Tomé un café

I had a coffee. In a café called "Tienda de Cafe." Creative name, eh?

It's Thursday, I spent two and a half hours in a café between classes, and I'm done with my second week of classes. Yes, Thursdays are my Fridays. Yes, you should be jealous.

My class schedule this semester is quite different from what I'm used to back at Luther. I'm taking four classes - Español Avanzado and International Business in the Southern Cone on Mondays and Wednesdays from 4 to 5:30 and 5:30 to 7, and Arte Argentino Contemporáneo and Estudios Culturales Argentinos on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 to 2:30 and 5:30 to 7. I'm enjoying the classes and professors so far, but the course times are definitely something to get used to. And no class on Fridays?? Hm!

Life here is pretty good! I definitely miss family and friends, but I'm doing well. I have met many fantastic people, I can tell that my Spanish is improving, I've seen some wonderful things and have been to a lot of interesting places, and I still have so much more to experience! I would have to say that my favorite thing to do is to spend time in a café, talking with a friend, writing in my journal, or reading a book, and always people watching! It's absolutely fascinating to observe the behaviors of different people, count how many cigarettes they smoke, listen to the variance in accents, notice differences in interactions between people here versus in the United States, look at clothing styles, everything.

Between my two classes today, I went to the café and saw a whole myriad of people! When I first arrived, there was a man and a woman sitting at the table next to me - he was an older man, and she looked like she was in her early 30's or so. They spent at least half of their time on their cell phones, which I rarely see here, as people always seem to be so engaged in conversations. They both had Blackberries, which is also fairly uncommon. In the US, smartphones are everywhere, but here they are much more expensive, and therefore much less common. I decided that they must be business partners. A few tables away from me, there were two older ladies drinking coffee and sharing tostadas con mermelada (toast and jam). They were both beautiful and very fragile looking. Conversation seemed to be almost nonexistent between the two of them, but they seemed very content! After the man and woman that I decided must've been business partners left, two women sat down at the table next to me. They were my favorite. Each of them arrived with a wooden box, and when they opened them I saw all kind of little bottles with dropper tops - maybe some kinds of herbal oils or something. Then they each pulled out a string with a crystal tied on the end, and were doing some kind of spiritual prayer of a sort. One of the ladies would hold the crystal dangling over the other's hand while saying something and moving the crystal between the her hand and a little bottle which was chosen out of their wooden boxes and set on the table. I didn't listen to what they were saying, but I'm guessing that it was some spiritual prayer or ritual or something. ¡Tan intrigante!

So now begins my weekend! Tomorrow I will be picking up my official visa, and then who knows what else the weekend will bring... I like to just go with the flow. :)