December 21st
In the afternoon, my host brother Dylan and his girlfriend came over to hang out with me and Nai by the pool. They brought their dogs along, including Dylan’s new corgi puppy, who’s completely adorable but an absolute menace. Naturally, the puppy – Loki – was covered in mud not long after arriving.
We spent a couple of hours lounging by the pool, chatting, and sipping on tereré—the summery version of mate that swaps hot water for cold, fruity juice. Argentinians really don’t mess around with their beverages. There’s always something good to drink and share.
For dinner, we headed to a sushi spot with Dylan and his girlfriend, showing up pretty much on time for our 9:45 reservation. It never ceases to surprise me that the restaurant continued to get busier the later it got, and it was still packed full after midnight when we left. Dinner was delicious, with great drinks and, of course, great company.
During the meal Fabiana and I fell into our usual pattern of trying to teach each other words in Spanish and English. As always, we agreed that it sometimes feels impossible to actually remember the words we talk about. I pointed to the candle on the table and asked for a reminder of the Spanish word. “Vela,” they said. Ughhh I knew that:// Sometimes my brain wants to say canela (which I KNOW means cinnamon, not candle). It’s like my mind can’t help smashing the words together: candle, vela.. canela. Just an example of how my brain sometimes betrays me in Spanish lol.
