I am not sure if I will come back to this blog again in the future. you would have already noticed that my input onto it has been waininig somewhat over the past few months. I guess I have had less and less need to write here.
I am home now, my amazing five month adventure abroad has come to an end. and now starts the next wonderful adventure. only this one is here, at home, discovering what the future has lying ahead of me (any pointers or suggestions welcome). and although it is daunting, I am really excited by the prospect of it.
the common question of course has been, what was your highlight or your favourite moment. and as you would expect, it's not an easy one to answer. but I'll give you something. the best that I can come up with is the following...
* being completely free to do whatever I wanted
* spending time on my own and getting to know myself again
* learning to dance the tango
* the pantanal
* the iguazu falls
in answer to my favourite question, courtesy of the panteli family...
"what was your favourite empanada?" roquefort and jamon, particularly the homemade ones...
thank you everyone for reading my blog, and for all your comments and compliments. I had an amazing time away and it was that much more special knowing that you were all following and interested. and to this day I will wonder who was reading me in finland and korea...
chasing butterflies
I still will be, will you..?
Tuesday, 2 August 2011
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Monday, 11 July 2011
fifteen minutes of fame
yesterday I was on Polish television dancing a polonez. perhaps my number one fan will find you it online as I have had no luck.
Saturday, 25 June 2011
Sunday, 19 June 2011
the final curtain...
my last week in Buenos Aires has been tango focused. two hours of tango a day has meant that I finally turned a corner with my dancing. I am now really enjoying the dance, not only am I able to stay on my feet, improvise a little, but I can also smile and enjoy the embrace.
sunday - "que passo ayer 2" (otherwise known as the hangover two)
monday - villa malcolm milonga, where I met my new favourite dance partner
tuesday - dinner at rio with my lovely dutch friend, and on to la catedral for an amazing milonga. this is by far my favourite milonga in buenos aires. the onda is electric. when the orchestra started to play in the middle of the night, everyone squeezed in and danced in a circle around them. and when the lights went off at four am, some of the orchestra came back out and played for us, whilst we danced in the dark.
wednesday - parilla with my housemate, and on to frank's where you step into a phone box, dial the secret code and the opposite wall of the phone box magically opens and lets you into this exclusive speakeasy.
thursday - I danced an amazing tango where I was doing things with my legs that I did not even know I could do! I ended up with both my legs on my partners left hip! I was so excited when I jumped off everyone in the room started clapping. then I headed home for a well deserved massage and rest.
friday - soiree at my apartment with homemade empanadas and a version of eton mess, and on to frank's again through the phone box.
saturday - tango school party, followed by my last trip to la catedral where I danced some of my best tangos so far.
sunday, today - I am finishing my packing, tidying up, writing and wondering whether there is anyway for me to squeeze in another tango this evening....
sunday - "que passo ayer 2" (otherwise known as the hangover two)
monday - villa malcolm milonga, where I met my new favourite dance partner
tuesday - dinner at rio with my lovely dutch friend, and on to la catedral for an amazing milonga. this is by far my favourite milonga in buenos aires. the onda is electric. when the orchestra started to play in the middle of the night, everyone squeezed in and danced in a circle around them. and when the lights went off at four am, some of the orchestra came back out and played for us, whilst we danced in the dark.
wednesday - parilla with my housemate, and on to frank's where you step into a phone box, dial the secret code and the opposite wall of the phone box magically opens and lets you into this exclusive speakeasy.
thursday - I danced an amazing tango where I was doing things with my legs that I did not even know I could do! I ended up with both my legs on my partners left hip! I was so excited when I jumped off everyone in the room started clapping. then I headed home for a well deserved massage and rest.
friday - soiree at my apartment with homemade empanadas and a version of eton mess, and on to frank's again through the phone box.
saturday - tango school party, followed by my last trip to la catedral where I danced some of my best tangos so far.
sunday, today - I am finishing my packing, tidying up, writing and wondering whether there is anyway for me to squeeze in another tango this evening....
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
less than a week to go
I have less than a week to go before I leave Buenos Aires.
it's been good, but it's time to move on.
I came here to get to know another city. check. I can navigate myself around the maze that is the city on buses and subways. I've walked hundreds of blocks, have been able to give people directions when asked, and offer recommendations too.
I came here to learn some Spanish. and I can do more than order a glass of wine or an empanada. I can hold my own in a conversation, I can follow a fast and furious debate, and to an extent I can philosophise about my emotions, my hopes and my dreams.
and of course I came here to learn the tango. and tango I can. sure I'm not perfect. but now when I am asked to dance at a milonga, I don't feel like I have to accept with an apology for being a beginner, I can follow a lot of leads and I haven't fallen over yet.
I still have things to learn. my guard still goes up when a stranger gets to close in the dance, but I am working on that, and it is much improved. I have learnt to "seperate" my lower body from my upper body, which is a bizaar concept. and I can almost always interpret a boleo alto and execute it with some grace.
I am yet to video my efforts. I have meant to for the last couple of days at class, but I am embarrased to ask. but today, I promise to try to pluck up the courage.
most importantly of all, I have made some lovely friends, friends that I hope to stay in touch with for a long time. and I have found some peace within me. and although I am still not entirely clear on the path that my life will take when I return home in just six weeks, I don't feel so afraid.
I feel like my time away has allowed me to get to know myself again, to find the Laura inside that over the past two years I could not always find. and you know what? it's great to get to know her again. I'd forgotten how much fun she can be!
it's been good, but it's time to move on.
I came here to get to know another city. check. I can navigate myself around the maze that is the city on buses and subways. I've walked hundreds of blocks, have been able to give people directions when asked, and offer recommendations too.
I came here to learn some Spanish. and I can do more than order a glass of wine or an empanada. I can hold my own in a conversation, I can follow a fast and furious debate, and to an extent I can philosophise about my emotions, my hopes and my dreams.
and of course I came here to learn the tango. and tango I can. sure I'm not perfect. but now when I am asked to dance at a milonga, I don't feel like I have to accept with an apology for being a beginner, I can follow a lot of leads and I haven't fallen over yet.
I still have things to learn. my guard still goes up when a stranger gets to close in the dance, but I am working on that, and it is much improved. I have learnt to "seperate" my lower body from my upper body, which is a bizaar concept. and I can almost always interpret a boleo alto and execute it with some grace.
I am yet to video my efforts. I have meant to for the last couple of days at class, but I am embarrased to ask. but today, I promise to try to pluck up the courage.
most importantly of all, I have made some lovely friends, friends that I hope to stay in touch with for a long time. and I have found some peace within me. and although I am still not entirely clear on the path that my life will take when I return home in just six weeks, I don't feel so afraid.
I feel like my time away has allowed me to get to know myself again, to find the Laura inside that over the past two years I could not always find. and you know what? it's great to get to know her again. I'd forgotten how much fun she can be!
Tuesday, 7 June 2011
Friday, 3 June 2011
Thursday, 2 June 2011
almuerzo mezclado
today a Polish girl from England had Japanese food for lunch in Buenos Aires' Chinatown with an English friend from Australia.
random
random
Wednesday, 1 June 2011
Tuesday, 31 May 2011
dancing in la catedral
on saturday night I went to a milonga in "la catedral". I had heard about it, and was told it was amazing. I was imagining something grand and spectacular, but when I arrived outside the building I couldn't help but be bitterly disappointed. the place looked like an old gymnasium or something. all concrete and sadness...
I climbed the rickety old stairs up to the dance hall and as I turned the corner, past the cloakroom, I stopped dead in my tracks and literally lost my breath for a second. from the outside I couldn't have imagined this place being so spectacular!
the ceiling was just like a catedral, with wooden exposed beams and slats. the space was huge, the lights were low and there were few people on the dancefloor when we arrived. that soon changed, as I had arrived with my tango school after a party at the studio. the great thing about that was that I got a dance or two.
but this is where I realised that my shoes were just too high. I have never seen a floor like this one. the hall that I dance in in Balham has a bad floor, but this was ten times worse. that being said, it looked so charming and inviting in the dim candle light with all the holes and gaps in it. but I was worried throughout all of my tangos that I was going to fall down and take my partner with me.
but surrounded by the eclectic and somewhat surreal art in this strange cathedral, I stayed on my feet.
http://www.lacatedralclub.com/
I climbed the rickety old stairs up to the dance hall and as I turned the corner, past the cloakroom, I stopped dead in my tracks and literally lost my breath for a second. from the outside I couldn't have imagined this place being so spectacular!
the ceiling was just like a catedral, with wooden exposed beams and slats. the space was huge, the lights were low and there were few people on the dancefloor when we arrived. that soon changed, as I had arrived with my tango school after a party at the studio. the great thing about that was that I got a dance or two.
but this is where I realised that my shoes were just too high. I have never seen a floor like this one. the hall that I dance in in Balham has a bad floor, but this was ten times worse. that being said, it looked so charming and inviting in the dim candle light with all the holes and gaps in it. but I was worried throughout all of my tangos that I was going to fall down and take my partner with me.
but surrounded by the eclectic and somewhat surreal art in this strange cathedral, I stayed on my feet.
http://www.lacatedralclub.com/
Monday, 30 May 2011
hug skills improving
you will all be pleased to hear that following my decision to work on my intimacy issues... I was complimented on my hug in today's tango class! ok, it was actually my "abrazo", which also translates as "hold", but still! it's the same thing, I am learning not to be afraid of getting up close to a stranger.the other thing I learnt, was that my beautiful new tango shoes are in fact too high for dancing in... oops. so I went out and bought another pair! oops! also beautiful! so today's class was that much more successful because it was my first class in heels.
all in all a great day. nicely rounded off with a light hearted argentinian folklore dance class.
Sunday, 29 May 2011
Saturday, 28 May 2011
Friday, 27 May 2011
this picture has nothing to do with the story, I just like it
I had such a fun night last night. after my four hour tango marathon, where I started to implement strategy "liberate emotions", I went to meet some friends at the circus!
yes my friends, the high top was in town. all red and yellow and blue stripes and as big as I could ever imagine. (you can hear the music in your heads now can't you?) we felt like little kids again as the anticipation built up and the atmosphere grew tense.
there was not an animal in sight, and all the better for it. this was a young circus from french canada, made up of beautiful athletes. Polo Circo would make us laugh and gasp, sad and amazed. they had everything, juggling (whilst cartwheeling of course), trapeze (with obligatory beautiful brunette, again you can hear a song in your head right?), knife throwing (in a kind of pin the tail on the donkey kind of way) and of course springboarding humans across the stage and the cirque du soleil style spinning down a rope.
it was such fun to watch, they choreographed it beautifully and told a really interesting story.
so of course, after meeting the circus performers (as you do) we decided to go for a drink and a dance. and man alive did we dance! they were playing such funky beats, songs that I haven't heard in years, and therefore I haven't danced like that in years. I had my flats on and there was no stopping me. we danced until two am before deciding to try to find a milonga...
at the milonga there were just four couples on the huge dancefloor. it felt like a scene in a movie... the couples dancing, whilst the barman clears away tables around them and starts to turn on the lights. but the music keeps playing, so the dancers just keep dancing, entranced in their private moments.
it was such a cool night, thank you.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
learning faith again... tonight's most important lesson
at tonight's milonga I learnt a few important lessons.
they were that in order to become a better tango dancer I had to, firstly learn how to embrace a perfect stranger... and mean it. something I have never been very good at, something that my sister could teach me a lot about.
but more importantly, and what would help with that is that I had to learn to have faith in someone again. trust that they will take care of me in a difficult situation, not let me fall, and that together we can make something beautiful. I have to learn to let go and to not be in complete control.
this is in order, of course to become a better tango dancer.
after tonight's milonga, I felt ready to throw in the hat and leave Buenos Aires a mediocre tango dancer. that was until I realised, that perhaps I could get more from this than just a fancy gancho. after all, there's no doubt I can do the moves, but what I realised late in the evening, is that there is something holding me back. something key, something that if only I could unlock it, I could swing a boleo with the best of them, all the while smiling inside, while trusting in myself and my partners.
and so my homework for my last few weeks in Buenos Aires, is to learn to let go a little. put my dancing in somebody else's charge. and to channel my inner portena. and perhaps to not give myself such a hard time and to just let go, stop thinking so god damn much.
they were that in order to become a better tango dancer I had to, firstly learn how to embrace a perfect stranger... and mean it. something I have never been very good at, something that my sister could teach me a lot about.
but more importantly, and what would help with that is that I had to learn to have faith in someone again. trust that they will take care of me in a difficult situation, not let me fall, and that together we can make something beautiful. I have to learn to let go and to not be in complete control.
this is in order, of course to become a better tango dancer.
after tonight's milonga, I felt ready to throw in the hat and leave Buenos Aires a mediocre tango dancer. that was until I realised, that perhaps I could get more from this than just a fancy gancho. after all, there's no doubt I can do the moves, but what I realised late in the evening, is that there is something holding me back. something key, something that if only I could unlock it, I could swing a boleo with the best of them, all the while smiling inside, while trusting in myself and my partners.
and so my homework for my last few weeks in Buenos Aires, is to learn to let go a little. put my dancing in somebody else's charge. and to channel my inner portena. and perhaps to not give myself such a hard time and to just let go, stop thinking so god damn much.
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