It's the Little Things

1/15

I'll be posting a follow up on El Tigre shortly, I just wanted to quickly make a post about how much small interactions in my day can bring me so much joy. Yesterday on the way home on the Subte from Belgrano, a little Argentine girl kept looking up and smiling at me. She was wearing glasses and was with her mom who was reading her a Disney fairy story (which are really popular among the kids items in farmacitys and stores). In a city where so far eye contact let alone smiles have been rare, it just put the cherry on top of an amazing day.

The first time Jess and I took the bus, I asked a lady with a baby if she wanted to sit down. After sitting, she began asking me about myself, including where I was from (since my Spanish accent is still muy gringa). I lied and said I was Canadian just because it was like the third day and I was still paranoid about the general public "discovering" I was American and she went off about all the wonderful things about Canada, and later how once I figure out the bus system, it'll get easier and beneficial to get around the city.

My favorite example- the second day of class, Jess and I got separated on the subway, and while she was lost looking for our apartment, she saw the homeless man and flower shop that are two blocks away from our address. Because she was so relieved on seeing the two markers, she promptly bought the street man a flower and found her way to our apartment. Two days ago, on our way home, the homeless man came up to us with a toothy grin and handed her a flower in return, afterwards, just walking on his way towards his bed/house? (he has a tv.. it's just located on the sidewalk. I'll try and get a picture of it tomorrow.) It was such a genuinely happy/feel good moment that both Jess and I couldn't stop beaming on our way home.

Last night, we were getting lost looking for a bus to take us to a bar, and an older couple passed us in the crosswalk of one of the streets. Christy tried asking them for directions, and the wife ended up knowing some English. They were very polite and kind, and interactions with strangers like these make me happy that in the anonymity of a huge city, genuine interactions aren't lost. I'm really going to try and continue to ask people for directions or which buses to take, since that seems the safest/easiest way to approaching strangers in the city during the weekday.