Our drink

     It’s 5 o’clock in the afternoon. I prepare the mate, take some bran crackers, turn on the computer and sit down to think what to post in the blog, believing that it will be easy to decide what to write about. But it isn’t. Half an hour passes, and I am without a topic yet. Another half and I start getting nervous. “Ideas come to my head” I say, but nothing comes. I stare at my mate; how delicious, bitter and frothy it is today. I drink it and immediately prepare another one, even tastier than the previous. I gaze at it again, and wonder why I am looking at it. Maybe it’s because whenever I think, I fix my sight to one point, and today this point is the mate. I say to myself “this mate has been with me for a very long time, and it’s always next to me. Why not writing about it?” It’s something really important in our lives, at least in Argentina and in some other countries, so I believe it’s a good idea to take it as my muse. Therefore I say, “What does the mate mean for me?” Well, first of all, it’s what accompanies me when I’m alone, specially when I am studying, and it’s what keeps me awake when I’m really tired. It is also a sign of union, and a motive for gathering, as what we generally say when we ask a friend to visit us is: ¿Che, vamos a tomar unos mates? or ¿Cuàndo nos vamos a juntar a tomar unos mates?, and this is what we actually do when we get together somewhere. Besides, the mate is a drink we choose at any time of the day; in the morning we take some as breakfast, in the afternoon you receive some during classes, or wherever you are, and at night, as I already say, you can drink mate when you study in order not to fall asleep. It seems that we can not spend one day without drinking it, since it has become part of our lives and of our routine. It’s something that identifies us as Argentineans and it’s an important part of our tradition. It’s what we want foreigners to taste when they come here. It is ours, and as a result, it’s something we can share with our family and friends.

     What does the mate mean for you?

                                             

And everything without a word

The other day, I was really engaged reading a novel, when, suddenly, Sophia gave a decisive  jump to the table, made a careful inspection of everything there, and slowly dropped off to sleep. She rested her head in a very comfortable position on the corner of my novel, and placed her cotton soft paw on my hand. “Oh! What a clever cat!” I said. Of course I was going to take her out to go on with the story, when she exclaimed: “Don’t you dare move me from where I am, and don’t you even consider shifting your hand from there!” I was really astonished since I was extremely sure cats didn’t speak and, besides, she was sleeping! “I’m not sleeping” she miaowed, “YOU are! Don’t you think that you’re spending so much time with your eyes closed? Yes, yes, YOU. I’m not the one that is not seeing, it’s you! Don’t you realize that you’re not seeing me? You just take into account the fact that I exist, that I’m part of your world, that I sleep, eat, etc, etc, but you’re not really seeing me. You’re just living in a box, surrounded by four walls that don’t let you open your eyes, and you’re not clever enough so as to become aware that there are many important things to enjoy outside”. As an improvised answer for all these sad truths, I came out with something like: “Yes my darling, you’re right… The thing is that I cannot stop. I have to finish reading this novel, because then I have to continue with other thing, and then with another…and another..”. After that she got even angrier at me and growled: “Yes! But none of these things includes me! Oh, come on! I’m not asking you hours, I just want some minutes of your company. I’m pleading you to STOP! Please, enjoy my beauty, contemplate me, stroke me, feel my love, and give me some time to demonstrate you that I can offer you all the strength you need to continue with…your daily routine.” When she delivered these last words, all the angriness was gone and just a heartbreaking tone of disillusionment accompanied them. I couldn’t do more than embracing her and giving her thanks for this unforgettable lesson.