recognizable song a la Boy George but not quite.
I'm going to embrace the night with an early dinner and practice my Spanish and learn more about the cosmos. I will have a companion in 36 hours!

time jumps about, rain falls down, and i keep bumbling about

I'm not at all sure what time it is. It's either 6:30 or 7:30, and everyone seems to be operating as if it were one of the two. Hay una tormenta (there's a thunderstorm) today, and it is perfect. I'm in the barrio I will be living in, and I've walked past the corner that I will have a little part of twice today. After a mishap this morning of my hostel giving my room away for tonight, I am at a new one a few doors down that has the feel of a ranch. My ceiling is much closer to the sky than I will ever be dwelling on land. The two paintings in my room are of naked woman. They almost look like the same naked woman. They have inspired me to pose nude for one of the art classes when I get back to Iowa City. I'm falling in love with this city beginning today. The boy filling in for the innkeeper at my hostel for the rest of the week gave me my first cheek goodbye and was the first person I've heard to use "vos." I also spoke my first collection of full sentences since being here, and even though they were terrrrible ungrammatical, I got my point across. It is much too much easier to write than to speak.
I forgot to mention the little foot dances I've been having with the scruffy pigeons in the street and all of the little puppies being coddled by people. I've never seen a stray dog before today that looked so cleeean. Lastly, the streets are nothing more than broken jumbled cobblestone, graffiti on top of more graffiti, and not a single stop sign in sight.

sticky buns

I have for the one of the few times in my life, showered two days in a row. I began my day with sticky buns... mmmm stickiness... and the afternoon is ending with a different variety of sticky buns. I will let you infer the meaning of this. I very much preferred the buns of the morning, the strange sticky rectangular dulce, and the cafe that had the aftertaste of suntan oil.
After again being wrong about what time it actually is, I rushed up stairs because I thought I missed check out. Even so, I should have let it sliiiiiide for more of the slippery coconut cafe I am so missing right now. Upon checkout, I called a cab. A very nice man pulled up. I accidentally told him the directions in English. Finally someone who doesn't speak English. I mysteriously transform into a litttttle clam and hand him the slip of paper with the direccion. He speaks to me a lot in Spanish unlike most everyone else, and though I don't understand him, I don't feel so out of place responding. Un exito! I didn't understand what he meant by yellow in relation to nieve. I said si regardless. He urged me to practice my Spanish quite regularly and dropped me off in front of V&S Hostel en el Microcentro.
I plopplopplop up the stairs with my luggage up flights of stairs I didn't know existed, hoping I wouldn't die by reverse momentum down the steps I miraculously made up. A girl comes down and helps me make use of the elevator I was ignorant of. They have many things aqui, unlike the relatively stuffy Wilton Hotel. I do miss the man who brought me mis picadas y licaudo de frutas. They gave me a very useful map and the lay of the land. The third floor is where business is conducted. There is a terrace, a kitchen, tables, books, a television with many peliculas, una seccion para computadoras, etc. I must inquire as to how to make my way to the beach once I leave and maaaybe (maybe) make friends here. I'm quite hot and schizophrenic currently so perhaps I will wait to make friends until I get to San Telmo. We shall see.
I ventured around for a few hours today with un petit sonrie on my face whenever someone would make eye contact. How effective! When I was lonely I remembered to think of everyone as if they were an inspired kitten, and then someone told me they loved me. Helloooo I love you won't you tell me your name?...
The pedestrian streets are crowded with many flip flop shops and burger places. Also little baaabies playing the accordion, and it is very much commercial looking most places I look. On la avenida de mayo there was a beeeautiful park squished alongside of two very large streets that I will wander over to when I move on this weekend. No couples mid-action in site.
My day's been punctuated by taking refuge in my air conditioned room though it is mostly just a fan, and I still feel buttered. I ventured out again for food and happened accidentally upon a bilingual cafe. The man began speaking to me in English. Oh I'm so obbbvious. Then he led me to a table outdoors. I tried my first mate of Argentina, and it was of the bag variety. Sorry little wet sack, but you are not quite mate. It is annoying to be a solo female because solo men look like they are going to sit down with you, and I don't feel like talking to them. I thought this was happening for a moment when a man on the street came over to me on the plaza, but then I realized he'd seen me from afar and decided to try and sell me socks. You think I don't know what you're doing sir? I'm onto you. My server came to my rescue swiftly and shooed him away.
I wish I could've given the rest of my pizza to one of the families on the street with their beautiful sleepy babies but not this time.
I bypassed my first sight of a tango show on la avenida Florida and saw a man trying to sell animal balloons get questioned by authorities. I do hope it's not for spreading the love of globos. Signing off to combat mas calor.

lest i forget!

Tomorrow I will pretend that everyone is a kitten inspired by kittens and see what happens.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtX8nswnUKU

heavy eyelids and the fiercely nervous tides

I arrived this morning after some useless solicitations by American men gleeeeful and sublime. Some dolares turned into pesos right before my very eyes, and before I knew it a quick contract with a remise was signed before walking outside for the first time in almost 24 hours. I went indoors without a coat in 30 degree, midwest weather and emerged without a coat trying to figure out celsius below the equator.
Right before I finally stepped outside, security guards are silently handing out blood red fliers that read "Cuidado/Warning" advising you to take airport-approved transportation services instead of rides from the hoards of men asking to take you where you want to go. Eeks? I had no idea that's what the paper was talking about, though, until I was able to sit down in the caaab because I had already solicited the services of so and so, so.
I truly despise not being able to articulate just the way you want to, and not having an ally to further clarify what you mean and vice versa in a bout of troubleshooting. I need to work on my tendency to panic when my only legitimate form of communication is a language I have never had to rely on. At leeeast no one commented on my broken shoes when I was bopping around the streets earlier. Little Iowa peddlers don't cut it in this hot hot heat. I hope my only other pair doesn't suffer the same fate.
Uno mas pucho antes de dormir. I wish I could smoke it outside on the front step or at my window, but my hotel room for the night is like being inside of a reeeally, comparitively nice prison cell with its strange blinds and strange outside view of more said strange blinds.
Tomorrow I try and find some sandals, tobacco, and friends. Room service is not an option, and I really hate cubed meat.

Beginning February 17th