How do you guys say it in English...screw them?!

Well, today is Thursday...my last day of commuting for an hour to class because tomorrow's class is at the tower, which I much prefer...obviously. I actually found a subway stop that's about 4 blocks closer, though...so that's a perk. It's one stop farther than Olleros, but it's less of a walk, so I end of cutting 5 minutes off of my commute time. WIN!

Today I gave my presentation in class...we got an 8. Grading here is different than the United States...they have 1-10 scale and 4 is pass. I guess you could say an 8 is an 80%, but an 8 is actually better than a B...there isn't really a way to compare it. You just get a 4 to pass the class...anything more than that is just gravy.

Also, I have failed to mention that the Business Campus (the far away one) is an old house...it's actually pretty sweet. It still has the old school doors, handles, bathrooms, windows, railings, marble staircases, and things of the like...it's kind of fun to think that really rich Argentinian aristocrats lived there a long time ago. It's really beautiful inside...we always joke about how when we are coming down the staircase we feel like we are in a catillion ball.

My new route to the subte station takes me past two new embassies...Cuba and Italy. The Italian embassy is kind of meager, which surprised me. I figured it would be large. Speaking of large, however, the Cuban embassy is a fricken mansion. When you walk by you can see the employees smoking out the window...they glare at me as I walk by because I am clearly American. So, anyway, Cuba must not be doing too bad if they have this palace for an embassy down here in Buenos Aires...maybe I will snap some pics of it one of these days.

After class we went to the Teatro Colon for a guided tour of the 2nd largest theatre in the world. It's actually a pretty sweet thing to see...it was all designed by French architects and decorated by French designers and painters. A while ago they had to close down for 4 years to renovate the place because it had not been cared for properly for 100 years...they left some places unrenovated so that visitors could see what it used to look like...it's crazy. The gold was brown and the marble had turned from a golden hue to dark reddish-brown. The project cost over 100 million US Dollars. The theatre is actually owned by the Bank of Argentina...so, essentially it is the government's baby. Much of Argentina is agitated by the way the government runs the theatre because it has potential to be a huge money maker, but instead it is sucking up money and patrons continue to pay high prices. I find this all very interesting. Also, the theatre is the mayor's stomping grounds...so right now Kristina Kirchner (current prez) and the mayor don't get along, and KK can't go to the theatre because it is the mayor's turf. That's pretty interesting as well. The stained glass windows were amazing, the gold room was amazing, all the furniture was amazing, and the auditorium was stunning. I loved all the chandaliers and gold trim. Our tour guide was hilarious...he spoke in English for us. The professional photographer team was there so we could only sit in a certain section so as to not screw up his shots and our guide wasn't too thrilled about this. As he was walking us into one of the boxes he said, "they did not tell us about the photographers so i say...how do you guys say it in English...screw them?!!" He is also an opera singer and we begged him to give us a performance and he did!!! It was really cool to hear him singing in the theatre. The Teatro Colon has been called the third greatest theatre in the world by some famous opera guy...high acclaim!!!

Then, I ventured home to do my homework and relax before dinner. While I was walking home a man on a motorcycle followed me for about three blocks...I couldn't understand what he was saying through his helmet, the noise of the city, and his fast castellano...all I caught was mi amor. Finally, after a few blocks of me shaking my head no at him he got the message and sped away. I came home and took a shower and then slept for about an hour. I did my homework and then ate dinner...we had empanadas. For dessert we had dulce de membrillo, which I don't know what a membrillo is. I am still trying to figure it out...it was good, but not my favorite.

At 10, I met my two girlfriends (Emilia and Aidi) at Freddo for an helado. I had dulce de leche and chocolate suiza. Yummmmmmm. We sat and talked for like an hour and giggled and joked about how everything in Argentina is ass-backwards. I'm really grateful that I have started to make friends...it would be a lonely trip without them. We also made plans to go out tomorrow and head to Calle Florida on Saturday for the city's best shopping. CANNOT WAIT FOR THATTTT. :)

Only one day until the weekend folks...and I get an extra long weekend because it is Dia de la Bandera on Monday. Gotta love Argentinian holidays. It's also father's day weekend down here...that will be interesting. I cleaned my piercing 3x today...and it seems to be going well. It's a little tender, but that's to be expected. Just thought I would keep everyone updated.

I'm seriously having the time of my life down here...I will be at the 3 week mark on Saturday, and I can't believe that I've been living here that long already! Tonight I realized that I totally fell in love with Buenos Aires...I wish everyone could experience this city with me!