i think i have finally had a breakthrough with siddhi, though unfortunately it had to come under generally shitty circumstances involving a characteristically selfish spaniard male. ever since she arrived (which has just now been a month -- something i was quick to remind her), she's had her sights set on a guy named esteban (i don't see the fascination, but that's neither here nor there). of course, he is unavailable. nevertheless, he still flocks to her, holds her hand in public and says things to her that would give any reasonable individual cause to suspect that he feels a certain degree of fondness for her. add to that the added excitement that this is a "budding" relationship in a new country and one that involves someone relatively exotic, and it's pretty easy to see how (despite my sighs and murmurs of 'i told you so') it's easy to become immersed in something that doesn't really exist.

at any rate, i guess last night when he came to our housewarming party (which was literally a roaring success -- we left around 1:30 so the cops wouldn't get called due to noise) esteban was being uber-flirtatious and suggestive. siddhi joins him and his friends at some club and around 4 or so, esteban's girlfriend calls and says she's on the way. the mood changes substantially, of course, and siddhi naturally feels very confused and hurt. also quite naturally, esteban sends her a message the next day playing dumb and expresses no guilt, regret and even worse--understanding.

i could tell something was astir this morning (she was being extra quiet and a bit solemn) which is why i proposed we spend the afternoon reading in retire park. call my friend blake (my first gay friend here!) and invite him over. midway through greetings, she bursts into tears. we hug her, tell her everything will be ok and of course i, after reading what esteban proceeded to tell her via TEXT MESSAGE (things like: "this is your problem, not mine", "i've never done anything to suggest that i care about you", etc) was absolutely incredulous. she cries some more, we get her out of the house, but i guess i was just struck by the fact that she came to me for advice and admitted something to me that she wouldn't to others--mainly because she felt silly. i'm always happy to help no matter how silly the situation is (and this one truly is), but it's nice to know that, after a little less than a month that started off very bumpily, she considers me someone that she can confide in. gave her my copy of gatsby (she hadn't read it!) to borrow and blake and i were sure to keep her mind on other, fun things (re: retiro park patron dropping trou forty feet in front of us for an impromptu piss). so for now, she seems better.

beyond that, the moment with siddhi is but a grain of sand in what seems to be an endless beach of my roommates' romantic endeavors--most of which have gone awry incredibly quickly. rachel, whose loins seem to be more open than a 24-hour walgreens, gives her number to anything that moves and is surprised when she has no missed calls. amanda is already on her second spaniard just weeks after breaking up with her US boyfriend and doesn't know why she still cries so much at night. i don't understand the urgency, but i guess after having already experienced that to a certain degree i can't consider myself much wiser. just a little tired of being a therapist, but that's a role that seems to find its way to me regardless of the continent.

anyway, a couple pictures (anna, my liberal favorite, is on the far left):