On Thursday (February 26, I know I'm still behind) Lauren and I took the colectivo to school without the boys because they weren't ready yet, and unintentionally started a lot of drama. The boys claim that they were ready less than five minutes after we left, which I don't think is possible but who knows. After some petty arguments and hug refusals, we all got over it and headed in for yet another superexciting day of orientation. We waited around for a few hours, ate some empanadas, and finally registered for classes. Class list for me is as follows:

Cuento Latinoamericano Contemporaneo- T Th 10:10-11:40
Argentina en Palabras- T Th 12:20-1:50
Revoluciones Americanas Comparadas- T 6-9
Historia y Cultura de Argentina- W 4-6

Also may potentially have to take a Spanish language class, which would probably meet W F and ruin my four-day weekends, but we'll see how it works out. Headed home afterwards to clean/pack/procrastinate/steal other people's pictures off facebook (I'll post some soon, I swear). We had dinner and then headed out to a bar in Palermo called Sugar, where we met up with pretty much everyone in our huge group. We've adopted quite a few kids from other programs as honorary BC kids: Harris and Jenelle are from American University, Kela is from Chapman, Memo is from Irvine, and Catherine is from Richmond. We hung out at the bar for a while and then went off in search of a nightclub called Niceto. We got there and discovered that it was gay night/hedonism night, and there were tons of performers and cross-dressers in elaborate costumes in addition to the four million people in line and in the club. We decided to go in anyway and we had a good time, although the music was all techno-trance music and got really annoying after the first hour or so. We left at about 5am, and when Ben and I got to the house we discovered that Steve had taken the keys with him when he left before us, and we were locked out. He didn’t answer his phone and we ended up calling the house and waking Gladis up at 5:30 to let us in. We’ve decided Gladis is a saint.

Friday was the optional “dia de campo” with orientation, which we all skipped because they wanted 100 pesos from each of us and then refused to tell us what it was for. I went to the hospital with Joe to get his bloodwork done, and we ate lunch at the hospital café, which might have been one of the best meals I’ve had here, oddly enough. We got ice cream afterwards and ran errands for a while (bought laundry detergent, went to the bank to get rent money, bought flowers for Gladis as a goodbye present, tried to get a new phone for Joe) and ran into our old roommate Mariana on Calle Florida. She came by the house later to say goodbye since she was going home the next day, and gave us a bunch of suggestions for the trip we were planning before heading home. The boys and I all stayed in to pack and do our laundry one last time, and I FINALLY talked to my family on skype for the first time since I’ve been here. We couldn’t get audio to work on their end, but I typed responses and it ended up working out reasonably well.

Saturday was move-out day! I hung out and waited for Joe to finish his laundry while Ben and Steve moved into their new place. Joe and I got lunch at Fenicia across the street (which I’m really going to miss) and then headed over to the boys with a million bags in tow. We semi-unpacked, got Burger King for dinner, and then had everyone over for the boys’ housewarming party. We did the typical BC things, sitting in a circle and playing the affirmation game (where everyone goes around the circle and says something they like about everyone else) and drinking several bottles of wine and champagne. My good features apparently include eyes, boobs, hips, butt, and confidence. Who knew? After everyone left, the boys and I started getting ready for bed. Since the second bed hadn’t arrived yet and Joe and I were staying with them, we had a double bed and a futon that was about the same size. Although we had originally planned to have two people on each, (which, logically, would make the most sense) somehow the conversation ended with me sleeping on the floor, Steve sleeping on the futon by himself, and Joe and Ben sharing the bed. For anyone who says that chivalry is not dead, I’d like you to try and explain that one to me.

On Sunday, Joe and I elected ourselves to do the grocery shopping and cook lunch for everyone, which was spectacular- tacos, empanadas, salad, and fruit for dessert. Afterwards, we met up with Memo, who hooked us up with his friend to get tickets to the Boca Juniors vs. Huracan game that night. Of course, it poured the entire game. I will say that I give the fans credit, though- I didn’t see anyone leave early, and they sang and chanted for the entire 1 ½ to 2 hours that we were there. The actual game was not that impressive, and nobody even scored a goal until pretty late in the game, but it was still fun. Afterwards, it took the boys and I over two hours to leave and find a taxi to take us back. We met up with some of the girls at a pizza place for dinner (by that point it was almost one in the morning) and then we went back to the apartment. I went to stay with Lauren and her family in their hotel (because an extra bed beats the floor any day), watched some TV and went to sleep.

Monday, March 2, Lauren and I got up for the free hotel breakfast, then stayed in bed and watched movies in the room all day. I headed over to the boys’ later on while Lauren went out to dinner with her dad, and we found a Chinese/Mexican/Argentine buffet-style restaurant- all you can eat, including dessert, for approximately $8. Needless to say we all stuffed ourselves, and then Catherine and I went back with the boys to plan our beach trip. We figured out reservations for bus tickets and hostels, and finally I took a cab back to Lauren’s hotel to sleep.

On Tuesday, everyone woke up early to head to Villa Gesell, a little beach town about five hours away by bus. Lauren and I got ripped off by a taxi driver, who claimed we had only given him a bill for 2 pesos instead of the 10 we actually gave him, but since he had one of our bags in the front seat there wasn’t really any way to escape. We met up with everyone at the bus station and discovered that the buses in Argentina are really nice- they sort of fold out into beds, and they give you snacks and a (terrible) movie during the trip. Our hotel, Tejas Rojas, was literally right on the beach, so we went straight into the water even though it was cloudy and slightly cooler outside than we would have liked. When the waves got too big, we went back to the heated pool and the hotel and swam for a while longer. We eventually went back to the room (me, Lauren, and Joe had one to share) and watched movies until dinner. We ate at a local place called Café Floop, and discovered an AMAZING ice cream place next door. Afterwards, we got drinks and headed back to the hotel. At some point during the night, someone decided that it would be a good idea to go to the beach, so we all headed out and jumped into the ocean in our underwear on a whim. We headed back to the hotel only to find that we lost our key on the beach, and had to go look for it. Fortunately, we found it within the first couple minutes, and went back to shower and sleep.

Expect another post soon- if I don't catch up this week, I never will. Also, in real time (as opposed to blog time)- my family gets here in two days!