Last night, straight after a gruelling Spanish lesson, I dashed home and then headed out to Sugar. A trendy bar in the Palermo neighbourhood. This was the venue for another expat gathering held by Expat Connection. Expat Connection has become the pillar of my social life here. The group brings together a mish-mash of expats who are here for hundreds of different reasons and it has been really fun to meet all the different people and share experiences, and generally just hang out, and speak at a normal word-per-minute rate. Sugar in itself is an interesting place because it is owned by a guy from England and the menu offers a more familiar range of dishes. While the food in Argentina is good, it can land blandly on a tongue from elsewhere.

I’m interested in how many expats there are actually living here. Such a diverse group. I’ve met the older community (mostly American) who have formed a ’strong bond’ with property in Argentina. And then I’ve met the younger 20-something crowd who are mostly here for fun. And most teach English. Then there are the odd ones like me who don’t fit into a conventional Argentine expat category. We’re the kind that have to explain twice why we’re here, and why on Earth it was Buenos Aires that won the draw. I also have my job description dialogue on Auto Pilot. This is also met with a blank expression. But it’s been fun. The people I’ve met so far are all really different and interesting.

After tomorrow I shall have a wonderfully hot topic to write about. I, of all people, am going to the annual charity ball at the British Ambassadors residence! Of course the very last thing on my list of things to pack, was a Cinderella outfit. This translated into me performing a record breaking express shopping spree last Saturday. This evening I ended my glamour hunt with the final component… My shoes. And there’s no risk of my taxi turning into a pumpkin. This is Buenos Aires. The party only starts at midnight.