A Historic Day

It is snowing here for the first time in over 80 years - one report I saw said 89 years. The pictures I saw on the news of the last time it snowed, showed lots of snow. I hope it doesn't snow that much. But it is really nice and they are making such a big deal of it on the news, it's pretty funny. Fortunately, today is a holiday - 9 de Julio, Independence Day, so the snow didn't affect much. People are seeming to freak out a bit and I imagine there would have been some accidents since I doubt they know how to drive in the snow. In Philly, when it snowed the first time every year, it was like people had to be reminded what snow was.

We had no school because of the holiday. I wonder if we would have been given a snow day...

I had a tango lesson this morning, and did my same routine of taking the subte and going to a cafe before class for cafe con leche and medialunas. It was really nice being inside because it was very cold - I think it was at or below zero degrees centigrade. There was a big crowd gathered at the Plaza del Congresso for some Independence Day celebration. I saw lots of people with drums and wearing ponchos and other gaucho gear, but it was too cold for me to want to go over and check out what they were doing. I enjoyed observing everything from the window of the nice, warm cafe.

My class was good, but difficult. I'm glad I'm beyond taking criticism personally, because Marcelo was pretty harsh today. He didn't really criticize me, but he kept correcting me and telling me that things were logical, after I made a wrong step and I guess did something that could be considered "illogical". I just have to keep reminding myself that this is good for me and I'm getting some very focused instruction and it's not about just dancing and pretending I'm in some romantic movie set in Victorian England. I was exhausted after class, and went to another cafe on Avenida de Mayo where I went last night with my new friend Saul, from Paraguay. I saw some guys eating pasta which looked really good, so I decided to go there and try it. The pasta itself was good, but the sauce was not. Oh well.

I came home and got two DVDs and planned on spending the rest of the day inside watching movies. Saul sent me a text and wanted to go for a walk, but I told him it was too cold and I wanted a siesta. He did come by later and we watched a little TV and chatted. He helped me with my homework which I didn't understand. He told me that the things they were making us do were not how people speak. It would be as if I were teaching my students that they should perhaps speak as if they were very well educated when in fact most of the people that they will likely be interacting with will not be speaking in the manner in which I am encouraging my students to speak. Well, with Saul's help, I was able to at least figure out what the exercise wanted me to do. Actually, I had to help him, so it's not that I don't understand Spanish, it's that the directions in this book are just not clear.

Once we got a handle on that, we decided to go out and get something to eat. It was still snowing, but not much snow had accumulated. The streets were very wet and water was collecting in the gutters, which I imagine is going to cause some problems somewhere, but the snow is pretty much melting as it hits the ground. I hope it doesn't all freeze tonight or it's going to be a mess tomorrow.

We went to a small restaurant in my neighborhood that I pass a lot and have been wanting to try. Saul got spaghetti and I got squash gnocchi. The pasta and the sauces were good, but neither one of us could finish our pasta. They were major servings. We also had a nice salad. I took my gnocchi home and will heat them up for a snack or a light meal later this week.

And that was my day off. It was nice and relaxing and I did most of my homework and got a good nap. I'm glad it's a short week. I'm still feeling remnants of my cold, but I am feeling 90% better. Soon the weekend will be here and I'll be able to relax again. I only have two tango classes scheduled this week. I'm on vacation, so other than school and tango, I don't think I'm going to do a whole lot this week until I'm feeling like this cold is gone for good. I at least want to be healthy when I get back to San Francisco.

So, I can say I was in Buenos Aires when they had fog like they hadn't had in 50 years and the first snow they've had in 89 years. Next, the America Cup?