Happy Birthday To Me!

I just turned 26 in Puerto Iguazu, Argentina.  This is the north east tip of Argentina, were the Parana River separates Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay.  People come here to see the waterfalls, which of course are magnificent.  It is pouring rain outside and thunder is booming!  I am sitting at the Hostel waiting to depart for the 18 hour bus ride back to Rosario.

Yesterday we walked around the national park and saw the waterfalls and I took lots of pictures that are pointless to post here but if you are wondering here is a nice one that the internet has already.  Anyway, it was beautiful, there were some cool animals in the jungle surrounding the park, monkeys, and toucans, lots of butterflies, some french girls at the hostel even spotted a crocodile!

I saw one guy smoking a cigarette and when he was finished he chucked it over the guardrail right into a smallish waterfall we were all looking at.  It ruined my mood for a little and I felt strong urges to tear his face off, which I resisted.  I really truly honestly can not understand.  BAFFLED!  There were even little garbage bins all along the trails!  Also, there were these little raccoon/anteater hybrid looking things that have gotten used to pestering people for food which you are CLEARLY NOT SUPPOSED TO FEED.  Of course people feed them, some girls were feeding them nuts in the food court area, which was bad enough, but when I saw a lady on one of the trails bend down and give one a piece of her chocolate candy bar...  GRRRR.  =(

Anyway, the park is beautiful, the waterfalls are humbling, and the bus ride is going to be long.  But, buses are THE way to travel around this country.  They are great.  You get a large, comfortable reclining chair with plenty of foot room and an elevated foot rest, and they feed you!  The 18 hours it took to get here were really quite painless, and with the right toys (iPad equipped with games and movies, and a cozy sleeping bag) its even enjoyable!  They do provide you with a pillow and blanket, but we all know my sleeping bag is pretty much my most prized possession.  The food is not great so packing some healthy snacks isn't a bad idea either, but thats pretty much to be expected of food provided by public transit.

Ok, packing up and heading out.  Again and again and again...  =)

Andy Grammer

I was at the gym the other day, and all of a sudden on the radio I hear a song written and performed by none other than my dear old roommate Andy Grammer.  Then later I heard it at the mall, and it turns out he's topping the charts in the states as well, destined to be one of this summer's biggest hits.

Not that he needs a plug in my silly little blog, but anyway, Andy was one of the founding fathers of what became the 825 legacy.  Ladies and gentleman, from the confines of our Santa Monica living room, to international broadcast, Andy Grammer!

Mendoza

Reporting from Mendoza, Argentina.  That's where the Malbecs come from for all you winos out there.  It's one of those places you should visit in Argentina if you get the chance, and a few weeks ago Facundo's job asked if he'd be able to come out for a few days for something business related.  Arm Twisted - Mendoza roadtrip.  (Not that we were planning to go anyway or anything like that...)

You can see the Andes lining the horizon, and skiing and snowboarding are possible just a few hours away if you were so inclined.  We were cursed with beautiful warm and sunny weather these past few days, and it seems that the mountains are off to a late start anyway, so no south of the equator riding for me this time around.

Tonight the Mendoza stadium hosted a big soccer game between Chile and Uruguay for the Copa América.  Mendoza is approximately six hours from Santiago, so the hotels are booked and the streets are full of rowdy, red-jersey wearing, "Chi-Chi-Chi, Le-Le-Le, CHILE CHILE!" chanting Chileans.

I had the most delicious steak and wine and plate of melty cheese (provoleta) at my first ever business dinner.  I'm so charming.

Tomorrow we go to a vineyard and winery tour.

Its not easy being green.  And then there are these people.

Extraordinary Machine

Minutes turn to Hours.  Hours turn to Days.  Eventually, you have a lifetime.  The story simply unfolds.  It's a haphazard collection of chance.  You are the master of your own destiny.

Live it, love it.

If there was a better way to go then it would find me.  I can't help that the road rolls out behind me.  Be kind to me, or treat me mean.  I'll make the most of it I'm an extraordinary machine.  

Today In Buenos Aires

I did a little grocery shopping, and some laundry.  Then I walked around for a few hours.  I found China Town.  I like China Town.  Then I wandered some more, and found the Buenos Aires Skate Park, sponsored by Converse.  It made me miss my skateboard.

One time I brought my skateboard with me to Paris.  I spent one night in Paris before taking a train to the Atlantic coast to live in a tent for the summer.  I skated around, but the city wasn't great for cruising with cobblestone streets and such.  I was wearing a sundress, and got some interesting stares.  Anyway, under the Eiffel Tower was pretty smooth so I had a good time there for a little bit.

I got a little lost, walked by a park with a lake and saw a bunch of people on their afternoon jogs.  There was an elderly couple taking a walk, arms linked, talking and laughing and looking as though they were 20 years old and in love.

Cities are great when they feel like they are alive on their own.  This is one of those places.  It has a pulse and a soul.

I didn't bring my camera, because I'm like that.

New Post

I haven't written in a while.  I feel pretty guilty about that.  I knew this would happen from time to time, and that's OK too.

I tried to write a big long blog post earlier about stuff, but I now don't feel like posting it.  Here are some of the key points...

I am in Argentina, I have been her for over a month.  It is good.  I am subconsciously understanding short and sweet Spanish conversation around me.  I can go places and ask for things with Spanish words and the results are often as I intended.

I haven't been defying death, so sometimes I feel bored, and then I don't write.  I did do a trapeze class which was fun, and instructed in Spanish.

Facu and I have landed ourselves in Buenos Aires for a little over a week to house sit for the honeymooners who have gone to a Miami/Bahamas cruise.  Buenos Aires is a lively place, and you get the feeling you are in one of the great cities of the world.  The only problem is they cook their sushi rice with sugar in this country.  This has got to change.

I mini-roadtripped to Villa General Belgrano for the Argentine Holiday weekend (Flag Day) with some good people.  The town had a German, Alpine feel to it, and I believe was settled by Germans a long time ago.  We played Spanish pictionary, had a picnic by a creek, and had some beer in the sunshine.  It was good.

I am confused by the economic status of Argentina in the world.  At first glance it is worlds ahead of other place I have seen, like Nicaragua, Indonesia, and even Costa Rica.  The quality of life in Rosario and Buenos Aires seems to be pretty decent, but things are pretty expensive compared to what the average salary and wages seem to be here.  Also, there are some pretty serious shanty towns on the side of the highway leading in to Buenos Aires.  I haven't seen more, or talked to people of many different socioeconomic statuses, so I can't really say much about it, except it doesn't feel much different than being in the US, or more like Europe, most of the time.

That being said, you will ALWAYS end up spending more money than you think.  No matter where you are in the world, spending money is any easy thing to do.

Also, I got scabies, which officially makes me a pirate.

Here are some pictures...

Town Hall Wedding

Newlyweds!

Waiting For Party Time

Rosario Artisan Market

A play in the park

Lovely Day For Sailing

Parque Indepencia

Sunday Shindig

Can I Actually Buy That Stuff? 

Rosario Football Loyalty

Weekend Getaway Getting Out of Control

Pictionary En Epañol 

You Will Never Replace Cheryl

I don't know where we were, I don't know what that means, but I like it.  Somewhere near Villa General Belgrano.

Bridge looks Cool

Duff Beer in Villa General Belgrano

Villa General Belgrano

Picnic Time, Shoes Off

Hangin' Out

The horse showed up for his photo shoot!

Catch Me If You Can

OK, so… I'm just sitting in Australia, minding my own business, pretty satisfied with myself at having not given up on Byron when times were tough and jobs were scarce, and finally getting settled into jobs and bike rides and ocean play time when, all of a sudden, there's a new plate on the table.  

Back in LA, the day before my last day at work, just before all this wild and crazy walking about began, I had just worked a double shift and stopped in at a bar with some coworkers to grab a quick drink.  Sitting next to us at the same table is a group of Argentines on vacation in Los Angeles, one of which currently lives in Boston (Facundo) and one of which currently lives in Chicago (Ivan).  Immediately to my left (on the wrong side) was Facundo.  For some reason "I just quit my job and I'm going to do whatever I want for a year or so" really piques people's interests, and we got to talking.  So it starts…

I finish up in Los Angeles, and commence my road trip.  This sounds like fun - I'm driving through Chicago (with a car full of girls), that's where Ivan is.  Facundo comes to say hello, good people good times, the girls leave back to Los Angeles, Ivan stays in Chicago, Facundo and I continue East.  

And then and then and thennnn, Maria and Facundo - one way tickets to Bali.  And then and then and then - Facundo back to Boston, Maria on to Australia.  

Which brings me back to minding my own business, doing "whatever I want," running around Byron Bay barefooted.  And then the alleged spontaneity of my adventure is challenged.  Facundo's brother is getting married and it turns out there is a wedding celebration to be had in Buenos Aires that I wouldn't want to miss.  On top of that, Facundo has arranged to work remotely from Argentina for a couple of months, if I'd care to partner up for some South American adventure.  So how about it?

But-but-but… I just got a job!  I tried for so long and convinced these people I would stay for a while and now I'm just gonna leave, just like that?

But-but-but… It's just a restaurant job, and isn't A for Adventure?  And maybe Australia?  And maybe Argentina too? 

So I thought, and I felt, and I stressed, and I fretted, and I asked a few people for advice, and something like a week later I had tickets to Argentina for another week after that… and so the story goes…

I posted when I was waiting for my flight in Sydney, and 13 hours later I landed in Buenos Aires.  The immigration officials apparently decided to strike the morning of May 18th (welcome to Argentina!), which drastically slowed things down upon arrival.  I stood in line for approximately 2.5 hours before I was set loose to cause terror in Argentina.  Facundo had arrived just a few hours prior, but missed all the fun of long and slow moving customs lines.  Finally I was free to roam.  Much to my surprise, Facundo was still there waiting for me as I walked through the final security check point =), and his parents were just around the corner having some coffee.

We got some lunch in a nice part of town, and then piled into the car for 3 more hours of driving to Rosario.  I slept through pretty much all of this part.  

Now I write to you, currently sitting in the house of what feels like my new host family - La Familia Chamut.  I have Rosetta Stone and a Spanish study book to play with for now.  Everyone here seems to like me, and is happy with my feeble attempts at Spanish which are getting slightly more frequent and slightly less feeble all the time.  (My Australian housemates have threatened to replace me with a puppy - which might make just as much of a mess as me, but won't be nearly as adorable.) 

The National Flag Memorial

Rosario is a very pleasant and pretty city, arguably the 2nd largest in Argentina (Córdoba being its rival).  It sits on the Paraná River which borders the north and east edges of the city.  There are several parks scattered around town, and a running/bike path along the river.  In my first few days here, I basically did my best to wash the dirt off my feet from my extended couple of months of outdoor adventure in Indonesia and Australia and make myself presentable to arrive in style for Lichu and Anita's wedding in Buenos Aires.  

The wedding was A LOT of fun!  To start, the union was sanctioned before a judge at the court house in a room packed full of family and friends, and me.  After that we celebrated for hours with open bar, disco balls, and magnificently catered hors d'oeuvres at a rented venue somewhere in Buenos Aires that I would never be able to find for you again on my own.  

Dancing and Disco balls, Newlyweds and La Familia

I'll wrap this up by telling you that yesterday we BBQ'd on the rooftop terrace at the Chamut residence, I ate cow thyroid (a savory delicacy), and intestines (could do without those), and then went into town to shop around the Sunday artisan market by the river.

Lunch on the Parana

There are too many things to do in and around this country and there are already some plans brewing, but we will have to save that for a later date when I have some stories to tell!

Mama Chamut is making me fat.  I like that about her.