A week of ups and downs, and an umpteenth bowl of jello

I know I haven't posted much this week, but I can explain! Shit's been f'd up guys. Shit has also been pretty great. Both. At once. It's a true roller coaster of emotions! Take a ride:

Up: My proposed Mother's Day greeting card lesson teaching advertising structures and colloquial language was a HUGE success. One of my faves: a card with an alien child telling his mommy she's "out of this universe!" (these are not native speakers!!!)

Down: I found out last weekend that I have to find an apartment, meaning I have to re-pack and MOVE everything. Any one of you that has seen my room before will know I am not prepared for this.

Up: I found an apartment for rull cheap with two cool Argentinean psychology students! It has a part in front of it!

Down: I keep getting told that the part of town I am moving to is where glue-sniffing teenagers rob people at gunpoint.

Up: I had three delicious home-cooked dinners this week: One by the super-cool/sassy reference of fellow Fulbrighter Eric. I may have spent all but my 2 peso bus fair on a bottle of wine for the occassion, but it was worth it for the riveting conversation (detailing her frustrations in Tucuman with the fact that shit-teacher's college-schooled people with hardly any English knowledge can get jobs in secondary schools while high-lever university students cannot) and the incredible, FRESH jamon y queso raviolis. The second was a delicious homemade lunch at the home of our family's housekeeper (that word gives me shivers) Ramona. Ramona lives in dirt-planted neighborhood made up of houses mostly constructed from cement blocks, bricks and pieces of other retired homes and sheds, and it is truly incredible what she's done with the place. True, Ramona had to personally come to a busy street to guide me into the neighborhood (she said it wasn't safe to go alone), but inside I felt incredibly comfortable. After learning about the art of cooking pastries from Ramona's daughter Andrea, and downing several cups of mate, I learned how to make a delicious chaucha dish and filled my belly in (questionable) style. The third delicious meal came after acting class, and a visit to a lovely (but a bit over-crowded) apartment I chose not to rent. I went to my yanqui friend Nicole's, and she made a delicious lentil/garbanzo/vegetable/rice medley...complete with CUPCAKES! We followed this up by sharing a delicious bottle of malbec/shiraz at the hip bar "El Arbol Del Galeano. All in all, good eating...

Down: ...Or so I thought. I woke Sunday morning with a fever, intense stomach pains, and the compulsion to run to the bathroom ever 20 minutes. The fever has passed, but the stomach pains persist with force. OW! I think it was all the veggies, and perhaps the wine didn't help, nor the week's intake of antibiotics. "What antibiotics," you say?

Down: I WAS BITTEN BY A DOG THIS WEEK!

UP: I'm feeling good about the new place. I'm loving that Elliott Yamin is making a comeback. I love Wanda Syke's roast at the White House press correspondent luncheon. I love that "Grey Gardens" on HBO is supposed to be good. I had a great conversation with my students today about Argentina food, and I actually had a great theater history class!

I promise to update sooN! And from a new home!