First, I wake up.. usually around 9 am. My room has no windows so it is pitch black--even that late in the morning--so I could potentially sleep all day. Some mornings I really wish I could.
After I stumble out of bed, I go to the breakfast table. My host mom is in the kitchen cleaning or preparing the food for the evening. She has already heard me shuffling around and is heating up water for my tea. I pour myself a very small portion of cornflakes (ever since I got here I'm not hungry in the morning) and we have a brief discussion. Usually she says something like "estas cansado (are you tired)?" and I reply with either an affirming mumble or, when I'm more awake, simply "siempre estoy cansado (I am always tired)." This is something that I will continue to say throughout the day.
After saying good bye to my host mom, I unlock and lock the door (successfully now, thank you very much) and leave the apartment. I walk about two blocks to the Subte. I take Line A, which I'm certain has to be the most crowded of any subway train in the universe. If I am lucky, I'm not headed downtown (towards the Plaza de Mayo), and I can find standing room. Otherwise, I wait anywhere from 1 to 4 trains until I can gather the courage to thrust myself into a sea of commuters packed like sardines in a tin can.
Anecdote: On the subte a few days ago, I saw an incredible advertisement for the PlayStation video
game console, which read:
Cuando su hijo juega, no te pregunta cómo llegó al mundo
"When your son plays, he does not ask you how he came into the world"
I will be paying more attention to the ads on the subte from now on.
After I get off of the subte, I walk to class. My Spanish class is 3 hours long and sometimes I can't handle it. Other times it goes by faster. No matter what, though, I certainly do not understand everything that my teacher is saying. This was made obvious when I found out that I had skipped out of the second part of class because I thought it was over.
After class, I get to go out for lunch. Usually I look for something cheap. I found a pizza place that gives you a whole pizza for 28 pesos. It's just cheese, sauce, and some spices on top and I can eat an entire pizza without
I take the subte home, which usually is before reverse rush hour. Either way, finding a seat on the subte is never something that is guaranteed. You literally never know when a bunch of people are going to be crammed in the car as this could happen at any point of the day. Yet as much as I like complaining about it, I'll probably stick with the subte. There's some kind of rush you get when you finally say "to hell with this" and throw yourself between those automatic doors, hoping that you'll have enough space in the car so they don't close on you.
My host mom and I eat early compared with everyone else. I eat at 7, and we usually sit there for an hour and talk about all sorts of things. My host mother has had a very interesting life, full of incredible, heart-wrenching, and even metaphysical experiences. She's a very interesting woman to talk with, and I'm very happy to be her host-son.
Finally, I'm starting to go out at night on the weekends. I've stayed out till 2 am going to various bars and restaurants with friends from the program. 2 am is ridiculously early for the average Argentinian, coming from a people that are accustomed to staying out until the sun rises and then passing out for the rest of the day, only to do the same thing the next night. I don't think I can live like this, but who knows.
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