Today begins my countdown until I leave...
I feel that 4 weeks was JUST long enough for this trip to last, as this is the first week I'm wishing I was home almost every day, and I've done quite a lot and made TONS of new friends...
That being said, the city still knows it can try to trip me up from time to time.
Today was pretty dull, until a point.
I was walking to tango class, and I was thinking about everything I had done today. In layman's terms: Not much.
I realized this, and thought to myself: "Wow, I wish something interesting would happen"
Big mistake.
As soon as I'm done thinking that, I hear someone talking at me. It's one of the people who frequent the streets, asking for you to buy whatever small thing they have, when just saying "No comprendo" doesn't work, as they mostly speak English too. I'm a big fan of just saying: "I have no money, sorry" and they usually dont press for more, and let me go on my way.
Not this guy though. He was persistent, to the point where he was actually tugging on my jacket to make me stop. When I didn't, he says something in Spanish, and 3 more guys step out to sell me pens or something.
Now there were four big guys acting pretty intimidating at me. The guy directly in front of me didnt speak any English, and my words of "I don't have any money" went right over his head.
I tried to keep my pace steady, as I walked forward, but I thought to myself after the fact that if he had held his ground, and I had tried to push past him/move around him, he might've pulled a knife on me, and that would've been it.
So he's getting RIGHT up in my face about this, and jostling me, and grabbing at my bag, and I cant just yell for help, as I assumed no-one around me spoke English (a dumb reason I know, but it made sense at the time, adrenaline and all).
So what do I do? I look him square in the face, put on my hardest expression, (not threatening, but steely nonetheless), and say, not shout, or even raise my voice: "Get out of my way, now."
And he does. I powerwalk the hell away from him, and when my adrenaline has cooled off enough for rational thought, the very first thing that goes through my mind isn't "Oh my god, I almost just got robbed!"
No, it is: "OMG, I jedi mind tricked that guy!! I wonder if it works on other people too!", then spent the rest of the walk attempting to tell other people do do my bidding with my mind. Sadly, he is apperantly the weakest mind in all of Recoleta, but you can't blame me for trying.
Only once I get to my tango lesson, it hits me how close I was to getting robbed/mugged.
So that kind of throws me off, but only for a second. As the title says, I then put on my tango shoes, and that's when the magic happens.
I don't know what it was about the shoes, but even thought this was the same class that I had felt overwhelmingly outclassed in just 2 weeks ago, I got it!
I mean, I danced the CRAP out that lesson! I came out of it feeling so amazing! I understand how to do most of the moves, and all I need to work on now is my timing!
So that's going great.
It occurs to me that in a previous blog post I mentioned something about an "episode in color" with no explanation.
You know my forest green jacket/parka? Yeah, that one...
I've had the thing for many years, and until about 2 days ago, I was convinced (per colorblindness) that it was gray. Like, a medium gray, and I had no idea it was even SLIGHTLY green until 2 nights ago...
Fun stuff, to be sure...
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