A lovely day

Today was a lovely day. I woke up at a nice time, made delicious oatmeal with raisins and banana--the fact that instant oatmeal is sort of hard to come by in the shops here is a blessing, since now I am the master of perfect REAL oatmeal. Haymarket's steel-cut oatmeal bowl with fruit compote is still #1 though--went to yoga, went to the library, and ate a delicious sandwich of arugula, mushroom, sun dried tomatoes and queso blanco on pan de campo at one of my favorite spots in the whole city: Boutique del Libro. I'm not sure if I've mentioned this place before, but if I have, I'm OK with that. It's worth mentioning twice.

It's the prefect amount of cute.

It's FULL of books in all shapes and sizes.

It has a great café.

And it makes me feel all warm and cozy inside.

What more could a girl ask for? Her best friend, maybe? Aw shucks, I'll have her at my side tomorrow afternoon!

Check out Boutique del Libro in Palermo Soho (on Thames, between Costa Rica y El Salvador).

I miss my kitchen.

That's all.

Happy Birthday, Buddha (Vesak at the Fo Guang Shan temple in Belgrano)

Made it this morning just as the ceremonies were starting... only to realize my camera was without its memory card. Good thing I live 2 blocks away from the Buddhist temple. So I flailed around the corner in my yellow high-tops and bra that was not meant for flailing. And then I flailed back. Phew.

All the picture from the ceremony are here.

punks.

(only in BsAs does a cultural show at the local Buddhist temple include tango)

Chinese tamales? mmhmmm.

Interrupción

The Subte folks went on strike this afternoon, just in time for all of BsAs's commute home. Lines for the collectivos stretched around corners and across streets; I've never seen anything like it! By some act of díos a completely empty 67 pulled up to the line I was in and I actually got a seat. The dude sitting next to me fell asleep on my shoulder and I didn't have the heart to wake him up until I had to get off. It looked like he had been having one of those days... and hey, haven't we all? I've had days when I wished there was a cute girl in a soft sweatshirt to fall asleep on too. Though I think a few months ago I probably would have freaked if a stranger fell asleep on me.

I got out of class at 5:30, and finally made it home just under 3 hours later when I promptly set about making tomato soup (with corn, garbanzos, carrot, and onion) and grilled cheese (with a shmear of homemade pesto). That sure spells comfort to me.

Almost the weekend! 12 days until Jacqueline is here!

Jubilación

I learned last night that the Spanish word for retirement is "jubilación". That's what we call a cognate.

Ju.bi.la.tion. noun (from Merriam-Webster)

1: an act of rejoicing: the state of being jubilant

2: an expression of great joy

I think that is GRAND.

El parcial.

Just checked my Smith e-mail and found this:

Dear Returning Student:

We hope you summer break is off to a good start...

Dear Smith,

My classes don't end until June 25th. Thanks for reminding me that everyone else is done.

Love,

Mary Kate

In fact, I just took un examen parcial (midterm) in my Literatura y Cristianismo class at the Catholic University of Argentina. I had to use phrases like "Cristo en todo su misterio" (Christ in all of his mystery) and "la belleza del lugar teológico en la literatura (the beauty of theology in literature). Apparently, my ability to bs knows no language barriers... well, I suppose I should wait until I get my grade back to say that. But at least it's over! When I passed it in, my profesora kind of yelled at me for using a pencil (but didn't actually yell because people were still writing). I know she was thinking, "stupid Americans and their pencils!". I could see it in her eyes. I was REALLY apologetic though. Just trying to pass...

My headphones broke yesterday. boo.

19 days until the love of my life (Jacqueline Karen Cain) is in Buenos Aires with me. HOLY CRAP!

Isn't she cute?

Counting days, counting down.

I've been trying to open this damn jar of pickles since, day 11, perhaps?

Today is day 79. And I still just want to eat my damn pickles. This is so un-Smith, but I need a big, strong man to come open the pickle jar.

Good thing I'll have one in 39 days (my dad!) and then another one 27 days after that (Clark!). Pickle feast. Until then, these gurken-sticks are stuck.

That's all. I went on a bike trip yesterday to Tigre (the place where I "camped" in a bar and the island flooded). We biked about 20 kilometers and did some kayaking in the delta too. It was a great day. Not much else besides academic stuff this week... though academic stuff for me means meditation class at the local Buddhist temple and Sunday mass at the Anglican church around the corner. Should be interesting!

Looking for a reason to leave the city this weekend... hmmmm.