I graduated. Now I need a Shower!

I walked into the office in Buenos Aires this morning, smelling like a half baked cookie and sporting a fine mist of flour. No, I didn’t finally give into the urge to dive head first into one of the few confeterías that I pass on my way to work. Rather, I was caught in the cross-fire of an Argentine celebration.

What? You may ask. Many of you may have been aware of this tradition, but as I was blinking through a cloud of flour, I was wondering what the hell I had just walked into. A protest? Oh God, I thought, was I wearing the wrong color?

Once I could see clearly, I noticed that it wasn’t even a large group of people engaged in this crazed activity. There were just two girls dousing their friend in flour, mate, eggs and confetti, while four other friends laughed and took pictures. I was puzzled because Argentines are known for their attention to detail and scrupulous care of their appearance. I wondered if Greek Life had infiltrated Latin America and this was some odd pledge task, or maybe they had been watching Fast Times at Ridgemont High and wanted to get into the sloppy action (although a sketchy older guy admiring the crowd while hollering “alright alright alright” was noticeably absent).

The poor chica on the receiving end of this floury storm had a look on her face that I figured would quickly turn into unbridled rage. Instead, she started jumping up and down and squealing. Her wide grin and outstretched arms were accompanied by laughter as someone put a square paper hat with a tassel on her head. I then realized she had just earned some type of degree, and this was some odd celebratory gesture. It was cool to find someone doused with flour and condiments so very happy and I smiled as I brushed a little flour from my black trench coat.

As it turns out, sometimes to have a good time you only need a bag of flour, confetti and reasonable proximity to a shower. Although I don’t have a strong desire to be covered in crap, for a few minutes this morning I definitely wished I had graduated from school in Buenos Aires.