Happy Fourth of July, World! This has been a hell of a day. First, all the idiots in my Spanish class skipped today to celebrate America, therefore my Spanish class was way better than usual. (It's amazing how missing 5 hours of botched pronunciation can improve your mood). Then after Spanish class, I had my weekly meeting with Paula, my Spanish tutor/cultural adviser, who assured me that, yes, ISA students do make friends with Argentines, though it takes some fuerza and voluntud (force and will). This is contrary to the opinion of my host mother, who has observed that exchange students primarily make friends with other exchange students. Paula assured me that pursuing things like Capoeira classes and jam sessions are the things that will net me friends. Paula also explained to me that its the norm for female people to avoid eye contact with the menfolk while walking on the streets. That had really been digging into my self-confidence. Walking down the streets, I was beginning to f...