It's not snowing

Greetings! Today is not only a day off of work for Argentina's Independence Day (for which our famous world's widest road "Avenida 9 de Julio"--12 lanes in all-- was named), but it is also my first official day off the cleanse! Woo hoo!! I made it 30 whole days, and i feel excellent. I'll be celebrating with some yummy Korean food at my new Korean friend Jessica's house, and maybe a little bit of wine. :-) But yes, I need to be careful not to fall back into old bad habits...

Today also marks the 2nd anniversary of the first snow in Buenos Aires since 1918. Yes, 2 years ago today, the city received a white dusting of snow.. the kids went nuts and all ran outside to play, and some people touched snow for the very first time. Today, it's certainly not snowing (it's quite nice out, actually) but it is a cool little anecdote, I think.

This year, we don't have snow, all we have is.... swine flu. Blahhhhh.

Vote for ME

Hi Friends, I'm doing great! Yep, things continue to improve. I'm on day #23 of the drinking cleanse, and day #19 of the food cleanse. I feel awesome. I've lost a few pounds, cleared my head, gotten quite a bit more organized, and generally changed over to a more positive perspective. It's funny how the small changes we can make in our lives can make the biggest differences. I feel so in control of my own happiness... what an amazing feeling.

Today is mid-term election day in Argentina for various legislative representatives, an election that is being widely viewed as a measure of the popularity of President Cristina Fernandez Kirchner and her hubby/ former President/ current congressional candidate Nestor Kirchner. In Argentina, voting is mandatory. It's also on a Sunday. And on top of that, almost all businesses are closed, and specifically no one is permitted to sell alcohol between midnight and I think 8:00pm. So yeah, the city was pretty quiet last night for a Saturday night!!

I have mixed feelings about the compulsory voting thing. At first I was like, hey that's awesome!! It's always been something I am embarrassed about in the US, that we have all these freedoms and the right to vote "democratically," (I won't get into my various other opinions, but for the most part, it's democratic), and yet like half of the population doesn't do it. Ugh, this bothers me tremendously.

However, I've recently gotten to thinking, is mandatory voting any better? Because it suddenly occurred to me-- unless there are also mandatory information sessions, and unless it is mandatory to prove somehow that you understand more or less what is going on politically, well then basically, you are saying that everyone, including those people who are totally uninformed and know nothing about the candidates, are required to vote. And that's just silly.

There is also the issue of buying votes. I know this happens a lot with the presidential elections, though I imagine it trickles down to these other legsislative ones too, especially one like today which supposedly will reflect quite a bit on the President's popularity. I've heard everything from candidates buying votes for money, to buying votes for a choripan. It's so sad. In a population where there are so many poor, uniformed people, and where there is so much need, it's an upsetting reality that some corrupt politician can use the people's poverty to their advantage, walk into a villa (a slum), dole out some sandwiches, and win a vote. That, my friends, is not democracy.

I, however, make excellent sandwiches, and so while we are on the subject, I would like to encourage you all to vote for me. Yes, I'm a go-getter, I tell great jokes, I'm a really good dancer, and I make a mean lasagna. VOTE FOR ME. We'll talk about my stances on various issues later. For now, I just want you to know that I have some chorizo on the grill, and a choripan with your name on it. VOTE FOR ME!

In addition to contemplating the political process here and eating rabbit food (and tofu! I found mediocre but technical tofu!!!), I've also been working a TON. I finally have all those work hours I wanted for so long! It's great, and also exhausting. Most days I work around 6-10 hours a day, during a period of about 9-12 hours, with the remaining time in the middle being filled with traveling from class to class, and the occasional lunch break (though I often go without). I'm hustling, my friends. And though I learned little to nothing in the TEFL course I took back in February, one thing I did learn is that you gotta hustle to survive as an English teacher in BsAs... and hot damn, the lunatic was right.

I've finally broken out of my complete financial catastrophe, and am now making enough money to pay for all of my expenses. I even had a small amount left over this month, which is about the most exciting thing ever... although I'm sure not having a beer budget was a factor!!! hahaha

In this spazz, unfocused blog I would also like to mention the imminent visits of two more VIP's in my life! My DAD is coming in early August for a visit for a couple weeks! He claims it's a "maybe," but what he doesn't realize is that I won't accept a "no," answer, and so he will be coming! I'm soooo looking forward to it, Dad! I will take some tango classes in anticipation, since my dad is Tango Master. Also, my awesome beautiful sister Christie is coming! Yep, she, unlike Pa, has already purchased her tickets and will be here on October 9th! yayyy!!! I absolutely cannot wait to see her for a week! So yeah, thanks to you both for giving me something concrete to look forward to. I'm getting a lot of "yeah, sure I'll visit you..." from various people (ahem! Allison! Dave! Daniel!), so having some real action is pretty exciting. :-)

The question remains: What am I more excited about? Their actual visits, or the fact that they will bring me gifts of peanut butter, cock sauce, and Bragg's from the 1st World??? The world may never know.

Lastly, I'd like to end with some really, really old photos/ videos that I've been meaning to post for a while. Sorry for the lateness, kids.

First, this is a video of the tango dancers at Café Tortoni, where I went with my Mom and Bill during their visit. Enjoy!



And I also went to my first football (soccer) game a while back and saw Argentina play against Colombia in a World Cup qualifying match-- and win! yay. I guess I'm not such bad luck after all... of the 3 Red Sox games I went to, we lost every single one. I was a bit worried for a minute that I was a huge jinx, but I feel better now. Anyway, this is a picture of the River Plate Stadium where the game happened. The Stadium holds about 65,000 people and is where, of course, the River team normally plays. Then there's a video of the crowd right after we scored our one and only goal. When people jump like that they call it the Pogo, which I think is awesome. However, I must say overall the game wasn't half as animated and crazy as I was expecting. Word on the street is that the local games are wayyyy more fun, so I'll have to check one out soon and get back to you.





Okay, hope everyone is doing great! Lots of love.

I feel good! (nee-ner-nee-ner-nee-ner-nuh)

I have officially been on the alcohol cleanse for 9 days, and the complete cleanse (including food and lifestyle) for 6 days, and I must say, I feel better than I have in ages. The food I was eating, the alcohol I was drinking, and the stressful, unbalanced lifestyle I was living clearly were not working for me, and it was time for a change. Right now I feel not only healthy, but also proud to have taken this on in a city that doesn't make it easy! Every day I face challenges to my diet, and peer pressure from those around me to eat/ drink/ do things that I have chosen to eliminate. But the fact that I have said "no" to all of those things now for over a week has been an empowering experience, and the fact that this Cleanse is more difficult than any I have done before has made it only that much more worthwhile.

I had a great long weekend with friends (today is Flag Day, or something, so I didn't have to work), and I watched them eat and imbibe as usual, and I happily sipped my water, ate my lentils, and enjoyed the show. I still went out 3 nights and had a great time! I also threw a little dinner party last night with some close friends (my roommates Julie and Andrea, friends Claire, Marisa, Charlotte, and Bata) and subjected them to my cleanse-friendly dinner of salad, hearty lentil stew, and brown rice. Everyone loved the food and had a blast, and we even played drinking games-- every time I had to "drink" I took a big slurp off my mate. That'll give you a buzz!

Anyway, I'm lucky I have supportive friends, and I'm proud to have taken this on. Really, my body and more importantly my soul are feeling good. I am acutely aware at this point how very necessary these changes were to my happiness and sanity.

I'll leave it at that-- 3 weeks to go!

Cleanse: Day 1

I'm back on the Cleanse!!! And I have a very strong suspicion that this may be one of my biggest challenges for a long time.

I won't bore you with the itty bitty specifics, although feel free to email me if you'd like them. The point is, the Cleanse (something I stole from my dear sister Christie) has several purposes, and I assure you it is not just a "diet." Goals include:

1. Physically feeling better-- losing a few pounds, cleaning out the toxins, getting my eating back on track.
2. Emotional cleansing-- I've been having a rough patch lately, and could use a nice new heavy dose of happiness, confidence, and clarity.
3. Life organization-- Clean my room. Fix my work schedule. Set some financial goals. Create a life that is satisfying and works for me.

This starts today, and will continue for a month. No alcohol! I hate admitting it, but that will probably be the most difficult part. I have already cleaned out my kitchen cabinets and replaced the bread, pasta, cheese, etc with beans, brown rice, and plenty of fruit and veggies. As a matter of fact, I will essentially be both vegan and straightedge for the next month, a near impossible feat in a country like Argentina! I've also already put a lot of energy into sorting out my work life, and have somehow pieced together a schedule that I think is far better than it has ever been before! So hopefully in the next month or so, I can start actually saving money and not just breaking even, or burning through my savings.

Anyway, thanks for your support!