not just a tourist

This afternoon I went to Pura Vida to grab lunch to go. (Pura Vida is a little juice bar slash soup-sandwich-salad spot that serves things with fresh vegetables, which is something I do not get much of in the meals at my homestay.) I´ve started making a habit out of eating there, because it´s close, reasonably priced, delicious, and makes my body tingle with healthfood happiness.

Today as I stood waiting for my Mediterranean sandwich on pita bread and banana-strawberry-orange juice smoothie, one of my yoga instructors, Chris, walked in. He was with his mom, and they were there to have lunch. So Chris introduced me, and we chatted, then he ran into someone else he knew, a guy who had attended high school in for a year in the U.S., and I chatted with him as well. We talked about Missouri, and Minnesota, and laughed about how your hair freezes in the winter if you walk outside with it still wet. Then my order was ready, so I told Chris I wouldn´t be making it to class tonight, but would see him tomorrow morning, and told everyone it was nice to meet them, Ciao.

Now this may seem like a fairly boring story. ¨Okay, Lia, you ordered lunch to go and ran into someone you knew and made plans to go to yoga tomorrow. Your point ... ?¨ My point is, I suddenly realized that I live here. I have routines. A place that I´m becoming a ¨regular¨ at. I ran into someone I knew. Not an American I met through my program, but a local Argentine who I met all on my own. And I ordered my lunch in Spanish, from a Spanish menu. And was introduced to people in Spanish. And talked about obscure things like frozen hair. In Spanish.

It was fantastic.

Then as I was walking into my apartment building my host mom was on her way out. I asked her how she was, and she told me she was in a hurry as she threw a quick kiss on my cheek. Another seemingly normal situation. Except, before this morning, I wouldn´t have understood what she said. I just learned the word for being in a hurry in class today.

I love it when things like that happen.