Cutie Capybaras y Coaties

Date: November 29, 2009
Location: Puerto Iguazu, Argentina (on the border of Argentina and Brazil)

Writing to you from 62% humidity, 32 degrees Celsius (90 Fahrenheit)....and for those who know me well, I have trouble handling the heat, and it´s HOT! In a way, it feels good. The weather is tropical and I am staying right near the jungle, so it´s supposed to be hot...another good challenge for me.

My final days in Buenos Aires were spent going to a La Boca futbol game, exploring the city´s gardens and zoo, visiting Eva Perrone in the Recoleta cemetery, seeing the pink house (the Argentine white house), and having the pleasure of spending time with some amazing friends.

The Pink House, home of the President, Christina Fernandes

Last Sunday was the La Boca vs. Gimnasio futbol game (and by futbol, I mean soccer). The games are extremely popular, and the fans are extravagant, to say the least. These fans, referred to as barrabravas, which loosely translates to ´hooligans´ (do I have that right?) live for these games and do whatever they can to cheer on their team, which may mean spitting, throwing urine or other objects, or fighting the rival team supporters. However, if you are not sitting in the thick of things, you can really enjoy these fans, and their music, cheers, and dances throughout the game. They bring in musicians who sit in the core of the crowd and play the drums and other instruments which reverberate through the stadium. When the rival team enters, the stadium shakes because people are literally jumping out of their seats with anticipation. The stadium is completely alive, and the experience was one I will never forget. Unfortunately, you have to be extremely careful when you go to these games because the stadium is in a dangerous area and bringing cameras or other valuables is highly discouraged. Thus, no photos, but here is an image from the web...

So the game was a lot of fun, and La Boca won :)

The next few days I explored the city. I went to the Japanese garden, took a paddle boat through the botanical gardens, and even went to the zoo, where we discovered a new creature! He is called mara, and is basically a giant Patagonian rabbit, and neither I, nor my friend from Chile had ever heard of such a creature. The cool thing was that they were just roaming free in the zoo, among the peacocks, ducks, and beaver like creatures...many of the animals just kind of chilled out together in peace, and didn´t bother each other. Sometimes these rabbits would even hop up to dangerous creatures, but they didn´t seem to mind.

Here are a few photos of the animals we saw....

Capybaras!!!!

Some shots of the maras....

Field trips to the zoo

One of my favorite experiences in Buenos Aires was getting to try mate. Argentine people drink yerba mate out of a mug made of calabaza, which is basically a gourd that has been dried. The yerba mate is put into the gourd with just a tiny bit of water, and sometimes with orange peel and sugar (at least that is how Rosanna preferred it). I kept wondering what this strange drink was because everywhere I looked I saw people drinking this and carrying thermoses of hot water around with them. I got the chance to try mate when I was dining in Spring, a favorite vegetarian restaurant of mine, with my carnivorous friend Martin. Because of the Argentine preference for meat, I had agreed to try a bit of steak, and in turn, Martin got to eat his veggies. After our meal we asked if they had mate to serve, which they did not, so the cook came out with her own mate mug (I believe that mate is something very personal because you drink it all day long so it was quite special for Rosanna to share hers with us). She brought out the mate and water and had prepared the mate for us as she liked it. The tea was delicious, especially with the hint of citrus. To drink a whole mug of tea is a long process, since most of the mug is filled with tea, and then you drink it through a bombilla, a straw-spoon like thing that filters out the tea at the bottom. You just pour a tiny bit of hot water into the mug and sip it slowly. There´s even a legend that you can read your fortune in the mate when you have finished :)

I am now the proud owner of a mate mug and bombilla, and have to cure my mug before I partake in the yerba mate drinking process.

Bombilla and yerba mate!

Eva´s tomb

Just a few more highlights...Recoleta Cemetery: Where Eva Peron is buried. The cemetery is not underground, rather it is a set of massive decadent tombs above ground. Inside you can see the coffin and different items inside the little rooms. They are beautiful, and if I don´t say so myself, quite nice little places to spend eternity. I went to visit Evita, but I didn´t cry for her.

Walking down one of the many paths here, you could see all the tombs.

In addition to gardens and teas, I also went to a tango class, where sadly, I have to admit, I was completely out of step. The ability for me understand Argentine spanish and learn a completely new dance with 5 different dance partners is impossible. I tried my best, but I definitely could feel the effect of the language barrier. I had gone to a class with my friend Vero, and the class was part of a series that had started in September, and needless to say, it was pretty tough being the new kid. Through this experience and many others, I have started to appreciate how some of my students must feel when they walk into a class that is totally new and different, and have to sort of find their way within the already created structure. And, on top of that, language differences (and cultural differences) can exacerbate how tough this assimilation can be. It was good to be in this position, and I have come away from the tango experience learning a little bit more about my own students.

Finally....made the 20 hour bus trek from Buenos Aires to Puerto Iguazu, my last stop before crossing into Brazil. Puerto Iguazu is famous for it´s waterfalls, and yesterday in addition to the waterfalls, I was able to make the acquaintance of some beautiful creatures including butterflies, birds, iguanas and COATIES!!!!Another day or two here- I arrived yesterday thinking the Brazilian embassy might be open here so I could get my Brazilian visa, but alas, it was closed, so I will do my best to enjoy this tropical weather and the experiences I will have here.

COATIES!!!!

There were so many butterflies and they liked to land right on you!

A bird we saw in Puerto Iguazu

The waterfalls on the Argentine side of Iguazu...

See you in Brazil.

Besos :)

Happy Birthday, Ellen!!

Wine country and the tango

Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date: November ? 2009. I think it´s the 20th, but I´m not sure...I tend to lose track of time and date here!

The fountain in the middle of Plaza Independencia in Mendoza, Argentina

I got into Mendoza, Argentina after an 8 hour bus ride from Santiago. The bus ride was stunning- my nose was stuck to the window the whole time since we were driving right through the Andes. Along the way were tiny beautiful ski villages just situated between the mountains. Mendoza is a town famous for its wine. I got the opportunity to visit some of the wineries and the factories where they make olive oil. The landscape was just lovely (and so were the wines!).

Wine tasting with Danny and Martin outside of Mendoza (not sure why some pictures posted twice...can´t figure out how to delete them)

Other than that, Mendoza offered lots of shopping and plenty of pretty plazas to spend some quality time reflecting on all that has happened so far. I got my first bout of the traveling sleepies in Mendoza. I hadn´t been tired of traveling at all until I suddenly felt exhausted midday in Mendoza. I needed to take a nap in the hostal- which had never happened before. After my nap I got and felt refreshed, but for a few hours there I was feeling all the moving and meeting I had been doing for the previous 2 months.

In Mendoza, I also got the chance to play with incredibly cute puppies, thanks to Eric and Julia, who saved them from the streets three weeks earlier. Yay for puppies!

Meeting lots of new people and getting the chance to practice my Spanish. Lately, Danny and Martin (my friends from Spain and Chile respectively), have been helping me understand the Spanish and Chilean accents that I find so difficult. Thanks, boys!

After Mendoza I took a 18 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires, where I am now. I am planning on meeting some teachers and going into schools this coming week, which is exciting. I also got an invitation to spend some time in Valparaiso (2 hours west of Santiago), where my new friend Martin´s mom has opened up a library for kids who don´t have the resources to read. She provides the kids with a wide choice of books in different languages and has been working with non profits to do so. She used to be a teacher and now works in children´s literacy.

Buenos Aires is an amazing city, full of interesing things to see. Yesterday, we went into La Boca, a neighborhood that holds the futbol stadium and lots of colorful buildings. Apparently, lots of Italians immigrated here about 200 years ago and since it was a really poor neighborhood, they were made to paint their houses with whatever paint they could find, which happened to be bits of brightly colored paint. The tourist area is beautiful, with people tangoing and streets decorated with cowboy (gaucho) wear, but outside the city is evidence that the area is still extremely poor. It is not a safe place to walk and the kids walking around were pretty rough.
The neighborhood of La Boca, home of the soccer team

A little tangoing...

After La Boca we walked around the pier in Buenos Aires, which was beautiful. BA has so many different neighborhoods, each with their own distinct characteristics.
The view from the pier

Not too much news on this end- lots of long bus rides lately and travel time. I have about 3 weeks left in South America before I move on to Kosovo. Craziness! I can´t believe how quickly the time has flown. Although I have loved Chile and Argentina, I am ready to move on to places that challenge me more- without the comforts and efficiency that modernity brings. I have found it easier to make real connections and to really experience the culture in places that don´t have as much money.

Ok, over and out :)

Besos y abrazos!

Happy Birthday to Leila!

Ups and downs po

Santiago, Chile

Location: Valparaiso, Chile
Date: November 12, 2009

After my last entry, I was able to recover many of the photos that were still on my camera card, which is great news! I am still having major issues with my pictures and my USBs, so I need to figure out how to move forward with this. A giant thank you to Alan for helping me out today. Funny how I never had trouble with computers in 3rd world countries- its the modern technology that kills me.

11/16: Now updating this post with a few pictures from Valparaiso:

Puppies in Chile are AMAZING. They are so sweet and loving, and unlike the ones in Peru and Bolivia, they don´t try to eat you. They find little ¨rincons¨and just bury themselves into doorways, nooks, and even boxes. This is a picture of a sleepy guy I encountered.

I just got back from a quick trip to Valparaiso, a coastal ¨town¨2 hours west of Chile. Although I was expecting a tiny, charming town, what I got was much different. The ¨town¨is really a city with over 200, 000 inhabitants. The city is one of the strangest I have ever been to because of its layout. Basically, the top layer of the city contains all sorts of rainbow colored buildings that are stacked atop of each other. If you want to go down to the next layer, you can find your way down through the maze of streets. There are many such layers piled on top of each other, and finally there is a bottom layer, which is the roaring city, extremely different from the tranquility of the candy colored homes. To get to the bottom, you have to take an ¨ascension¨which is just a mini trainlike elevator. You pay about 50 cents to ride these fun little machines, and they take your from one world to the next. They are scattered across the town, and the transition from when you step into the elevator to when you step out is tremendous.

I also got the chance to daytrip to Viña del Mar, another costal town just 15 minutes away. I expected this town to be a little smaller since many Chileans go here to vacation, but, as my friend Gaby told me, it was much more ¨top,¨ which I assume means ritzy. After taking a few hours on the beach, I walked back to the train station and stumbled-or slammed into- a HUGE modern mall, complete with Ruby Tuesdays and Espirit (yes, Maggie, I´ll get you that red sweatshirt with ESPIRIT written across the front like you always wanted...). The mall blew my mind and overwhelmed me quite a bit- though Santiago is a completely modern city, I guess I got it into my mind that not everywhere in Chile was so modern...but I was wrong. Though much of my trip to coast was shocking, I had a great time.

Yesterday, I got to visit a primary school in Valparaiso. I had been disappointed that sometimes my plans to visit schools had fallen through in Peru and Bolivia- many people who at first said I could come visit and help out had not followed through with the plans, or were unwilling to let me come into the school if not for long term. I tried a new approach in Chile, and just knocked on the door of the school, told them I was a teacher in the US and would love to have a look around. The woman graciously nodded her head and asked me to please proceed....crazy, huh? I got to spend the day in an elementary school in Valparaiso and chat with the students and teachers. It was such a difference to be there versus schools in Peru and Bolivia. The children were different somehow, and instead of demanding money or running around ignoring me, they wanted to hold my hand and learn about me and have me teach them. It was fascinating and a much more familiar environment than I had been in before.

These are the students at the ¨Educacion Basico¨in Valparaiso. Good students.

And, as always, there are the good, and then the Naughty!!!! These are some schoolgirls I met in Santiago. They were having a wild time, splashing water, playing in the fountain, and just being all around bad girls :)

Gaby, I dedicate this page to you, for all your help over the last few days. Gracias por todo.

Leaving Santiago, en route to Argentina...

Note: Po is something that Chileans say in the middle of speaking, kind of like ok, or ummm..., but it´s more like an actual word. I found it highly entertaining.

Sprim, Frac, and Mumin...

Location: Santiago, Chile


Date: November 9, 2009

...all names of food I´ve had the pleasure of eating over the past few days :)

Unfortunately, the last hour here in Santiago has been spent trying to recover the 6000 photos I may have lost in the last internet cafe. I still don´t know the whole story, but even after summoning my technologically brilliant friends to help me out, it seems the photos are still gone from my USB drive. So I´m a bit upset but will try my best to put my best face forward in this unfortunate situation. Alas, no photos at this point but I´ll see what I can do because the highlights to come are best seen through pictures.



I am now in Chile, after spending 3 days traveling through the Salt Flats of Bolivia to get to the Chilean border . The trip started in Uyuni, Bolivia, and the first day was spent at the Railroad Graveyward and then driving over the salt flats, which are just as they sound, white flat salt ground for miles and miles. Since the landscape is so flat, it is good for taking perspective pictures since it is hard to see dimensions in the landscape. So our crew took lots of staged pictures of people being pulled out of hats and people eating each other. It was a fun, salty experience.

Train Graveyard

This is Isla del Pescado. All the white stuff is salt- for as far as you can see- salt, salt, salt!

Trippy....

We also went to La Isla de Pescado, an island that appears to be floating on the salt flats from far away. When you get there, the island is covered in cacti and is quite amazing. We continued our journey and slept the night in a hostal made entirely of salt. The next day we went to a series of colored lakes, some of which were filled with flamingos. I also saw lots of vicuñas, which took my breath away. Vicuñas are part of the llama family, and they are the most rare, and had previously been on the endangered species list, but have since recovered. They have fine, golden hair and are rather mystical looking creatures. The final day we got up at 4am and headed to geysers and then the hot springs for an early morning dip. Our beloved driver, Freddy, left us at the immigration office in Bolivia (a tiny dirt building outside in the middle of nowhere) , dumped our stuff off the roof, and shouted, ¨Adios amigos¨ and took off... I got on the bus to Chile and after one minute of driving, the roads became paved- I hadn´t seen paved roads for quite some time and it was quite startling to have such a smooth ride. I arrived in Chile about an hour later and we all got in line to get our passports stamped. As I stepped up the window, the immigration officer handed me the phone, so I said Hola, and started talking to the man. Apparently, it was his drunken friend and he just needed to stamp my passport and couldn´t hold the phone at the same time so he wanted me to entertain him. Imagine that kind of thing happening in America!!!

Sunrise on the hot springs

Celebrated getting out of the car with a little yoga!

Reflections of mountains in water

Some of the colored lakes- this one is Lago Colorado

Pretty white llama blowing in the crazy wind in front of a colored lake

Vicuñas! Ethan, look!

I entered Chile in San Pedro de Atacama, a small hippie town full of ex-pats and kind people. Although the town looked a lot like Bolivia, the feel was completely different, and it definitely felt more modern. From San Pedro, I took a 24 hour bus to Santiago, a bustling, modern city. The culture shock of being here is still prevalent, since I am not yet used to being in such a city. Amazing how you can cross a border and the world just changes before your eyes.

Happy (late) Birthday to Eben!

Happy Bar Mitzvah to Johnny- so sorry I missed it!!!