Green Tea

It is 7° C right now, that's 40° F. My body is not cut out for two winters. I bundled up for my run after Cristina left (I love her!) but I only made it halfway before deciding to create a new path and head home. It's easy to justify a shorter workout/jogging route when you walk everywhere and dance all night. Today I ate an avocado & cream cheese sandwich and listened to summery songs on my iPod, but it doesn't make me feel any warmer. We're supposed to volunteer in La Boca with ACORN today and grab drinks at Milion later tonight. Jenny asked if she could "slap the kids around and tell them that's how we do it in The States." I told her absolutely not. I don't think she gets the idea of a community center... it's not like the Recoleta kids ship out to La Boca to play with Americans, these are kids from La Boca. We are trying to create a positive influence, teaching them constructive ways to deal with their problems as opposed to the violence they've been exposed to. She also wants to hire a clown for her birthday and make him juggle dry ice. "It would burn his hands!" "I want to see him try." I told her I would take no part in that. She would end up on CNN or something for cruelty to a human being.
Last night she threw away a half a pizza she had just made herself. Still hot from the oven. "I don't eat leftovers," she told me as she wrapped it in a trash bag. "Give it to someone on the street!" I insisted. "No one wants my half-eaten food," she tells me as she carries the bag out to the hallway. "Why didn't you just make half?" "Because I didn't want to tear the crust." I told her (jokingly but seriously) that she is going to be an awful nun. She says maybe she'll just live out on a ranch by herself. I think maybe that would be best. It's obviously the solitude she craves, not the whole praising God by helping others. (My conception of nunhood is inspired by books and movies, but isn't that a universal Christian value? Praising God by helping others? "What is man's chief end?" "To glorify God and enjoy Him forever." Thank you Westminster Shorter Catechism.)
But seriously, Jenny has a serious mean streak. Sometimes it makes me uncomfortable. She just wants to be left alone, but I don't think she should be a nun. The Catholic Church has enough drama as is, no need for her to add to it by petitioning for Prada-designed habits and child abuse in parish schools. She doesn't believe in therapy (Buenos Aires has more psychologists per capita than any other city) because she thinks it's weird to tell strangers your problems. But I think she could really benefit from it, what with her ghost sightings and anger management and all...

I had thought we could get to La Boca early and hit up this museum I read about in my Wallpaper book: Fundacion Proa. But it is still under remodeling and will reopen in October with a Marcel Duchamp exhibit. (I studied him in my one Art History class.) Right now I'm a teensy bit jealous of Annemarie for staying: the River/Boca game and an upturned ceramic urinal called art all in one month? Fantastic.

Duchamp's "Fountain," 1917

Just e-mailed Mom some photographs of her sussie. I gave up on finding art, but silver is a big industry in Buenos Aires. The river here is Rio de la Plata, which means "silver river" but is usually translated as River Plate. Plata can also mean money, a sort of slang like cash.

(Silver is hard to photograph.)

Oh, and in other news, Rachael Ray's Dunkin Donuts ads were just yanked because she wore a "terrorist" scarf, which is basically what all the rollingas wear. Sorry chica. I still think I'll wear mine when I get home.