I was very happy with the way my ricotta rice pie turned out today. The little bit of cream cheese I added made a difference, I think. Now the trick will be to see if I can duplicate the success.
Italian class is becoming a little less stressful for me, but I still dread when Blas calls on me for anything. Our room seems to have been changed permanently, though only time will tell. I like the new room we are in because the acoustics are a little better and I can hear a little better than in the other room, but I still have problems understanding what people are saying. Matias, the nice guy who makes Blas laugh, said something today about me that Matias said was a compliment. I had no idea what it was he was saying, though I appreciated the sentiment. I guessed that he was commenting on my laid back, tranquil nature. Seriously. Some people who know me might not know that side of me, but it does exist. Especially when I am in a situation where I feel uncomfortable and am trying to make myself invisible!
I think next week is my last class because I'll miss the final class when I go to Brazil. Blas invited an Italian friend to come and play the accordian and sing with us. That should be interesting ...ahem....
After class I came home, had a light lunch of a few empanadas and then took a nap. I was going to go to the gym, but I was waiting to hear from Tess and Lorena who needed help with cell phones and money. They had no way to communicate with me since the phone in their apartment doesn't work and they didn't have a cell phone that worked either, so we were e-mailing each other. They went to a milonga last night and stayed out until 5:30 a.m., so I should have guessed that they'd be sleeping late. But, I didn't need to go to the gym today anyway. I got a lot of exercise yesterday walking (and I'll use any excuse not to go).
Finally a little after 5 I did hear from them and headed over to help them get money from the ATM. For some reason ATMs limit the amount you can withdraw at one time. We were able to find an ATM that allowed us to withdraw 400 pesos and then do it again. But after that, it wouldn't allow any more. So we went to another bank and got 200 pesos (all it would allow). Now I am thinking maybe the first ATM would have allowed us to withdraw 1,000 pesos. I'm going to suggest it to Tess tomorrow.
I like being an assistant. It gives me opportunities to speak Spanish with people and not be on my own. For some reason I feel more comfortable with someone there who I can speak English with. Tess and I went to a little natural foods store, of which there seem to be several in a few block radius of where Tess and Lorena are staying, and we got peanut butter and were looking for apple cider vinegar. The guy was very nice and after a while asked where we were from and told me he had just started taking some English classes. As he was giving Tess her change, he even spoke a little English. The same thing happened yesterday when we went to the Movistar booth at Alto Palermo, the young guys working in the booth started speaking broken English eventually.
I actually think Tess and Lorena don't need me. Lorena can manage fairly well in Spanish and I think probably a lot of people speak English and will make an attempt if the person speaking to them makes an attempt in Spanish. But still, it is nice to be getting out a bit more and doing some different things. I admire Tess and Lorena for getting out there and taking tango lessons and going to milongas and all of that. I'm still not ready for the milonga scene, which seems to have so many rules and is steeped in tradition and restriction and patriarchy, etc...
I have been inspired to try to get a few more lessons in with Marcelo before I leave, in spite of the heat.... we'll see...
Tomorrow after my Spanish lesson and their tango lesson we're going to meet in Palermo at the bookstore where I used to meet Juliana. The last time I was there was my vertigo attack. I don't know if I know Palermo well enough to lead people around, but it will be fun to try.
Today was another nice day weather-wise. The forcast for later this week looks like the heat is going to return, but I am learning that the forcasts are often very wrong. I know the heat will return eventually, but I am hoping it will be delayed as long as possible and this nice weather will hold out.
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