All the students are getting together this afternoon in order to cook and celebrate Thanksgiving, Canadian style! We're having chicken instead of turkey, salads, mashed papas, homemade rolls, and apple pie. We'll celebrate again in November, and will be more of a potluck-style. Cooking with family and friends is perhaps the activity I am missing most (other than riding my bike). I am looking forward to using fresh fruits and vegetables from my family's farm and from the local markets to prepare some dishes of comfort food!
Last night I went dancing again with a friend until 3 am! So much fun, and I'm getting pretty decent at salsa and merengue. Today I slept until noon and my legs and feet hurt. Totally worth it. It's so cool that EVERYONE dances and sings and struts their stuff on the dance floor. Absolutely no hesitation about it. The dance floor gets absolutely packed and people are dripping sweat, moving to the beat, one song flowing into the next. After a good while, the DJ switches it up with slower songs, and everyone pretty much returns to their tables and drinks and rests. Men put their arms around each other and sway and belt out the lyrics, women reapply makeup and fix their hair. Something I really like is how people drink here. Everyone buys beer in a larger bottle, and gets a few small glasses. You then pour for others and salud! and drink, throwing the last little bit on the ground (for the homies). It's typical of this place, everything is shared among friends. The dangerous part of this practice, of course, then is to continue dancing in these sticky puddles of beer.
