Remember that time we watched a Norwegian film with Spanish subtitles in a candlelit hair salon?

On a daily basis, I find myself wondering either where the heck am I? or what the heck am I doing here? I feel like every day that I get out of bed, I’m going to have an adventure But even though I would not consider myself a city person (pollution, crowded public transportation, pickpockets, etc), Buenos Aires still has its charms. This was my week:

• The pipes in my madre’s apartment have been temperamental, so she called a plumber and he joined us for lunch in the middle of the day. Neither of them know English, but they both listened to radio stations from the US, and they sort of know the words. My madre started singing (Mariah Carey?), “Touch my body, put me on the floor, wrestle me around, play with me some more.” The plumber apparently knew the song too and he was bobbing his head to the music. I couldn’t decide if I should translate it for them…

• This Friday I went on a pub crawl. So Argentine, right? I don’t think I would do it again, because I didn’t like the places we went to, but as always we met some interesting people. One place in particular had a dance floor with a gay man. That was it- no one else was dancing, but he whipped out a chair, pulled some Beyonce moves, and did his thing. Then we went on stage and danced with him. We also went to a bar with the worst band I’ve ever heard. The bass player was wearing a garbage bag on his head when we walked in, and then he pulled it off and was wearing a fake beard down to this waist. The lead singer sounded like someone was pulling out his wisdom teeth without Novocain.

• This weekend was a long weekend because Monday was San Martin Day. I played in a Frisbee hat tournament, which was the perfect way to spend the weekend and work off all the medialunas I’ve been eating. Anyway, Saturday I wore my ultimate clothes on the subway, and a woman next to me asked her daughter why I’m dressed like a boy. Sunday it poured, but Monday my team made it to the finals. Awesome spirit of the game! Everyone high fived, hugged, and did the Argentine cheek kiss after a point. The last two games were pretty competitive, and when I came home my madre laughed hysterically. She told me I looked homeless because I was covered in mud and grass stains. (Thank you Ian for the photos that I stole from you):

Our team was red and our name was Carne Cruda (rare or raw meat):

• I didn’t think I would miss food that much, since they eat mostly variations of Italian food. But I was pretty excited when my madre whipped out strawberries, chocolate torta, and flan with dulce de leche. Since there are only two kinds of apples (red delicious and granny smith), I was really excited for those strawberries.

• Fun fact: I named my blog What’s Up Esperanza because whatsupbuenosaires.com is a website that highlights events in the city. And Sunday when it rained, What’s Up Buenos Aires did not disappoint. I found a film screening and went with some friends to Almagro, which is only a few subway stops away. When we got there, it was a hair salon. We contemplated not going in, but when we were greeted by a man in gold pants and a salon covered in tape (the kind you’d find in a vhs), we knew it was going to be an experience. He took us upstairs to a room filled with candles, plates of cookies, and cups with ginger tea. There were pillows on the ground to sit on and furry rugs. We first watched a Michael Jackson (MikEL-YACKson) film and then a Norwegian film with Spanish subtitles. I think if you translate the Norwegian title into Spanish and the Spanish title into English... it was called The Boy Who Loved Yngve.
  

Rojo Hair Boutique