Graffiti, steak and sweat

I love it here. I like waking up in the morning in a room of people. I like pottering about the hostel in the morning before everyone's up (although not a voluntary wake up I hasten to add) and all the windows and balcony doors are open and the wind is coming into the living room but it's not cold (!). I like how there are 10000 things to do because someone is always doing something and how easy we are about jumping on each others plans. I love going to my Spanish lessons cos it makes me feel I'm living here, it's a totally different experience to what I've done before when away on holiday and things- except for when I volunteered in Tanzania, but that always still felt like a trip rather than normal life.

Rayuela hostel is great because it feels like a home with a huge, constantly shifting family. The staff are awesome and cook us food and give us wine, and nobody tries to promote anything.

Spanish has been quite difficult because I am in a awkward in between level so I have to be in a tricky class. But I've also enjoyed it, it would be good to do more in Chile but money issues. I would definitely have improved a lot more if I had done actual revision after each class but the hostel is too distracting- whenever I sit down to read my Spanish I end up chatting to someone!

We recently spent an entire evening playing the iPhone game where you have to guess what the word on your forehead is, following a hostel cooked vegetarian meal. It's embarrassing when people whose native language isn't English are better than me. Atsuo from Japan was bossing it and it was nice because he was clearly out of his comfort zone with the game at first. Perhaps they should make a Spanish version.

After a Spanish lesson I met Andy at the hostel and we went to a graffiti tour by Graffitimundo. This was a contentious one because it cost 30 USD (eek) but everyone had been banging on about how good it is. We managed to be late as we drastically underestimated the slowness of the underground and ended up running in 30+ degree heat to the meeting place. SO SWEATY.

The tour was great; it looked at the recent history of Buenos Aires in relation to street artists and their motivations. The art was excellent. We saw a mix of street art and two galleries which support the artists working inside if they wish to. I loved how colourful the work was. Six artists had collaborated to create a piece that was largely pastel colours, which I always have associated with being quite yucky, but the artists made them seem really edgy.

After the tour Andy, Shonagh (from Portsmouth) and I went into Palermo and had a bottle of Merlot and some chips with pizza toppings on them. The chips were counteracted by our recent art tour so that was OK. Palermo is cool, it's an area that reminds me a bit of London (perhaps Hackney/Dalston) but a bit less try hard hipster. Lots of cafes and cool little shops. It was super sunny.

That evening a group of us went out for steak at a local restaurant where excessive amounts of panic ensued when everyone realised the waiter spoke no English.

Afterwards we walked past an ice cream shop and genuinely spent 20 minutes arguing over what flavours to get in our kilogram tub of ice cream. I successfully argued mint choc chip away thank god. We had it back at the hostel with some beer.

I moved into a luxury three person room as I have officially been here Too Long, and Rhys had to move me into a special area following some string pulling as I had failed to book as I went along. I actually had a good night's sleep :) :)Read more