I haven't posted much lately because for the most part I've just been settling into the routine. Things that once made a big impression on me here now have much less of an effect. I still notice the little things, but I don't consider them to be curiousities now, I consider them a part of my life. Things that were once different for me are now not. Now it's the things I remember from the United States that seem different to me
Not to say I'm a porteno yet. Far from it. But the reality is that I no longer live in New York, or Oakland.
Yesterday I was walking over to a hotel near my house to meet a friend from New York. I walked through the park near my house, over to the hotel, less than 5 minutes away. As I was walking through the park a group of kids saw my wallet hanging out of my pants and surrounded me. They asked for some money, and I told them I didn't have any, which was true. They asked for my wallet, and I explained to them that they couldn't do anything with any of the cards, so it wasn't worth it. They understood that, so they asked for money again. I told them I didn't have any, but one of the kids still wasn't happy, so he opened up his backpack to show me his knife.
I wish I could say I did the smart thing, but instinct just took over. I delivered a lightning fast karate chop to his neck, disarmed him Steven Seagal style, and then smashed his friends heads together. The fourth kid took off running, but I hunted him down, came up behind him, and put him to sleep with an expertly placed headlock. Once I had caught my breath and washed the blood from my hands, I continued on my way, leaving the administrative work to the police.
No I'm kidding. I saw the knife, realized I had 5 american dollars in my wallet, and immediately handed it over. That was enough, and they let me go on my way.
To sum it all up, yesterday I stared mortal danger in the face, eye to eye, and then payed it 5 dollars to leave me alone. But I learned my lesson, and when I told the story to my host mom, she told me it was a cheap lesson at that. I feel like a little kid avoiding bullies by taking the long way home, but that's just one of those realities of being in a city you're starting to get comfortable in, but still don't really understand that well at all.