What d’ya know?

Houston may actually be a fun place to be. I just found out this weekend where to dance salsa, no entry charged. Goodness gracious. And I thought I would die stupid here. Turns out I may even learn some moves!
Anyway, last Friday I went to dance salsa with Clea, another italian girl who works in my lab. It was great fun! We thought there would be a salsa party, but it turns out that the party was only on Saturday. Ooooohhh. But there was a band playing… With 6 musicians!! And… they played really well!!!!!! First song: Me libere (I wanted to be able to put a mini-player so you could listen to it, but no luck there... I hope I can do it in the future). Last song: Rebelion. Weeee, I was in heaven, transported back to the company of my Colombian fellows in Groningen, shaking what my momma gave me at Hemingway’s! And I was reminded of my dearest friend Saletinha. Especially because the guy who was singing was extremely cute and I thought she would appreciate the style. And also because salsa and Saleta will always be associated in my mind! : )

The crowd there was mainly Latin Americans. Mexico, Cuba, Puerto Rico, Venezuela and Colombia were all represented there. So it was a very nice atmosphere, and no one would stay sitting down shaking their feet, because no respectful Latino lets a woman sitting down when it’s obvious she feels like dancing! I’m also getting familiar with Spanglish, the strange combination of English and Spanish words, in current conversations. “Oye, people, vamos, don’t be shy!” On Saturday, Clea challenged me again to go to the same place, finally to the salsa party. Logically, the band playing was much worse, and the music was not as nice as on Friday. The singer (a different guy) was even cuter, though.
Well, we had a lot a fun, plus 2 Coronas and a Margarita, so next day I was rewarded with a major headache. Life cannot be perfect.
I am writing this at a café called Salento, a really nice place with free wireless internet, jazz music playing, students around me silently typing in their laptops or pouring over books, so, all in all, a very cool place to spend a Sunday afternoon. It’s also really close to my place, in the heart of Rice Village, which is more or less the “chique” shopping area, a bit like Sunset Boulevard for LA (come on, you all saw Pretty Woman, don’t deny it!). Yeah, I live close by, ain’t I lucky??? No, because I’m a shoppaholic. It’s like Diego Maradona living close to a cocaine plantation. Bad, very bad. And everything faaaaar too expensive.
Well, this is it for today, now I’m going back home and meet my Italian neighbours for a walk and maybe dinner later. So hasta la vista, folks!!

PS – the sun keeps on shining here… I was told this was the best time of the year, because in Summer it is too damn hot. I leave you with a picture of me in front of Lovett Hall, a building here at Rice University. The University is old... around 80 years old... Ok, nothing compared to Lisbon University nor Groningen University... it is still a baby compared to those ancient homes of Knowledge and Science (pompous background music sounding...). But do not neglect the power of youth... As Dumbledore wisely says to Harry in HP and the HBP.

Code speaking. Reference to fictitious characters to validate arguments... Yeah, Potter-mania goes on.