Ch-ch-changes

Thanks to JJ for the comments about NZ suggestions. And thanks, too, to the disappeared Raul for responding to my email about showing me around NZ.

However, I will not be going to the South Pacific region. I looked at my remaining finances, and realized I spent a little too much money travelling around, and shopping in, Argentina. Entonces, it was necessary to do a little adjustment of the itinerary.

I (very sadly) leave Argentina on Sunday. I will then spend a couple nights in Ft. Lauderdale (enjoy a little last sun while I can); hopefully stay a couple days with a friend in Brooklyn (will hear back tomorrow about if I can stay there -- there are house rules, after all). Then, I will head to London and proceed to spend 4-5 months in Europe.

I will force myself to follow a strict budget. Gone will be the days of 30 cent (USD) cokes; $10-15 USD Really Nice Dinners (w/wine) in Really Swank Palermo Restaurants and cheap taxi rides.

It will be cold. Though, I may just head towards Spain (and practice my Spanish) and chill in a warm-ish climate. I haven't yet finalized the Euro route. I'm also trying to coordinate London, or another point in Europe, with a friend living in London (he travels at least 2-3 weeks each month for his job).

I will need to get a couple sweaters. Where they fit in my backpack, I'm not sure. Though, it is pretty certain I will be mailing some books and things home when I get to the US. Helllllllo NY thrift shopping!

As always, there is a certain flexibility to what I will be doing and where I will be. However, unlike my time in Argentina, I will be moving about rather quickly. Until I find a place (pref. Portugal) that I want to spend a month and write and sit on the beach (after all, have to make up for not getting to beach-sit in Thailand and India), I do not intend on spending more than a week, or in most cases, 3-4 days, in any given place.

I'm looking forward to spending a little more time than originally planned in Europe. And with the money I save from not going to the SP region, it may allow me to return to Argentina at the end of my trip. Then, maybe I find a job teaching English here, and find a boy that emails me back...

Or maybe I find a teaching job in Budapest or Prague and brave the winter there. No sé.

Todo es possible.

Little updates

The Patagonian Express installments are postponed for a little longer. Since I am now spending a great deal of time making decisions and doing research for the next legs of my trip. I will briefly be passing through the US, and visiting a friend in NY, and then heading on to New Zealand. If you have any good recs for NZ, let me know.

Argentinian boys suck. Well. One in particular. I never heard back from S. So much for a little end-of-Argentinian-trip romance.

Grrrr.

¡Mierde!

Just had the worst news. I cannot extend my ticket (I wanted to extend it until the end of March...). I have to leave on the 6th of February, or buy another ticket (round-trip) for over $600 USD. This is not possible. Entonces, I will be in Miami on the 6-7th February.

Woe is me.

Que bueno suerte

The inflammation in my ankle is much less today, and I reckon I will be able to walk like a normal person in 1-2 days. At least a little. Stairs are no longer the bane of my existence.

I managed to take a shower today. Which is good, because I was getting a little ripe.

Found out that my CD of glacier photos is already in the mail, and that I should receive it within a couple of days. If anyone is thinking of going to Barriloche, email me and I will send you the information for my hotel. The family is exceptionally kind and the hotel has beautiful views of the lake -- at no extra charge than the other rooms. It is rare to meet people as kind and caring as they are.

Now, to make my life perfect right now, all I need is to hear from (and see) S.

Stayed tuned for The Patagonian Express. Part I.

Que malo suerte...

They say bad things come in threes. This was: Yesterday.

First, badly, badly sprained my ankle. It will take at least a week to heal, and I can't walk -- it's more like a faint hobble -- much less even THINK about dancing. The turtle can move faster than me. (Note: if your friend falls and is obviously in a lot of pain, don't leave to take photos -- even if they say they can't yet stand up.) There is a lump the size of a massive Florida orange on the right side of my right foot, and a bruise starting to form on the left side. Also the size of an orange. It was a bad fall, and there are other bruises and sore bits on my body. Ugh. I did go to the hospital in Barriloche, and they took x-rays. No fractures or broken bones. They gave me the x-rays. What a souvenir...

Second, left a CD with 125 pictures of glaciers in an i-cafe yesterday. It was closed for most of the afternoon and I had an early afternoon flight. Ugh. Someone from the hotel was supposed to go back to it yesterday and check for the CD. I left the CD case, my BA address and some money for him to mail it back. Think good thoughts for me, because I really want those pictures back.

Third, I thought our flight to BA was at 4.30, and we arrived at the airport at 3.15ish. The flight was at 2.30. We ended up paying the difference for business class tickets, and were able to catch a 3.45 flight. I've only flown coach before, so the extra service (linens, real glass, automatic refills of drinks -- without asking for it) was quite lovely. Unfortunately, I was on Ibuprofen, and you're not supposed to mix that with alcohol, so I wasn't able to indulge in free drinks.

Things can and will only get better. First, am back in warm weather. Second, am sleeping in my large bed again (a girl gets spoiled by this and feels deprived after spending nine days in single beds).

I'm waiting for an email reply to the lovely BA guy (S) I met in Barriloche, so wish me luck for that as well. I'm on pins and needles. Though, in a very good way. Very good, indeed.

I am still quite sore, even with Ibuprofen (I fell down some stairs. Cement stairs. Pretty much head first (thankfully, the head is ok).), and it's slightly painful to type for very long. So, The Patagonian Express installments will begin in a few more days.

Of all the times I want to be lazy, today isn't one of those days. Though, I'm on the second of my Care Package books, so I read and nap and hobble around the residence.

And wait for an email from S...

I'm starry-eyed

Oh dear. Shared a hostel room last night with two boys. I have a lovely little crush on one of them. We swapped emails and will be meeting in Buenos Aires (he's in Barriloche for a few days). As they say in BA: ¡Que bombone! I can't wait to return to BA (and not just because I've had enough cold (and enough of the cold I caught) and need some bone-melting heat...sun, that is...).

Yes, I'm in Barriloche now. It's a German-style town. I don't feel like I'm really in Argentina anymore. Except for all the parillas. The architecture is notably different.

I will write The Patagonian Express, in installments, when I return to BA.

Besito,
Shana

Navigating icebergs

Yes, I was on a rather long boat trip today, and at one point, we navigated through a bay of icebergs. I saw three glaciers today. It was a 13.5 hour trip.

I've seen glaciers, icebergs, glaciers shedding, wild horses, birds I can't name, the Andes mountain range, my breath come out as foggy.

I'm starving, but of course felt compelled to check my email at the hostel computer terminal...and of course, wanted to let you know all is well in south Argentina. I have not read any news in days.

Oh, and I've taken so many photos. I promise a photo of the blue Ushuaia twilight.

In a couple days.

El Fin del Mundo

It's bloody freezing here. I am now in the southernmost town in the world. Officially. Unofficially, if you look at a map, Chile curls around the bottom of Argentina, and some island in Chile really can lay claim to the Fin del Mundo title.

Ushuaiu is really a fantastic town. The houses are tiny. The town is hilly. I'm freezing my booty off -- though, the cold weather is a most refreshing change to the heat and humidity of BA. J says that it feels like a Seattle Spring day here, and reminded me that everyone in Seattle would be running around in shorts and short-sleeved shirts. He says I've become rather acclimated to BA, as I was wrapping myself in my comforter shortly after lying down in my room.

Because of the extreme southern location, there is only six hours of nightfall here. That is, there is light in the sky until 11pm, and dawn is at 5am. I'm thinking the light will be really incredible and I plan on taking even more pictures.

There is a mountain here that J think looks like Mordar. LOTR trivia, folks. We've been told the proper name, but we call it Mordar every time we see it. The mountains are much different than most I've seen before. The tops are very jagged and pointed and look like there was a lot of violence in their creation.

On the other side of today, J and I had a 5.30am flight this morning. We went to dinner with everyone from my residence last night (which was a very cool evening), and didn't get back until 1am. We had to wake up at 3.30am in order to be ready to catch a 4am taxi. Good lord, we were exhausted. J's had 1.5 siestas today, and I've had two. I think I'm finally back on my regular energy level. I was getting a little bitchy earlier, before the second siesta. However, we got two of the last five seats on any flight to Ushuaia this weekend. So, we couldn't be too choosy. Also, it worked in our favor, as lodging here is rather difficult to find, as this is peak travel/vacation season, and our earlier arrival allowed us relative ease in finding lodging. While we were dozing in my room, while J's room was finished being cleaned, we heard at least three people at the door asking for rooms.

Just in the nick of time.

Tomorrow, we're planning to go to the maritime museum and the old prison museum. [As a touch of irony, the old prison here is now a naval base...]

I'm just starting to appreciate walking in to a place with the heat ON, instead of walking in to a place with the air conditioning on.

Que interesante.

Viaje con dios y carne

My friend, J, received an email from a friend that said this. That is: 'travel with God and meat'. How apropos for Argentina.

Yesterday: to say we walked a great deal doesn't cover it. For me, I prefer to first see a city by walking through it. J was amenable, so that's what we did. We did one long walk after he checked in to his hotel. We sat in a park at the end of the walk.

Me: I need a siesta.
J: OK. Maybe I'll just lie down and rest for a few minutes.

We go back to our residences (his hotel is around the corner from my residence).

I sleep for 90 minutes. About two hours after we retired to our rooms, I go to his hotel. I have to knock three separate times to wake him up...

Then: another long walk.

And a little sunburn on the shoulders, again, for me.

Don't get me wrong -- I enjoy all the walking. I was just a bit tired (even with the siesta), because I had to wake up rather early (7am...) in order to get to the airport to meet J. I normally stay up until 2-4am, and I was up until 2am the night before.

Oh, and I like it because he's one of the few men I know who is amenable to shopping. We were walking down one of the main (and touristy) shopping areas, and he kept say 'Oh, shoes. Let's go look.' Exactly...

Now, we're off to the travel agency to book and buy our tickets south.

Buen viaje for us.

ps HK (you know who you are): when I said Altoids, I didn't envision a jumbo tin... I love them and the books!!! ¡¡¡Muchas Gracias!!!

I now have Altoids and fresh breath for the rest of my trip. Yippppppeeeeee! I love my friends.

Pale friends and hitting the road

My friend, J, arrived this morning. Looking pale.

Another friend in Seattle, K, sent a picture of some friends. They, too, are pale.

Am I insufferable to mention, again, how tan I am?

Though, you can be reassured. There is a massive storm (tormento) due tonight. It is only in the very low 70s (F) today. Much different from the upper 90s (F) last week.

Tomorrow, J and I will go to the travel agency and buy our tickets to go south. First stop, Barriloche, aka Swiss German Village, and former home of a prominent former Nazi. Then, El Calafate: home to some Very Large glaciers, including one that is shedding two meters of ice per day (Petito Moreno). Then finally, Ushuaia, aka the tip of the world. The only thing further south than Ushuaia is Antarctica. It will be cold and rainy there, and I'm looking forward to the change in weather -- I will actually be able to wear the one sweater I packed, and wear jeans without them sticking to my legs from humidity and sweat. Yipppeeeee!!!

I should post again before we leave. However, be assured that I am fine. I will write a couple posts along the way, as there are i-cafes everywhere.

Soy escritora

Yesssss. I am in the writing mode.

Finally.

I've spent most of the afternoon working on a short story. I think it could become a novel. Though, I'm not sure if that's just because of all the editing and editing notes I've done today, or if a novel is really in there. I've asked a friend if he will look it over once I've finished typing up all the edits (I generally write and edit longhand).

I just had to take a break to ask for editing help, and also because I'm starving. I wanted a steak for dinner, but the restaurant I want to go to doesn't open for almost an hour, and I'm hungry NOW.

OK. Off to the grocery store. Wish me luck and continued inspiration.

Is Break a Pen something you say to writers?

Languages

This is something I've thought a lot about since I've been here in BA.

Most Americans don't know jack about languages. More importantly, and detrimentally, they are not actively encouraged to learn more. Yes, foreign language classes are offered in many schools. However, they are electives, not requirements, and they are not offered to children at an early age. Learning language as a child allows one the opportunity to learn it well enough as to be able to speak as a native speaker. The learning faculty for doing this in the brain turns off at about age 14 (puberty). After this age, it is very, very difficult for someone to learn a language to the ability of a native speaker.

[Yes, I studied a tiny bit of linguistics in college.]

I am embarassed that the other guests at my residence speak English (fluently, or nearly so), and I don't speak another language fluently, as well. Yes, I speak a little bit of French (though, I've forgotten much of it since I began studying Spanish), and now I speak a little Spanish.

I've been thinking about this more recently, because there are a couple of Swedish girls that recently moved in to the residence. They have studied linguistics and languages, and are here to do a research project for their University program. To my knowledge, they each know three languages fluently, and understand bits of others.

There is also someone at the residence that speaks five languages.

As to languages, I just feel totally inadequate that I only speak one fluently. I suppose another side to this is that English-speaking countries are world centers of business and politics, and thus is a Very Important language. However, it just isn't right that it is compulsory in some other countries to learn or a foreign language.

Yes, I know that not everyone in Europe, for example, speaks English. However, Europeans are a lot more likely to speak English than an American is to speak Italian.

So, don't really know how to end this post, but I've just been thinking about this more than normal lately. It's difficult to travel abroad and to not notice this.

Last weekend

Lovely weekend. Ate at some lovely restaurants. Went to an outdoor market yesterday. Walked around yesterday. A lot.

Yes, the shoulders are mildly sunburned.

I ate a Whopper yesterday. I should mention that I don't eat at McDonald's or Burger King in the US. I usually make it a point to not eat American fast food while travelling. However, a couple of the people I was with yesterday were hungry and went in to one, and I realized I was hungry, too. The Whopper tasted fine. However, five hours later, the Whopper was like a rock in my stomach. You know how sometimes your body just feels dirty on the inside? While I wasn't terribly hungry last night, I ordered a good-sized meal, just to be able to put something else in my stomach.

The point of this, really, is that I realized how much grease affects your body. The food here is largely without a lot of grease, and any grease in the food is pretty natural (e.g. melted fat from when the steak is cooked on the grill, melted cheese).

My stomach really felt awful yesterday.

Never again!!

[Well, maybe for a milkshake...]

Rainstorms and blackouts

Finally.

There is rain in Buenos Aires. Not misty, drizzly rain like in Seattle, but pounding, street-flooding rain. Tropical rainstorm rain.

BA has needed rain for a while now -- the air has been thick with smog and humidity. And with temperatures in the upper 30s (Celsius -- 40 Celsius is 104 Farenheit), the city needed a respite.

I've gone to tango classes the last two days. I really enjoy the class I've found, and I'm happy that one of the guys from my residence shared the class info with me. It is Salon style tango. Salon style is more of an open embrace, and what I was learning in Seattle. I've taken Close Embrace classes, and while I enjoy that, I prefer the Salon tango. I will continue to take Close Embrace classes here and there, but my focus will be on Salon tango. I danced with a wonderful man, yesterday, who was from Venezuela. Sadly, he will be going back to Venezuela on Monday, and he was not in class today.

After class, I finally found a book to use as my new journal. My current journal has maybe 10 blank pages left, and I haven't been writing much because I knew I would run out of space pretty quickly. Now, I have 200 pages to fill up. It's an interesting little book, with a double spiral binding.

After finding the journal, I headed back to my neighborhood. I felt the rain was likely about to start, because a particularly strong wind was blowing. In fact, the wind was so strong, it made it nearly impossible to walk down the main street by my residence, because there was dust (I don't want to know what some of the particles are), twigs and trash flying around. I noticed my usual locutorio (internet cafe) was closed, which I thought rather unusual at 3pm. Turns out, there was a partial blackout for several blocks around my residence (but not actually in my residence). I went to my favorite sandwicheria for my usual lunch, and ate lunch by the light of a single candle on the bar. While I was eating, the rain started. I was ready to wait out the rain there, but the overwhelming desire for a siesta kicked in. One of the proprietors gave me a large plastic bag to protect my belongings, which had previously been in a cloth bag.

Now, the power is back (obviously, since I'm writing this post), and the rain is only intermittent now. Right after I woke up, the rain started again. Imagine having a steel roof, and suddenly hearing what sounds like a million pebbles being thrown on the roof. Continually. This is what it sounds like in my room when it rains.

So. Tonight. Another tango class, or dinner and a night with my book?

I'm still a committment-phobe, which is why I continue to *not* make many plans in advance.

Or perhaps I will listen to the rain on my roof and work on my writing some more.

Time will tell.

Here kitty, kitty

Yesterday, I wanted to go to a tango class. Then, I was supposed to go to a milonga with a couple friends. I bailed on both. No bailè.

Though, there was a little health difficulty that started resolving itself yesterday, and I just wasn't in a state of, umm, comfort to want to go dancing. Let's just say that eating *too* much meat is not a good thing... Not a good thing at all.

Instead, I worked on some writing. Oh, and this was after hanging out with some others on the patio, and keeping an eye out for the mouse.

We need a cat.

I was sitting at the patio table, eating a little salad, when the others (5-6) started pointing and yelling. There is a high brick wall, partially covered in vine-y shrubbery behind the table. The mouse was running down the wall. The noise caused it to go back up. I quickly moved to the other side of the table, dislodging someone from their chair (not to worry, they grabbed another chair and sat next to me -- not on the other side of the table). The patio is quite long, and eventually the mouse came down further down the patio.

So, it's nice there are plants and trees and such [in planters] on the patio. However, it's not nice as it gives ample places for the ""$)=(· mouse to hide. We saw it running about a couple times.

Have I mentioned we need a cat?

Said mouse has been running along the top of the wall for about a week now. I saw it for the first time a couple nights ago. The German guys call it 'she'. I just can't help but thinking of the 'She' in Lord of the Rings. Though, this 'she' is most definitely less likely to kill and maim. It just startles and frightens.

I hate mice and rats. That is: zero tolerance.

I squeak when I see them (yes, this happened last night).

I have been known to stand on chairs upon sighting a mouse (though, this has not yet happened at the residence).

I really want a cat.

Quietly in to that New Year

Oh. My weekend was luxuriously empty. With absolutely no guilt, as everything was closed on Saturday, and very little open on Sunday (per usual).

I am rested and ready to start this year as a new time in my life. Last year was difficult for me, and I've recently achieved a nice level of relaxation. I talked to a friend on the phone this weekend, and he said how different I sounded. 'Relaxed?' I asked. 'Yes.' 'Well, I've been here for two and a half months now.' I responded.

Most of my friends back home have not seen me like this.

While I don't always realize it when it's happening, I know I can get rather stressed and edgy. Most of that is gone right now.

I was even working on some of my creative writing last night. Really, I was typing a story on to my laptop (the story is in a file of hardcopy stories that I have with me). After I finish this post, I will be returning to the residence for a couple hours to finish typing it up and doing some work on it. My mind is finally clear enough to work on some writing, and especially after the last week of heightened relaxation, I feel the creative juices burbling in my mind. I am ready to start writing in a serious manner. It's about time...

Érase una vez...

New Year and New Traditions

I had an absolutely wonderful dinner with friends last night. We were the expats of the restaurant. Wonderful Southern Spanish cuisine, lovely wine, champagne at midnight. Watching fireworks go off in the street, which in turn set off numerous car alarms and probably damaged some car paint jobs...

(We couldn't go dancing because even the milongas were closed last night. Total dead from Thursday is 176, with 600 more injured.)

At midnight, we went to the street to watch the fireworks. The fireworks sounded like being in a war zone. I swear the kids had things like M-80s, and were setting those off in the street by the restaurant.

There was a woman with a bag of confetti. She explained to me that they shred the previous year's calendar, then throw the confetti at midnight. This is to bring yourself good luck for the coming year. She shared her confetti with me, which was very cool of her. (side note: last year was quite tumultuous for me, so good luck for the New Year is quite a welcome gift.)

I really like the idea of this, and I will be doing this in the future.

Happy New Year everyone!