happy tuesday boludos.
What a beautiful weekend that I spent inside!! Sadly, for 4 days I was glued to my bed with the flu (self/Elena diagnosed). It was rough. My whole body hurt. I don’t recommend it. I was sad to miss the entire weekend, but I needed to recuperate. It’s weird being in a foreign country by yourself feeling ill, especially without my mom, my bed, or my bathtub to aid me. But of course, I’m in good hands. And the “foreign country” isn’t so foreign anymore. After a few days with no appetite, Elena had had enough. She burst into my room without knocking (we’ve learned not to do this unless it’s an emergency), hands full with the classic Marilyn Monroe tv dinner tray filled with cereal, milk, fruit, coffee, cold water and yogurt (Elena is just very convinced that yogurt has healing powers… love ya girl but Activia isn’t going to clear my sinuses).
She sat in my swivel chair and watched me eat - let me tell you: living with a 78 year old Argentine is like a constant struggle of convincing here I’m not anorexic or something… if you don’t have lunch, she WILL fire up the toaster oven. Be warned. After a few more hours of sleep, she kicked me out of my room and put me at her spot in the living room on her red couch with the little mini pillow. She made soup and let me watch tv. Who knew she had the NBA channel???? Seriously. Game changer.
Somehow, Thursday and Friday rolled on by. On Saturday, I finally felt well enough to step out to the great outdoors… the sidewalk… where I hailed a cab to Palermo. I met Cass, Jordan and Delfina at Magdalena’s for brunch, where Cassidy swears by the breakfast burrito. After talking about it for weeks, the three of us ordered it (and were NOT disappointed). Real(ish) cheddar cheese, veggies, potatoes and eggs.. sold. When we parted, the girls went on to Terrazas del Este, a boliche that opens up their terraces in the springtime for day parties on Saturdays. I’ll make my way there eventually! While they were gone, I shopped in Palermo for Elena’s Mothers’ Day gift. Since it’s spring here now, Argentina’s Mothers’ Day is October 19th. Elena had mentioned it once because the family was to come over on sunday night for EMPANADAS! Om nom. I really wanted to show her my gratitude for her taking care of me, sick and well. My findings included an “E” mug, chocolate truffles, a calendar, and a giant tissue paper flower I found at an adorable stationary shop. I wanted to bake cookies, but this country does not know what brown sugar or baking soda are…. kk Argentina. When I got home, she was at her routine Saturday night movie date with her daughters, Claudia(Clo) and Ani. If you know me, you know I love a craft. Combine that with cabin fever and boom, here’s what you get!
When she got home - at like 1 AM !! - I was asleep. I woke up to the sound of her excitedly, loudly calling her daughters and her friends on the phone. ALWAYS on the phone, that girl. Landlines… so 90s. When I woke up for cornflakes Elena hugged me for probably 45 seconds without letting go, which is funny because she’s such a nugget, seriously like 4 feet tall. She said I had made her cry, and how hard it is going to be when I leave her… but let’s not think about that yet.
The evening commenced, empanadas on empanadas. We pushed all the furniture in the house together for a family fiesta. Elena, me, Clo and Ani, Elena’s son Daniel and his wife who I LOVEEE-Silvia, Elena’s cousin/person I still don’t really know who that guy was, and her two grandsons, Mati and Ale. The nine of us sat down to eat, first for bruschetta that Elena took a stab at for the first time, then a greek salad Ani the flower child made, then of course the empanadas. Yum. Let’s talk about Silvia. She sat next to me at the table and after each discussion, she would speak to me slowly, making sure I was included in the conversation. She’s also super chic and I love how level headed she is, especially because Daniel can be a little much at times! I definitely enjoyed my time with them, but towards the end of dinner I was so uncomfortable.. I haven’t mentioned it before, but Argentines are extremely racist. In Argentina, after being here for three months, I have seen three, maybe four, black people. Triste, our friend we made at Magdalena’s a few months ago who owns that hotel in Palermo, provided us with the history lesson. He told us that there are very few black people (note that black people in Castellano is “los negros” which is even worse) in the country because Juan Manuel de Rosas, who was this crazy rich dude who ruled over Argentina in the early 19th century, either had them killed or exiled from Argentina. Also, during colonization, African slaves went mostly to either the Caribbean or Brazil, because they were the easternmost countries to reach. Also, Argentina is totally full of European immigrants from the mass immigration that occurred from the late 1800s until 1930. Because of the lack of diversity in this city, the people are filled to the top with ignorance and hate. I had heard that, but never experienced it first hand. At dinner, they got to talking about racism in Argentina. At first, it was a healthy discussion, but as it progressed, man did it get sour. However, they thought nothing of it the entire time, Elena included. One family member said that she once stayed in a hostel in Germany and was put in a room with two super tall African men. She described them as if they were not human beings, and added that she immediately thought, “Do I have to sleep in a room with them?” She requested a new room, too. All the while the family continued to laugh and share similar stories, saying “ooooh you’re so bad!!” and holding up the hitler mustache and extended arm. Meanwhile, I sat there completely in shock, without any idea as to what the hell I should do. It was heartbreaking, frustrating and just so concerning that so many people in this world are still living SO ignorantly. When Elena asked me my opinion, I, red-faced and still in shock, managed to explain that skin color is no way of determining the character of a person. That’s when Ani chimed in, “yes, but the only experiences I’ve had with black people have been bad ones.” I felt defeated. Thank GOD for Silvia, who seemed to have more than twice the brain of everyone else. She understood me. Mati asked me what would happen if my friend dated someone of another race, or how my family would react if I did. God be with these ignorant, ignorant people.
It wasn’t easy, and it wasn’t fair, and it still makes me mad, because I love Elena and I love everyone here incredibly much.. and I truly believe that they are really good people, but that mentality is not “so 90s,” it’s the damn 50s. I’m thankful to have Rebecca, my friend who lived with Elena last year, to talk to about this, because she felt the exact same frustration, confusion and discomfort. Racism is never okay anywhere. The world has come too damn far for that.
I had hesitation about posting that part because I don’t want the people taking the time to read pages and pages about my life to be discouraged. But, as we all know, life isn’t always rainbows and butterflies, and neither is being abroad. There are challenges. That’s part of it, which isn’t anything to hide. hashtag growth.
ANYWAYS, I spent my Monday studying for my FINAL EXAM for my History of Argentina class. Y’all. I’m done with one of my five classes!! There was a midterm and a final (today) and attendance was taken. Boom. My Tuesday mornings just got way better. In my tuesday night class, where I am writing this as we speak, we had a midterm and for our final will have a simple essay, due November 4th. Boom. Another class soon to be kaput. The three that will remain finish before Thanksgiving, then we leave for Uruguay! Yay travel! Yay South America!! I’m so pleased with my scholastic experience thus far. I’ve actually learned a ton about Argentine history and culture- not just in my short term memory. And I really have enjoyed my professors, too. My Castellano teacher, Celina, is the sweetest of them all. Last week, she tearfully shared with us that her mom is very, very sick and she ended class two hours early. I almost started crying right then and there because I just can’t even imagine what that feels like. But I sure do miss my mama! But... it’s just my luck, because FINALLY the Sammons pair is joining me to frolic and vineyard hop in Mendoza THIS WEEK!!!!!!! THREE MORE DAYS OMG!!! I keep thinking my brother is going to pop out of nowhere, but that’s just pushing my luck, isn’t it. I meet them in Mendoza on Friday and we come back together on Monday to hang out in BA for a few days, finish up their trip with yet another empanada party (!!! never too many) and I’ll send them off on Halloween. It’s surreal how quickly time is flying. It’s been three months living in Argentina… in two months I’ll be in Memphis wrapping Christmas presents.. that’ s 48 days to be exact… not counting down, but rather trying to savor every day I have left here. Hope y’all have a fantastic week! I’ll be sure to document the heck out of my weekend.
OH! and i sent some snail mail today - gimme your address if you would like a surprise!
Besossssss
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