I grew up reading books about fairies, gnomes, hobbits and witches. I truly believed in fairytales.....believed there were little creatures that lived among the trees and lakes in far off places. Then I realized it was all make believe. I learned that stories such as these were created to entertain and captivate us, to get our imaginations rolling. Well, having been in Patagonia, or shall I say 'Pandora' these past few days, I´ve started wondering if these creatures really do exist.
Argentina never ceases to impress, enthrall and infect me with its mystery and beauty. I think it should be the 8th world wonder; every new place I visit captivates me more than the one before. No photos, words or even feelings can make sense of the beauty of Patagonia. I once read that 'no place on the planet is fully at rest. Only time-unimaginable stretches of time that conceal from human eyes the dynamic natural forces shaping the Earth- creates the illusion of stasis. But sometimes, if you´re lucky, you come upon a place where time seems compressed, where you can feel in your bones how kinetic even geology really is´´(National Geographic). I think this is the closest anyone has ever come in describing how mind-blowing Patagonia really is.
Bariloche is the cutest town I have ever seen. It is VERY Swiss inspired; it's chilly, cozy and there are TONS of chocolate stores everywhere. All the gift stores carry hand-made pottery. They have mugs, salt and pepper shakers and wooden spoons. I feel like I've been thrown back in time or something and it definitally gives the impression that these mystical creatures exist. You can buy a gnome or fairy in almost any gift shop around town. There is so much about this vacation that I want to capture, but I will save it til later.
I just wanted to give you some sense of how beautiful Patagonia is. There will be more to follow, don't worry! My next post will feature Byron (the stong, masculine and protective male on our trip) and Natasha, (the organized, energetic, English girl who planned the entire vacation). Both of these people have made my experience down south extraordinary and I can't wait to go into more detail about all this.
Stay tuned for kayak rides, 20 mile bike excursions, making pizza with 50 year old men, renting a car and driving it for 4 hours in complete darkness through the mountains. This was quite an adventure!
15 April 2010
06 April 2010
Ponete las Pilas....you're in Buenos Aires now!
There are a few things about Buenos Aires that I would like to note and make aware to those who have never been. They may seem strange to an outsider, but are extremely normal to a porteno (a Buenos Aires resident/local). I have been here for two months and have been accumulating some examples so that I may write this post. I am sure I have missed MANY unique things about B.A. but I need to get started on logging the primal differences I have noticed, otherwise I will soon forget or may become a porteno myself.
1. "ponete las pilas" a saying meaning for people to "put the batteries in" because here, they don't sleep. Portenos wake up, go to work, come home, rest, have dinner from 11pm-1am then go to the boliches(bars/clubs)starting Thursday nights (from 2am til 6/7am). This is the norm in this city...something I am still STRUGGLING to get used to. I value my beauty sleep ;)
Fearsome Fivesome at a Boliche...after "putting in the batteries"
2. Kids wear white lab coats over their uniforms- they look like little Einsteins. They also never seem to be IN class because there is a constant yelling and screaming coming from each school yard.
Little girl in her lab coat...
3.BESOS (Kisses): Men kiss men, women kiss women, women kiss men, men kiss women. With every single greeting (first time meeting someone or greeting your novio(boyfriend of ten years) portenos kiss each other on the right cheek. It's actually pretty adorable. No matter what age, size, color, race, sex etc...portenos will still greet in this way. I LOVE it, especially when I meet the male Argentine gods of the city! I am still accustomed to shaking hands, but it feels very stiff to shake someone's hand these days...almost feels stand offish(am I transforming into a porteno?!!). Regardless, I'm bringing the kissing back to the States!
4. Trash diggers. This is one I still can not figure out. On every city street there are BAGS of cardboard and TONS of trash that locals must put out there. In the wee hours of the night, men and women(who must be very poor) snatch up all the trash and load their carts with it. They must make money off doing this because it's a risky job. Numerous times I have seen people pushing their carts FULL of cardboard and bottles, just missing getting hit by cabs. Something, yet again that is normal here and very foreign to me.
5. Los Perros! The dogs here. Dog walking is not a chore, but a way of life, a respected job to say the least. I have seen young, burly Argentine men running up and down stairs, waltzing through the parks, dodging people on city streets, meandering through city markets, you name it! All awhile being accompanied by ten to twelve dogs. The dogs are all trained extremely well because it is rare to hear them bark or growl or fight. There are pure breads, muts, HUGE dogs and itty bitty dogs all walking together, doing their thing. It is cute to hear the walkers speak in Castellano(Argentine Spanish) to the dogs because it just confirms that the pups are all portenos themselves. Every time I walk by I whisper a sweet, high pitched "hola" to the little critters. When the walkers aren't walking los perros, the dogs are tied up to trees, tied up to benches by cafe's or tied to gates in front of museums. I can not figure it out. It's almost as though the walkers do all their chores while walking the dogs, even if that means stopping for a cafe con leche (which brings me to my next bullet point).
Los Perros:
6. Cafe con Leche is my new obsession. Argentine's love sweets and here in BA you can stop for coffee on almost every single block to grab a cafe con leche( coffee with milk, very similar to a cappuccino). With every cafe con leche the waiter brings out a small treat; small piece of cake, dulce de leche(caramel tasting piece of heaven on a cookie), piece of chocolate...you name it. They also bring out a shot glass filled with water to help the intense caffeine rush move through your blood. Grabbing a coffee in Buenos Aires is beyond different than it is back home. I recall, leaving my cube at the Discovery Channel to RUN to Starbucks, order my "tall, sugar free vanilla skinny late please!" put some splenda in it and then RUN back to the office in fear I may have missed some pressing issue that was so important that the whole of Discovery could have changed in the ten minutes I was gone...no(I wasn't THAT important..oops!). This is the issue with Americans- rush, rush, rush...EVERYTHING IS SO IMPORTANT that we can't even leave for a few minutes to ACTUALLY take a coffee break. Now, I'm not blaming anyone here, this is just the way it is back home. It's a mentality of "whats next? what else can I do with every free second?" Adjusting to the laid back lifestyle here is STILL hard for me. I am two months into my experience and every time I sit alone at a cafe,(one of my favorite things to do here)I truly enjoy the cafe con leche for a good 20 minutes, mainly because the waiters take forever to bring la cuenta(check), but mostly because I am TRYING to adjust to "la dulce vida" lifestyle that these portenos value so much.
Cafe con leche:
This is my list of interesting, different, dulce(sweet) things that I have observed thus far in my time here. I know there are a few I am missing, and MANY I have not written about yet. Stay tuned for whats next; trips to the grocery store, the strong, tan, Argentine men who seem to come out of the wood work to give you a helping hand etc...and of course the rest of the tempting things of Buenos Aires. It is truly the city of indulgence. If you're reading this, thinking "hmm...I think I would like relaxing in a city, enjoying coffee breaks, getting whistled at by every attractive man in the city, shopping, eating sweets all the time, yet walking it off by touring the city" then book your flight. Now. COME. This city is infectious, it sucks you in and takes over your whole being with all it has to offer. I may sound ridiculous, but this is true and if you do your research, I am not the only one who feels this way ;)
*UPDATE*
4. I have since found out from my dear friend, Teresa, who the "trash diggers" are. I quote Teresa here: they are called
"los cartoneros, they are a huge thing. There's always one train that goes from the city to the outskirts and it's all dark, none of the doors close properly, and there are no windows. It's the saddest looking thing in the whole world because that's the train that all the cartoneros are on. They are taking the junk out from the city towards the suburbs where they get maybe one cent per item"(Teresa B).
Since finding out the truth about los cartoneros, I did do some of my own research and was truly saddened and shocked at all that I read. For those interested, here is a link I found: http://www.worldpress.org/photo_essays/cartoneros/
Don't forget to check out the pictures at the end of the article. It's a very sad way of life...
1. "ponete las pilas" a saying meaning for people to "put the batteries in" because here, they don't sleep. Portenos wake up, go to work, come home, rest, have dinner from 11pm-1am then go to the boliches(bars/clubs)starting Thursday nights (from 2am til 6/7am). This is the norm in this city...something I am still STRUGGLING to get used to. I value my beauty sleep ;)
Fearsome Fivesome at a Boliche...after "putting in the batteries"
2. Kids wear white lab coats over their uniforms- they look like little Einsteins. They also never seem to be IN class because there is a constant yelling and screaming coming from each school yard.
Little girl in her lab coat...
3.BESOS (Kisses): Men kiss men, women kiss women, women kiss men, men kiss women. With every single greeting (first time meeting someone or greeting your novio(boyfriend of ten years) portenos kiss each other on the right cheek. It's actually pretty adorable. No matter what age, size, color, race, sex etc...portenos will still greet in this way. I LOVE it, especially when I meet the male Argentine gods of the city! I am still accustomed to shaking hands, but it feels very stiff to shake someone's hand these days...almost feels stand offish(am I transforming into a porteno?!!). Regardless, I'm bringing the kissing back to the States!
4. Trash diggers. This is one I still can not figure out. On every city street there are BAGS of cardboard and TONS of trash that locals must put out there. In the wee hours of the night, men and women(who must be very poor) snatch up all the trash and load their carts with it. They must make money off doing this because it's a risky job. Numerous times I have seen people pushing their carts FULL of cardboard and bottles, just missing getting hit by cabs. Something, yet again that is normal here and very foreign to me.
5. Los Perros! The dogs here. Dog walking is not a chore, but a way of life, a respected job to say the least. I have seen young, burly Argentine men running up and down stairs, waltzing through the parks, dodging people on city streets, meandering through city markets, you name it! All awhile being accompanied by ten to twelve dogs. The dogs are all trained extremely well because it is rare to hear them bark or growl or fight. There are pure breads, muts, HUGE dogs and itty bitty dogs all walking together, doing their thing. It is cute to hear the walkers speak in Castellano(Argentine Spanish) to the dogs because it just confirms that the pups are all portenos themselves. Every time I walk by I whisper a sweet, high pitched "hola" to the little critters. When the walkers aren't walking los perros, the dogs are tied up to trees, tied up to benches by cafe's or tied to gates in front of museums. I can not figure it out. It's almost as though the walkers do all their chores while walking the dogs, even if that means stopping for a cafe con leche (which brings me to my next bullet point).
Los Perros:
6. Cafe con Leche is my new obsession. Argentine's love sweets and here in BA you can stop for coffee on almost every single block to grab a cafe con leche( coffee with milk, very similar to a cappuccino). With every cafe con leche the waiter brings out a small treat; small piece of cake, dulce de leche(caramel tasting piece of heaven on a cookie), piece of chocolate...you name it. They also bring out a shot glass filled with water to help the intense caffeine rush move through your blood. Grabbing a coffee in Buenos Aires is beyond different than it is back home. I recall, leaving my cube at the Discovery Channel to RUN to Starbucks, order my "tall, sugar free vanilla skinny late please!" put some splenda in it and then RUN back to the office in fear I may have missed some pressing issue that was so important that the whole of Discovery could have changed in the ten minutes I was gone...no(I wasn't THAT important..oops!). This is the issue with Americans- rush, rush, rush...EVERYTHING IS SO IMPORTANT that we can't even leave for a few minutes to ACTUALLY take a coffee break. Now, I'm not blaming anyone here, this is just the way it is back home. It's a mentality of "whats next? what else can I do with every free second?" Adjusting to the laid back lifestyle here is STILL hard for me. I am two months into my experience and every time I sit alone at a cafe,(one of my favorite things to do here)I truly enjoy the cafe con leche for a good 20 minutes, mainly because the waiters take forever to bring la cuenta(check), but mostly because I am TRYING to adjust to "la dulce vida" lifestyle that these portenos value so much.
Cafe con leche:
This is my list of interesting, different, dulce(sweet) things that I have observed thus far in my time here. I know there are a few I am missing, and MANY I have not written about yet. Stay tuned for whats next; trips to the grocery store, the strong, tan, Argentine men who seem to come out of the wood work to give you a helping hand etc...and of course the rest of the tempting things of Buenos Aires. It is truly the city of indulgence. If you're reading this, thinking "hmm...I think I would like relaxing in a city, enjoying coffee breaks, getting whistled at by every attractive man in the city, shopping, eating sweets all the time, yet walking it off by touring the city" then book your flight. Now. COME. This city is infectious, it sucks you in and takes over your whole being with all it has to offer. I may sound ridiculous, but this is true and if you do your research, I am not the only one who feels this way ;)
*UPDATE*
4. I have since found out from my dear friend, Teresa, who the "trash diggers" are. I quote Teresa here: they are called
"los cartoneros, they are a huge thing. There's always one train that goes from the city to the outskirts and it's all dark, none of the doors close properly, and there are no windows. It's the saddest looking thing in the whole world because that's the train that all the cartoneros are on. They are taking the junk out from the city towards the suburbs where they get maybe one cent per item"(Teresa B).
Since finding out the truth about los cartoneros, I did do some of my own research and was truly saddened and shocked at all that I read. For those interested, here is a link I found: http://www.worldpress.org/photo_essays/cartoneros/
Don't forget to check out the pictures at the end of the article. It's a very sad way of life...
22 March 2010
Celine Dion music video...
I have to describe my horse adventure because it was SO MAGICAL and something I will always remember! There was one night in Punta Del Diablo where I felt really well, so we decided to ride horses on the beach. I was with the four other girls I went to Uruguay with and we were all thrilled to do something different, other than stay at the hostel. We walked to the "sister" hostel that was near ours- it was only about two blocks, mind you this town is all dirt roads, very remote and peaceful. The only noise is the ocean! We waited for quite a while for our "gaucho"/tour guide to arrive, all anticipating how comical it would be to see a man with five horses coming up the dirt road. Finally after what seemed like an hour a man with 6 horses in total shows up, jumps off his white horse and yells to us "HOLA!!!!". He had a huge grin on his face and a cigarette in the side of his mouth.
All the horses!
It took us a few minutes to get situated on our horses, but we finally succeeded. The Gaucho asked who was the most experienced rider, I lied and said that I wasn't (even though I had taken many years of lessons when I was a youngster). It's not a comforting thing to hear that the most experienced rider needed to ride "Borracho". Borracho was the brown horse with streaks of black, his name meaning "Drunk". I purposefully did not take any of the feistier horses because I always end up with the crazy ones, and there have been too many experiences of me falling off. I ended up riding "Rosarino" and just my luck, he was the slowest horse EVER. He just walked along, doing his thing regardless of whether or not I was kicking him to move faster. He could have cared less because he stopped every ten seconds to eat grass.
Me and Rosarino:
Our walk was through a beautiful and private national park full of palm trees and some roaming cows. Being high on a horse at sunset with nothing to worry about on a Wednesday evening was a freeing state of mind. After about 10- minutes of riding, I became really comfortable again on the horse as did my friends. We went down some steep sand hills, these were the only times I was ever timid. Once we came out of the park we arrived on the beach just as the sun was setting- and you can only imagine how beautiful that was...
For some reason "Gaucho" thought it would be fun to trot with his horse. If one horse did something then all the others would follow. Without having to even kick my horse to make him move, he took off. It was a blast; trotting on a remote beach at sunset with my new friends and the most BEAUTIFUL weather!! We rode for quite a bit on the beach and then back into the national park. We went pretty deep into the park before we took a break. We each hopped off of our horses and sat at a little table in a tiny cove amongst the trees. Gaucho tied the horses together and just let them roam.....they ended up walking extremely far away from us but they are trained really well so they didn't "run away"
Little Cove:
Being in the little green cove was amazing. We sat there for about an hour, had two bottles of wine, smoked some cigarettes that Gaucho rolled himself- no filters or anything-it's very typical to do that here. We spoke in Spanish and made jokes with our new friend, this was his life job and he loved every minute of it. We sat and chatted for a long time until it became quite dark. We rounded up the horses...who were hilarious and very far away from us meandering around. At this point, we had finished two bottles of wine and were feeling great! The sun had completely gone and there were NO lights in the park whatsoever. We basically rode the horses through the national forest/park in the PITCH BLACK. All I could see was the black outlines of the palm trees against the deep blue and starry sky!! It was UNREAL. Hands down the most magical thing I have ever experienced (deep, I know). We rode in the darkness and silence for about two hours! The sky literally looked like fairy dust I wanted to reach out and feel the individual twinkly stars. We rode through the forest- totally trusting Gaucho and our horses(I literally could not see my hand in front of me). Upon arriving on the beach again, the horses TOOK OFF and it was incredible. They began trotting and then galloping quite fast. The moon reflecting on the ocean,the starry sky touching the horizon of the ocean and riding horses in complete darkness(felt like we were flying) was an indescribable experience.
After sending this exact blog post as an email to my family a few weeks ago, my brother's only response was "Ha ha this email is ridiculous! I'm imagining some Celine Dion music video as you gallivant in the surf at dusk"- I couldn't have said it better myself! It WAS a video- totally unreal in how amazing it was!
All the horses!
It took us a few minutes to get situated on our horses, but we finally succeeded. The Gaucho asked who was the most experienced rider, I lied and said that I wasn't (even though I had taken many years of lessons when I was a youngster). It's not a comforting thing to hear that the most experienced rider needed to ride "Borracho". Borracho was the brown horse with streaks of black, his name meaning "Drunk". I purposefully did not take any of the feistier horses because I always end up with the crazy ones, and there have been too many experiences of me falling off. I ended up riding "Rosarino" and just my luck, he was the slowest horse EVER. He just walked along, doing his thing regardless of whether or not I was kicking him to move faster. He could have cared less because he stopped every ten seconds to eat grass.
Me and Rosarino:
Our walk was through a beautiful and private national park full of palm trees and some roaming cows. Being high on a horse at sunset with nothing to worry about on a Wednesday evening was a freeing state of mind. After about 10- minutes of riding, I became really comfortable again on the horse as did my friends. We went down some steep sand hills, these were the only times I was ever timid. Once we came out of the park we arrived on the beach just as the sun was setting- and you can only imagine how beautiful that was...
For some reason "Gaucho" thought it would be fun to trot with his horse. If one horse did something then all the others would follow. Without having to even kick my horse to make him move, he took off. It was a blast; trotting on a remote beach at sunset with my new friends and the most BEAUTIFUL weather!! We rode for quite a bit on the beach and then back into the national park. We went pretty deep into the park before we took a break. We each hopped off of our horses and sat at a little table in a tiny cove amongst the trees. Gaucho tied the horses together and just let them roam.....they ended up walking extremely far away from us but they are trained really well so they didn't "run away"
Little Cove:
Being in the little green cove was amazing. We sat there for about an hour, had two bottles of wine, smoked some cigarettes that Gaucho rolled himself- no filters or anything-it's very typical to do that here. We spoke in Spanish and made jokes with our new friend, this was his life job and he loved every minute of it. We sat and chatted for a long time until it became quite dark. We rounded up the horses...who were hilarious and very far away from us meandering around. At this point, we had finished two bottles of wine and were feeling great! The sun had completely gone and there were NO lights in the park whatsoever. We basically rode the horses through the national forest/park in the PITCH BLACK. All I could see was the black outlines of the palm trees against the deep blue and starry sky!! It was UNREAL. Hands down the most magical thing I have ever experienced (deep, I know). We rode in the darkness and silence for about two hours! The sky literally looked like fairy dust I wanted to reach out and feel the individual twinkly stars. We rode through the forest- totally trusting Gaucho and our horses(I literally could not see my hand in front of me). Upon arriving on the beach again, the horses TOOK OFF and it was incredible. They began trotting and then galloping quite fast. The moon reflecting on the ocean,the starry sky touching the horizon of the ocean and riding horses in complete darkness(felt like we were flying) was an indescribable experience.
After sending this exact blog post as an email to my family a few weeks ago, my brother's only response was "Ha ha this email is ridiculous! I'm imagining some Celine Dion music video as you gallivant in the surf at dusk"- I couldn't have said it better myself! It WAS a video- totally unreal in how amazing it was!
18 March 2010
My heaven/hell
I can't even begin to describe the ups and downs that I have gone through these past few weeks. Today is actually the first day in the 1.5 months that I have been here, that I have actually sat at my computer in privacy. Every other time I've been in public at the Road House or in a hostel with a line of people waiting to use the internet. Talk about lack of privacy....this has definitely been the biggest change for me.
I will try and go into as much detail as possible so that I can cover all the inquiries my friends and family have had. I guess I will start with the TEFL course. Let's put it this way: it was hard. There was a TON of outside class work...and then when I went back to the Road House (student Residence) there were 20 other people there. My entire first month was spent in a classroom learning my own native tongue and then doing a thousand touristy things on the weekends. The Road House was great, but a month was MORE than enough time living there. It got frustrating having to share 2 refrigerators with 25 people, waiting in line to rinse a dish and having one cup, plate and bowl in a locker...
Without sleeping at all my last week of TEFL, I finally passed the course! I taught my last class from 8-9 on a Friday night, went straight to my residence and packed everything I brought to Argentina in half an hour. I was then rushed into a cab with my HUGE bag and my four friends and I headed to a ferry which took us to Uruguay! Alex(from Denmark) and Natasha (from England) helped plan a 9 day beach vacation for me and Leigh(roommate) and Jess(from Cali). The five of us stayed in Punta del Diablo- which was a paradise! We stayed in an awesome hostel with all these guys from Chicago and Wisconsin..such a cool place. It was very remote and calm. The beach was beautiful, the food delicious and I believe there was a hole in the ozone layer cause we all tanned like never before. I had an amazing time in Diablo, but I got sick on the second day and my sickness lasted the rest of the 7 days.
Punta Del Diablo:
This is where my patience started to be tested (aside from doing TEFL homework into the wee hours of the morning). Although our hostel in Diablo was only 10 dollars a night, it was a HORRIBLE place to be sick. I still don't know what I was sick with..food poisoning or the water? Regardless I spent two STRAIGHT sunny days in a sticky and muggy hostel room,alone,on the bottom bunk, in a room with no windows and 8 other people staying in it... I think I cried seven times in those two days. Thanks to my amazing friends who got me meds and gave me plenty of hugs. It was horrible at the same time that it was amazing? I don't know how else to describe the situation. It was my heaven/hell; deathly ill in paradise...ugh, confusing to the psyche.
The hostel room I stared at for three full days:
Although I was sick my entire beach vacation, I had certain hours throughout the day where I felt totally fine. These were the hours I took advantage of. One such time we went on a evening wine and horse adventure...this experience deserves it's own blog post because it was THAT magical!
After our five nights in Diablo...still ill, but enjoying my time with friends, amazing fish dinners lots and lots and lots of rice, beautiful sunsets and late nights, we decided to have a change of scenery. The five of us got a bus and drove 6 hours to Cabo Del Polonio. Little did we know that this beach had no electricity or running water aka the WORST situation to be in when your ill. The bus dropped us off in the middle of no where in a field. We waited there in the rain, freezing, with ALLL of our bags until a 4x4 tractor picked us up. This tractor was the coolest and scariest thing EVER. We piled onto it and it drive STRAIGHT onto the beach in the pitch black of night going over sand dunes..etc. The tractor dropped us off on a beach, in the middle of the darkness on an island with no electricity.
The hostel we stayed in here was NOT what we were expecting. Long story short, it was a hut on the beach with two rooms, no running water (I know I keep repeating myself, but it was intense). There were frogs in the kitchen...bugs everywhere and we couldn't see anything. The next morning was BEAUTIFUL, thank GOD. The beach was so private and secluded. The hostel owner- Pancho was the shit. He was actually featured on "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Uruguay". SO that was kind of cool!
The shack on the sand!
After we spent most of the day on the remote beach...and after I had a few more breakdowns from exhaustion, sickness, and being mentally tested, we took a bus to Punta Del Este. THIS WAS MY HEAVEN. It was the last leg of our trip, I was FINALLY feeling better, and this beach is comparable to Miami, Florida. It's very upscale, city like and HAD RUNNING WATER! The hostel had AC...and we were the only girls there with an entire soccer team of Argentine men (haha!)It was like living in luxury again...ahh until...
We returned back to Buenos Aires after 10 hours of traveling on buses and ferry's to find out that our apt had fallen through. Again, long story short...we (Leigh and I) were homeless for three full days. Here is where it is difficult to put into writing the amount of stress, sadness, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, questioning, and every other horrible negative feeling I felt at the time. I actually reached a few breaking points and was ready to book a ticket home to America. I have never felt so hopeless and restless in my life. I spent two full 9 hour days sitting in the road house main lobby and in a cafe searching online for a place to live...to no avail.
Thankfully we were able to store our bags at the Road House...and Paige(my friend from home who worked for Road..and who has lived here for almost two years) let Leigh and I stay at her amazing apartment for two nights. Our third night of homelessness(now an actual nightmare and having fears of never finding a place) we stayed in a hotel bed with four people and barely slept. The hotel was amazing to say the least. Alex (from Denmark) was staying there on her last night before she went back to Denmark and invited us to stay over...least we had a roof over our heads!
A few of us in the hotel bed...
Yesterday, extremely hungover and really tired and panicky with fears of never finding a home, the voice of an angel called me to say she had a free apartment, although a little pricier than what we were looking for. We checked it out, said yes and thought everything would look up from there. Oh no, no, that would be too easy for Argentina. STILL exhausted, hungover and desperate for a home...we went to sign the lease and pay the money. Argentine's only accept American dollars, so Leigh and I went on a two hour search to every bank, and tried to find a Cambio to exchange our money. The banks didn't let us take out the amount we needed to pay for rent and the cambios were closed, then it started POURING....etc etc etc etc just one thing after another. BUT NOW WE HAVE A HOME!!
Our main room!
Today I woke up...called everyone I haven't had the privacy to talk to in almost two months, emailed people I needed to email and felt SO AT EASE being in a clean apartment. It was amazing to not sleep in a hostel with 7 other loud people (or Argentine soccer players chanting Argentine songs at 3am RIGHT outside out window), or in a Road House with 25 other people. It was nice to put grocery's in a fridge (not shoved in a corner amongst 20 other peoples' things) that doesn't smell like rotten eggs and to just feel for the first time that I was in a new city, doing an independent thing.
Don't get me wrong, this has been an ADVENTURE and an INCREDDDDDDDDDDIBLE experience. But I think I have just gotten past the point of "go with the flow". A person can only handle that to a point. Being a girl, (maybe I sound high-maintenance?) and not having a home, or a change of clothes or a shower or a place to rest for three days was brutal and I am shocked, yet happy to say I survived it. This whole experience of not having privacy, dealing with no sleep, being sick in sandy, hot hostels, waking up one day with a swollen eye from a mosquito bite, and not getting from point A to point B until the third try in everything I do...has tested my patience and sanity. Yet, here I sit, in a BEAUUUUUTIFUL apartment, with two friends hanging out, in an ELITE neighborhood with amazing shopping!! The sun is shining, I have my own bed, and things can only get better from here.
I guess this is what people warned me about before I got here. My experienced travel friends told me to be prepared for the unexpected and to remember no matter how prepared you are, you can never be prepared for EVERYTHING.So I can confidently say, I lived through some tough times here and I am still alive and doing well. DESPITE IT ALL, I am in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the most AMAZING CITY I have ever been to. I still stand by that first blog post about the city and my opinion on it! My relationship with BA is certainly a "dangerous" love affair!
I will try and go into as much detail as possible so that I can cover all the inquiries my friends and family have had. I guess I will start with the TEFL course. Let's put it this way: it was hard. There was a TON of outside class work...and then when I went back to the Road House (student Residence) there were 20 other people there. My entire first month was spent in a classroom learning my own native tongue and then doing a thousand touristy things on the weekends. The Road House was great, but a month was MORE than enough time living there. It got frustrating having to share 2 refrigerators with 25 people, waiting in line to rinse a dish and having one cup, plate and bowl in a locker...
Without sleeping at all my last week of TEFL, I finally passed the course! I taught my last class from 8-9 on a Friday night, went straight to my residence and packed everything I brought to Argentina in half an hour. I was then rushed into a cab with my HUGE bag and my four friends and I headed to a ferry which took us to Uruguay! Alex(from Denmark) and Natasha (from England) helped plan a 9 day beach vacation for me and Leigh(roommate) and Jess(from Cali). The five of us stayed in Punta del Diablo- which was a paradise! We stayed in an awesome hostel with all these guys from Chicago and Wisconsin..such a cool place. It was very remote and calm. The beach was beautiful, the food delicious and I believe there was a hole in the ozone layer cause we all tanned like never before. I had an amazing time in Diablo, but I got sick on the second day and my sickness lasted the rest of the 7 days.
Punta Del Diablo:
This is where my patience started to be tested (aside from doing TEFL homework into the wee hours of the morning). Although our hostel in Diablo was only 10 dollars a night, it was a HORRIBLE place to be sick. I still don't know what I was sick with..food poisoning or the water? Regardless I spent two STRAIGHT sunny days in a sticky and muggy hostel room,alone,on the bottom bunk, in a room with no windows and 8 other people staying in it... I think I cried seven times in those two days. Thanks to my amazing friends who got me meds and gave me plenty of hugs. It was horrible at the same time that it was amazing? I don't know how else to describe the situation. It was my heaven/hell; deathly ill in paradise...ugh, confusing to the psyche.
The hostel room I stared at for three full days:
Although I was sick my entire beach vacation, I had certain hours throughout the day where I felt totally fine. These were the hours I took advantage of. One such time we went on a evening wine and horse adventure...this experience deserves it's own blog post because it was THAT magical!
After our five nights in Diablo...still ill, but enjoying my time with friends, amazing fish dinners lots and lots and lots of rice, beautiful sunsets and late nights, we decided to have a change of scenery. The five of us got a bus and drove 6 hours to Cabo Del Polonio. Little did we know that this beach had no electricity or running water aka the WORST situation to be in when your ill. The bus dropped us off in the middle of no where in a field. We waited there in the rain, freezing, with ALLL of our bags until a 4x4 tractor picked us up. This tractor was the coolest and scariest thing EVER. We piled onto it and it drive STRAIGHT onto the beach in the pitch black of night going over sand dunes..etc. The tractor dropped us off on a beach, in the middle of the darkness on an island with no electricity.
The hostel we stayed in here was NOT what we were expecting. Long story short, it was a hut on the beach with two rooms, no running water (I know I keep repeating myself, but it was intense). There were frogs in the kitchen...bugs everywhere and we couldn't see anything. The next morning was BEAUTIFUL, thank GOD. The beach was so private and secluded. The hostel owner- Pancho was the shit. He was actually featured on "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Uruguay". SO that was kind of cool!
The shack on the sand!
After we spent most of the day on the remote beach...and after I had a few more breakdowns from exhaustion, sickness, and being mentally tested, we took a bus to Punta Del Este. THIS WAS MY HEAVEN. It was the last leg of our trip, I was FINALLY feeling better, and this beach is comparable to Miami, Florida. It's very upscale, city like and HAD RUNNING WATER! The hostel had AC...and we were the only girls there with an entire soccer team of Argentine men (haha!)It was like living in luxury again...ahh until...
We returned back to Buenos Aires after 10 hours of traveling on buses and ferry's to find out that our apt had fallen through. Again, long story short...we (Leigh and I) were homeless for three full days. Here is where it is difficult to put into writing the amount of stress, sadness, anxiety, depression, exhaustion, questioning, and every other horrible negative feeling I felt at the time. I actually reached a few breaking points and was ready to book a ticket home to America. I have never felt so hopeless and restless in my life. I spent two full 9 hour days sitting in the road house main lobby and in a cafe searching online for a place to live...to no avail.
Thankfully we were able to store our bags at the Road House...and Paige(my friend from home who worked for Road..and who has lived here for almost two years) let Leigh and I stay at her amazing apartment for two nights. Our third night of homelessness(now an actual nightmare and having fears of never finding a place) we stayed in a hotel bed with four people and barely slept. The hotel was amazing to say the least. Alex (from Denmark) was staying there on her last night before she went back to Denmark and invited us to stay over...least we had a roof over our heads!
A few of us in the hotel bed...
Yesterday, extremely hungover and really tired and panicky with fears of never finding a home, the voice of an angel called me to say she had a free apartment, although a little pricier than what we were looking for. We checked it out, said yes and thought everything would look up from there. Oh no, no, that would be too easy for Argentina. STILL exhausted, hungover and desperate for a home...we went to sign the lease and pay the money. Argentine's only accept American dollars, so Leigh and I went on a two hour search to every bank, and tried to find a Cambio to exchange our money. The banks didn't let us take out the amount we needed to pay for rent and the cambios were closed, then it started POURING....etc etc etc etc just one thing after another. BUT NOW WE HAVE A HOME!!
Our main room!
Today I woke up...called everyone I haven't had the privacy to talk to in almost two months, emailed people I needed to email and felt SO AT EASE being in a clean apartment. It was amazing to not sleep in a hostel with 7 other loud people (or Argentine soccer players chanting Argentine songs at 3am RIGHT outside out window), or in a Road House with 25 other people. It was nice to put grocery's in a fridge (not shoved in a corner amongst 20 other peoples' things) that doesn't smell like rotten eggs and to just feel for the first time that I was in a new city, doing an independent thing.
Don't get me wrong, this has been an ADVENTURE and an INCREDDDDDDDDDDIBLE experience. But I think I have just gotten past the point of "go with the flow". A person can only handle that to a point. Being a girl, (maybe I sound high-maintenance?) and not having a home, or a change of clothes or a shower or a place to rest for three days was brutal and I am shocked, yet happy to say I survived it. This whole experience of not having privacy, dealing with no sleep, being sick in sandy, hot hostels, waking up one day with a swollen eye from a mosquito bite, and not getting from point A to point B until the third try in everything I do...has tested my patience and sanity. Yet, here I sit, in a BEAUUUUUTIFUL apartment, with two friends hanging out, in an ELITE neighborhood with amazing shopping!! The sun is shining, I have my own bed, and things can only get better from here.
I guess this is what people warned me about before I got here. My experienced travel friends told me to be prepared for the unexpected and to remember no matter how prepared you are, you can never be prepared for EVERYTHING.So I can confidently say, I lived through some tough times here and I am still alive and doing well. DESPITE IT ALL, I am in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the most AMAZING CITY I have ever been to. I still stand by that first blog post about the city and my opinion on it! My relationship with BA is certainly a "dangerous" love affair!
21 February 2010
Adaptability
I think the hardest, yet most exciting thing about traveling is “adapting” to the new place you are in. For the past year I have been living in my parents house where we have a lady clean our home once a week, where I have my own bedroom, we have four TV’s and an endless supply of yummy food in our fridge (everything to my liking and needs). I was able to drive my car whenever and wherever my heart desired, I was in constant contact with my friends because I had a blackberry, I could take a shower barefoot in a nice luxurious shower and I had the privacy to walk around naked in my room before changing into one of my MANY outfits.
When I left home, a snow storm was brewing. I made it out of the country just in time and missed the “BIG CHILL of 2010”, thank GOD! I landed in B.A. in the early morning on a Friday and was literally slapped in the face with the humidity and heat. The smell of summer was great (haha Yasmine) and I loved driving to my new home with the cab window rolled down, wind blowing through my hair. I knew at that moment this was the beginning of a 6 month vacation.
Arriving at the “Road house” was a bit shocking to say the least. I won’t go into too much detail about day one at the Road house, but I will say that I was hot as HELL, literally, sooo hot. I was overtired, and a little bit uneasy about what I was getting myself into…all alone. I was immediately taken into my room- 14. Room 14 has four beds, is very tiny, but has a beautiful window with a great breeze. I was assigned top bunk 14 A, cubby 14 -A , closet 14-A and drawers 14-A, and was then taken up to the third floor of our “hostel/dorm/apartment/three-floored town house” and shown my locker. Each person residing in the Road house is given a locker which has two plates, one bowl, a mug and a cup…it’s as though I am living in an orphanage, at the age of 24 or a rehab center? I don’t know how else to describe my “new home”. It is actually kind of comical to me because it is so drastically different than anything I am used to.
I live in what the other roadies describe as a sorority house. There are 19 girls and 6 boys, who all share ONE sink, two refrigerators, one microwave, and limited counter space. The six girls on the first floor share two toilets and two showers- both which clog every single time they are used and then flood the bathroom floor. I wear my shower shoes every time I shower, I claimed a tiny corner in one of the fridges (it has low energy, so everything I buy goes bad quickly because it is not kept cold enough) and I talk on video chat and on the phone with friends and family out in the main room for every one to hear because it’s the only place that internet reception is good.
I am proud to say, I have only complained ONCE about my circumstances. It’s been easy to adjust because it feels like a college dorm. There are people pre-gaming with 8 peso bottles of Malbec wine (about $2) on any given night, there is always someone to talk to or hang out with etc. It is nice to be around people all the time especially since most people are from America and similar to me (however, this does make the culture shock of moving to this city feel nonexistent).
I will be living in the Road house for two more weeks (I only signed up to live here for a month- time is flying) and will then move into an apartment with my current roommate –Leigh. Although I am excited to move into a place where things will be less hectic, I will miss the roadies around all the time, the late night talks and guitar playing, sharing drunken munchies at 6am, and the constant energy and excitement the road house and its’ inhabitants radiate. I have met some pretty fabulous people in the past two weeks and it has made “adapting” that much easier.
Although the Road house has Blanca (she cleans up our messes every single day, speaks little English, but works her butt off and is a rock star) every single thing that I had back home, is the total opposite here and I am doing just fine. I share my bedroom with two other people, therefore can’t freely walk around in the nude like I used to haha, we have ONE TV that is always occupied by the guys watching sports, the fridge is filled with foreign things that I am still learning about, I don’t have a car- so I have become a pro walker and subte (metro) rider, I have a cheap Nokia cell phone that I can barely work, I take showers with flip-flops on and I have a limited supply of cute outfits. Oh, I don’t even own a straightener, curler OR blow dryer, so I’ve just let my hair down and been totally natural (it’s reminding me of my 10 days in Greece where it was too hot to wear makeup and so pointless to even attempt doing ones hair). Despite all these changes and adjustments, I am so happy, at ease and thankful for the “life change”. It is nice to live more simply with less “stuff”. It reminds me of what’s really important.
Although on day one, I sat on my bunk bed, sweating, scared, wondering what the hell I decided to do this for; it is all clear to me now; to grow and learn independently. I love it here, just like I knew I would. I love that I can adjust to the changes, I’m proud that I can be outgoing and make new friends wherever I go and laugh at the annoying things I have NO control over. Like I said at the beginning of this entry, “the hardest, yet most exciting thing about traveling is “adapting” to the new place you are in”. The excitement stems from the fact that you CAN adapt and adjust to your surroundings; you CAN go with the flow because you have to. You will get over that “missed train”, stolen wallet, wrong direction, weird dinner order, and all the other things that happen. We don’t have a choice but to accept the turns that throw us right? I have learned this lesson many times before throughout my life, but traveling always confirms it. A wise friend once told me “Katrina, don’t take yourself/life so damn seriously”. Great advice…it’s so much more fun to laugh at the strange and annoying things and just go with the flow!
Besos,
Katrina
When I left home, a snow storm was brewing. I made it out of the country just in time and missed the “BIG CHILL of 2010”, thank GOD! I landed in B.A. in the early morning on a Friday and was literally slapped in the face with the humidity and heat. The smell of summer was great (haha Yasmine) and I loved driving to my new home with the cab window rolled down, wind blowing through my hair. I knew at that moment this was the beginning of a 6 month vacation.
Arriving at the “Road house” was a bit shocking to say the least. I won’t go into too much detail about day one at the Road house, but I will say that I was hot as HELL, literally, sooo hot. I was overtired, and a little bit uneasy about what I was getting myself into…all alone. I was immediately taken into my room- 14. Room 14 has four beds, is very tiny, but has a beautiful window with a great breeze. I was assigned top bunk 14 A, cubby 14 -A , closet 14-A and drawers 14-A, and was then taken up to the third floor of our “hostel/dorm/apartment/three-floored town house” and shown my locker. Each person residing in the Road house is given a locker which has two plates, one bowl, a mug and a cup…it’s as though I am living in an orphanage, at the age of 24 or a rehab center? I don’t know how else to describe my “new home”. It is actually kind of comical to me because it is so drastically different than anything I am used to.
I live in what the other roadies describe as a sorority house. There are 19 girls and 6 boys, who all share ONE sink, two refrigerators, one microwave, and limited counter space. The six girls on the first floor share two toilets and two showers- both which clog every single time they are used and then flood the bathroom floor. I wear my shower shoes every time I shower, I claimed a tiny corner in one of the fridges (it has low energy, so everything I buy goes bad quickly because it is not kept cold enough) and I talk on video chat and on the phone with friends and family out in the main room for every one to hear because it’s the only place that internet reception is good.
I am proud to say, I have only complained ONCE about my circumstances. It’s been easy to adjust because it feels like a college dorm. There are people pre-gaming with 8 peso bottles of Malbec wine (about $2) on any given night, there is always someone to talk to or hang out with etc. It is nice to be around people all the time especially since most people are from America and similar to me (however, this does make the culture shock of moving to this city feel nonexistent).
I will be living in the Road house for two more weeks (I only signed up to live here for a month- time is flying) and will then move into an apartment with my current roommate –Leigh. Although I am excited to move into a place where things will be less hectic, I will miss the roadies around all the time, the late night talks and guitar playing, sharing drunken munchies at 6am, and the constant energy and excitement the road house and its’ inhabitants radiate. I have met some pretty fabulous people in the past two weeks and it has made “adapting” that much easier.
Although the Road house has Blanca (she cleans up our messes every single day, speaks little English, but works her butt off and is a rock star) every single thing that I had back home, is the total opposite here and I am doing just fine. I share my bedroom with two other people, therefore can’t freely walk around in the nude like I used to haha, we have ONE TV that is always occupied by the guys watching sports, the fridge is filled with foreign things that I am still learning about, I don’t have a car- so I have become a pro walker and subte (metro) rider, I have a cheap Nokia cell phone that I can barely work, I take showers with flip-flops on and I have a limited supply of cute outfits. Oh, I don’t even own a straightener, curler OR blow dryer, so I’ve just let my hair down and been totally natural (it’s reminding me of my 10 days in Greece where it was too hot to wear makeup and so pointless to even attempt doing ones hair). Despite all these changes and adjustments, I am so happy, at ease and thankful for the “life change”. It is nice to live more simply with less “stuff”. It reminds me of what’s really important.
Although on day one, I sat on my bunk bed, sweating, scared, wondering what the hell I decided to do this for; it is all clear to me now; to grow and learn independently. I love it here, just like I knew I would. I love that I can adjust to the changes, I’m proud that I can be outgoing and make new friends wherever I go and laugh at the annoying things I have NO control over. Like I said at the beginning of this entry, “the hardest, yet most exciting thing about traveling is “adapting” to the new place you are in”. The excitement stems from the fact that you CAN adapt and adjust to your surroundings; you CAN go with the flow because you have to. You will get over that “missed train”, stolen wallet, wrong direction, weird dinner order, and all the other things that happen. We don’t have a choice but to accept the turns that throw us right? I have learned this lesson many times before throughout my life, but traveling always confirms it. A wise friend once told me “Katrina, don’t take yourself/life so damn seriously”. Great advice…it’s so much more fun to laugh at the strange and annoying things and just go with the flow!
Besos,
Katrina
14 February 2010
Love Affair
As most of you know, I have made it safely to Buenos Aires. I am not entirely sure where to begin in describing my experience thus far. I’ve only been in South America for one week and two days, but I have fallen MADLY in love. I’m in love with the city, the attractive people, the food, the dulce de leche, the wine, roaming dogs on the sidewalks, shopping, palm trees, architecture and everything else that would take too long to list here.
At times I feel a little bit like Carrie Bradshaw and her relationship with New York City. There are many instances when she refers to her relationship with the city as a dangerous “love affair”. Well, it’s definitely the same thing for me. This city has its own personality, sexiness and mystery and it has completely consumed me. I can’t get enough of this place. I could actually write a novel on the people alone. I’ve seen more attractive people in the past nine days that I have seen in my entire twenty-four years of life, I kid you not. The men are tall, dark, and handsome and have the GREATEST style and swagga. The amount of sex appeal they give off is intoxicating and should actually be illegal. The women are equally as beautiful. They are tan, thin and classy, so the two genders together…it’s overwhelming.
The personality of this city is the best of both Paris and Italy…but on steroids (with the looks of Georgetown). There is definitely a European influence here- very laid back, sophisticated and culturally elite. I almost feel as though whenever I walk by a building, museum, or garden etc… I hear a faint whisper, but can’t quite make out what is being revealed to me. This just makes my desire to understand the city even stronger. In other words, I am drawn to things here and just as I think I understand them something else is revealed and realize how much more I have yet understand. One thing at a time I guess.
My ADD has been at an all time high. I can’t stand still for a second because I fear I may miss something. I am literally being pulled in every single direction of what I want to pursue; the language? The traditions? The men? The culture? The shopping? The food? The layout of the city? The history? I can’t focus on any one thing because I want it all.
Just the other day I went into the famous bookstore, “El Ateneo” (an old opera house/ theatre) and I could not decide what to do first.
I must have mentally fought over 7 different books because I could not make a decision of one to buy (I wanted to read every single one and have all of them memorized). I ended up buying a quote book and “The Wizard of Oz” (both written completely in Spanish- I need to challenge myself right?).
The time here is so drastically different than anything I have experienced before. I wake up pretty early each day and sometimes walk to “Como en Casa” (my favorite café) for a café con leche-which is delicious and so strong I get high off one tiny cup. The only alone time I really have is the early morning. I am living in a student residence with 22 other people therefore, there is always someone around. My TEFL class starts at 10am and lasts til 5pm every day, Monday through Wednesday and then on Thursday’s and Friday’s we teach so the schedule is different. I never realized how complicated English is until this course. I suck at grammar and its NOT easy trying to explain to a “portena” (a local Argentine) what “personal, extremely, and cozy” mean. Seriously, try explaining those words to someone, without using their language or pictures etc. It’s hard. Anyways, dinner is not until 10 and people stay out to eat until about 12:30 or 1am and then go to the “Boliche”(club) at around 2am. This is something I will NOT get used to. This past week I allowed myself to indulge in everything- the freddo (ice cream) the nightlife and the shopping, but I must put a stop to it cause I will die. Coming home at 6am while the stores and café’s are opening is a VERY strange feeling. Almost like the feelings I had at Miami on Green Beer Day (but that was ONCE a year and this is every night…).
There are many walks of life here. I have made some incredible friends already. It’s kinda cool- the type of people who do things such as moving to a foreign country all alone to “FIND themselves” or pursue their traveling passions are not the every day people I am used to meeting. Each and every individual has their own past and story of how they ended up in the “Road House” and each person has such a chill attitude about where they will go next. I have never felt more like a hippy than I do in this new life. I am familiar with schedules, work, plans, comfort etc...but here, I am alone, new, on the outside, unfamiliar and “plan-less”. It is INCREDIBLE. I absolutely love not knowing what will happen next…it’s such a free feeling. I can literally do anything I want: live with a host family, move into a new apt, teach English, take a month off and take Spanish classes, move to Patagonia etc. Everyone needs an experience like this, that’s all I got to say.
Well, I could go on and on, clearly, but I have got to start reading my Spanish version of “The Wizard of Oz” with a Spanish/English dictionary of course. One page will take me about 45 minutes I’m sure…Anyways, more to come on my new life. I hope all the people I love and care about back home are doing fine and haven’t forgotten about me. I haven’t forgotten you all.
Until next time,
Besos
At times I feel a little bit like Carrie Bradshaw and her relationship with New York City. There are many instances when she refers to her relationship with the city as a dangerous “love affair”. Well, it’s definitely the same thing for me. This city has its own personality, sexiness and mystery and it has completely consumed me. I can’t get enough of this place. I could actually write a novel on the people alone. I’ve seen more attractive people in the past nine days that I have seen in my entire twenty-four years of life, I kid you not. The men are tall, dark, and handsome and have the GREATEST style and swagga. The amount of sex appeal they give off is intoxicating and should actually be illegal. The women are equally as beautiful. They are tan, thin and classy, so the two genders together…it’s overwhelming.
The personality of this city is the best of both Paris and Italy…but on steroids (with the looks of Georgetown). There is definitely a European influence here- very laid back, sophisticated and culturally elite. I almost feel as though whenever I walk by a building, museum, or garden etc… I hear a faint whisper, but can’t quite make out what is being revealed to me. This just makes my desire to understand the city even stronger. In other words, I am drawn to things here and just as I think I understand them something else is revealed and realize how much more I have yet understand. One thing at a time I guess.
My ADD has been at an all time high. I can’t stand still for a second because I fear I may miss something. I am literally being pulled in every single direction of what I want to pursue; the language? The traditions? The men? The culture? The shopping? The food? The layout of the city? The history? I can’t focus on any one thing because I want it all.
Just the other day I went into the famous bookstore, “El Ateneo” (an old opera house/ theatre) and I could not decide what to do first.
I must have mentally fought over 7 different books because I could not make a decision of one to buy (I wanted to read every single one and have all of them memorized). I ended up buying a quote book and “The Wizard of Oz” (both written completely in Spanish- I need to challenge myself right?).
The time here is so drastically different than anything I have experienced before. I wake up pretty early each day and sometimes walk to “Como en Casa” (my favorite café) for a café con leche-which is delicious and so strong I get high off one tiny cup. The only alone time I really have is the early morning. I am living in a student residence with 22 other people therefore, there is always someone around. My TEFL class starts at 10am and lasts til 5pm every day, Monday through Wednesday and then on Thursday’s and Friday’s we teach so the schedule is different. I never realized how complicated English is until this course. I suck at grammar and its NOT easy trying to explain to a “portena” (a local Argentine) what “personal, extremely, and cozy” mean. Seriously, try explaining those words to someone, without using their language or pictures etc. It’s hard. Anyways, dinner is not until 10 and people stay out to eat until about 12:30 or 1am and then go to the “Boliche”(club) at around 2am. This is something I will NOT get used to. This past week I allowed myself to indulge in everything- the freddo (ice cream) the nightlife and the shopping, but I must put a stop to it cause I will die. Coming home at 6am while the stores and café’s are opening is a VERY strange feeling. Almost like the feelings I had at Miami on Green Beer Day (but that was ONCE a year and this is every night…).
There are many walks of life here. I have made some incredible friends already. It’s kinda cool- the type of people who do things such as moving to a foreign country all alone to “FIND themselves” or pursue their traveling passions are not the every day people I am used to meeting. Each and every individual has their own past and story of how they ended up in the “Road House” and each person has such a chill attitude about where they will go next. I have never felt more like a hippy than I do in this new life. I am familiar with schedules, work, plans, comfort etc...but here, I am alone, new, on the outside, unfamiliar and “plan-less”. It is INCREDIBLE. I absolutely love not knowing what will happen next…it’s such a free feeling. I can literally do anything I want: live with a host family, move into a new apt, teach English, take a month off and take Spanish classes, move to Patagonia etc. Everyone needs an experience like this, that’s all I got to say.
Well, I could go on and on, clearly, but I have got to start reading my Spanish version of “The Wizard of Oz” with a Spanish/English dictionary of course. One page will take me about 45 minutes I’m sure…Anyways, more to come on my new life. I hope all the people I love and care about back home are doing fine and haven’t forgotten about me. I haven’t forgotten you all.
Until next time,
Besos
03 February 2010
Tomorrow...
I leave tomorrow! It's finally come to the last few things that I have to do in preparation for my trip. It seems as though all I have been thinking about, planning for, saving for, talking about, dreaming about, and wondering about is Argentina for the past five months...and now it's HERE.
I feel completely and utterly at ease about everything. No, I have not put ONE thing in my suitcase or even pulled the clothes I plan to take with me off the racks, but I've done everything else! This has been the most hectic last few weeks of my life, but so fun at the same time. The few remaining things I have yet to do are basically reading my 94 pages of grammar(supposed to be done before I start my TEFL course on Monday)say my goodbyes to my friends and family...and well, GET on that plane.
It's hard to imagine I will be gone for six months. In one sense it seems WAY too short for the amount of effort and planning I have put into this trip and in another sense, it seems like six months is a long time to be away from home. I have a strong feeling it WON'T be enough time, however. I guess I'll know come August third huh?
I have no clue what personality my blog will take on as I begin my journey; all I hope for is that it's descriptive, interesting and an "outlet" of some sort for me.
That's all for now. Time to pack, read, print off tickets, cancel my cell phone, and get the rest of my life together...AH!
I feel completely and utterly at ease about everything. No, I have not put ONE thing in my suitcase or even pulled the clothes I plan to take with me off the racks, but I've done everything else! This has been the most hectic last few weeks of my life, but so fun at the same time. The few remaining things I have yet to do are basically reading my 94 pages of grammar(supposed to be done before I start my TEFL course on Monday)say my goodbyes to my friends and family...and well, GET on that plane.
It's hard to imagine I will be gone for six months. In one sense it seems WAY too short for the amount of effort and planning I have put into this trip and in another sense, it seems like six months is a long time to be away from home. I have a strong feeling it WON'T be enough time, however. I guess I'll know come August third huh?
I have no clue what personality my blog will take on as I begin my journey; all I hope for is that it's descriptive, interesting and an "outlet" of some sort for me.
That's all for now. Time to pack, read, print off tickets, cancel my cell phone, and get the rest of my life together...AH!
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