Well. Now I really feel like I am working, cause I am at Ruge Monday-Thursday from 8 in the morning to 8 in the evening. Fortunately I have some free hours between classes. Sofar I like being busy at work, cause my students are really nice and teaching could not be made easier or more pleasant. However, the downside is that I have to take taxis home in the evening, which naturally costs more than walking, since there are no buses. Also, because I can´t walk home it means that I'm moving even less than before, which means that I'll have to find another way to exercise. Already in Finland I remember thinking that I should learn yoga or some other sport (...if yoga can be called a sport) that I could do anywhere and which would require a minimum amount of equipment and space.

Last Friday I went to a salsa party. Sometime in the afternoon I got an SMS from Rocio saying: "Rumba hoy?" which menas something like, "wanna go out tonight?" and I replied: sure, but tomorrrow I work at 10 so I can´t stay out too late. Well, later in the evening Rocio called me and said that she´d like us to go to a salsa party organized by salsa casino, the place where she takes salsa classes (and where I was supposed to start classes like a month ago). Rocio thought that the party would take place in a bar (or club or somehting) where anybody could go, so it was a bit weird when our taxi stopped in front of a private home. Well, we weren't discouraged (or to tell you the truth, I was but Rocio wasn´t) so we rang the doorbell and someone came to answer. The guy was weraing normal clothes and Rocio asked him: is the salsa party taking place here? Yes, said the guy. We enter and realize that we're crashing a private birthday party. It was extremely embarrasing and awkward. I wanted to leave immediately, especially since I knew that some people were meeting at Pedro's for beers. But Rocio wanted to wait a bit in order to see whether any of her firends from salsa casino would show up.

I tried to make myself as invisible as possible, but the always friendly and not at all shy Maracuchos (=people from Maracaiobo) came to talk to me. And soon I was dancing salsa (or receiving a lesson of salsa) and having a blast. Rocio and I were amongst the last to leave, and I was at my house at 4.30 in the morning. Another night of success in Maracaibo.

And on Saturday one of my musicians was spinning records at an art fair. Cheche was kind enough to take all us trainees there. At the exibition we saw some arsty people, and I think they would be more or less like my sister´s crowd in Finland. So I felt kind of at home. Carlos played house and I kept repeating "THIS is the kind of music my sister and I look for in Finland when we want to go out to dance". What I really like about Venezuela is the diversity in the music you can find here. You have the traditional stuff like salsa, merenge, and vallenato, which you dance with a partner. Then you have the reggaeton, which you dance at parties and which is also kind of a social dance since nobudy dances reggaeton by themselves. But then you can also find good house, reggae and funk where you don't have to worry about what the other people on the dance floor are doing and you can really just do your own thing.

I´m slowly beginning to plan my birthday. Today my musicians complained to me that I don´t go out with them and promised to come and spin records at my birthday party (wherever it takes place). Carlos Enrique could spin house and John promised to play salsa. We´ll see what happens. It would be so extremely awesome.