Sketchy People

This past Friday, my friend and I sat down on a bench to eat lunch, and these 2 guys came up to us and asked us for our food.  They didn't threaten us at all, but simply asked us to give them what we were eating.  We refused, and they went away.  5 minutes later, they came back and again asked for food.  We refused again and this time, they shouted some spanish profanities.  Looking back I suppose it was our obligation to give them our lunch.  Sensing that we were foreigners, they kept on coming back, picking on us, laughing at us for whatever reason, just to make themselves happy.  Ultimately, after a few more rounds, one of the guys came up to us to show us that he too had obtained food- a meat sandwich.  I wasn't sure whether he was showing us that he too had the means to get a hold of food or he was asking for a vegetable or two to put into his sandwich.  It was all very strange, and we were in a public area, so despite the verbal harassment, we continued to sit there, eating. 

Following on the sketchy theme, on Sunday night, returning from my friend's apartment after watching Game 6, I started talking to this guy waiting at the bus stop.  He told me where he was going, and I asked him why he wasn't walking- it was a mere 10 minute walk.  At that moment, it became obvious that I was a tourist, he said, that if I were Argentine, I'd know that it's too dangerous to walk to Plaza Italia at that time.  Apparently, I have really pushed my luck, in that I have made the exact walk at least 5 times over the course of the semester.  But when talking to locals and hearing how dangerous the city can be, it's pretty scary.  Muggings and robberies remain rampant.  A woman that I met earlier in the semester at Friday night dinner had been threatened with a gun. 
Aside from the subject of how dangerous Buenos Aires is, the guy at the bus stop and I somehow ended up talking about Israelis.  According to him, his main association with Israelis is marijuana- that all they do is smoke pot.  When I asked him if he smoked pot, he told me never... it's really bad for you.  When I asked him if he smoked cigarettes, however, he answered of course.   It was a pretty safe bet- Argentines love smoking.  He then said that he smokes cigarettes because they are cheap  .... Argentina, what a country. 
But apparently, the president intends to sign off on some anti tobacco law.  As a result, perhaps the smell of smoke will linger in my pants and coat for less than 3 days after being outside. 

Speaking of smoking, a big volcano erupted in Chile a couple of weeks ago, causing major delays in airports all across Argentina because of the ash produced.  Passengers were stranded for days.  Things have settled and flights have resumed so it looks like I'll be coming home at the end of June. 

A few things of note from the last few days: 
1. Took a tour of the Colon Theater, one of the most famous opera houses in the world.  According to some major physics survey/experiment/wtvr, the theater has the best acoustics in the world.  The sound aside, the building is pretty beautiful as well. 
On Saturday night, I was supposed to see this cool show featuring blind actors, and the audience is blind as well, having to adapt and to rely on its other senses.  The show was sold out, and my friend Jonah peer pressured me into seeing some monologue show about 3 women talking about their problems on same game show in the 1950's.  My bad attitude certainly didn't help, but the show was horrendous- I was miserable. I'm not sure if I was more upset about spending the 9 bucks or the hour watching the women go on and on about their respective issues. 
Jonah redeemed himself by bringing me to his host sister's birthday party, a wonderful porteno affair, with a small dance floor cleared out for some boliche action and some classic Latin American hits.  It was a great time to hang out with the locals, something that I unfortunately haven't done as much as I wanted to over the course of my stay in Buenos Aires.  It always remains nice to be in your total comfort zone with other Americans but I have found that my most rewarding times here have taken place with Argentines and Spanish speakers from other countries. 

Finally, Sunday, getting up from a usual 3 hour night of sleep, I went to the Casa Rosada, the government house, which seats the executive branch.  Why is the house Pink? 2 possible answers exist: 1- The house's pink color resulted from mixing cow's blood with white paint, which protected the building from the extreme humidity in the city; 2- political- white represented the Liberal Party and red represented the Radicals-  Thus, mixing the colors reflected the desire and importance for political unity within the country. If the 2nd answer is indeed correct, it has failed in a big way (see Peron and Kirchner).  

Regarding work, I took 3 out of my 4 finals this week, leaving me with 1 to take and of course the extremely important activity of receiving my professor's signatures.  Without those signatures, I won't pass my courses. I'll make sure to be in school next wednesday and thursday.

Que tengan un buen fin de semana

Ariel 

Teatro Colon

Casa Rosada

Random Book Structure and statue in Plaza San Martin (Retiro neighborhood)