Wednesday, October 22, 2008

El Día de Los Estudiantes Internacionales






My sunburn from my previous vacation could not have come at a worse time. On Saturday the University put together a lunch for all the international students. Tickets cost 25 pesos for lunch, a tango show, and a horseback riding show. I received one free ticket for a member of my family. I invited my host mom Irene, and Luis snuck in after lunch without paying.


All semester my tango class had been preparing for this day as we were going to perform for everyone. My horseback riding class had also been preparing for a demonstration. As Saturday approached, I had not wore shoes in over a week because my feet were very swollen. Somehow, Saturday morning, I managed to squeeze my feet in some shoes and made it look like I could walk without a limp.


The members of my tango class and I met early to rehearse our routine. After rehearsal, we all put on our nice clothes. The girls wore dresses with heals, and the guys wore black pants with a white button up shirt.


Our families and friends arrived and were served drinks and empanadas as appetizers. Once they got settled in and seated, we began our first dance. We walked out in our sexy walks and performed a dance. Then immediately after the tango, some of us performed another dance called the Ranchero. The Ranchero was more of a group dance. Both dances were extremely fun. I was happy that I was able to perform even though I could barely walk.


After the dances, we all sat down and had lunch. We socialized and got to know everybody´s families and friends. After lunch, it was time for the horseback riding show. Again, I squeezed my feet into some shoes and began mentally preparing for a painful ride on a horse.


We all moved outside where the instructors had set up a short course for our routine. We started by walking a lap on our horses. Then we trotted and did two little jumps. Finally we galloped and did two more jumps; this time a little bit higher. After all of us beginners finished, a girl from Argentina showed off her talents. She was a lot more experienced than us; however, she was the only one to fall off her horse. Her horse fell, thus making her fall too. It was kind of funny to see a horse running wild on campus. She got right back on her horse though and jumped about a meter in a half in height. It was quite impressive.


After the horseback riding show, we moved back inside for a writing contest. Some students had prepared stories from their experiences in Cordoba. They read them and were judged on things like the funniest or best written. Only 4 people participated, so everybody won a prize. I did not participate in the contest because well lets be honest... I am too lazy to sit down and write a story. If I could have just got up there and improved it, I would have.


After the contest, I returned home with my family where I rested my feet for the rest of the night. My friends went out salsa dancing, but I rested for the first time in four months.


If you would like to see the video of our dances there is a video of both on facebook. I do not know how to upload it onto my blog, but I may try to figure it out when I have more time. Unfortuanately my camara died after two pictures on Saturday, so I do not have all that many pictures either.

No comments: