Home again, home again, jiggity pig

It truly felt that South America did not want us to leave. First the bus incident in Mancora, then a wonderful 10 hour delay of our flight to Buenos Aries. This layover had the added bonus of a Grippe de Cerdo scare. Everyone in the airport was wearing surgical masks (except us and the old man and small child sitting behind us coughing furiously). I have a hard enough time understanding Spanish-the last thing I need is something to make it sound more muffled! We finally caught our plane around 9pm and arrived in Argentina at 2am. I was really disappointed and felt cheated out of my last night in that great city.
The next morning we did some last minute shopping and went to my favorite empanada place, Remanio's, for one last south of the equator hot pocket and a liter of beer. Then it was back to the airport for our 10hour flight back to the EEUU.
Our flight was uneventful, aside from noticing how incredibly rude and impatient Americans (in this case stewardesses) are to people who do not speak English. It is as though we go out of our way to make foreigners feel stupid and unwelcome. I mean, if you are serving coffee and tea and a passenger asks for a cafe con leche, I would think you can figure it out without adding attitude or rapid fire questions in English to the mix. Thank god almost every single person I had dealings with in South America were kind, helpful and tried to make me feel welcome. The behavior I witnessed from the USA airline and airport workers made me a little embarrassed to be an American.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, we were completely surprised to see our friend Jason at baggage claim waiting to take us to our temporary home here in Atlanta. I know for sure our friends would go out of their way to help others, lord knows they have all bent over backward to help us throughout our incredible journey.
I know it seems as though the interesting material for this blog may have dried up, but I plan on continuing to write and keep you updated on our next adventures. Thailand? Amsterdam? the Pan American Highway? We will keep you updated!
Later!

Ciao Peru

We had an awesome time in Mancora, Peru. The town is a small surf town that makes you think what America's beaches might have been like 50 or 60 years ago. No highrises, no chain hotels, but lots of little mom and pop hostels. Ours was named WaWa's and was located about 70 feet from high tide. This was also the local surfer hangout, due to its prime location right at the point break.
Brent and I spent a lot of our time sitting in the sun, but we did get out and move a little bit. We took surfing lessons and I really loved it. How about that, a sport I like that I can get into for less than $300. Maybe not a great sport for Atlanta, but I will be in Panama City Florida for a while so maybe I will be able to keep it up. Brent took some kite surfing lessons. He learned to fly the kite very well and was able to practice in the water some, but ran out of wind and time before he could attempt the board and kite together. I went running a few times and explored the area. On the first run I headed out and ended up seeing where the real people of Mancora live. Kinda scary. I took a wrong turn at the beach an was in the middle of shanty town. No power, not sure about running water, but surprisingly neat. Still I was a little nervous being "white american girl with ipod alone" but made it thru without incident. I have found that every Peruvian I have met has been extremely friendly and helpful.
We met a fellow American at our hostel named Earl. He was traveling alone from California and we hit it off immediately. I got a lot of surfing pointers from him, as well as some really funny and interesting stories.
Our last day in Mancora was supposed to be Friday, leaving on the bus at 5pm. However, when we arrived at the terminal, we learned that it was labor day and no busses were running. You would think they might tell you this when you buy your ticket 5 days earlier. Fortunately we had wiggle room in our schedule and were able to enjoy a bonus day at the beach.
We are flying out of Lima this morning and will be spending our last night in South America in Buenos Aires. I am looking forward to seeing my adopted home again and am sad it is only for a one night stand. Well, gotta finish packing.
Later!

bring on the beach!

I have found that 4 weeks in Lima is about 3 weeks too long. The people here are amazingly friendly, the city is safe, the spanish school is well run, it's just, well, boaring. Lima is too much like any other city in the states. I have eaten more fast food and watched more tv than I have in the last 5 months. I know that is my own fault, but the other options feel touristy and like a rip off. I can't really explain it, but I know I can't wait to see some other parts of this country.
We are headed to the northern coast of Peru, to a town called Mancora, on Friday. It is a 17 hour bus trip; I look forward to looking out the window and seeing some new landscapes.
We have 3 more days of school, unless the learning god strikes me with lightening I have not learned nearly as much spanish as I thought I would. I feel that I tried really hard but language does not come easy for me. Hell, I have a hard time with english pronounciation! ( Just ask Brent the story of Cheyenne.) We hope to continue taking classes in the states because I don't want to forget everything I fought to learn on this trip. Speaking of learning it is time for class so-
Later!

In sickness and in health

On Friday Brent woke up with a sinus infection and was pretty miserable for most of the weekend. After class he came straight home and went to bed. I felt fine so Sarah and I went out for manicures and pedicures- only about $15 total! One of the girls was learning english so we had fun correcting her pronunciation of difficult words, like sausage. Listing to a young woman trying to say sausage over and over cracked us all up. She had a good time trying to fix my pronunciation as well. Sarah's pronunciation is fine, but some of the things that come out of her mouth...A 50ish balding american man came into the shop with two 20something, spanish speaking girls, one on each arm, and Sarah asks, "Are they your daughters?" Oops!
After our day of beauty we returned to the apartment to pick up Nate for dinner. We went to parque Kennedy to a restaurant we had been to before and apparently had tipped too well the last time, becuse we had 2 waitresses fighting over serving us. Unfortunately after the battle was over, the girl who won kinda sucked. Sarah and I ordered margaritias and when we got them, about 15 minutes later, they were so strong that we couldn't drink them. We sent them back for more mixer and didn't see them again until we were done eating. They tasted the same, except strangely a bit colder. Oh well.
There is a tiny bar across the street from the apartment that had a band so we stopped in on our way home and listened to a Beatles/Rolling Stones cover band. Sarah was the first to call it a night at around 12, I headed in about 1:30, and Nate headed to the casino and did not return untill 4ish! Good times.
Saturday after a late lunch we had to say goodbye to our friends. They caught a bus north to continue on their trip to Equador. Hopefully we will meet up again back in the states! Brent seems to have recovered from his illness and we will probably go out for dinner and then get ready for our last week of spanish classes, I can't believe they think I am an intermediate!
Later!

The whirlwind that is Lima

It has been a few days and we have been fairly busy. Our friends decided to prolong their stay in Lima. We have been having fun with them at night and working hard at school during the day, so something had to give- sorry!
This week we went to dinner with a couple from Lima who spoke minimal english. You would think that would make for a pretty quiet evening, but fortunately Sarah is getting pretty good in spanish and at the reduced rate of speed I was able to understand most of it, and even participate a little. We went to a parrilla in Barranco and had a great meal, I think I like the meat (especially the chorizo) better here than Argentina. Blasphemy!!!
Wednesday was the highlight of my week. After class a group of us met up and headed out for a little parapente-ing. For those of you not in the know, a parapente is similar to a parachute, a hanglider, and a kite. You stand on the edge of a cliff attached to a guy and parachute thing already full of wind. Then you take a few running steps off the cliff and you are flying! I had a great time with spectacular views and a few scary moments- my guide decided to do a few acrobatic maneuvers- and a beautiful landing 15 minutes later right back where I started. Amazing! Others, however, were not so lucky. Brent and Nate both took off smoothly but apparently had eaten too many cookies, because both of them ended up down on the beach and had to cab it back up the cliff with their guides. Needless to say they got a bit of teasing. My guide was Marco Antonio Mercado www.tandemperu.com and I would recommend him without a doubt. Interestingly, there were no releases signed before we took the jump. I have a sneaking suspicion that all casualties from this sport are drug out into the sea and never mentioned again-that would be bad for the tourist trade! Anyway our group made it back safe and sound.
The rest of the week was spent preparing for our test today. Brent and I both passed with flying colors, Brent flew a little higher than me and brought in a 94, I didn't hit the beach, but I was a bit lower with an 87.4. I am not as good as Brent in the oral section (that's what she said...ha), but do a little better with the grammer.
Tonight unfortunately Brent is not feeling well and has a bit of a fever so he will be unable to join the rest of us for a night of celebration and carousing; we will just have to have fun without him!
Later!

Felize Pascua

We spent Easter weekend with our friends in Lima, rather than heading to the beach. After many days of travel and roughing it, Sarah and Nate were very content to stay in one place for a bit. On Friday we headed to Barranco for dinner and then back to the apartment for some cards and scrabble. I lost at every game and called it a night. Brent, on the other hand, won at cards, lost at scrabble, and then decided to head to the casino around 2am. Bad Idea. We will leave it at that.
On Saturday we went down to the ocean for breakfast and looked around the mall a bit. Apparently I should stay away from either raw fish or roadside eggrolls because my stomach was not 100%. Who knew? After breakfast and a nap, Sarah and I went for a walk around and did some shopping. Last night we went to a great restaurant and listened to some music before returning home for a rematch of cards. I lost again.
We began Easter sunday getting back to our North American roots- all you can eat Sunday Brunch. I ate my weight in french toast. We are planning to go bowling this evening after a busy day of scrabble and watching the masters in spanish. Should be fun!
Happy Easter!

Semana Santa? Is he anything like Christmas Santa?

This week is Semana Santa which is the holy week leading up to Easter and apparently has nothing to do with Santa Claus. School is closed tomorrow as well as most of the stores. Since we have a long weekend ahead of us, we are going to do as the locals do and head to the beach! Our freinds are coming in on Friday, and Saturday morning we a hopping a bus to Playa Asia which is about an hour or so away.
Yesterday Brent and I went on a school excursion to the city market which is very much like a huge flea market. If you have a need for any kind of pirated brand name goods from Calvin Klien perfume to Quicksilver skateboards, this is where you go. We bought a few dvds to watch for ourselves and a bunch of kid disney type movies to give as gifts. In total we came away with 12 dvd for $12. Can't beat that, right? The only problem is...All the animated movies are in, you guesed it, Spanish. Oh well I have always thought it was easier to learn another language while you are young.
After the market, we took a cab to a new barrio called Barranco. It lies on the coast and is very scenic. We walked around for a bit and found a restaurant to sit on the deck and watch the sunset. The restaurant is named El Delfin and we had the best waiter,Louis, that I have had in almost 6 months. He helped us with our spanish and brought us samples of local dishes. We tried choclo, which is like eating the half popped kernels in the bottom of the popcorn bag, only bigger, we had our first pisco sour, some delicious ceveche, and a dessert which unfortunately I cannot remember the name of, but was like a small funnel cake with honey instead of powdered sugar. After dinner we joined the staff downstairs to watch some futbol.
Brent has been having some luck at the casino; winning another $100 soles from the house the other night. I let him go on his own, there is no sense in me loosing cash on one side while he wins it on the other.
Tonight we will probably go to the grocery story and have a quiet night at home. We need to rest up for our beach weekend !
Later!

You know you had a good time if you spend the next day in bed

Friday night was a long, fun night. We started the evening at the apartment of one of the students from school. His apartment was a little small, which was good for forcing people who don't know each other to talk and get to know each other. There was music, food and drinks, and a mix of people from school and locals as well. At about midnight the party moved to a dance club called Sargent Pepper's. It was really fun. The space was like a big courtyard with barstools and countertops in one section, and a big dance floor in another. There was also a separate room kind of outside with tables and chairs. The music was mostly from the USA, with a few latin songs mixed in. After we were all sweaty and tired we hopped in a cab and headed to a casino. Brent learned how to play a new poker game and was very successful. I, on the other hand, stuck to blackjack and had my usual bad luck. At about 5am I called it a night and walked back to the apartment. Brent didn't leave till they shut the place down at 6am!
Needless to say, our Saturday was a little slow in starting and consisted mostly of eating and sleeping. I did some laundry and we had indian food delivered.
Sunday we got off to an early start. We walked down to the Larcomar (the outdoor mall on the ocean) and had the breakfast buffet. Oh my God it has been sooooo long since we have had breakfast! Sausage, eggs, french toast- it was great. After breakfast we took a walk down to the ocean and watched the surfers. It is really easy to get lessons to learn, there are booths set up about every 50 feet were you can sign up. Brent and I are both considering giving it a try before we leave. Then we headed up to catch a double decker bus tour of the historical parts of the city outside of Miraflores (our barrio).
The downtown portion of Lima, while it has many old and beautiful buildings, is very dirty. Not with garbage or graffiti, but with the smoke from cars and buses. All the buildings had a black film on them and after we were done, I felt like I had a film on me as well. We got to see a lot of neat churches and palaces, but my favorite place was the catacombs under the monastery. There we piles and piles of bones and skulls- creepy! When we returned home we were worn out and called it a night so we would be ready for our next week of school on Monday. I have a bit of homework from class today so...
Later!

Time keeps on slippin, slippin, slippin...

Holy cow it is already Friday and we have finished a week of school! It feels like we just got to Lima yesterday. I will say we did fit in quite a lot in our first week.
We found a apartment. It is the largest and most comfortable apartment yet if you can get past the lack of ac and no balcony. There are, however, incredibly large sliding windows that open all the way and make me feel as though I should have some kind of saftey harness on every time I walk past them- we are on the 10th floor!
We have been to see 3 bands at 2 different bars playing 3 different types of music. We have made some friends and went with them to watch Peru get clobbered by Brazil in a world cup qualifier. We have walked down to the ocean to see the sunset and taken a walking tour of our barrio. I have sampled some delicious seafood, tried grilled beef heart (surprisingly good!) and drank a soda called Inca Cola which is bright yellow and tastes like pink bubblegum. Tonight we are meeting up with some friends from school to go to a party. I guess I should be saying holy cow it's only Friday!

Wanna make some money? Bring AIR CONDITIONING to Lima!

Well we committed to an apartment today, and we should finalize things tomorrow and possibly move in tomorrow as well. I have to admit, it is not my favorite becasue it does not have a balcony or AIR CONDITIONING! No one has air conditioning here. The school doesn't, the restaurants don't, the hotels don't, no one! But the place has plenty of room, internet, tv, a full kitchen, washer, and all the plates, dishes, etc. and is a short walk to the school. We will actually have enough room to have guests over for dinner, cards, drinks, etc. So, Fran and I look forward to it anyway.

We walked around yesterday after class and found ourselves looking out over the pacific ocean, full of surfers, from the cliffs just a few blocks from our apartment. It was also sunset, so it was breathtaking. This city has really surprised us. Why don't more people break out of the rut and visit places like this? It would change your whole perspctive on other governments, and people that visit us in the states. I'll just stop there.

They have really good food here! Lots of seafood, good steak, cheap lunches, 14 soles for both of us today, that is about $4 for lunch for two. You can only take $100 per transaction out of the ATM, so that is kind a pain in the ass when you need to pay rent. Oh, well, we are glad to have such a great bank that eats those fees for us, thanks Private Bank.

Fran promises more pics tomorrow!

We are in Lima. Where are all the beans?

We have been in Lima for 2 days and so far it is nothing like I expected. The city is clean and modern, the people friendly, and I haven't seen a single bean. I have however had some delicious seafood, listened to some great live music, and met some nice people of all ages in our spanish school. The only thing I would change is our housing, and Brent is working on that. Our apartment through the school is hot and does not have a real kitchen. We will be looking at apartments tomorrow.
I am very glad we decided to go back to school for our last month in South America. There is nothing like being forced to practice for 4 hours a day with people who are as interested as you are about learning. The students here are a little more diverse than in Argentina. There are the students just out of college, but there are also two women here who I am pretty sure are even older than me!
We took a brief walking tour of our immediate area yesterday, and this afternoon we are going with some classmates to a park with some kind of light show with fountains. I have no idea what to expect, but if it is anything like the rest of our trip I am sure I will be pleasantly surprised!
Later!

Lastima Dia

Today was our last full day in BA. It sucks sucks sucks sucks....sorry got on a roll there. We spent the day a little hung over because last night we hooked up with our only authentic, born here, raised here, friend at The Drink Gallery and ended up talking till 4:30 in the morning. His girlfriend was really nice (first time we have met her) she is from Finland and speaks great english but is like me as far as being timid to speak spanish. We swapped some amusing stories about misunderstandings in spanish. For instance, you would never say estoy sucio if you were trying to tell someone you were sweaty and dirty, because you would essentially be saying I am a dirty girl -wink wink. Anyway it was entertaining to have someone besides Brent to talk to.
We woke up this morning and finished our last errands. We went and bought a new duffle bag, Brent dropped off our excess luggage at the bed and breakfast, and I donated our excess clothes. I still have to clean the apartment tomorrow, but aside from that, we are ready to go.
Argentina played Venezuela this evening in a world cup qualifier so we went down to our sports bar and watched Argentina put a whupping on those whimpy commies! 4-0. There was a group of guys watch the game with their dog. Every time Argentina scored the dog went crazy! After the game the dog got on a motorcycle (and this was a big dog) and rode away with his owner the whole way down the street popping a wheelie!
As we walked home, I knew we had good karma following us when Brent found a 10 peso bill laying in the sidewalk right around the corner from our apartment. It was almost like Argentina was trying to bribe us to stay (or paying us to leave; kinda a half full, half empty proposition).
Anyway you pour it, we are off to Peru tomarrow!
Later!

The lions are pacing

Today Brent and I are trying to get everything packed up for our trip to Lima. Neither one of us wants to do it and spend a good bit of the time pacing around our small apartment, bumping into each other. The second one of us goes into the bedroom to make an attempt, the other jumps onto the computer to look up something "useful"- like do people in Peru use pepper as a table condiment? Well maybe not that obscure, but clearly the internet is being used as an avoidance mechanism.
We just have so much stuff! We didn't even buy anything! We are giving a garbage bag of clothes away before we leave and I still don't think we are going to fit everything in. We fly out of here on Sunday and tomorrow we are going to drop off a few bags at the bed and breakfast we will be staying at when we return. Thank goodness they were nice enough to let us do that, or we would have had to hire Peruvian sherpas to get our bags from the airport to our lodging. We will be staying in a shared apartment thru the school for the first week, and then we may try to find our own place. It will be nice to have a daily routine and I think fun to live with some different folks for a while.
I am not sure about internet access in Peru so I may be a bit hit or miss with the blog for the next few days. Be assured I will get back to it as soon as possible!

3 more days

I thought I might jot down the names of some of the places we have enjoyed while we have been here so at least I would have a record for the next time we come down.

Restaurants:

Las Cholas- really good chicken quesadillas, good beef tamales.

Jackie O's- excellent lamb.

El Cantones- chinese delivery. fried rice mixto is excellent. Also pollo frito con salsa de ostra.

Bokoto- favorite sushi. Buenos Aires roll particularly good.

La Fidanzata- empanadas are cheap and good expecially the cabresse. Great place to watch River play on Sundays.

Parilla Pena- best steaks.

Campo Bravo- excellent pasta dishes.

Palermo subte station- cheap tasty choripan.

Places:

La Rural- great festivals and expo venue

Nuevo Chicago- cheap neiborhood with delish street food and live music

Campo de Golf- Best course for next to nothing

Geba equestrian/ hippocampo

The countdown continues

Today I had a lesson at the farm. It was not over big jumps. In fact it was over poles on the ground. I could not do it. Could not focus. Too many things going on.
Kinda like what is going on in our lives right now. What are we going to do when we get home? What are we good at? Hell, what can we sell?!? Instead of solving all of life's questions we decided to go watch some polo and get a choripan.
Tonight we went over things we did not accomplish, and things we thought we would find here and did not, and things we thought we wanted to do and did not do. On top of Brent's list was that we did not live in a sleepy little beach town. On top of my list was that we did not find a new meaningful career here and still do not feel comfortable in Spanish. Maybe we will accomplish both in Peru, who knows. All I do know is that I will be back!
Later!

Nancy Negitivity

I am one of those people who likes to assume that things, places, or events are going to be terrible; so that when they turn out good, I am pleasantly surprised. I am trying to keep that knowledge about myself in the forefront of my thoughts as I consider our move to Lima. To be honest, I know next to nothing about Peru or Lima. Brent's feeling is that is what makes travel exciting, wheras me, Negative Nancy, is feeling like we may have made a hasty decision.
Today we sold all our unwanted books to a book buyer and picked up a copy of Loney Planet's South America Guide. Granted, South America is a large continent with many countries, so there were not a whole lot of pages dedicated to Lima, Peru. 5 pages. Most of them filled with information about the poverty levels, the constant fog, the unmetered taxis, the unsafe areas at night, ect. So, of course, I am a little freaked out. There is a reason I chose to come to Argentina and Buenos Aires in particular- it sounded (through months of research) like a great place. Even without the dose of negativity beforehand I would have been pleasantly surprised. Brent promises to go get a guide book devoted solely to Peru tomorrow. I only hope it will be full of fantastic complements so I can retire some of my fears. Come on, Peru! Surprise me!

Flashback from the past

They say sound can trigger all kinds of memory from your past. I have to agree with whoever "they" are after listening to a band from my past, Donkey. After about 2 bars of the first song I was transported back in time to when I was 25, carefree, and full of Potential. Donkey is one of the best bands I have ever had the pleasure of seeing live, yet they only lasted a few years, breaking up for God knows why. What could this possibly have to do with our trip to Buenos Aires, you might ask? Well, it is an all good things must come to an end situation. Sometimes you just have to move on.
We are headed to Peru on Saturday to continue on our journey of learning and exploring life outside of the states. I am a bit sad about leaving although I am looking foreward to meeting new people and experiencing a new culture. But... what if they like eating dinner at 6 pm and all the girls wear nothing but turtlenecks and sweatpants? You can only assimilate so much!
Tomorrow we will go back to the school where we started or language learning process and arrange for 4 weeks of classes in Lima and then book our flight and confirm our apartment. Also I am meeting with a local bookseller to sell all of our books, and later go by the salvation army and donate the clothes that I now know I will never wear again. Hopefully that will get our luggage down to a reasonable weight.
I know you can never go back, but I hope when I here the sounds of tango, or the call of an ice cream seller, I will be happily transported back to Buenos Aires, just as I was transported back to those great times in Atlanta by the music of Donkey.

Decision made

Well here it is- we are going to Lima for a month. We are going to go to school 5 days a week for 4 weeks and experience living in a different country. I have a few concerns; I feel bad about not seeing Cordoba and Iguazu Falls, and I am afraid that I won't like Lima and I will be stuck there for too long. Brent assures me that we will be back to Argentina in the near future and we should leave some stuff to see for next time. So I guess I am on board with this decision.
The major benefit for me is the chance to go to the beach. I spent most of the day online trying to find an apartment with an ocean view. The prices for apartments seem to be inline with the prices here in BA. Other good things about going to Lima are:
1. We won't have to move around once we get there- no housing hassels.
2. We will get a chance to meet up with our friends from New York.
3. Studying at the same school for the 4 weeks straight should cement some knowledge into my brain.
4. Suposedly the spanish they speak in Peru is clearer, slower, less slangy, and closer to real spanish than anywhere else in South America.
5. Lima is much further north, so it should stay warm through our stay.
If this sounds like I am trying to convince myself that this is the right decision, well I guess I am. It's funny, I thought 6 months would be plenty of time to see and do everything I wanted to do, and that I would be ready to come back to the states at the end of the trip. How could I have been so wrong!

The world's shortest blog entry

Today I finally got Brent to realize that we have to start making real plans for our last month here. He spent most of the day on the computer looking up spanish schools in Peru, Chile, and here in Argentina. We now know more than we did but still no decisions. I vote for sushi, wine and sleep and try again tomarrow!
Later!

Really? Every day?

Brent and I have been spending a lot of time trying to figure out career paths for when we return to the States. We have a few requirements for our careers, the major one being one of us has to make at least $20,000 just to cover our expenses. This fact eliminates job possibilities like taking puppies to the park, or selling friendship bracelets outside the supermarket. Unfortunately, we might be able to squeek by on Walmart pay so that has yet to be eliminated. One job that I have always thought I could do and enjoy is writing. Foolishly, in a drunken ramble last night, I let Brent in on this idea, resulting in me promising to write something on the blog every day. This means, my loyal readers, that there may be some really boring blogs coming your way. I mean, it is great down here, but everyday is not a circus. For instance- today I woke up a little foggy, had a sandwich, got dressed, Brent went to play golf, I went to ride. Blah blah blah.
Oh- but did I mention I met a girl from Sweden who is now riding out at the barn and learning Spanish? I have a new practice partner! Or the guy who rode in my lesson who has 3 horses at the barn and a good sense of humor? I have a new friend! Or the flock of 15 green parrots I walked through on my way home? Crazy nature! Huh. I guess I was wrong. Things could never get boring down here!
Later!

countdown to outtahere!

Brent informed me tonight that we have exactly 10 days left before we leave BA for parts unknown. I have to admit it depresses me a bit; I love this city. Tomorrow we will be making our final reservations for school in Chile on the coast and Cordoba in central Argentina, not to mention our side trip to Iguazu Falls.
Last weekend was relatively uneventful, we went to the park to study spanish on Saturday, and on Sunday we went to Codigo Pais Festival. What that basically entailed was a $20 peso ticket to go see Atlanta College of Art and Design's Fall Fling. There was some really bad statuary, "outsider art" graffiti, and a bunch of clothing designers selling painted jeans. The photography was pretty good though. It made me think that we could put something like that together in Atlanta pretty easy and make some money. Brent wanted to try to make some money here by simply standing next to the ticket booth and telling every guy who came up to give him $10 pesos to tell him not to go in. Win- win situation; you saved $10 pesos and didn't have to waste your time looking at women's homemade purses and headbands! We left and went to watch some futbol. Much more entertaining!
Later!

Winos on wheels

We are back in BA after a great trip to Mendoza for the wine festival. We flew in to meet up with our friends from New York and do a little sight seeing on the west side of the country. Overall the trip was fantastic, but it began rather dubiously. The hostel we had reserved was scary. I mean, I've stayed for a week at the Knights Inn in Lexigton, KY and this was worse by far. The paint was pealing, the beds were sagging, the carpet was threadbare, and I think there may have been a homeless man sleeping in the corner under a pile of rags. Needless to say, we found a nicer, although more expensive place to stay, the Hotel Zamora.
There was alot to see and do while we where there. The first day Brent and I rode bikes around the city and its fabulous parks. I hate to keep bringing it up, but why doesn't America have nice parks? This place was huge, with a big lake where people were rowing sculls, a paved trail up a mountain, a zoo, soccer fields, golf, horses, you name it. We had great weather and had a fantastic time. Later that night we met up with Nate and Sarah and went to a parrilla for dinner. The service was great and we got to try something new- teet! What is teet? You might recognize it by it more common name, udder, or maybe cow booby. It tasted a bit like tofu or a spongy piece of fat. I wouldn't recommend it but it was not horrible.
The next day we went on the bike wine tour. Fantastic! Basically they give you a bike and a map and you go at your own pace thru the vineyards. We sampled some fine wines and got an education on how they were produced. Towards the end of the bodega trail some of us would have paid money to throw their bikes in the back of a pick up truck and hitched home, but I won't mention any names. Anyway, we made it back to the bike rental place and then the day took an unexpected turn. We sat around the rental place and had a few beers and then realized that it was getting dark and we were the only people besides the workers left there. We asked one of the guys to call us a cab. About 5 minutes later a guy and a girl pull up in a jeep truck thing with 2 seats in the front and like a pickup all open in the back. That was our ride! We got in, along with the rest of the workers and headed back to the city. We made one stop along the way for gas and beer, the whole time the stereo is blasting The Doors. We tried to explain to the guys that if they did this in the States we would all be in jail. I love Argentina!
The next morning we were off to go rafting. The weather was a little overcast, but they put us in really attractive (NOT) wet suits so I wasn't cold. The river itself was really fun with rapids the entire way. Afterwards we ate lunch at the outpost. There were some guys there from England whose raft had completely flipped over during the trip. Their guide, trying to show off a bit, attempted to open their beers for them but ended up shattering 2 liters of beer and sending a shard of glass into one of the guys arms. Blood and glass everywhere. That evening we saw the parade of queens. Every grape producing town had a float and if was a bit like Mardi Gras without the boob flashing.
Our final day was pretty low key (thank God!). We got together for lunch, went and saw a movie, and then did snacks, wine and cards. I could not win to save my life but had a great time. We called it an early evening (1:30) and went to bed because we had to get up for our flight back home at 5:30. Mendoza Rocks!

I'm feeling awkward

Brent and I spent our last week golfing, riding and taking spanish. On Saturday I found a free tango concert next to the planatarium that I invited a girl I met named Mary from Germany/Ireland to meet us at. The music was amazing with old guys(maestros) on the accordian, piano and crazy chicks singing their lungs out. Apparently a good voice is not a requirement for fame in tango. Anyway, we hooked up with Mary and went to dinner and had a greatly intersante conversation about politics. Fantastic evening. Unfortunatly she is leaving on Thursday to go back to Germany.
On Sunday we had every intention of going to a polo match butwe were rained out.. Instead we went to our many local bars and watched every soccer game played. Our first team, River Plate lost big time , but our second team, Boca, were the winners in their game.
After soccer, we went to a local bar "The Soul Cafe" and Brent immeadiatly went to the bathroom.. While he was gone these three guys had this bet going on about pick up lines; the line of the night was "I'm feeling awkward". They tried it on me to see what the response wound be... it was laughter. When Brent got out of the bathroom, there was a armwresteling contest, and yet another dicussion about pick up lines. I was ready to go, so we headed out to the patio to smoke another cigerette. While we where there, a really cute girl was walking outside to follow Brent and neglected to open the door befored trying to come outside. I havent laughed that hard in a long time. Once we got home Brent wanted to go to bed, but instead he went out to get a bottle of beer and some smokes. The kiosko said it was too late to buy beer, so he only got smokes, but contnued on to one of our local bars and was able to convince them to sell him beer after hours. YEAH! His skills are getting scary. Until next time, oh yeah, he may want to race dirt bikes when he gets home.

Rain, rain, go away.

We had a cold, windy, and rainy weekend with not a whole lot to do. It ended up to be a good thing because we had the time to figure out what we wanted to do with the rest of our trip. My main goal of coming down here was to learn spanish, of which I grossly underestimated the difficultly. After talking, Brent and I decided to take our last month here (April) and give it one more intensive try. We are going to take two weeks of 4 hour a day classes in Santiago, Chile, and one week of classes in Cordoba. Also in the month of April we will be going to Igazu Falls, which is supposed to be fantastic. Even before that (as in next Monday) we will be taking a plane to Mendoza to see the Andes Mountains and all the amazing vineyards in the area. I may even paraglide while I am there! Our friends from New York are going to be there and we are looking foreword to hearing all of their travel stories.
Tommarow we will be going to the Spanish school's Buenos Aires office and seeing what deals we can swing. Speaking of swinging- afterwards, Brent is playing golf and is in a private team beer tournament. Wish him luck! I will be taking a riding lesson and cleaning house and waiting to welcome the conquering hero home.
Later!

Victory is mine!

Sunday was an excellent day. I was in my first horseshow outside of the United States! Brent and I walked over to the barn around 11am and found my trainer. We found some good seats in the stadium and hung out for a bit (yes, you still have to wait around, just like a show at home). I was in two jumper classes, one at 1.0 meter and one at 1.10 meter. Fortunately I was unable to convert meters into feet or I may have chickened out. Well In the 1 meter class I think I got either 1st, or 2nd out of about 12. They don't use regular ribbon colors down here so it was kind of hard to tell, I thought I was second, but then they made me lead the victory gallop, so who knows? I had the first rail in the second class so no ribbon but a ton of fun.
After the show Brent went home and I went back to the barn to help put the horses away, and to ride one of my instructor's sale horses. Unfortunately, said horse and I had a small misunderstanding on the correct way to ask for a lead change and I was put in my place, which is apparently on my ass on the ground. I am fine, just a bit stiff. We communicated much better over the jumps- REALLY NICE HORSE.
After a shower, Brent and I took a bus back to the Feria de Mataderos and had a great time. We saw street musicians, folk dancers, a marching band and many fights with silly string. We sat down to get a sandwich and ended up talking to a group of Argentines about North American music (and I use the term "talking" loosely, I understood maybe 25% and Brent was about 40%). Whatever we said must have been what they wanted to hear because one guy gave us a copy of his band's cd. I think Brent might have accidentally said he knew Frank Zappa personally, rather than saying he knew who Frank Zappa was - a cause for much excitement and statements of undying fan loyalty. We took lots of photos and I will get after Brent to add them to the blog.
Later!

New people, new oportunities

This past week has been a week of change. Our good friends from Texas got an opportunity to start a restaurant in Galveston TX and cut their trip here short. We will miss our partners in crime. We went to their apartment to say goodbye and it was like Christmas! They were kind enough to give us their cell phone, books, and a hair straightener, among many things they won't be taking back to the states. Thanks guys!
Our spanish teacher, Carlos, left for vacation this week, so we started class with a new instructor, Marco. Our first lesson was great, with lots of conversation exercises and even some homework. I am looking foreward to next week's lesson.
Brent played golf with a new guy on Thursday, and surprise- he was Brent's age, not 80! After golf we all hung out at the apartment for a bit and then went to dinner. He has been here for a year and plans to stay for another year so Brent will have a golfing buddy for a while. Its nice to have someone to ask advice on where to travel and what not to miss.
I took 2 riding lessons this week, and today my instructor Leo asked me to show one of their horses in a show on Sunday! I am excited for the opportunity, and also a bit nervous.
Tommarow is Valentines Day and Brent and I plan on going to the park for the day and then a nice dinner. Should be fun!
Happy Valentine's Day to you all!
Later!

Just your average weekend in Buenos Aires

Our Friday started normally enough. I went running in the morning, had a riding lesson in the afternoon, picked up the laundry, and made a rather blah pasta for dinner. I was pretty tired and thought I would make it an early night. Then we got invited out to try our luck at the Puerto Madero Casino.
As Brent and I got in the cab to go, I jokingly said to Brent, I hope you brought your key because I am not staying out till 4 in the morning!
At the casino, which is a huge riverboat with 4 floors and games of every type, we met our friends at the blackjack table. They had been there a while and were beating the house. Brent and I sat down and I discovered that I am just as unlucky in spanish as I am in english. It was a ton of fun. There was one strange man playing at our table. He kept saying something in Italian, grabbing his shirt under one armpit, and then pointing at my friend Deidre. Weird. Oh and later that night Brent, Deidre, and I were getting a drink and talking at the bar next to the roulette table and the same guy stood up from the table and shushed us! I don't think I have been shushed since I was 12 years old in Sunday school. I had to look around just to make sure we were still in a casino bar!
We called it a night and got into the cab to go home, and guess what time it is? 4:30.
Saturday consisted of sleeping and eating and watching the bootleg dvd's we bought 3 for 10 pesos in the subway.Two of the movies, 7 pounds, and Benjamin Buttons, were copies of the film sent out for reward consideration. The third movie, Operation Valkrie, was filmed by someone at the theater. You could see people getting up from their seat, and the guy filming kept coughing and wiggling. Too funny.
Sunday we woke up renewed and decided to check out the Matameros Fair. We took the #55 bus from Plaza Italia and got there around 3 o'clock. Unfortunately they were having a special Carnival event and the fair wouldn't open until 7. So we found an outdoor cafe next to a band and had a snack. While we were sitting there, a couple of girls sat down next to us and we started talking some in english and some in really poor spanish. Turns out that one of the girls is a golf equipment salesperson and almost a professional golfer. The other girl works for a television station as a set designer. I think she designs the set for a soccer talkshow on channel 11- but that's where the really poor spanish may have misled me.
After chatting for a while, we got in their car and headed to Boca to watch the game in a old school bar with some old school fans. Boca won and we headed to Palermo for dinner. We had a great time, spoke more spanish than I ever have, and hope to see a game in person sometime soon!
Later!

I'm Julie, I'll be your cruise director.

For those of you who are The Love Boat fans, you will recognize that line. We have had friends visiting for the last two weeks and had the chance to tour Buenas Aires and its surroundings with fresh eyes. Hopefully our guests had as much fun as we did, and Brent and I did an ok job as "Julie".

We got a chance to take the boat to Colonia, Uraguay while our friends were here. We rented scooters and saw the town and beaches. Unfortunately, the weather was overcast, windy and rainy, so the city wasn't as charming as it could be. Also, if you plan on heading over, tourist class is perfectly fine. Don't pay extra for first class unless you just have money to burn. And when you get off the boat in Uraguay, DONT throw away your boarding pass! When you try to get back on the boat to go home they will ask for your old pass and get pretty bent out of shape if you can't supply it! Overall- we are legal in Argentina for 3 more months!

We had better luck with the weather when we took our friends to Tigre. We went on a Sunday and there were a ton of people, but not so many to make it uncomfortable. When we got off the train we headed to the market (which is huge by the way) for some souvenir shopping. Brent saw some really great looking cowskins for cheap so I am sure we will go back to the market before we come back to the states. He thinks cowskins are going to be the next Members Only jacket or pet rock and wants to try to fill a suitcase with them to sell at home. I'm sure Customs will have no problem with that! After the market we rented a water taxi for a tour of the delta. The boat was small enough, and the river high enough, that we were able to go thru some really small and beautiful canals. The taxi took us to the Alpenhaus Restaurant and Hotel, where we had a great lunch on the river and did some people watching. I think if we moved to BsAs permanently I would have to be friends with someone who had a river house!

We really enjoyed playing tour guide and seeing our friends from home, but I am a bit worn out. I need a vacation from their vacation!
Later!

Chino, Ingleterra, y Los Estados Unidos

We have had a lot going on since last I blogged! We have a new apartment, I went riding at a new barn and met an interesting person, we experienced Chinese New Year in Barrio Chino, had a house guest, and are expecting friends from the States this weekend!
Our new apartment is located about 4 blocks from the old one so we were able to stay in Las Canitas. The new building is huge and very new. The complex has a nice pool, a workout room, laundry, and a bbq area. The only drawback is that the apartment is a bit smaller and desperately needs some balcony furniture. The pool area is pretty busy and I hope I will be able to meet people in the building.

Last Sunday our friend Deidra, Brent , and I went down to Chinatown for Chinese New Year. We got to see lots of dragon dancing, fireworks, crazy street venders selling all the crap like ceramic golden cat statues, chopsticks, fans, and anything else that you might expect to have Made In China stamped on the bottom. The food was amazing. I tried everything they were selling. My favorite was a deep fried glob of dough with some kind of vegetable. Seriously good. While we were there we ran into Dedra's spanish teacher. He seemed really nice and we will probably get some lessons from him while our teacher is on vacation.

Our friend and roomate from Bariloche came into town this week and is staying with us before her return to England. We have really enjoyed hearing about what she has been up to since we last saw each other. She has been spending time traveling the country and stayed in Mendoza, Cordoba, and visited the falls. And an added bonus- she's cooking dinner for us tonight!

Finally, Our friends Chad and Nicci are arriving on Sunday to spend a week or so with us. I am really looking forward to showing them around this city that I have grown to love!

Chill Dude!

Wow, it feels good to get back to writing again. Fran thinks she has taken over the blog. I guess she has for a little while. Well, as you may have read in Fran's previous blog, she is getting a little bored and paranoid. We have now reached the point where we are not freaking out about where we live, where to buy food, how to get money, how to speak the language, or where the hell to find things in the city. Just the point you are praying to get to when you move to another country. So, now what do we do? That is what Fran has been freaking out about for over a week now.

I have met a local attorney who is origionally from Peru, so he speaks spanish and a fair amount of english, and we get together for golf about twice a week now. He usually invites two more players, so far a few Argentines and a Frenchman, and we play 18 then hit the club bar for a round of drinks and conversation. So each week, I get two additional spanish lessons, golf, and drinks with the "boys", all for the incredible price of about $40 including rental clubs, greens fees, and drinks. So, I must say, I am feeling very positive about Buenos Aires.

Now I know this is not benefitting Fran much, so I have gotten to work. On the agenda:
1. Find her a new riding club- her old one sux!
2. Rent a car and find a place to picnic and see the finish of the Dakar ralley just outside Buenos Aires.
3. Make arrangements for our friend Louise to visit between Jan. 20-24 before she heads to England.
4. Encourage all you people back in the states to come visit!
5. Make a required trip to Colonia, Uraguay to renew our visas and do some day trippin'.
6. Hit the beaches of Villa Gesell again.
7. Book a trip to Iguazu falls.
8. Book a trip and all the acommodations and and fishing trip, wine tour, etc to Mendoza.
9. Head back to Tigre for some R&R at a private club on the river.

I think we are doing fine. If anyone has a suggestion, let me know!!

The parks here are really nice, and you have to let the ladies win sometime or bad things tend to happen ya know.

Like the sands of the hour glass...

I am one of those glass half empty people. I'm happy and cheerful most of the time but in the back of my mind I am usually waiting for something to go wrong or worrying about something. I have a hard time "living in the moment". Brent, on the other hand, lives in the nanosecond. I guess that is what makes us a good team. I only bring this up because, as is my nature, I have begun worrying that we are not going to have enough time to see and do everything I want to. Are we going to fly to see the falls? Are we taking a bus to Mendoza? How long are we going to stay there? Should we see Salta, or go to Cordoba? How about Uruguay? It gets a bit overwhelming, especially when Brent's opinion usually is "whatever you think." But then again, it is free rein to do whatever I want. Hmmmn...

This week has had its ups and downs. I went from my first experience of homesickness, to never wanting to leave here. (That is until Brent reminded me that they do have Winter here.) We upped our spanish lessons to three times a week, which I am sure will help a lot. We found a new grocery store nearby that has amazingly cheap meat. I bought 2 huge tbone steaks at least an inch thick for $11 pesos! (that's less than $4 US) I have been cooking at home lately and have mastered the steak in a frying pan. I am pretty good with scallops as well. Cooking is kind of a challenge when the oven has only one temperature-f**ing hot, but yet doesn't have the broiler feature. There are 2 frying pans, one tiny, the other huge, and no sauce pans. Just call me the magic chef.

We went to our corner bar on Thursday to watch the college football finals. The game started here at 11pm. I made it thru the first 3 minutes of the 4th quarter and had to call it a night. It was, afterall, 3am! I hate Florida and didn't want to see them win anyway. Also, I am still in my January's Two Weeks Of No Alcohol so it got a little tedious being so close and yet so far. Brent made it through to the end and is not participating in January's Two Weeks Of No Alcohol, so he was a bit out of it in our spanish lesson at 9am Friday!

Yesterday we spent in the park. I packed a picnic, Brent carried the blanket, and we hung out under the shade trees watching the paddleboats on the lake and people trying to learn how to rollerblade- always good for a laugh. Oh, and I woud be remiss if I didn't let you know that I beat Brent so bad in Scrabble that he just quit rather than playing it out to the end. Big baby!

2009's brief bitch and moan

I figure everyone is allowed to complain about their circumstances at least once a year, regardless of what those circumstances may be. So realize that I know that I am in a fantastic country, with wonderful weather, friendly people, cute husband, and essentially, aside from a few dishes and some laundry, a life of lesiure. But...

I miss my dog, my parents, and my friends. I miss Michalob Ultra. I miss tampons with applicators. I miss being able to speak to strangers, and I miss being able to explain what I need to people who could help me. I think it sucks that all the riding instructors at the barn are on vacation for a month. But the MAIN THING I miss is sleep!!!

Those of you who know me know that I had cancer and while I am fine now, I am required to take Tamoxiphin (sp?). Unfortunatly one of the side effects seems to be either freezing to death or sweating my ass off. Needless to say, it makes for some restless nights. If anyone has heard of anything that lessens these side effects let me know!

There you have it, my 2009 bitch and moan. Now for the good stuff! We took another spanish lesson from Carlos and concentrated on conversation. Brent and I both felt like we got a ton out of it and have upped our lessons to twice a week. Last night we had a farewell dinner at a delish restaurant with the 2 couples we did New Years with. Sara and Nate left today to head to the Southern portion of the country. We are going to try to hook up in Mendoza for the wine festival in March. It was a beautiful day today and we went to one of the parks and layed out in the sun. It was very relaxing, except for a small bird which tried to take Brent down. Fortunatly I was there to help him fend off the beast. Brent has golf tomarrow and I think I'm going to hit the art museum.

Ok, looking back I'm sure you are thinking she sooo has no reason to complain, and well, you would be right!
Later!

New Years Eve like the locals

Brent and I spent New Year's Eve with our new friends from Texas at thier apartment with another couple from New York. Here in Argentina, New Years is more of a family holiday where friends and family go over to each other's homes and have buffet dinner, play games, drink a bit, and shoot off or watch others shoot off fireworks. We followed that format to a tee and ended up having one of the most laid back and fun NYE ever. I didn't have as much to drink as Brent, who couldn't remember the cab ride home and was a bit sluggish the next day.
On Jan. 1 we went back to good ole USA traditions and met at a expat bar for a full day of burgers, nachos, and bowl games. I ate and drank as much as humanly possible to prepare for diet, exercise, and no drinking January. Hopefully by Feburary I will be able to fit into my clothes again.
Yesterday Brent and I walked down to the staging area for the Dakkar Rally. This race usually takes place in Africa in the desert, but due to terrorist saftey issues it was moved to Argentina and Chile. There are all different classes of racers, from motorcycles and 4 wheelers, to jeeps and suvs, all the way to huge trucks. The trucks facinate me. They aren't little pickup trucks, they are closer to big rvs or schoolbuses. They have crazy big tires and are just so random. It wouldn't have suprised me if they had a garbage truck division.
This morning I took another lesson from Leo, which went well. I am going back tomarrow to ride some of the barn's horses that need exercise, which may turn into a permanent gig!