On their first night, a Saturday, I hosted a bunch of friends (I use that term loosely - some people I had only met once and the portenos don't consider those people friends) at a bar to usher in the last year of my 20s. It was such a happy birthday, definitely because of my visitors and BA friends, but also because of the amount of love I received in card or other form from back home! Thank you to all. So lovely.
My birthday actually was on Sunday and the 4 of us (Cait, Lauren, Lanny, and I) went to our first futbol game. It was so awesome. We all dressed in red for the occasion to route for the River Plate team and sat with the crazy yet amazing fans. I have never felt energy in a stadium as I did at that one. People did not stop singing, moving, throwing paper, etc. It was wild! They don't serve alcohol there because it's rowdy enough without it (or when people drink beforehand), and when the game is over, as a fan of the home team, you have to wait about 20 minutes before they let you out of the stadium so that the visiting team fans can escape safely. When everyone lined up at the end waiting to get out, I thought there might be a stampede or something the way people looked. Fortunately, we got out safely and got to enjoy a nice Mexican meal at a restaurant down the road.
On most days, it's incredibly hot here now. Fortunately, we got to experience one of those days poolside at my friend's apartment building. She lives in one of the luxury high rises in the Puerto Madero neighborhood (supposedly the most expensive place to live in the city) and invited us over for a swim, which I was ecstatic about - I definitely wanted to see her apartment and I also wanted to alleviate the strong urge I've been having to swim! We bought stuff for mimosas and made our way over there. Our friend Marlo was there too, so the 5 of us set out for the pool, overjoyed to have some relief from the heat. Unfortunately, my friend hadn't learned the pool rules yet after almost a year of living there - and the guest limit per apartment is 2. Oops! She graciously let me, Lauren and Lanny stay at the pool first, with a rotation plan to take effect in 20 minutes. Well, 2 hours went by and there was no sign of the girls. We were really happy not to be released from the pool, but we were baffled that they hadn't kicked us out as planned! A half hour later, my friend came down and reported that they had just enjoyed the apartment and didn't need a swim. So, we got to enjoy the full last hours of the sun without interruption. Amazing.
This past Sunday Caitlin and I ran the hash again. It was supposed to be 75 degrees, max, but lo and behold, it must have been in the 90s. We were melting. Luckily, the hash hosts had a pool, so I got to jump in right after the run (yes, with my running clothes on - who has time to change in that heat!). An awesome asado (bbq) followed and it was definitely the highlight of the hashes so far!
In Amy-Caitlin trip news, we are planning our trip to Patagonia for January. It will be about 2.5 weeks. We have flights and most hostels booked and it's sure to be amazing. Obvs there will be a report when we return.
In the meantime, work ends 12/30, my aunt, uncle, and cousins arrive on Christmas, and several other folks I look forward to seeing will be here around then as well. My friend Lisa then arrives in early Jan. Yay!
Lots of other things I can report on, but for now, I'll leave you with this already long post.
Happy holidays to everyone!
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