Week 37, Project 365

I am such a party animal that I'm still trying to recover after being out two nights in a row and only getting about 4 hours sleep each night. [What's up with having an internal alarm clock anyway? I'd like to be able to shut mine off!]

Thursday night's cafe literario provided superb entertainment. Entertainment which didn't start until after 10 p.m. and finished about midnight. Tango presented in music, prose and poetry in a dark basement theatre against the backdrop of a small stage sporting a bright gold lamé curtain. A blindingly bright gold lamé curtain. None of my photos turned out due to the glare of the lamé.

Hombre de la esquina rosada, a short story by Jorge Luis Borges (probably Argentina's best known author) read by my friend Graciela and another woman. Several pieces of poetry recited by a dapper older gentleman. Tango music by individuals as well as this duo.

About thirty of us around tiny round cafe tables on equally tiny chairs, most folks knocking back tiny cups of espresso. I refrained from the cafe. Good grief, if I dared drink that much caffeine at any point after noon I'd be awake half the night. With perimenopausal insomnia I don't need any help staying awake at night. And there's no such thing as decaf here. They'd look at you like you were nuts if you should ask for it. What's the point, they'd wonder.

Then Friday night we attended a musical evening featuring both tango and folklore music. It didn't start until after 11 p.m. Not sure but I think these things usually go until 3 a.m. or so. But Ivan had to get up early on Saturday so we were the first to leave, around 1:30 a.m. The man who sang tango has a beautiful voice. His day job is driving a taxi. The folklore band -- two guitars and a bongo style drum -- were good too. The younger guitarist looked like a young John Lennon while the older one seriously resembled former Argentine president Menem. The folklore portion was much like a giant sing along. 90% of the audience were senior citizens and knew all the words to all the songs and weren't shy about joining in. At one point a man from the audience even got up on stage and took over the microphone. Fortunately he had an exceptional voice so we quite enjoyed his performance.

I think the senior citizen factor might have been the reason behind the music being so LOUD. It was so loud that even though we sat in the back, it still hurt my ears. So while I enjoyed the music up to a point, I was more than ready to leave. We've noticed most public places seem to have their speakers perpetually set on HIGH.

Ivan was up and out the door early Saturday because he and our co-worker took 18 boys to an all-day soccer tournament in another town. Some are contacts we made when the Bible Institute students were here helping recently. Others just heard about the event and called to sign up. 

Over the past week Ivan and our co-worker visited the homes of each young man who wanted to go to the tournament, to meet their parents. Ivan took this photo while they were in a neighborhood on the other side of town. He liked the mix of roof lines with the mountains in the background, and I do too. We're fond of architectural art.

Saturday was a long day for Ivan; he left at 8 a.m. and returned home at 10 p.m. One set of parents also went, helping transport the boys to and from Jesus Maria, a town about 1-1/2 hours from here. A total of fifteen teams from a number of towns competed and although none of our three teams brought home any trophies, everyone had a great time.

There were a few tense moments; one of our teams was so sad after a loss that some of them were crying. Argentines take their soccer pretty seriously. But in the end, smiles prevailed and they're ready to do it again!

As y'all know this week we celebrated my second blogiversary AND I managed to write post #500 on the actual day. That was fun :-)

To make learning how to use the bus system a little more fun for Andrea, Ivan devised a plan: They had a goal of finding an empty lot that was going up for auction. The newspaper description landed them in the right neighborhood but wasn't specific enough that they could go right to X-marks-the-spot. They had to ask neighbors and do a little investigation. Eventually they were successful and took photos of the surrounding area. Including this great castle-like house not far away. We've passed this place every time we go to Tanti and often wonder what the story is behind it. Maybe one day we'll find out. Meanwhile I like to think up possible scenarios.

I'm going to try and be more intentional this week about taking photos. I have a few ideas and hope to have the time to try them out. It's interesting to see what each Project 365 participant "brings to the table". We live all over and lead very different lives. Some have little kids, others are surviving the teen years, and then there are those of us whose kids are grown. We live on farms, in cities, out in the 'burbs. It's fun to get a peek into one another's lives as we develop this internet community.

I've really enjoyed the comments this week, leading up to my second blogiversary giveaway. Y'all have shared verses, stories, posts...bits of your life. I appreciate more than words can say the friends I've made in this journey. Next week I'm going to be talking about some of our favorite posts. The party may be over but the fun sure isn't! If you were putting together a time capsule and could only put in one blog post, which would it be? Hmmmmm, have to think about that? No problem. Just make sure you come on back and leave a comment with the link :-) Inquiring minds want to know!

And now for the winner of my Second Blogiversary Giveaway....
(drum roll please)

It's SKOOTS1MOM! 

Her entry stamped 6:12 p.m. on Wednesday, September 9 was the one drawn from the bowl.
I'll be putting together a little package just for Skoots this week.
Thanks to all who left comments. Not just this week but any time. They're like drops of rain on a thirsty plant.