...e iré lejos, como un bohemio...

I've made some big, big, BIG life decisions recently, so listen up, peeps!

First of all, my biggest news of all is that I've decided to apply to graduate school at the School for International Training (SIT) in Brattleboro, Vermont for Fall '10. Yes, this means that if I get it (fingers crossed please!) I will be gracing you all with my presence back in the NE. The program would be a 1-year Masters in International Education, the focus being on managing international education/study programs, which many of you know that 1) I've wanted to do for a long time, and 2) well, I'm kind of perfect for. :-) So I'm very excited to have discovered this program, and will be working on getting my application in ASAP!

Also, I'll be leaving Buenos Aires, basically for good, the first week of December. This is something I've gone back and forth about forever... do I stay? do I go? keep trying? will it get better? will I learn to love it? Frankly, the past 7.5 months that I've been here have been bittersweet. I've learned so much, grown and changed so much, and gained incredibly valuable life experience, and I wouldn't change that for anything. However, it's also taken its toll on me. The people aren't what I'd --ahem-- wished they would be. It's not an open, friendly place. I have my friends, most of whom are from other countries like me, and I love them to death. But it's a lonely life here. I never quite fit in, never quite made it totally work. Every day has been a challenge with work life, cultural issues, people, and just general navigation of my daily life. And challenges are good, and its been good for me in many ways, but I think I've gotten what I can out of this experience, and it's time to move on. I just never fell in love with Buenos Aires the way I guess I hoped I would.

So, this is not bad news! It's actually very exciting. After spending this whole year teaching (and really loving it in the end), I feel so confident about this decision, and so ready to take on whatever life throws at me next. I am a strong believer that everything happens for a reason, and that each decision we make, each turn we make when the road divides and we choose our path, is right. It's right, even when it's wrong. Because as the old saying goes, "when one door close, another door always opens." I live my life by this philosophy, and it's taken me this far.

My next adventure is (well, after I turn in my grad school application, of course) to do a long trip around South America. It's such a huge, diverse continent, with so many amazing things to see an do, and I want to soak up as much as possible before I go. Because who knows when the next time I will be passing through S. America will be! I've decided to travel for approximately 4 months, December-March, then popping back into BsAs for my good byes (and to get my stuff) and then heading back to the States around mid-April.

The very-tentative-and-very-subject-to-change plan is to visit both the northern and southern regions of Argentina, Peru, Colombia, Brasil, and Bolivia. My friend Dave will be down for a visit in November, and we'll go to Patagonia together, thus checking that off the list! So the rest will happen Dec-March, and will probably go in the order I listed them. I want a full month in Colombia and another full month in Brasil, I want to climb Machu Picchu, I want to explore Bolivia, I want to spend Carnaval in Rio! I want to do a lot. And you know what, I'm young (for a little while longer!) so why not?

Travel is worth going totally broke for.

So that, my friends, is my grand update. I welcome any and all suggestions you have about my travels, and any feedback you have on these new plans and ideas! I'm very excited, nervous too, but mostly just happy to throw my backpack on and do some serious traveling, and then see my friends and family back in the States again. By the time I get back in April, 14 months will have passed. I think that's plenty.

Love to all!

The Illegal Immigrant Goes to Uruguay

I just got back last night from an awesome 3 day trip to Montevideo, Uruguay! As most of you know, I need to leave Argentina every 3 months to have my tourist visa renewed for another 90 days, so that I can continue to stay here. This isn't "legal," per se, but it's the closet thing I have. As in, I'm allowed to be here, but I'm not supposed to be... ahem... working...

Anyway, 3 months ago I told you of my journey to the lovely, quaint, and kind of boring Colonia, Uruguay, the closest option for those of us needing to get our passports stamped. This time, I decided to be just slightly more adventurous and check out Uruguay's capital city of Montevideo. I'm happy to report that it was a great decision, and well worth the additional money I spent.

Not only was this my first time in Montevideo, but it was also my first time making use of my Couchsurfing membership. As I made the plans, some people advised me not to to trust the site, while most people encouraged me to be my usual adventurous self and give it a shot. The premise of the website is that it connects travelers with other like-minded individuals who are willing to offer their couch for the night, or if they can't offer that, will often offer to show you around their city while you're there. People can leave each other references, both positive and negative, to tell others of their experiences, and can "vouch" for other members to help prove their trustworthiness. Although there is room for error, overall it is a site that seems to attract really buena onda people from all over the world. I'm excited to be a part of their community, honestly.

Anyway, I joined last year at some point, but have never actually used it, neither to host someone nor to be hosted. Several weeks ago I began contacting people living in Montevideo who were offering their couches, and of the 4 people I wrote to, all 4 wrote me back saying they'd be happy to host! After asking a few more questions and chatting over email, I finally decided to stay with a guy named Pablo, who seemed like he'd be a fun person to get to know, and seemed willing to show me around. Turns out I couldn't have made a better choice!

I purchased the cheapest possible travel option, a $280 AR peso round trip ticket through Buquebus by boat and bus, each way involving 3 hours by boat between Buenos Aires and Colonia, and another 2.5ish hours by bus between Colonia and Montevideo. It's actually quite a pleasant trip, with both the boat and bus offering nice comfortable seats to fall asleep in. The boat ride even had live entertainment both ways! I mean, I slept through it, but still, it was an option.

Anyway, I'd canceled my Friday classes for the trip, and left Friday morning, arriving around 3:00pm Friday afternoon. As Pablo wasn't getting off work until later, I killed a few hours alone in the city. I hopped a bus and took it through the center and down into the Ciudad Vieja (Old City), where I jumped off and wandered the streets for a while. I stopped to enjoy Plaza Independencia...



and Plaza de la Constitución...



...before planting myself in a café to enjoy a steaming hot café con leche and to read my book. A perfect afternoon.

Later that evening, I met up with Pablo and his brother, Gonzalo, and hung out with them in their cute apartment for several hours, just getting to know them. Gonzalo is a 22 year old economics student, Pablo is a 29 year old software engineer, and quite a well-traveled one at that. It's no wonder we got along so well. We discussed the finer points of Uruguayan society, in particular how much better Uruguayans are than Argentines (ha!), and debated who had invented what. Who invented dulce de leche, the Uruguayans or the Argentines, for example? Well, let's just say there are two sides to every story. ;-)

The 3 of us headed back down to the Ciudad Vieja for some beer and pizza mixed with some great live Brasilian music and salsa dancing. We had a blast, and I enjoyed hanging out in the Montevideo social scene, one that for me was super fun and much more laid back than what I'm used to back in Buenos Aires.. it was a welcome change, to say the least. My first impressions were that the Uruguayans are more polite, more respectful, and the population is more diverse. I felt like I fit in better there.

It was freezing cold all weekend, and I don't have a proper winter coat with me down here, but that didn't stop Pablo and I from spending all day on Saturday riding his and his brother's old beat up bikes through the city and all along the Rambla (the coast). We must have gone about 20 kms total that day. We enjoyed some time at Parqué Rodó...



...and we checked out a nice big chunk of the Montevideo coastline, facing the beautiful (well, on the Uruguay side, anyway) Rio de la Plata River...





...hung out and smiled, even though we were freeeeezing...



...saw their lighthouse, which I expected to be huge and was this tiny little thing...



...and of course the Yacht Club. Not to be missed.



While in BsAs the river is a yucky brown poo color, in Uruguay it is actually blue! Go figure.

The only bad thing all weekend happened Saturday night when Pablo got mugged. Ughhhh oh man it was awful. It's funny, because I've been in Buenos Aires for 6 months, and so far (knock on wood, ugh) I haven't had any problems. And Uruguay is a "much safer" country. However, on my second day there, I experienced my first mugging. Funny how life works.

We were walking home from the bar around 2:30am (not too late, by S. American standards), and a group of 3 guys walking toward us walked straight up to him and said they had a weapon (probably not true, but still), that there were 6 of them (I only saw 3, but still), and to give them all his money. So he did, and after a few minutes they ran off. The weird thing is that they didn't even look at me, an obviously foreign girl carrying a purse. It was like I wasn't even there. I didn't even realize what was happening at first because it all happened so fast, but suddenly I put it all together in my head and felt a surge of panic. I couldn't figure out why they weren't talking to me, but I was trying to figure out what I'd do if they did. Luckily I never found out. But poor Pablo had all his money taken. I was pretty shaken up by the whole thing so we headed home... he seemed so calm about it too, which was possibly the freakiest part of all. It's sad that we live in a world where this stuff is s normal that people don't even freak out when it happens to them.

Anyway, I only had a couple hours on Sunday before my bus left, so we spent the early part of the day wandering through parque Rodó again, which turns into a huuuuuge feria on Sundays, selling everything you could possibly think of, and much more. I went off in search of the exact mate I'd seen Gonzalo sipping on all weekend, a lovely, perfectly round one made of calabaza and covered in leather, with a metal rim. I found the same guy he'd gotten his from, and splurged on one for myself... I love it!

Have I mentioned the best, and possibly most distinctive thing about Uruguayans?? Their mate habits! Argentines love their mate, but I think Uruguayans might even more! Nearly everyone you see on the street is walking around sipping their mate in their hand, and has their thermos of hot water cradled under their arm. I adore that. Now there is a habit I'd like to bring back to the States with me!



Overall I had such a nice time, and by the end of the trip I was soooo not ready to leave. And now that I'm back, I wish I were still there. It was too short. Next time, I'll go for a whole week. It was fun, relaxing, enlightening, just what I needed.

Montevideo, I don't care what the Argentines say, I'm a fan.

What will become of me???

The eternal question-- where will I end up?? Those who know me best can attest that this is a very tough question for me. I just really, really, really don't know. And although the "not knowing" is what can make life exciting, it's also what makes it a bit scary.

I've been thinking a lot lately about what to do next year. I don't need to decide yet, but it's nice to get the ball rolling in the decision-making section of my brain.

I've also been thinking a lot lately about travel, and how I've got the bug big time. I'm 28 years old, and I'm not getting any younger. I feel like now is the time. I have a lifetime goal of visiting every Spanish-speaking country in the world. I am in South America! I want to write more... I want inspiration. I want to explore. I want to climb Machu Picchu, and relax on the beaches of Colombia. I want to learn first hand how to say "what's up" in every Spanish-speaking country's local slang. (For example: Cubans say "Qué bolá?" which is unique to them. I find this sort of thing fascinating.) I want to travel like I mean it.

It's true that I tend to change my life plan almost every day, but I have yet another tentative one I thought I'd just throw out there for you to comment on. I'm thinking:

1. Work my various teaching jobs in Buenos Aires through November, which is more or less when the regular school year ends.
2. Spend the month of December traveling around Argentina-- it's a huge country! I want to explore Patagonia for a few weeks, and also head north to Salta. For Christmas, maybe I'll head back to BsAs, or lounge on the beach in Mar de Plata.
3. Spend January and February living in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A couple of my lady friends down here and I are talking about renting a place there, and well, I'd be crazy to pass up the chance. I was thinking I could spend the summer there for those 2 months, and enroll in some Portuguese classes. It's high time I learned a 3rd language. Plus, it's like a dream to be in Rio for Carnival!!! Yesssss.
4. Head to Peru and climb Machu Picchu in early March. Take my time. Contemplate a culture that allows its people to pee and poo in the streets. Eat some quinoa, and take some amazing photos.
5. Head home for a visit in the United States from late March-April... yay! I'll hit up Boston, Westport, and Philly, so no one feels left out. Plus, I'll be there for Christie's, my mom's, Natalia's, and my birthdays, and I may even be able to make it to Amanda and Joe's wedding!!!! (see?? I didn't forget you guys.)
6. Move to... WHERE??? At the end of April... to continue teaching.

This is the big question mark, people! WHERE?! Hence the big poll I've set up at the top of the blog. PLEASE VOTE. I am really, genuinely interested in your opinion. Let me explain the choices:

1. New York City-- I'm just not feeling ready to fall back into the rhythm of Boston or Philadelphia. I'm sorry! But I could use a new adventure, and I figure NYC is between my two "home" cities, between the 2 sides of my family (my mom is in MA and my dad is in Philly), and could be a happy medium for heading back Stateside. However, I am not totally sold on this idea. Oh man, the thought of moving to NYC actually scares the living &*$# out of me, but in theory I'm willing to consider it.

2. Brazil-- I'd looooove to live in Brazil! I hear it's amazing, and the people are just so damn likable. The only problem is the visa situation-- I'm not sure I can get one. :-/

3. Italy-- I think a lot about moving to Europe! And although Spain is tempting, I think I might like to try something new. To everyone's surprise, I am actually half Italian (thanks, Dad!) and speak a minimal amount of Italian. It would be an incredible experience to live in Italy for a while, improve my Italian and experience such an incredible culture. Not to mention, eat eat EAT!

4. Mexico-- Most of you know that I left my heart in Mexico years ago. I'm not finished with Mexico, and my soul knows it. Sometimes I dream about living there again. Sometimes it seems like the most obvious choice. Mexico is one of my favorite places in the world. Perhaps it is my destiny. I can't explain the draw, but I must go back soon. Perhaps not now, but soon. My love affair with the Pacific Coast of Mexico has not yet ended...

5. Stay in Argentina-- I've had my ups and downs, that's for sure. But I've also spent some serious time and energy creating a life for myself here, and I get sad when I think about leaving all of this. My life here isn't perfect, but it gets a little better every day. I've made some very special friends here, and I have some of the best roommates a girl could ask for. I like teaching, and I've finally learned to support myself. I feel myself changing a little bit more every day. Living here is not easy. In fact, it's the hardest thing I've ever done. Yet I've grown so much, and gotten so much stronger. I know myself now better than ever. I could see myself here for another year.

Please help! If you are taking the time to read my blog, I probably love you and will really value your opinion. If you vote, it's anonymous, but feel free to leave a comment to say what you voted for and why!

Live your life (wah ohh wah ohhh wah oooohhhhh)

(I hope at least someone gets my TI/ Rihanna reference)

I never wrote about my day trip to Uruguay last Saturday, so here goes.

As I mentioned before, I have to renew my tourist visa every 90 days, and the way you go about doing that is by leaving the country and then coming back. The easiest and fastest way to do that here in Buenos Aires is by going to Colonia, Uruguay which is an easy 1-3 hour boat ride (depending on the speed of the boat) away, straight across the Rio de la Plata, the gorgeous dirty brown river on which my lovely city resides.

My friend Megan and I both arrived on the same day, and thus our visas were expiring at the same time, and we decided to take the trip together. We went via Buequebus, a very misleading company name, because it is a company that has the word "bus" in it, yet only seems to operate boats and planes. Ha!

Anyway, the boat left at 8:45 am on Saturday, so Megan and I met there about 7:45 am, a time that I personally believe is so early that it should not even exist, especially on Saturdays. Since last weekend I was sick with a cold, I'd stayed in on Friday night and gotten a decent night's sleep, but Megan had been out drinking all night and rolled in drunk and reaking of alcohol. Hahaha!!! With me sick and her drunk/tired/hungover, we were in for an interesting day.

However, when I saw her, I knew immediately that something was wrong. She pretty much burst into tears the second we saw each other. And that's when she told me-- her boyfriend back in California had been in a motorcycle accident. He's fine, but he broke a ton of bones, including his femur, and was in the hospital.

(Life is precious... this reminded me, and I hope it also reminds you, to always live life to the fullest.)

... anyway, Megan was obviously freaking out worrying about her boyfriend, but also there was a more complex issue, which was that she'd already been feeling really unhappy here in Buenos Aires and had already been having doubts about how long she'd last. She was more homesick that the rest of us, was having more doubts, and on top of that was hating her teaching job and feeling generally frustrated. This was sort of the icing on the cake. She decided to go home and cut her trip short.

Megan leaves tomorrow. I'm soooo sad. She's become one of my best friends here, and it's just a very real reminder that I'm living in a foreign country, and when you do such a thing, people come and go more than usual. It's a transient place to me. How long will any of us last? She's the first to go, but I'm sure I will go through this many more times before I depart. It's awful.

So yeah, there we are, 7:45am on a Saturday, waiting for a boat to Uruguay, and she's telling me that this is her last week here, that we're saying good bye.

We decided, no matter that I'm sick and she's hungover and hasn't slept and it a mess about leaving and her boyfriend situation, damnit!! we're going to have a fun day!!! And we did. Albeit mellow and relaxing, we ended up having an amazing day in Uruguay.

It started off nicely because we'd bought the cheap tickets on the 3 hour bus, but they transferred us for free onto the 1 hour fast boat, and we arrived by 10am. The whole day before us, we just started walking and exploring. The town is tiny and cute. It's certainly not the type of place I personally could spend a very long time, because there is not too much to see, but it's an ideal relaxing day trip. We walked down the main drag and then wound around to one part of the coast, where we found an artisan market and a cute beach. The day was gorgeous and sunny, and there were people sunbathing, and sailboats drifting out in the water.



The we decided to wind down to the "old town" part of the city, which is really considered to be the big attraction, for tourists anyway! Founded in 1680, the town still maintained a lovely colonial feel, and features very well-maintained old tile and stucco houses lining pretty, cobblestone streets. There are a variety of museums and even a lighthouse, but we decided to take it easy and do a more self-guided tour, so we just enjoyed the sites from outside.







Also, the pedestrian signs are hilarious in Colonia! We decided that the image looks more like someone doing "the robot" than walking. Ha!



Along the river, there are plenty of grassy areas and beach spots to relax, share some mate, read a book, or sunbathe. I imagine it gets very crowded in summer! It was busy while we were there, but we still found ample spots to relax. We ended up finding a great spot overlooking the water and the sailboats, where we spent about 2 glorious hours. Megan slept, and I read a book. It was fantastic.





We started getting hungry and decided to have some lunch. We ended up in one cafe in the Barrio Histórico (old town) to have a soda and a snack, and then wandered back into the center of town to the main drag, where we had yummy sandwiches and I had a coffee. I was exhausted, after all, and oh man, I love the café con leche here!

After lunch we explored yet another part of town along the water, which we agreed was the prettiest part of all. We found a street that winds along the river and where there are a couple of docks you can walk out onto, where make for some amazing views of the land, water, and boats. This picture in particular really reminded me of Westport actually (where my Mom lives in MA, for those who don't know):



I thought this whole area was just gorgeous, especially as the sun was setting.





Overall, Colonia turned out to be a picturesque place to visit and a lovely little escape from the craziness of Buenos Aires. I'd recommend it as a day trip to anyone coming to visit Buenos Aires.

And now, as its Megan's last night in town, I think some shenanigans are in order.

Happy Labor Day!

Today, May 1st, is a holiday widely recognized in many countries (including Argentina) as the Day of the Workers, aka Labor Day. I celebrated by working a couple hours this morning (blasphemy, I know, but I need the money), getting sick, and canceling my plans in favor of staying home watching a movie with my roommate and getting to bed early. Yep, that's where I'm headed after this blog post. I turned down a house party, a dinner invitation, and an opportunity to go salsa dancing (my favorite!!) all to stay home and allow myself to relax. It's something I don't do nearly enough. I get sucked into "social butterfly" mode too easily and don't always take care of myself. Today is a new day.

After all, I need to get up very early tomorrow! First thing in the morning (aka I have to get up at 6:30am), my friend Megan and I are heading to Colonia, Uruguay for the day for a little getaway and to get our visas renewed. Yep, I am living here on a tourist visa, which means that every time it expires (every 90 days) I need to leave the country and then re-enter, in order to get a new visa. Total pain, but it's an excuse to go do something different. I don't really have the money for the trip, but hey, I have to do it so I'm going to enjoy it! I think we will just wander around the town, do some exploring, have a very long lunch, and head back. If something super amazing happens, you, my dear blog readers, will be the first to know.

Lastly, I just took this picture while sitting here. It's probably not that interesting to you, but for me it is symbolic, so I'm posting anyway. It's the table next to my desk, in front of my bed. I spend a lot of time staring at it.



That piece of paper in the front on the left is my notice from the Correo Argentino that I received a package. I think it's from Dave. (Hi, Dave!) Unfortunately I still have not picked it up. I have to go all the way across town where I will need to wait in line for a couple hours and then BUY the package. I know, the system is so messed up. But I plan to do it next Wednesday, which is my next day off! I will get that package!! But anyway, this does remind me-- please don't send me a package unless it's like, super important. I learned this the hard way after spending $75 receiving my last 2 (amazing and greatly appreciated!) care packages (one from Ben and one from the Girl Posse! <3 <3). We can stick to cards. ;-)

The flower is a carnation that some random guy gave me on the street. I was walking through Puerto Madero and he tried to hand it to me, and of course my instinct was to assume he was trying to sell them to me and to say "no, gracias" and keep walking. And he was like, "no, it's free! it's a gift!" and just gave it to me. A lovely little random act of kindness. So it's current home is in my bottle of San Telmo Malbec. Yep, my awesome neighborhood even has a wine named after it. ;-)

Stacks of books.. most of which are unread because I spend all my "free" time planning lessons... the "Quilmes" cup I just had to buy for myself as a cheesy souvenir, which is a Quilmes beer can that an artist turned into a mug with a handle. My old broken cell phone that I really need to get rid of...

And of course, my mate. That's that gourd-looking thing with the metal straw thing poking out of it (known as the "bombilla"). The mate (pronounced "mah-tay") is what Argentines use to drink yerba mate, which is a strong, bitter tasting traditional tea. You fill the mate with the yerba, then fill it with hot water and drink it through the bombilla. You just keep refilling it with hot water and passing it around until it gets too weak to enjoy. Some people don't like it, but I absolutely love it. It's a wonderfully social, too-- you see people all over the city drinking mate with friends in parks and on benches. And it's also known to be incredibly good for you, stimulating the metabolism and enhancing mental clarity.

Last but not least is one of my favorite pictures ever of Kirsten, Ben, and Me! Ben mailed it to me (in aforementioned care package!), and I am so happy to have it. Reminds me of my amazing Boston friends every day. I'm having a great time down here and I'm so glad I came, BUT I miss yooooooo!!!!!!!

Ladies weekend in Mendoza

Since so much time has passed, I won't bother trying to remember every detail, but I want to at least show you some of the highlights of my trip to Mendoza (aka Argentina's prime wine country and one of the most beautiful cities in the country) with 4 amazing lady friends, March 20-24th.

Sorry for the lack of anecdotes, but please enjoy the pics:

Girls on bikes... ready for our winery tours!


Gorgeous scenery...




Exclusive bike parking!


Mmmmm Trapiche...


All the ladies at our first sampling...


French oak barrels...


Where's drunk Erica?


Acres and acres and acres and acres and acres of gorgeous vineyards...


Mamma mia I found my very own pizzeria!


An amazing steak dinner at La Barra to finish off an amazing wine tasting extravaganza!

La Playa! (Part II)

...so when we left off, I was enjoying my last scenic moments of Necochea on Day #3...

The 5 remaining soldiers (Me, Marisa, Paul, Megan, and Kieran-- soon to be named the "Fabulous Five"-- as opposed to the "Sloppy Seven") took off for the bus station around 6:00pm armed with 7 litros of cerveza, all seven of which were consumed in full within the first hour of the two hour bus ride to Mar de Plata. You can then, of course, imagine how much the people around us liked us.

Highlights of the bus trip included 1) having to use the SAUNA-esque bathroom TWICE, where I baked and boiled as I hung on for dear life as I tried to avoid being tossed into the toilet...


(That's me expressing my disappointment in the bathroom situation.)

..and 2) meeting the Mar de Plata local seated next to Paul, Ezequiel, who took a fond liking to us crazy gringos and sent us on a mission to dine at his family's Cuban restaurant, La Boedguita, upon our arrival. He also invited us to hang out later, which I'll get to when the time comes...

Anyway, we arrived in Mar de Plata around 8:00 PM and walked just a couple short blocks to what eventually revealed itself to be a complete $#%$-hole of a hostel. I won't even bother to put it's name here, on the off chance someone should mistake it for a recommendation. Highlights of the hostel were me throwing out my back just by laying down on the "mattress" for too long, having the eery feeling that my sheets hadn't been washed in a very long time, and of course, not being able to flush any of the toilets without reaching your hand into the wall and fiddling with one of the many tubes and handles and knobs and whatnots. Yum!

ANYway, we threw down our bags, and after enjoying our showers in the bathroom where the shower had no door or curtain and poured directly onto the toilet, we made ourselves beautiful and headed out to the Cuban place for dinner. Here's the Fabulous Five being, well, fabulous:



Dinner was quite nice. Having lived in Cuba, I can say that the mojitos were positively sub-par and overly sweet, but the food was divine. I had a pork loin type thing bathed in a sweet sauce, and served with yellow rice, roasted red pepper and fried banana.



The walls were decorated with interesting pictures (I think some were originals) from the Cuban revolution, lots of odes to Che, a couple Cuban flags, and plenty of graffiti. I decided to go for it and leave my mark as well.



We finished off dinner, and when the owner of the restaurant found out we were "friends" of Ezequiel's, she called him right up! After dinner we headed to the beach to enjoy the scenery and a couple more litros, and sure enough, while we were there Ezequiel showed up! What a crazy kid he is. None of us could really figure out why he took such an interest in us, but he proceeded to pile the 5 of us into his tiny little car and drive us around town, stopping at landmarks and things, before finally we decided to head back to the hostel. He was nice but... I don't know, just a little off. But it was a fun experience, and a great little tour!

The next day we walked ALL of Mar de Plata, which as it turns out is a very cool city! There is a road that heads all along the coast, and we walked the whole thing on the way to one of the furthest beaches, Playa Grande, on the way passing some amazing scenery, and some phenomenal houses!









We finally arrived at our destination after the very long but beautiful walk, and collapsed on the beach for a few hours. However, not quite as many hours as before-- our sun burns were all starting to catch up with us, and with the exception of Paul (the perma-tanned Philipino), we were turning into some seriously hot little potatoes.

So at this point, Marisa and Kieran announced that they NEEDed to watch some futbol game (champions league something something blah blah blah) so we all taxied back to the hostel, showered up, and they headed to a bar for the game while Megan and I did some exploring. It was a blast! We found several cool little plazas, and a couple ferias selling local artisan stuff. Unfortunately, a lot of it was hippies selling lame things like hair wraps and hemp necklaces, but amidst that garbage were some real winners. I left with an awesome pair of wire and jade earrings for only $10 pesos! Score!

We also ran into a strange little flea market, selling mostly sunglasses and flip flops and not-stolen-at-all watches and cheap jewelry. And I would be remiss not to mention that they also had entire tables selling pocket knives, and get this-- NUM CHUCKS!!! AND THROWING KNIVES!!! Dad, are you hearing this?? It was shocking.

Anyway, we kept the night pretty mellow and low key, because we needed to get up early the next day to catch the bus to our next (and my last) stop in Villa Gesel.

My lasting impression of Mar de Plata was grand-- I loved that it was very urban, yet much friendlier than Buenos Aires. It had a lively scene and seemed like it would probably be a very hopping place in peak season. Luckily, we arrived just a couple weeks late and didn't have to fight too many crowds. It was a great contrast to Necochea which had much more of a small town feel. And Villa Gesel ended up being yet another very different place, with woods and trees and more of a small, bohemian feel, with unpaved roads and sandy walkways.

My last day was spent in the lovely Villa Gesel, about an hour and half north of Mar de Plata, a trip which involved plenty of unpaved roads (so my fellow travelers tell me-- I was asleep!). The taxi ride from the bus station to the hostel (where the 4 others were staying, but I was just leaving my bags, as I was leaving that night) was amazing. Just a look at the map of the town reveals an eccentric layout of winding, almost zig-zagged streets that somehow still manage to follow a numbered street system. The taxi wound us through tiny streets covered in sand, passed funky little beach houses all along the way, and we enjoyed the tree lined streets and laid back atmosphere.

Unfortunately, within the first hour we were there it started to rain! :-( But we trekked to the beach anyway, to take a few pictures and just catch a glimpse.



Luckily it eventually cleared up and turned out to be a pretty nice, sunny day once again! The rest of the day was spent wandering the town, enjoying some casual lunch and yummy coffee, doing some shopping (I got some new Havaiana flip flops-- all the rage here in Argentina), walking through the bosque and seeing some gorgeous forested areas, and walking all the way to the other end of town to the pier, where we watched the locals fish using these bizarre fishing baskets tied to the end of huge wooden poles. Our legs were sore from all the walking, but it was worth it!







After some relaxation time with a couple beers and some salads and french fries, it was time for me to be on my way back to Buenos Aires on a midnight bus.... and here I am, back in the big city, living in my new apartment, and facing the reality of unemployment, or worse, A JOB. (ha) More on that later.

Por fin, LA PLAYA! (Part I)

Finally, after 4 long weeks of studying, teaching, and wondering what it's like to actually relax in Argentina, last Friday I graduated from my TEFL Certification course (w00t!) and made my way to the beach. Immediately. As in, I finished class at 8:00pm, and was on a bus to Necochea at 11:00pm with 6 other classmates, and several bottles of wine.

Our mission: To hang at our friend Emilia's beach house in Necochea for the weekend, and then explore a few other beach towns as we work our way back up the coast. More specifically, to get a tan, drink like fish, eat too much, and totally veg out.

The cast: Yours Truly (a raging, flame-headed gringo from Philadelphia and most recently, Boston), Paul (guy from San Fran and our trip's eventual appointed tour guide), Megan (rock solid tomboy and futbol superstar, also from San Fran), Marisa (London hottie and the woman who taught me to say "minger"), Emilia (1/2 gingo and 1/2 Argentine, she was Colorado born, but is Argentine in her soul), Matt (quiet New Yorker with a thing for pterodactyls) and Kieran (totally nuts and utterly quotable guy from Cork, Ireland).

The bus ride was 8 hours long, and I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of pounding rain and thunder. yup! A torrential downpour, complete with thunder, lightning, and the bus rocking side to side! I was too out of it (thanks to my good friend Dramamine) to react much, but I do recall waking up long enough to exclaim "On no it's raining!" eat a kind of stale pastry the bus driver had given me, and go back to sleep.

Saturday, Day 1:
We arrived in Necochea in early morning just as the rain was clearing. Though it started off a little grey, by noon there was not a cloud in the sky. We threw down our bags in Emilia's AMAZING beachfront apartment, and went off for the first of many consecutive gluttonous breakfasts of coffee, fresh squeezed orange juice, medialunas (mini croissants delivered directly from heaven!!), and ham and cheese tostadas.



Then to the beach! Oh man, the seven of us had thought of almost nothing else for weeks. Every time we had to do an assignment, stay up late studying, whatever, we always remembered that soon, we'd be lounging on the beach uselessly, drinking cervezas and wasting our lives away to the beat of the crashing ocean waves. Por fin, mission complete! As we walked onto the beach, the clouds seemed to melt away just for us, and we found what felt like the perfect spot on the perfect beach. We flounced, we flopped, we swam, we played paddle ball... Megan, Paul, Kieran, and Matt even played a full game of futbol with some locals while Marisa, Emilia and I worked on our tans. Like I said, the perfect day. I left feeling like I'd been injected with positive energy and a heavy dose of Vitamin D. I also had the beginnings of a [reddish] tan.





And that was just the first half of day 1! I was gone for 5 days, peeps! This blog is going to take me forever to write!

Next order of business-- a feast! An asado! It was Megan's birthday (and damn her, I felt ancient as she announced she was turning only 23-- I mean, literally, it's like I have one foot in the grave), and so we went all out, picking up about 25 litros of Quilmes beers, bags of green and red peppers, onions, tomatoes, eggplant, and squash, and such a huge pile of assorted meats, I thought my arm was going to break off carrying the thing on the way home.



That night was quite the fiesta. A few of Emilia's friends came over, so at the peak of the evening there must have been about 12-14 of us packed into her covered porch thingy (I don't know what it's called), grubbing down on piles of meat and veggies, and putting back more cerveza than I should admit here. Needless to say, we were all pretty smashed, and some of the highlights of the subsequent events include Kieran becoming the DJ and stressing out over his music choices, Paul and Kieran gyrating and rapping along to all of Oakland's finest thug hits, having to go on TWO more beer runs (even though we had TWENTY FIVE LITERS), and the whole group suddenly pushing the tables out of the way and starting a dance party. We even made it to a dance club at some point in the middle of the night, and I recall riding there in the back of a pickup truck.







Megan, the birthday girl, had a blast, and we all really bonded that night. It was exactly what everyone needed after a long, hard month, and a sunny day at the beach.

Sunday, Day 2:
Hangover breakfast at a sweet little sidewalk cafe in the early afternoon. Coffee, juice, lots and lots of water, and medialunas. AND pizza, ham sandwiches, salads, and I think some people even ordered hamburgers...



...plenty more beach time...



...a walk in the woods, and a stop at El Lago de los Cisnes (Swan Lake), which lacked any swans, but had plenty of geese...



...a pile of churros stuffed with dulce de leche and pastry cream....



...and a huge seafood dinner! My first seafood in months! (Necochea appears to specialize in squid, because not only did we get this gorgeous pile of the world's largest calamari, but I also ordered a mixed seafood pasta dish, which prominently featured about 75% squid-- yum.)



Monday, Day 3:
Emilia was leaving that evening for Bariloche to visit a friend, and Matt decided to head back to Buenos Aires the night before to start working on *cough* getting a job. At this point we were all totally sunburned, and did spend some time at the beach, but also decided to do some wandering/ exploring.

Our desire to wander and explore led us to possibly the most exciting part of all, which was the pier (more of a causeway) and the sea lions! SEA LIONS! Really big ones. They looked like bears flopped on the sand in piles, falling over each other, waving to each other, and occasionally diving into the water for a dip. The call them lobos marineros in Spanish, which literally means "sea wolf," which I find interesting.





The pier itself was amazing, with stunning views of the ocean, the beach, and the city of Necochea off in the distance. There was also a very cool mural painted along the end. We had a blast wandering along the pier for hours, checking out the scenery, enjoying the sea lions, and doing a little rock hopping.



We also payed a visit to Necochea's landmark Quilmes and Speed cans (formerly bathrooms, now just tourist attractions for loons like us).



And wandered through a very, very cool outdoor nightclub that was unfortunately closed for the season. Man, it seemed like a fun place to party!



We had plenty more adventures on days #4 and 5, but unfortunately your beloved blogger is tired and needs to take a blogging break....

To be continued! xoxo