Celebrating Alive

Last night was awesome. So was today. By which I mean yesterday. And by last night I mean two nights ago. The computer page magically disappeared while I was in the middle of writing and I got fed up. So now I'm finishing my post today.

So I thought people went out late in parts of Europe. And maybe they go out this late there too, but last night we went out to a club in the nice (read: snootier) club district. This girl from New York has a cousin or someone who works in this club district so we had some of our names on a list and were able to get in for 20 pesos instead of 50 (20 pesos = about $7/7.50). But of course ladies in free.

So anywho, we leave our place at 3. And we dance, the others drink, and it was so much fun. There were older people there and started getting more packed around 4. It was just interesting to see how excited and energetic everyone was. The old men and women dancing up a storm together and making out on the dance floor and the younger people were of course doing the same. I loved it. And my new friends from Switzerland, Germany, England, and Holland were having a great time too. A few of us went home at 5 cuz we were getting tired and a couple of us had just gotten into town (e.g. me), and the others stayed out for another half hour or so.

And then I went home to my quaint little room. Where I could hear the club next door pounding music till 6. And then heard some girls getting in at 7 and this morning I talked to this guy Per from Denmark who said he went to a house party and then didn´t get home till 9. In Canada the bars and clubs close at... 2.

So today, by which I mean Sunday, we went to see River Plate vs. Boca Juniors, which is a ¨superclasico¨ match! Boca is the more working-class team, and doing better this year, and River is the more upper-class team, but they´re at the bottom this season. We cheered for Boca and they won 1-0, which was SWEEET cuz everyone in the bar we were at in the San Telmo barrio (neighbourhood) was cheering for Boca. When the game ended this guy in front of us picked up his son, shouted "Boca!" and kissed him on the forehead. Cuuute. And the bartender gave us a free pitcher of brew cuz he loved us so much. And this guy Pablo did an article on us, as foreigners who follow River vs. Boca. It mentioned, and I quote, "Two Germans, two Dutch girls and a Canadian." ...So I'm famous in this country now...

After the game and another hour or so of drinking and eating tapas, we went out into the street, there was a market going on, and went to watch some tango. This guy Tom (British) and girl Leona (Dutch; there are a LOT of Dutch folk) started doing some drunken tango and were eventually politely asked to leave. So then we went down this other "calle" (street) where there was a big dancing party in the street. I dunno why. They weren't waving the colours of Boca, so for all I know they were just moving down the street shakin' their hips for the sake of it. But everyone of all ages were into it - there was a father this his one-year-old, some young kids, a lot who were "young adults" like me, middle-aged folk, and oldies too. A nice panorama of excited, vibrant people.

I think people in Argentina are so much more passionate about simple things in life. In the club, the emphasis, at least the vibe I got, was on dancing and partying with friends, not drinking and picking up. In the bar, people did not have to pay to watch the game. In the street, people did not have to pay to dance to tango music or the drums in the street. They don't need money to express their passion for life! Which is good because people don't really have much to begin with. 50 pesos might not be much for me for dinner, but it's a big sum for "los argentinos". I think it's something that's so cool. I wish people would break into dance down Old Carriage Road.

Well... maybe when I get back. A la proxima!

P.S. Last night (Sunday night) I was gonna go to bed early, and then my German friend Andreas convinced me to come out to a karaoke bar with him and Paul, an English guy. We met these girls Sadaf (Iranian from Sweden) and Hadal (from Tel Aviv). Turned out it was a flamboyant gay bar; it was a lot of fun. And Andreas and I had been so stoked on doing karaoke so we sang My Way by Frank Sinatra. Muy bien! I think some guys were winking at us and blowing us kisses... that's what the hostess/host was saying. See what I'm saying? Passionate!