Oh, the people we meet

I would just like to say, that right now in Argentina, it's starting to get warm, and it's kind of weirding me out. After all, it's fall in the US and I'm expecting to see the leaves turning, feel the air getting colder and did I mention that fall is my favorite season and I'm a little sad I'm missing it? I'm especially nostalgic for a pumpkin spice latte from starbucks, or actually, pumpkin spice anything, but Leah promised we could make pumpkin pancakes, so hopefully that will help.

Anyways, sorry for that little bit of whining, I'm in fabulous Buenos Aires, and don't really miss anything in the US yet. Except maybe Dr. Pepper. SO Friday Leah and I planned on getting up early to go and apply for our CUIT/tax numbers, but when we woke up we decided that we had a better chance if we applied on a Monday instead of a Friday. We figured that the person who decided whether to accept or deny our applications would be a lot more generous at the beginning of a new week than the end of a long one.

With that decision made, we went back to bed and woke up several hours later, much more prepared for the day. We each did our own thing, Leah made some lentil type meal for dinner, then we headed out. We decided the we needed the familiar comforts of the Alamo after our crazy Thursday night, but little did we realize it would be just as crazy as the night before.

It started out calmly enough, the bouncers recognizing us and letting us in. We got beers, we chilled, Leah got harassed by some Colombian that I couldn't bother being civil to, so I went and got us seats at the bar. Fortunately for me, Leah sat on the outside and was more prone to being harassed by weirdos, and believe me, she was.

First there was the crazy Argentine man in sunglasses who came running up and pounded his fist in front of her and started shouting at her. I don't really recall what he was saying, something about TEACHING ENGLISH (fist pound) and GETTING HIS TEACHING CERTIFICATE (fist pound) and WANTING TO GO HOME TO TOUCH HIMSELF(fist pound + maniacal laughter). I was laughing so hard by that time I was of no help. The two guys next to me told me I should help her, but I honestly had no idea what to do. I mean, he was clearly drunk and coked out. Then I made eye contact with an older man (way older) standing behind them and he saved the day by distracting the crazy guy.

Unfortunately, the old man thought he could come and talk to us after he got rid of crazy. I was fine with it until I told him I was from Ann Arbor and he called me a rich bitch, which I really did not appreciate. I turned to the guys next to me and started talking to them, but unfortunately, Leah got stuck talking to the old guy who turned out to be a severely racist and an asshole. Once again, the guys next to me told me to save her, I kept trying to include her in conversations, but the bar was loud and it was impossible. Finally the old guy got the hint and left. We talked to the two Argentine guys a bit longer, but they were a little weird. The only memorable thing about one of them was his hair was FANTASTIC, but he knew it, which was not so fantastic. It was comparable to Mr. Bingley's (see right), that red haired guy in the Pride and Prejudice movie, except even taller. I wish I had gotten a picture.

Finally, we were left alone for a while, then Leah got to chatting in Spanish with a guy and I was glued to ESPN, watching the awesome football commercials, especially the one about the USC/OSU game the next day. Man I miss football. Then I started talking to a guy who turned out to be American which was GREAT because I was sick of trying to speak spanish and it was nice to just talk football with someone.

Leah and I left at bartime, agreeing once again that bars are really only good for single serving friends and no way to meet real people. Fortunately for us, we had a couchsurfing event the next day, which I'll let Leah tell you about since couchsurfing is her baby and I'm just along for the ride.