Free beer? Yes, please.

After a lazy Friday evening, I woke up early on Saturday determined to do something interesting.  I called my friend from UF and she told me that they were going downtown to do some sightseeing.  I met up with them a few hours later and we all over the area looking for an area that sells chorizo y pan, which is a special sausage-type meat on bread.  Puerto Madero has a bunch of vendors that sell it along the river, so that’s where we were walking.  Obviously, since I’m in Argentina, land o’ meat, lunch was incredible.

I didn’t do much sightseeing with the girls as I had promised James I would go to a beer tasting he was having.  James is the cousin of a friend of a friend.  (I became really good at networking before I left – haha.)  He picked me up from the airport and has been really helpful in my transition here.  He also happens to brew his own beer.  So I got in the Subte (subway) and made my way across town to this little art studio where he teaches classes in the Art of Brewing.  The beer was actually really good.  Not that I was expecting it to be bad, but you never know with those “creative” beers.  It’s a stout, but it isn’t heavy at all and has an interesting taste to it.  It was a nice late-afternoon event.  I mean, you can’t really go wrong drinking free beer made by a friend in an art gallery.

After the event, I was on my way home and stopped in a bar to get something to eat.  I didn’t have any food prepared at home and was too tired (and tipsy) to be experimenting with my gas stove.  The bar, Casa Bar, is one of a few “American” places in the area.  It’s actually a few blocks over from the place that I’m working now.  I watched the last half of two March Madness games while enjoying some carne empanadas and Quilmes draft beer.  Bliss.

I did a quick change when I got back to my place and went over to a friend's house for a little gathering.  We hung out there until early morning and then headed out.  Our first stop was a wedding reception.  I’m not sure if Tutti knew the bride or just someone at the reception, but the rest of us crashed the party with him all the same.  We weren’t there a full minute before Paz, the amazing dancer from last weekend, pulled me onto the dance floor.  Oh yeah, I danced again.  With confidence.   Thanks to the dangerous combination of alcohol and peer pressure, I have transformed into an awkward dancing machine.  

From there we went to the same club we went to last weekend.  We ran into another friend of ours there, Paula, and spent a couple hours dancing there.  One of the guys we were with kept trying to get me to Tango with him, which really just involved him spinning me around in a bunch of different directions.  I think I’m going to put the Tango lessons off for a little while.  Baby steps.

Sunday was the perfect day for a hangover: dark, raining and full of movie marathons.  Not much is open on Sundays and not much is open when it rains, so nothing is open on a rainy Sunday.  Therefore, I couldn’t have left my apartment even if I had wanted to.

Yesterday was my first day of  work.  It was Monday, so I only had a few tables, but it was a good day to learn.  Even though the place is considered an “American” place, all of my tables were locals.  The language barrier definitely makes communicating more difficult, but not impossible.  One of the huge things I’ve learned so far is that traveling to a different country and learning a different language is all about ego suspension.  You can’t be afraid to ask for help, make a fool of yourself, and take each embarrassing moment for what it is – a learning experience.

I like the job so far, even if it is going to be a huge challenge.  The money isn’t bad, my coworkers are really nice, and since eating out is like a four-hour affair here, it’s not as stressful as in the States.  Plus, I get a free shift meal AND an hour of free draft beer after my shift.  Have I mentioned I really like the work ethic here?

I’m working tonight and since tomorrow is a holiday it should be crazy.  No one is really sure what holiday it is; everyone just keeps saying “Argentine’s love holidays.”  I’m just hoping I survive tonight without making a complete fool of myself.