![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amorousodiousOn Thursday I went to my práctica, and we arranged to eat lunch again with all of the professors next week (exciting!). Afterward we went to the juice bar to get some refreshment. I got a juice with strawberries, bananas, watermelon, and pineapple juice this time and a piece of organic banana bread. I noticed that when they made it they didn’t take the seeds out of the watermelon, but later they poured it through a spout so that any big pieces of seed didn’t get into the drink.
I walked home in the beautiful sunshine and 26 degree weather afterward. In order to introduce the story that I’m about to tell I need to give some background about a very important cultural difference here. It is normal, and not offensive or suggestive at all, when a girl or group of girls is/are walking down the street for a guy or group of guys to yell things along the lines of “guapa” (pretty) “bella” (beautiful) or in my case “rubia” (blonde-haired girl). This does not apply to just foreign girls, this applies to all girls, and any Hispanic guy between the ages of 12 and 60 (60 might be an understatement, I’m sure there are some viejos verdes out there older than that). Foreigners usually just ignore them, but most of the native girls will smile or wave, like it’s a compliment.
Anyway, Alicia and I were talking about it one day and I said that I wondered if anyone ever said something back to them, like yelled “guapo” or something. I made up my mind that I was going to try that the next time I was in a safe situation and someone yelled something at me. However, since that conversation, over a month ago, the opportunities have stagnated. The great amounts of weight that I have gained eating Spanish chocolate might have something to do with it.
Today, however, I got my chance. I was walking in the Rio back home and I walked past a group of guys and girls and one of the guys said “oye, guapa rubia” (hey, pretty blonde). I answered “hola guapo” (hi handsome). The guy was obviously speechless but all of the girls started laughing, and one of them said “acércate” (come here) but I said “disculpame, pero tengo prisa, que tengáis un buen día” (sorry, I’m in a hurry, have a good day). They waved goodbye to me as I walked away. Overall, I think it was a successful experiment.
I spent most of the rest of my day sitting out on the terrace and doing homework/writing blogs. When Lucía came home at 18,00 I had a surprise however, a letter from G&G West! Grandmother had obviously written a lot of little comments in it that gave me an idea of the big events (and some small ones too) of the past months of their lives. I was glad to hear that they got a copy of my blog that Mom printed out and sent them (thanks Mom!) and was happy to hear some of the comments. One of the things that Grandmother mentioned was that she wants to see/taste the food that I describe in my blogs. I think I need to write out recipes of a lot of them so that I don’t forget what to do.
For la cena we had a mixture of leftover sopa, ensalada and whatnot from the previous few days plus half of an eggplant. No, I’m not kidding, we really did eat half of an eggplant that was cooked in the microwave like you might make a baked potato. It wasn’t bad, but I think I prefer it baked in the oven or on the stove with olive oil instead. Still, overall it was pretty good. After la cena I practiced the violin for the first time (oh boy, do I need to practice!!!) while Lucía watched tv and Alicia talked to her Mom on the phone. Alicia’s family was doing much better after the death of her Grandmother, which was nice for Alicia to hear. We didn’t end up going out or anything, but that was okay since we had a trip with the centro to oceanográfico (a sea world type place) the next day.
I walked home in the beautiful sunshine and 26 degree weather afterward. In order to introduce the story that I’m about to tell I need to give some background about a very important cultural difference here. It is normal, and not offensive or suggestive at all, when a girl or group of girls is/are walking down the street for a guy or group of guys to yell things along the lines of “guapa” (pretty) “bella” (beautiful) or in my case “rubia” (blonde-haired girl). This does not apply to just foreign girls, this applies to all girls, and any Hispanic guy between the ages of 12 and 60 (60 might be an understatement, I’m sure there are some viejos verdes out there older than that). Foreigners usually just ignore them, but most of the native girls will smile or wave, like it’s a compliment.
Anyway, Alicia and I were talking about it one day and I said that I wondered if anyone ever said something back to them, like yelled “guapo” or something. I made up my mind that I was going to try that the next time I was in a safe situation and someone yelled something at me. However, since that conversation, over a month ago, the opportunities have stagnated. The great amounts of weight that I have gained eating Spanish chocolate might have something to do with it.
Today, however, I got my chance. I was walking in the Rio back home and I walked past a group of guys and girls and one of the guys said “oye, guapa rubia” (hey, pretty blonde). I answered “hola guapo” (hi handsome). The guy was obviously speechless but all of the girls started laughing, and one of them said “acércate” (come here) but I said “disculpame, pero tengo prisa, que tengáis un buen día” (sorry, I’m in a hurry, have a good day). They waved goodbye to me as I walked away. Overall, I think it was a successful experiment.
I spent most of the rest of my day sitting out on the terrace and doing homework/writing blogs. When Lucía came home at 18,00 I had a surprise however, a letter from G&G West! Grandmother had obviously written a lot of little comments in it that gave me an idea of the big events (and some small ones too) of the past months of their lives. I was glad to hear that they got a copy of my blog that Mom printed out and sent them (thanks Mom!) and was happy to hear some of the comments. One of the things that Grandmother mentioned was that she wants to see/taste the food that I describe in my blogs. I think I need to write out recipes of a lot of them so that I don’t forget what to do.
For la cena we had a mixture of leftover sopa, ensalada and whatnot from the previous few days plus half of an eggplant. No, I’m not kidding, we really did eat half of an eggplant that was cooked in the microwave like you might make a baked potato. It wasn’t bad, but I think I prefer it baked in the oven or on the stove with olive oil instead. Still, overall it was pretty good. After la cena I practiced the violin for the first time (oh boy, do I need to practice!!!) while Lucía watched tv and Alicia talked to her Mom on the phone. Alicia’s family was doing much better after the death of her Grandmother, which was nice for Alicia to hear. We didn’t end up going out or anything, but that was okay since we had a trip with the centro to oceanográfico (a sea world type place) the next day.
