Lazy Sunday

Yesterday was a lazy day and I loved it. After two weeks of being constantly on the go, it was nice to have a day that was a little more low-key (kind of what I'm used to), but still not totally.

I got up early and decided I wanted to go out and take some photos while the sun was hitting buildings from a different direction. I found a building that is really amazing and faces east, so I figured the sun would be lighting it up in the morning. It's on my photo blog. It's an apartment building, but I love the style with these towers on top it looks very whimsical to me. I wonder what people thought of it when it was first built.

So I walked around and took some photos, came home and put some on my blog and then got in touch with Hernan. I went to his place by subway. We hung out a little in his apartment, which is so relaxing. He is constantly playing with his music - he sits in front of his computer, opens files, drags them into some music player thing, adjusts the queue, adjusts the sound levels, and then looks for another track. We were ready to go out and I asked him a question about this doll he has on his bookshelf. I'll put her on the photo blog - her name is Esperanza. Anyway, he then decided to show me some photos on his computer. But before he did that, he had to put on some music. Even though we had our coats on and were ready to go out the door. This happened several times. It's pretty funny, but if he were my boyfriend, I know I'd have a hard time dealing with it.

We walked through Palermo Soho where he lives. It was a beautiful fall-like day. People here think it is cold, but for me the weather is perfect. It's sunny, cool, but there is no wind, and the leaves are still hanging on some of the trees. It reminds me of late October in NJ. On a warm day, it can go up to 60, but it does fall to the high 30's after the sun goes down.

Anyway, we walked a few blocks and he found a place he likes that has a terrace, or roof deck. We went in. It was like an old house. Downstairs there was nothing. We went up this spiral staircase to the 2nd floor where there was a small restaurant and a bar. A young guy was working there and there was a young couple at the bar with a baby. The girl must have been in her early 20s and the baby was so small and so cute. The guy she was with had this big afro - it was huge! Hernan knew her from some show they did together, so they talked a bit and I stood there hoping no one would ask me a question because I still have problems understanding people who speak at normal speed (I can understand my teachers because they adjust their speech for us). Finally, after what seemed like forever, we went up to the roof deck.

It was great. There was some really kitchy furniture, plastic lacy tablecloths and funky knick-knacks. The sun was lighting the terrace and there was a plastic cover protecting us from the wind. There were two other tables with people engaged in animated conversations.

We sat down and the waitress brought our menus. For as funky and hip as this place was, I was impressed by the service. The waitress was also very young and hip, but she was very attentive. We ordered tapas, well, Hernan ordered, I became mute. He ordered quesadillas, pate and ceviche. They were all good, but we thought the pate was a bit strong - it was made with port and some other very strong flavor.

Hernan started joking with me, which was funny, but also embarrassing. We had this bread that was very good. It had chorizo in it. He told me it was "casera", which I've seen on menus and in shops and know it means homemade, but I was wondering what it really means, so I asked him. He said they make it in house, and I told him we say "home-made". So I asked if they make it in this restaurant, or get it at a bakery. He said, "I don't know, you can ask the waitress". So when she came back, he said, "He has a question for you". I was very embarrassed, but I don't know why. I know I could have asked her, but I just sat there blushing, and finally he asked her. It turns out they make the bread in the restaurant every day. She said they make two kinds - one just white, and another where they put something with some coloring - the chorizo was red and gave the bread a pink hue.

After that, every time we discussed something about the food and a question came up, like, "what is that flavor in the pate?" Hernan would make like he was motioning for the waitress and say, "he has a question". I'd hit him and we'd laugh.

I don't know what was going on with me. When I'm with my friends speaking bad Spanish, I have no problem talking to people. But with Hernan, I think because he speaks English and we don't speak in Spanish, suddenly I feel very shy about using my Spanish. It's not good. I try speaking to him in Spanish, but I think he likes speaking English. For him I suppose it's like taking on a different identity, and probably better than listening to my mistakes (I think his mistakes are cute - and I am used to hearing mistakes).

Anyway, we went back to his place and listened to more music and then he was going to see a play. He invited me, but I was feeling awkward and feared having to talk to his friends, so I told him I had to come home and call my dad. That was true.

I called to wish him a Happy Father's Day and spoke to my mom. She said he was in bed and she didn't know what was wrong with him. He hadn't been feeling well, and she thought he might have pneumonia again. He really hasn't been doing well for ... well, a long time... But lately, he had gout, and before that was hospitalized with pneumonia. Before I came here, I was thinking that I might have to leave suddenly and fly to New Jersey for an emergency. So, I got really worried and the whole time I was with Hernan was thinking that I had to call to see what was happening. My mom had called the doctor and my brother and his wife were heading up from Maryland. It all sounded so serious.

So, Hernan and I got in a taxi. The play he was going to see was near my apartment. The taxi was not a radio taxi, so I was worried (these were the guys we had been warned about). We got in and he drove a few blocks to head down Santa Fe to where we were going. The road, which is about 6 lanes, was full of cars. Hernan commented to me that because of the gas shortage, people didn't leave town for the long weekend like they normally would. He then said to the driver, "Buenos Aires is full tonight" - the driver gruffly responded, "si". He then went on to say that it was because of the gas shortage.

So here is where I am totally confused, even though this was explained to me several times in both English and Spanish. But I'll try to relate what I understand.

Because of the cold temperatures that have hit the country, people are using more gas for heating. So the government has restricted gas use by industries, and in particular taxis. Apparently, taxis have their own service stations, and these service stations have no gas. On Friday night when we tried to go to the show, we ran into a protest on 9 de Julio where parts of the street were closed off and it was because the taxi drivers were protesting at the Obelisk. It created a mess.

Anyway, some taxis are able to use something they call NAFTA, which is another kind of gas. This might be diesel. I don't really get the subtleties here. All I know is that there is a problem.

So, this taxi driver began telling Hernan what was going on, and Hernan encouraged him by asking him questions, such as how much it costs for gas for him per shift, whether he owns his taxi etc. It was a great exchange and I wish I had been able to record it. The great thing about being with Hernan is that he has real conversations with people (unlike when I'm with my friends and people don't talk like they normally do because they don't think we'll understand). So, this taxi driver was talking like a real taxi driver. He seemed drunk to me because he was talking slow, kind of slurring his words (it seemed) and not driving exactly in the white lines on the road. I was holding my breath the whole time, even though he wasn't driving crazy or anything, but he seemed to be swerving back and forth and because he was getting excited talking about the gas crisis, he started using his hands to talk, which meant they were not on the wheel.

Fortunately, traffic lightened up a bit once we passed a shopping area and we proceeded down Santa Fe without having to stop at many lights and finally reached the theater where Hernan was getting out and I decided I could walk from since it was only 3 blocks from my apartment. Whew!

So, I came home and called New Jersey and there was no answer. "Oh, no," I thought, "they're at the hospital and I'm going to have to call the airlines to see if I can get a flight back".

I called my parents' cell phone. It rang several times and then the ringing stopped. I could hear my brother saying "Don't just look at it, you have to speak" - so I knew that wherever they were, my brother was with my mom (mom still is having problems with cell phone technology). Finally, she said, "hello?" I said, "hello", she said, "hello?", I said, "hello!", she said "hello?" and I said, "hello...." and then finally heard me. I don't know what was going on.

I was imagining that they were all in the waiting room at the hospital and she was going to give me the update on Dad's condition.

Instead, she told me, "everything is fine, we're at a party in Cherry Hill". They went to a surprise birthday party for this woman that my brother is friends with. My dad was not only out of bed, he was at a party!

Mom put him on the phone and we spoke a little. He asked me how things were here. The usualy question, "how's the weather there?" led to this exchange.

"It's a little cold here, it's winter". "It's winter?" "Yeah, it's the opposite to us, because we're at the other end of the world." "Is it the same month there? Is it June?" - I guess he thought that the months had to correspond to the seasons and therefore it had to be December. Boy, that would be confusing.

So, now I could relax. Even though he didn't sound great, he was up and about.

I spent the rest of the evening watching TV. I wish I could say that I was watching TV in Spanish because I'm a good student. But, they have cable TV here, and as I was flipping through the channels, came across something called "Johnson Family Reunion", which was this stupid movie about a family reunion with Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa Williams and some other people I didn't know. It was dumb, but funny. Then I watched this movie with Meryl Streep and Uma Thurmon, where Uma is dating Meryl's son and Meryl is Uma's shrink and they don't know all of this in the beginning and the whole thing becomes very complicated. I'm glad Meryl is still able to get roles. She is such an amazing actress.

And that was my day.

Now that I think of it, I guess it wasn't as relaxing and as laid back as I thought.

Today is Flag Day and there is no school. My plan is to find a nice cafe, bring my school books and do my homework. I'm going to read the story we've been reading from the beginning and see if I can finish it.