Crossroads

Another spanish homework....

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Que es libertad? Lo es importante? No lo podes sentir, no lo podes usar, tampoco tiene precio.
Entonces, por que esta valioso? Por la humanidad, por la vida, por la capacidad a vivir y hacer lo que uno quiere.

Para mi, libertad es cuando entiendo mis limites. Porque solo dios tiene la capacidad para hacer todo. Nosotros los humanos tenemos limites. Pero dentro este limites, nosotros podemos tener libertad. Cuando sabemos nuestro limites, podemos movernos dentro de fronteras con libertad.

Por ejemplor, cuando yo era chico, fui un fanatico de Bruce Lee. Una vez, lo vi en televicion, le estaban por hacer una entrevista. El entrevistador le pregunto, 'Que es el mas alto nivel de fisico?' El dijo, 'El mas alto nivel fisico, es cuando yo pienso, mi cuerpo lo hace.' En otras palabras, es la libertad a hacer todos los movimiento fisico que he pensado.

Entonces, desde esa epoca, toda mi vida esta dedicada a buscar mi limites fisico y mental . Porque yo se que no soy dios. No puedo hacer todo. Tengo limites, pero tengo que saberlo, y entonces saber que es la libertad para mi.

Cuando estaba en ejercito, conoci un unidad que se llamaba 'Fuerzas Espacial'. Era muy chico, tenia 18 años, pero desde esa epoca, queria mucho entrar en esta unidad. Porque yo se que ellos solo quieren gente con el mejor acondiciomiento fisico, y la determinacion mental.

Pero entrar no es facil. Tenes que aprobar una eleccion que dura por tres semanas. Yo hice seis anos para la preparacion fisica. Hice la seleccion dos veces, suspendi una vez, y finalmente entre luego tres semana de examen.

Fue muy dificil. El examen final, hicieron una marcha de 35 kilometros con un bolso 50 kg. Pero porque asi? Porque me conozco, para entender mi limites, por la libertad. Luego en la seleccion, estaba muy tranquilo. Por que en eso momento yo tenia mucha confianza en mi capacidad fisica y mental. Yo soy libre. Sentia poder todo.

Entonces por que sufrir? La vida casi siempre es dura. Ya tenia muchos problemas. Pero te pones en las situacionnes donde podes probar tu alma y cuerpo, entonces tienes mucho mas conocimientos de la vida y de tus limtes, finalmente la libertad. Solo asi podes vivir una vida con mucha mas confianza y mas tranquilidad.

One word that I frequently use and hear in Buenos Aires is 'Quilombo'. Its a coloquial slang (lunfardo) for 'chaos'. As Lesley, who taught me this word, explained; 'Quilombo' used to mean prostitute den. It has some african roots like many of the lunfardo words here.

"Aca es un quilombo!" I would always hear and say when the dance floor gets a bit crazy. "Quilombo!" I would here the taxi drivers complain about the traffic of Buenos Aires. Y ahora mi vida es un poco quilombo; my life now is a bit chaotic.

Since I arrived in Buenos Aires in mid August, I have been quite comfortable in my hostel (Alkimista hostel). Paying 600 pesos (300SGD) per month and enjoying a quiet and peaceful room, making friends from all around the world. Then around mid december, the owners of the hostel told me they were going to double the price of the room due to high season for tourism.

I began to search for new place to live in. Ana my swedish friend recommended me to stay with her in the same rented apartment. The owner of the apartment was a seemingly nice old lady, named Lydia. We got along well during the first meeting and she agreed to let me stay there.

Ana then helped me arrange to move in on the morning of 31st of December. But when that day arrived I was so busy with my taxi dancing job and I forgot all about it. When I remembered I was suppose to meet later during the day, I didn't think too much about it because I thought it would be ok to just call her the next day.

Was I wrong! I called Lydia on the afternoon of first of january, after I have packed everything into my suitcase put them in the lobby and checked out of my hostel. She began by telling me that I can't move in today because she has already locked the doors (at 5pm!). I was quite surprised at first, then I told her I need to move in today if not I would have join the 'sleep in the streets' brigade. Then she told me she feels uneasy about me moving in with her now. It turned out that she was waiting for me the whole day yesterday. And by the time I called her she decided there was something wrong with me and she does not feel at ease with me staying with her.

I really don't blame her. She's 80 years, fragile little old lady and never rented the rooms out to men. I apologised and explained to her I was busy working the entire 31st of december and I should have called her. Also I really need somewhere to sleep because the hostel is now full of reservations and unless I check into the nearby Hilton hotel I would become 'el ciruja' (a tramp)! In the end I couldn't convince her I am not a chinese mafia and I won't violate her in the middle of the night.

So on top of dancing 8 hours a day as a taxi dancer, travelling to milongas; I suddenly had no place to sleep, living out from my suitcase and still trying to look like suave James Bond at night with my $3000 Hugo Boss suit... from my suitcase.

In the end Jennifer was kind enough to let me bunk into her apartment for a few nights. I feel really bad because this was suppose to be her holiday and I'm disturbing her peace. I continued to live out of the suitcase and at the same time desperately trying to find a new place as soon as possible.

After one week of frantic searching, not changing underwear, dancing, moving my suitcases around and sleeping on strange couches, finally I am able to write this entry in a peaceful apartment in San Telmo. Antra, a girl from Latvia whom I met in the hostel wanted to move out from the hostel too. We are now sharing a studio apartment till febuary.

One thing about leading a live of travelling is the instability. Not that I am complaining and not coping. But when it all comes to a head, it could be pretty quilombo!