Sunday, June 27, 2004
i´m back from the bush- i survived! the pantanal is a supposed hotbed of animal activity located close to the bolivian and paraguayan borders. we did see toucans, monkeys, deer, capivarra (humungous guinea pigs), macaws, caimans, parrots, pirahnas (which i caught myself!), cows, horses, wild boar, a giant anteater, and an armadillo. now that actually sounds like a lot when i list it, but the days did drag on in a more or less as follows fashion:
4:30 a.m. i can´t take andrew´s snoring anymore. i want to cry. i think of other places in the camp i can go. there are none. i yell at andrew to shut up. the snoring continues.
5:30 a.m. the birds start their screaming first, then the howler monkeys join in with their rather startling low moans.
6:00 a.m. breakfast bell. time to splash some water on my face, maybe change my shirt, and lather on the bug repellent. then time for fruit, stale bread, and hella strong coffee.
7:00 a.m. morning activity. walking through the brush barefoot, pirahna fishing, or making jewelry from plant fibers. actually more like WATCHING my guide make jewelry from plant fibers. a beautiful necklace for a beautiful woman. ahhh. sometimes it´s just nice to hear even when you know it´s a lie.
11:00 a.m. shower. cold, and only slightly effective at removing layers of dirt and DEET.
12:00 p.m. lunch. salad, unidentifiable meat, and rice and beans.
3:00 p.m. afternoon activity. barefoot hike, horseback ride. relatively uneventful.
5:00 p.m. what the hell do we do with ourselves until dinner time? look for candles and try to make friends with people who have cards.
7:30 p.m. new people arrive and then dinner. same as lunch, except with the day´s pirahna catch fried up.
8:30 p.m. wait for your watch to change to 9, so that you feel sort of acceptable making your way to the hammock for bed. plus, you gotta fall asleep before andrew makes it back.
maybe i´m not the best person to be selling these pantanal tours, you think? onto the city for survival of a different kind. hold on to your wallets!
4:30 a.m. i can´t take andrew´s snoring anymore. i want to cry. i think of other places in the camp i can go. there are none. i yell at andrew to shut up. the snoring continues.
5:30 a.m. the birds start their screaming first, then the howler monkeys join in with their rather startling low moans.
6:00 a.m. breakfast bell. time to splash some water on my face, maybe change my shirt, and lather on the bug repellent. then time for fruit, stale bread, and hella strong coffee.
7:00 a.m. morning activity. walking through the brush barefoot, pirahna fishing, or making jewelry from plant fibers. actually more like WATCHING my guide make jewelry from plant fibers. a beautiful necklace for a beautiful woman. ahhh. sometimes it´s just nice to hear even when you know it´s a lie.
11:00 a.m. shower. cold, and only slightly effective at removing layers of dirt and DEET.
12:00 p.m. lunch. salad, unidentifiable meat, and rice and beans.
3:00 p.m. afternoon activity. barefoot hike, horseback ride. relatively uneventful.
5:00 p.m. what the hell do we do with ourselves until dinner time? look for candles and try to make friends with people who have cards.
7:30 p.m. new people arrive and then dinner. same as lunch, except with the day´s pirahna catch fried up.
8:30 p.m. wait for your watch to change to 9, so that you feel sort of acceptable making your way to the hammock for bed. plus, you gotta fall asleep before andrew makes it back.
maybe i´m not the best person to be selling these pantanal tours, you think? onto the city for survival of a different kind. hold on to your wallets!
Saturday, June 19, 2004
remember i said i needed to live in a town with a plaza where people dan paseos as a social activity? well, then i think i´ve found myself a new job too- street performing! here is a random sampling of street performers on avenida florida in buenos aires:
zoro- he wears black jeans, black shirt, black cape, black cowboy hat and mask, and a sword he made out of cardboard. very very sad.
twin jokes- this guys always draw a huge crowd. i don´t get the jokes that these twins tell, but apparently they are very very funny.
tango- why would i pay $20 to see a show when i can pay 1 peso to watch these guys? they are always dressed so nicely (the same thing everyday i might add) and smile a lot. some of them even make me like tango which means they are very very good.
it´s windy- i´m not sure how these two made their costumes, but the fabric is starched straight out at a right angle, their umbrella inside out, hanging on to each other before the wind sweeps them away. very very creative.
2 blind mice- right, so they´re not mice and they´re actually not street performers, though they do act on the street. this couple walks up and down with their canes and sunglasses with their dirty kid to guide them, going into restaurants to ask for food, i´m assuming. they usually leave empty-handed, and strangely enough don´t even use their canes. very very disturbing.
that´s a good sampling. anyone wanna join me in a street performing act? i´m still not down with the mime johnny, but you can do that and i´ll do something else. should we set up shop at the narragansett pier?
zoro- he wears black jeans, black shirt, black cape, black cowboy hat and mask, and a sword he made out of cardboard. very very sad.
twin jokes- this guys always draw a huge crowd. i don´t get the jokes that these twins tell, but apparently they are very very funny.
tango- why would i pay $20 to see a show when i can pay 1 peso to watch these guys? they are always dressed so nicely (the same thing everyday i might add) and smile a lot. some of them even make me like tango which means they are very very good.
it´s windy- i´m not sure how these two made their costumes, but the fabric is starched straight out at a right angle, their umbrella inside out, hanging on to each other before the wind sweeps them away. very very creative.
2 blind mice- right, so they´re not mice and they´re actually not street performers, though they do act on the street. this couple walks up and down with their canes and sunglasses with their dirty kid to guide them, going into restaurants to ask for food, i´m assuming. they usually leave empty-handed, and strangely enough don´t even use their canes. very very disturbing.
that´s a good sampling. anyone wanna join me in a street performing act? i´m still not down with the mime johnny, but you can do that and i´ll do something else. should we set up shop at the narragansett pier?
Tuesday, June 15, 2004
the guy charging me for my internet time looks like jesse and speaks spanish- how great! when i asked him (in spanish) if there were any open computers, he answered me in english- jerk! but he will not be the topic of my entire entry. it´s time to play chile vs. argentina:
1. argentina has good pastries (i.e. alfajores). chile´s pastries are deceiving, because although they look great, the taste is usually disappointing.
2. argentinian girls don´t wear underwear...or maybe it is just invisible. chilean girls wear tiny underwear. i have no idea why going commando is called "a lo gringo." i think gringos wear underwear, then again, i don´t discuss it much.
3. argentina has customer service! plain and simple, chile does not.
4. i can afford argentina. i hate when chileans think chile should seem cheap to me.
5. argentina has cute boys. again, plain and simple, chile does not. (i said it would not be the topic of the ENTIRE entry, though i have been thinking about it the whole time and wondering why the HELL argentina jesse spoke spanish to the wicked obvious gringo that came in after me.)
final score: argentina 5 - chile 0 (number 2 i think would be a point for argentina, right guys?)
1. argentina has good pastries (i.e. alfajores). chile´s pastries are deceiving, because although they look great, the taste is usually disappointing.
2. argentinian girls don´t wear underwear...or maybe it is just invisible. chilean girls wear tiny underwear. i have no idea why going commando is called "a lo gringo." i think gringos wear underwear, then again, i don´t discuss it much.
3. argentina has customer service! plain and simple, chile does not.
4. i can afford argentina. i hate when chileans think chile should seem cheap to me.
5. argentina has cute boys. again, plain and simple, chile does not. (i said it would not be the topic of the ENTIRE entry, though i have been thinking about it the whole time and wondering why the HELL argentina jesse spoke spanish to the wicked obvious gringo that came in after me.)
final score: argentina 5 - chile 0 (number 2 i think would be a point for argentina, right guys?)
Monday, June 14, 2004
i can't do the restaurant thing. however, i DID get a cup of coffee in this quick stand-up place where i had to drink alone at a counter. i pretended to watch the fútbol game though. i can´t really see (yes, present tense as in all the time), of course, so when someone asked me who was playing i was forced to blow my cover. far more impressive than my coffee (which i did manage to confuse the guy in ordering since i wanted it black but not espresso), was my trip to the waxing place today. i had no idea what to expect, so it was a little scary, but roxanna "treated" me to a fairly painless experience. now that has to be more valiente than a cheeseburger and fries at the muy fancy McCafés (yes, McDonald´s) all around here, right?
Sunday, June 13, 2004
i feel sick.
theory #1: it's from the half dozen sugar-covered croissants and syrupy coffee i've been eating. it seems to be what these skinny argentinians eat, so i figured i'd give it a shot- plus that way no one has to see me eating alone cuz i just eat on the street. i said i'd get to that restaurant thing on day 3! it's only day 2, but day 2 on the sugar and fat diet has not produced any desired results.
theory #2: it's because i've limped all over buenos aires for two days on a hip that doesn't work. i know how i did it too. i was trying to look nonchalant to all the potential robbers or friends as i was waiting AN HOUR for my bus at the bus station the other day. putting all my weight on one leg and chillin' cuz this 70 pound backpack is no big deal. nah, i don't need to put it down. let me tell you why- cuz it is way more of a hassle to pick it up again. i look ridiculous. right, and i don't look ridiculous hobbling up and down the same pedestrian mall all day.
theory #3: some of these peeps around here. i don't want to have to be the constant defender of america, nor do i want to rehash the same conversations over and over again- diarrhea of the mouth, as amanda says, nor can i stay out dancing until 8 a.m. you can meet some really interesting/weird people traveling if you want. and i guess i don't really want, but i also don't enjoy being the weird solita either.
in case this entry has left you doubtful, let me give a shout out to good old Buenos Aires. come here! come shop! but eat vegetables, pack light, and make the best of your hostel or change. i'm too chicken to venture out with that damn backpack again. ttyl. :)
theory #1: it's from the half dozen sugar-covered croissants and syrupy coffee i've been eating. it seems to be what these skinny argentinians eat, so i figured i'd give it a shot- plus that way no one has to see me eating alone cuz i just eat on the street. i said i'd get to that restaurant thing on day 3! it's only day 2, but day 2 on the sugar and fat diet has not produced any desired results.
theory #2: it's because i've limped all over buenos aires for two days on a hip that doesn't work. i know how i did it too. i was trying to look nonchalant to all the potential robbers or friends as i was waiting AN HOUR for my bus at the bus station the other day. putting all my weight on one leg and chillin' cuz this 70 pound backpack is no big deal. nah, i don't need to put it down. let me tell you why- cuz it is way more of a hassle to pick it up again. i look ridiculous. right, and i don't look ridiculous hobbling up and down the same pedestrian mall all day.
theory #3: some of these peeps around here. i don't want to have to be the constant defender of america, nor do i want to rehash the same conversations over and over again- diarrhea of the mouth, as amanda says, nor can i stay out dancing until 8 a.m. you can meet some really interesting/weird people traveling if you want. and i guess i don't really want, but i also don't enjoy being the weird solita either.
in case this entry has left you doubtful, let me give a shout out to good old Buenos Aires. come here! come shop! but eat vegetables, pack light, and make the best of your hostel or change. i'm too chicken to venture out with that damn backpack again. ttyl. :)
sup che? i´m now in buenos aires, using a keyboard that doesn´t like me so much, forgive the punctuation.
27 hours in a bus might sound like hell, but it really was more like limbo. crossing the pass was a bit of a challenge, trucks were stuck in ice all over the place, fires lit beneath them. one guy didn¨t make it= we had a three hour wait for them to clear the accident. i arrived late to mendoza, where i thought i was going to be all clever and save money by buying my ticket to buenos aires there instead of the whole trip in chile. well, all the buses were messed up because of the accident at the pass and i had to take whatever bus was left. i did make it safe and sound however.
i spent the whole day out and about the city today and didn¨t even get robbed. paranoid much? yeah well, aside from that, this is a shopping paradise, even for me who normally hates shopping. i want to buy everything, but then i remember i¨d have to carry it on my back...maybe if the stores are open tomorrow... my big news is that i went to the movies by myself! it was great! i think i may do it again tomorrow! and eventually i should work on the restaurant thing. today it was all cookies and kiosk sandwiches. one challenge at a time. later che.
27 hours in a bus might sound like hell, but it really was more like limbo. crossing the pass was a bit of a challenge, trucks were stuck in ice all over the place, fires lit beneath them. one guy didn¨t make it= we had a three hour wait for them to clear the accident. i arrived late to mendoza, where i thought i was going to be all clever and save money by buying my ticket to buenos aires there instead of the whole trip in chile. well, all the buses were messed up because of the accident at the pass and i had to take whatever bus was left. i did make it safe and sound however.
i spent the whole day out and about the city today and didn¨t even get robbed. paranoid much? yeah well, aside from that, this is a shopping paradise, even for me who normally hates shopping. i want to buy everything, but then i remember i¨d have to carry it on my back...maybe if the stores are open tomorrow... my big news is that i went to the movies by myself! it was great! i think i may do it again tomorrow! and eventually i should work on the restaurant thing. today it was all cookies and kiosk sandwiches. one challenge at a time. later che.
Wednesday, June 09, 2004
i´d love to say hello to all of you from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
but i can´t, cuz i´m not there.
yesterday i said my goodbyes, finished my requisite late night/early morning packing, and got to the bus terminal to buy a ticket to mendoza, argentina. (from there i can book a cheaper bus to buenos aires.) so the guy who sells me the ticket says, "the pass (through the andes mountains) is closed, but you can try anyway." ??? "maybe i just don´t understand," i think, "so i´ll try anyway." NO. this was another case of understanding the languague, but still not GETTING it. we got to the pass and stayed there for 2 hours before someone told us the pass was closed due to snow. so are you kidding me that there is no phone with which to relay this information? or had they actually known this already and drove the 3 hours out there just to see for themselves? the lady next to me informed me that the chile side is usually fine because they have this amazingly hi-tech machine that removes snow from the road (i.e. a snowplow), but that argentina´s version of the machine sucks and is always broken. so we turned around and went home.
what happens now? i get to go to the bus station everyday at 8:00 a.m. with all my stuff to take the bus to the pass to see if i can ever make it through. for now though, i get to enjoy a few more dreary, stinky, viña del mar days. keep your fingers crossed! or pray, if you do that.
but i can´t, cuz i´m not there.
yesterday i said my goodbyes, finished my requisite late night/early morning packing, and got to the bus terminal to buy a ticket to mendoza, argentina. (from there i can book a cheaper bus to buenos aires.) so the guy who sells me the ticket says, "the pass (through the andes mountains) is closed, but you can try anyway." ??? "maybe i just don´t understand," i think, "so i´ll try anyway." NO. this was another case of understanding the languague, but still not GETTING it. we got to the pass and stayed there for 2 hours before someone told us the pass was closed due to snow. so are you kidding me that there is no phone with which to relay this information? or had they actually known this already and drove the 3 hours out there just to see for themselves? the lady next to me informed me that the chile side is usually fine because they have this amazingly hi-tech machine that removes snow from the road (i.e. a snowplow), but that argentina´s version of the machine sucks and is always broken. so we turned around and went home.
what happens now? i get to go to the bus station everyday at 8:00 a.m. with all my stuff to take the bus to the pass to see if i can ever make it through. for now though, i get to enjoy a few more dreary, stinky, viña del mar days. keep your fingers crossed! or pray, if you do that.
Tuesday, June 08, 2004
sup y'all.
i finally made it to santiago this past weekend. stayed with an hysterical brit and her equally witty fiancé. what a trip- we had an all day complain-about-chile fest, complete with anecdotes about how everyone says they are catholic but they don´t know what easter is and light cats on fire, how everyone buys a cell phone because the public phones are impossible, how people steal and chileans seem to think things mysteriously vanish by will of God, how everything is the customer´s fault, etc. the list goes on and might make for an amusing story for another day. she treated me to REAL coffee, delicious ice cream, heavenly fish (i hate fish normally), not necessarily in that order. in the morning she even made pancakes with honey! wow.
but i am leaving chile behind for now. off to Buenos Aires tomorrow. gotta learn me some argentinian. :)
i finally made it to santiago this past weekend. stayed with an hysterical brit and her equally witty fiancé. what a trip- we had an all day complain-about-chile fest, complete with anecdotes about how everyone says they are catholic but they don´t know what easter is and light cats on fire, how everyone buys a cell phone because the public phones are impossible, how people steal and chileans seem to think things mysteriously vanish by will of God, how everything is the customer´s fault, etc. the list goes on and might make for an amusing story for another day. she treated me to REAL coffee, delicious ice cream, heavenly fish (i hate fish normally), not necessarily in that order. in the morning she even made pancakes with honey! wow.
but i am leaving chile behind for now. off to Buenos Aires tomorrow. gotta learn me some argentinian. :)
