Happy Halloween!

It's hard to get into the Halloween spirit when it's hot outside and I'm in a culture that doesn't really celebrate. Luckily, I've been inspired by the enthusiasm of my American friends, and will be going to a costume party this evening as Pippi Longstocking. Haha!!

Mismatched stripes socks + ridiculous layers of colorful skirts and dresses + classic wirey braids = Halloween miracle

Happy Halloween to all!

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UPDATE: Nov. 1st

The party was a lot of fun! I went with Andrea (who was Bam Bam from the Flinstones, and the rest of the Flinstones were there too), Ali (who was Lady Gaga's disco stick) and Claire (who was a Walk of Shame hahaha).

Anyway, it was about 7:00am by the time Andrea and I made it back to San Telmo... we got off the bus and were walking home, and a group of guys walked past us and made some unpleasant comments. As they walked ahead, I thought I felt one of them touch my bag. I looked and it had been unzipped and... my camera was gone! Given the amount of alcohol in my system and the number of hours we'd been out partying, I processed things fairly quickly... within about 30 seconds I realized what had happened and spotted the guy still walking up ahead of me. So on instinct, I ran after the guy! I don't think he expected that, because he didn't really react. When I caught up with him I just tapped him on the shoulder and said, "You stole my camera!" and he kind of stared at me, shook his head, and tried to cover his pocket, but the IDIOT, I could see my camera's chord hanging out!! So I just grabbed it out of his pocket and ran. Luckily it was broad daylight and there were other people on the street, so I felt reasonably safe from being re-attacked. I also took opportunity to yell some unpleasant comments of my own at him as I ran off. But the whole thing was insane.

The part I find most hilarious, of course, is that this all happened while I was in my Pippi costume. :-)

That's my first time being pick-pocketed, and I guess you could say it went rather well. It was quite empowering, anyway! Not to mention a good lesson for me to learn. I tend to walk around obliviously, and I suppose it wouldn't kill me to be more careful. It was such a close call, and I might not be so lucky next time.

Moral of the story-- Don't mess with Pippi.

Plane Tickets Purchased!

Yesterday afternoon, after much headache, I bought my plane tickets for Peru, Colombia, and Brazil! Sooo exciting! And nothing like putting a large sum of money on your credit card to make a trip seem very real. They are not-refundable, so it's official!

I spent a long time stressing about where I would be for Christmas and New Year, because let's face it, I may not be religious, but I can be quite sentimental when it comes to missing holidays with my family. I finally determined that I would head to La Paz, Bolivia to be with my roommate Andrea and her family (she's Bolivian/American) for Christmas and then jet up to Manizales, Colombia to be with my other roommate Diana in her hometown for the New Year.

Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way, as I couldn't find any flights from La Paz to Bogotá, without basically doubling the cost of the whole trip. So I resigned myself to flying out of Lima, and I will take things as they come. I have an Irish friend who I met here in Buenos Aires during my TOEFL course who is now living in Arequipa, Peru, and it's possible I'll go stay with him, or also possible I'll find a way to wander into Bolivia for the holiday and then back out. The exciting part is that I have no idea!!

Plane itinerary is:

December 5th-- Fly from Buenos Aires to Lima, Peru (3 weeks in Lima, Arequipa, Cuzco, Machu Micchu, and beyond)
December 29th-- Fly from Lima to Bogotá, Colombia (5 whole weeks exploring Colombia's beaches, cities, and jungle, with a likely road trip through parts with Diana and her boyfriend!)
February 4th-- Fly from Bogotá to Sao Paulo, Brazil (a week in Sao Paulo, then Rio de Janeiro for Carnival! And then who knows... I didn't buy a return ticket for a reason!)

It all feels a bit surreal, but is happening regardless, and I am acutely aware that this is probably the coolest thing I have ever done, and I need to make the most of it. Four months traveling in beautiful places. Four months with no job!! Yes, my excitement greatly outweighs my nervousness. I'll do my best to keep my blog updated with my location while I travel... I need to learn to make one of those google map "where is Erica now?" thingies....

Help me plan

Anyone who has talked to me in the past few days knows that I'm basically freeeeeaking out about all the stuff I have to do and how little time I have to do it. HALP.

Basically, somehow I have less than 2 months in Buenos Aires?!?! How can this be?? No, really, where does the time go? And basically, amidst a week visit from my sister Christie this week (yay!) and a two week visit from my friend Dave in November (yay!), I also need to apply to grad school/ financial aid/ scholarships, and figure out my entire 4 month travel plan around South America!!!! All while still working. I'm on contract and am too nice (and frankly, too in need of the recommendation) to break it.

Okay, so this is where YOU, oh loyal reader, come in. I'm talking to YOU, anyone who has ever traveled around South America. I need some tips, because I'm running into some major issues.

The biggest one is that I hate planning, obviously. I'm the kind of traveler who likes to just show up to a place, see what's going on, and take it from there. And that is exactly what I would do if it weren't for various frustrating details like...

1. Visas. I need one for Bolivia and another for Brasil, and I apparently can't get them without having proof of how I'm entering and leaving the country, which means advanced tickets. :-( Ughhhh can someone help me get around this?
2. Carnival. I want to be in Rio de Janeiro for Carnival, which is going to be AMAZING amazing amazing amazing, but before all transportation into the city around that time completely sells out, I need to book my travel... which means I need to decide which city I'll be coming from, and when...
3. Various excursions, like Machu Picchu... so expensive! And reservations months in advance, are you kidding me? Can people with experience please chime in here and tell me the cheapest and most last minute ways to trek Machu Picchu?? I don't care if it's the Inca Trail, it can be an alternate route, but I am not spending $500 on a 4 day hike. Also, the Ciudad Perdida in Colombia... anyone done it? Tips? Good/ bad?
4. Christmas and New Years... god when did I become so sentimental... I just don't want to be alone at these holidays! So I'm attempting to do very illogical things in my travel plans in order to be near people I know for the holidays... which I think might be kind of stupid. Right now it's between Colombia (where roomie Diana is from) and Bolivia (where roomie Andrea will be), if that makes any sense.

As you can see, I'm scatter-brained and a horrible planner. That being said, I am SO EXCITED about the upcoming adventures! Just could use a few tips from those who've done it to help me get into the trip planning groove.

Mochilera

My neighborhood San Telmo (my one true love in Buenos Aires) is amazing, colonial, peaceful, rustic, filled with creative young people, cheaper than most parts of town, has an off-the-beaten-path vibe... and yet is overrun with tourists. I hate admitting it, but San Telmo, let's face it, is no secret. And all day every day as I stroll my streets, go in and out of my apartment, run to the store, walk to the gym, or go to pick up an alfajor at the kiosko, I encounter groups of mochileros, backpackers, getting out of taxis, examining their maps, searching for their hostels with looks of awe, confusion, and utter GREENness on their faces.. and I think to myself, "HA! Glad I'm not you!!!"

I remember my days of backpacking in Europe in '03 or through Mexico in '05... it was a blast!... And yet there is something about having a massive backpack on your back that just screams "I'm not from here!" in a way that even my red hair and fair skin cannot compete with. It's truly been a joy to live long term in a place where I can more or less integrate, get to know the locals, and be a recognized neighborhood face, rather than just another tourist to overcharge.

As I walked home today, one of these groups was hovering around the corner from my house, clearly looking around for their hostel-- the signage is not so good in San Telmo-- and I had a moment.. THAT IS GOING TO BE ME. Oh me god, THAT IS GOING TO BE ME IN TWO MONTHS.

Panic.

No more integration. No more house keys. No more neighborly smiles from the weird hairdresser guy downstairs.

THAT IS GOING TO BE ME.

Once again, I am tossing stability, clean laundry, and my very own bed to the wind, in favor of the open road. It's a beautiful experience, one of my favorite feelings in the world, and yet stability is not an easy thing to leave behind, even if you're crazy old Me. That feeling of heading home, cooking a meal in YOUR kitchen, and getting into YOUR bed at night is something truly wonderful. And for four months, I won't feel that. Not even once. It's... well, eye-opening to think about.

In Peru, Colombia, Brasil, or Bolivia, I won't be the knowledgeable ex-pat living and working in the area, won't be someone who knows the local haunts and scenes or someone whose opinion on local matters is worth asking for-- I'll be a tourist, just like everyone else. Ugghhhh it hurts to even type it.

Going to the gym is hard enough...

I've taken to going to the gym. Months ago I was running, but then I developed those shin splints I couldn't shake, so then I sat about lazily for a few months, and in August I re-motivated and re-started the tedious process of finding a gym in San Telmo.

Oh, there are gyms in San Telmo, but they ain't pretty. It's hard enough to go to the gym when it's clean, modern, and offers plasma TV screens on every treadmill (man, I miss Healthworks). But motivating to exercises in a dirty environment? on 80s equipment? to walk on a MANUALLY-OPERATED treadmill?! Simply not happening. And yes, people, they still exits!

San Telmo gyms are where all used First World gym equipment goes to die.

The process of choosing a gym was simply ridiculous. Unlike other parts of the city that are a bit more upscale (Palermo, Recoleta, or even the downtown/Microcentro area, for example), San Telmo doesn't have any "nicer" options, so us gym rats are left with hole-in-the-wall gyms. The fancy gym chain Megatlon, for example, doesn't have a location anywhere near me. Not that I could afford it anyway.

I spent weeks going in and out of the gyms in the area trying to decide who would get my $90 pesos/ month. Most are small, dusty, and have limited equipment. One, for example, only had one treadmill and one stationary bike and weights. Another one only had treadmills that were non-electric... I don't even know how those things operate, but I'm SURE they haven't been manufactured for at least 20 years! And one of the nicest options, a big place with a pool and yoga classes, required me to get a physical examination with one of their doctors before joining, and not only did I have to pay extra for that, but the waiting list to see the doctor was over a month long. Bureaucracy!!!

I finally settled on City Gym, a short 4 block walk from my house. I like it enough and the people are friendly, but I've really had to lower the bar. The machines are often broken, and no one wipes them down (how very fancy of me to expect my machines NOT to be slimed over with someone else's sweat). There are spinning classes, and I LOVE spinning classes, but the bikes are atrocious. The bikes I'm used to in the US have knobs that you can give a couple full turns to in order to achieve a variety of different levels, but on these bikes you just barely touch the knob and the level changes from easy to impossible. It's a bit of a mess. On the upside, one of my spinning teachers plays cumbia and reggaeton music and gets up and dances in the middle of the class, which is always hilarious.

I'm sure I've developed a reputation as that red-faced red-headed foreign girl, but I think I've gone enough now that people are used to seeing me around and don't gawk quite as much. Now I do the gawking. I can't believe the boys who work out in Chucks, or worse, alpargatas. Nuts.