El Dia de San Valentine

Entry from “The CCCC2008 Dictionary” © 2008
(in no way affiliated with Webster’s or Dictionary.com)

friend date [frend deyt] noun- a social engagement between people without romantic interest for the purpose of familiarizing themselves with another person or persons. At Casa ACU, located in Montevideo, Uruguay, the practice is for two friends, who know each other fairly well invite two others out on a “date.” Does not have to specifically be for dinner, movie, or any other stereotypical outing. Example of usage: Mark and Colter took Tina and Marissa on a friend date Thursday night.

Last Thursday, en el Dia de San Valentine, was the actual occurrence of the above mentioned “friend date.” We took the girls out for pizza at a place just around the block and sat and talked until about 8:30. Then we walked to a nearby park, Parque Rodo, where a Filharmonic Concierto was taking place performed by the Symphony of Montevideo. The concert was free and thus there were a lot of people there. Because of that we struggled to find seats and ended up just sitting in the grass, barely able to see over the heads of the people seated in front of us. This was somewhat disappointing seeing as the symphony was playing on a stage projecting out over a picturesque pond and situated in front of an old castle with the lights from the stage creating the perfect atmosphere for listening to the jazz played by the group. Mark seems to think that I’m exaggerating the description of the scenery, but I was really impressed. The only problem was when more people showed up attracted by the sound of the music and stood right in front of us. Oh well, we could still hear and we were still able to talk and have a fun time getting to know one another. The jazz compositions that they chose to play were very good, and I think I even recognized an arrangement of Gershwin’s “I Got Rhythm.” I would have to say the only bad thing about the night was when a couple came and stood right in front of us for the sole purpose of practicing their French…as in kissing. It just made looking straight ahead a little awkward for most of the concert. After it was over, we stopped for ice cream on the way back to the house, practiced more Spanish trying to order, and I succeeded in spilling dulce de leche ice cream on my pants. Even being in a foreign country I can’t shake my klutziness.