Salsa

Update: I now have a roommate. Her name is Lucy; she’s also an undergrad and she will be volunteering here for the next 6 weeks. On the one hand, I’d kind of gotten used to being alone in the evenings and doing my own thing, but on the other I’m really glad to have someone to go visit places with me and to potentially goof off with. She’s really nice and obviously up for most everything because I was able to drag her out to salsa night at La Parranda on her first night here.

            Around 10:00 La Parranda really fills up. At this point most gringos have left the dance floor and are just watching in awe as the locals tear up the dance floor. Without a doubt, salsa is sexy. Yes, I watched jealously as women in tacones (heels) danced effortlessly. There was one older woman who was amazing and despite the fact that she was definitely over 35 and a bit heavier she was so sexy (no homo) when dancing. A salsa instructor and her were dancing at one point and he lifted her up and did a crazy twist thing that you’ve probably seen on dirty dancing; it was so unexpected and scared the crap out of me. Ok so obviously, I did a lot of watching haha, but I also danced! And it’s official, I’m not very good. You know when you’re dancing with a guy at a party and you don’t want to be so you say something like “oh I have to go to the bathroom” or “I’m gonna go get some air, a drink, etc.” well I’m slightly embarrassed to say that I think that happened to me! I danced with two Guatemalan guys and received these two lines, “Voy a tomar agua (I’m gonna go get some water)” and “Voy a charlar con mis amigos (I’m gonna go talk to my friends)” Although obviously that means I make a crappy salsa partner, that’s pretty hilarious. And by gringa standards I think I do alright, I at least have the rhythm down, but if I were a guy I’d want to dance with one of the Guatemalan girls in tacones too. Both guys I danced with were a little creepy…or maybe it’s just that I don’t like dancing semi-provocatively with people I don’t know. I had a lot more fun dancing with Brian, a guy from California I met earlier this week. He showed me some turns and moves without all the bravado and hip thrusting that sometimes accompanies dancing with latinos. I’ve actually had a desire recently to break it down with Blair and the rest of the awesome Maupin 310s, but that’ll have to wait until August!

             Today I just made more preparations for my research in the community next week. I had to go to an internet café to print off some visuals and while I was waiting for things to print I explored a few of the nearby Pacas. What’s a Paca? They are basically really small thrift stores filled with second hand American clothes that you can find on practically every street corner. Nothing else of major importance has happened, but I can say that my Spanish is definitely improving. I’ve been trying to speak slower in order to use better grammar and I’ve been taking the time to stop and correct myself when I say something wrong. Hopefully my salsa skills will eventually improve too!