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My half marathon was yesterday. Wow. It has been a life goal of mine for a while. I almost did one in April in KS and got hurt the week before. So instead I did one here in BA. It was huge. over 12,000 people participated in the event ... a sea of teal shirted people that never ended. Main streets of the city were closed down for a course that went by major tourist parts of the city: River Stadium, Patio Bullrich, the Oblisk, Boca Stadium, Puerto Madero, Retiro, Autopista General Paz, etc. There was a platform set up with people dancing tango to show the culture of the city to the international marathon. My half marathon went by most of those sites ... I had always wanted to run on a highway ... completed that goal too. It was interchangeably overcast, misting and windy... a.k.a. hardcore conditions. I couldn't tell what was sweat and what was rain. It was definitely a test of physical and mental ability. It is amazing how the brain can force the body to do things its not supposed to. I finished in about 2 hours and 5 minutes and came in 2541st place. (The winner of the full marathon finished in 2 hours and 13 minutes ... ouch) It was very hard to walk yesterday ... today is getting better. Luckily I had my roommate Analia come and support me. I am really blessed to have Analia in my life ... I wish I could bring her home with me. Whitney from the Residencia ran too and her boyfriend Scott came to support her. It was nice having people there for support since it wasn't anywhere close to home. I am glad I did it ... and glad I did it here in BA because I know my body is not made for another half marathon. My one of my life was done in another country at a huge event ... and it makes my study abroad story that much sweeter.

I went to the Carlos Gardel museum. A block from my house. Its small and not too amazing. But they offer free tango classes a few times a week that I will conveniently try. I tried to go to the planetarium today ... but because it is a holiday 'dia de la raza' there were families and kids everywhere and a line out of the door ... so I will wait for a more tranquil day. I do miss seeing the stars ... it has been several months since I have seen them for real. A museum visit in the near future will replicate them enough to satisfy until I am in my Kansas plains again. Instead of a crazy hectic museum, I just strolled (still in pain a bit) through the parks ... one thing Argentine´s know how to do and do well is ... picnics.

Tonight I went to Bomba del Tiempo which is a Brazilian drum show. Hippie city. The Konex complex it is held at is like a garage with the roof taken off. Drum beats and dancing and a cloud of smoke above the masses. People selling happy brownies outside while the police direct traffic. For some reason ... I was not really feeling it. The music wasn't way impressive (sometimes it had its moments) and not really my kind of environment. I also had a great spot ... elbow level behind a dancing giant ginger with a rattail ... my face was in danger most of the time.

Note on rattails: they are common here. Men. Women. Dred rattail. Braided rattail. Beaded rattail. Spiral curled rattail. Gotta love it.

It has been a weird week of city life ... a lady on the bus asked me if I was pregnant ... a man walking on the sidewalk next to me tried to give me wedding rings he found, then wanted something in return (money or food) ... Analia´s cell phone got stolen on the subway ... some punk little kids approached me in a gang to try and take mine (luckily I had been training for the half marathon) ... its starting to get to me ... about the perfect time for coming home.

Sometimes I feel like this:

Love.