Last week, I went out dancing without any fellow English speakers.
I went with a Chilean friend and a few of his friends up to Avenida Vitacura, a nicer part of town rumored to have a good nightlife. I hadn’t been before since I heard it was expensive, but the place we went to was actually really reasonable. We sat and talked for a while. I got to know his friends a bit more. Then we decided to dance for a bit. And I realized something: everyone here was born knowing how to dance.
I’m at a genetic disadvantage. While I appreciate being able to celebrate St. Patrick’s day, people here can pick up the beat of absolutely any song and move like they aren’t trying. It’s so natural and effortless, but mystifying to me. I have to work at this.
Now friends have reassured me that I can, in fact, hold my own on a dance floor. This could be partly true, but it took years of painful middle and high school dances to get to my current mediocre level. Salsa and tango are absolutely out of the question. I’m just aiming for the basics here.
Who knows? Maybe I’ll go home and realize things have improved after spending 3 months down here. Sort of like my language skills. It is (I think) reasonably easy to understand my Spanish, but I’m still out of luck when people speak to me in quick, complicated ways. On the dancing issue, I would settle for that kind of almost-fluency.
1 Comment
November 23, 2008 at 8:50 am
What are you talking about, you’re a good dancer! Sunburnt and all! Next time I hope you can stay a bit longer, though
… Mmmm I need terremotos, maybe we should go to La Piojera or some other places I know that have good terremotos.
Hope you’re feeling alright!