Other interesting things
Balcarce Street.
There's a row of pubs on this street and each one has a stage. Basically , a different style of music in each pub. Beatriz, Alex and I chose one that played rock. Just after we began to pour the beer, Beatriz was saying that she was tired. Well why take us there if you're not up for joining in? Anyways, Alex and I finished our beers (Beatriz didn't have any) and went back.
Good food.
OK, steak in Argentina is great. But when there is no other choice or variety, I start to crave other stuff like mad. So when we went to this little restaurant that served regional food, I got this corn/cheese thing wrapped and steamed in corn husks, topped with hot sauce, REAL hot sauce. Yummers!
City Tour.
I was adamant on going to see the city despite the rain. I was all prepared to go by myself as Beatriz and Alex were squeamish with getting wet. I guess the adventure-er in Alex got to him because he decided to come with. I don't think Beatriz liked that. In Argentina, boys and girls aren't friends. That mentality, I would have to say, is absolute bollocks. Anyways, as detached as I tried to be so that Beatriz could feel more at ease with Alex having a female friend, I still saw her 24-year-old antics and tactics. She even got up in the middle of dinner that evening to serve Alex his second helping. She could have easily passed him the plate. Instead, she got up, took the plate, went to his side, put the food on his dish, went back to her seat, put the plate down and continued to eat her dinner. I made a comment about cultural differences but, she never did that before; she usually just passed the dish. Being subservient is being a good girlfriend? Fuck that shit. No wonder I'm single. As for the city... churches and a natural science museum (which cost $0.50 pesos and took about 10 minutes to walk through the two small rooms).
Gondola.
There's this gondola that took you up one of the smaller mountains. From the top you see the entire city. Quite breathtaking. It was raining when I went, which meant less people. Perfect. Luckily, by the time I reached the top, the sun broke out. A crisp view, with no people standing in the way of my pics.
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Argentina. Show all posts
Monday, January 09, 2006
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Salta - Finally! (part 1)
I would love to describe how the landscape changed as the bus got closer to Salta but as luck would have it, my fellow passengers all decided to close the curtains to shield out the sun. I could tell, however, through the slits where they couldn't secure, that everything was getting greener.
At the stop before Salta, the guy that sat next to me left. Wow. Everything was GREEN. The hills and mountains didn't seem like they stopped. Starting from the edge of the dirt road to as far as I was able to see was this lush and dense vegetation. As we descended into the city, you could see the vast rows of red tiled rooftops nestled between the mountains. It's quite a contrast: brick red and green. So I get there and wait for Alex and Beatriz to arrive.
Once we were all assembled, we grabbed a cab to Beatriz's mom's house. Beatriz's mom's house, which I will refer to now as the House, is in a neighbourhood I would normally avoid. Their neighbours aren't exactly living in shanty houses but, the one-storey buildings are falling apart. Some had makeshift items to replace something that had broken, like a door. So, the House, is the best on that street. Probably because the front doubles as a mini-mart and the family has been able to run a good profit over the years.
I'm just speculating as it would be too rude to ask your hosts how they came about $ in such a suppressing social situation. Apparently the mom is illiterate and I think the brother, Raphael, has a basic education. Beatriz, on the other hand, is smart and was able to go to university. Computer programming, I believe.
The House
Front Left: Gates guarding a path. Middle: Window and garden. Front Right: Store entrance.You walk in the store and head to the back and turn left. That's the kitchen. This is the first spatially functional kitchen I've seen in South America. Ample granite counter-tops and cupboard space. AND a doublesink. In the middle of the kitchen is the dining table. To the left of the kitchen is the main, and hardly used, entrance where they have a couple of sofas and a big plastic flashing Christmas tree. To the right of the kitchen is the formal dining room, hardly used as well. From the dining room, you can go out to the pathway that leads both to the front gate, and if you turn to the opposite direction, to the back courtyard. Once you open the door, you will be greeted by a big, hairy, shedding, stinky, dirty, overweight lush of a German Shepherd named Ringo. Once you get over the stench of the dog, you will notice the green grapevines above you. The back courtyard is a concrete pad with some dog shit for flavour. It's also where the bedroom windows open into.
Things that happened
As Beatriz's family are rather conservative Catholic folk, Beatriz shared a bed with her mom and Alex shared a room (separate beds) with Raphael. This leaves a big queen-sized bed all to me in my own room. Suited me fine.
After lunch, a shower and a nap, Alex and I were recruited to marinate the meat for New Year's Eve's dinner. I did a parsley butter chicken. Alex made some sort of pepper thing with the beef and Beatrizs mom did this vinegar salt marinade for the pork chops. After all the food was ready, we left everything to sit on the counter for a couple hours.
Raphael, still tending the store to last minute shoppers, wasn't ready to eat yet. When it came time to eat, we began serving the various dishes and pouring the various drinks of choice. On each plate was 3 pieces of meat, cut fist-sized, potato salad andmaybe something else, I can't remember. We've all sat down and I was ready to full-on chow down, but then midnight arrived so we had to toast and exchange kisses.
This also meant that the fireworks started. Off we went outside to watch the neighbourhood sky light up. Dinner was ready at about 10:30. We started eating at about 12:30. The whole fanfare of shoveling food down lasted about 20 mins. To quote Alex, "I wish a bit more attention was given to the food."
Our original plans were to head out after dinner to the bars and what not, but after hours travelling and a heavy dinner, we all opted to just crash. Seemed to fit the theme, eh?
The next afternoon, we (5 of us) went riding in the 2.5-seater truck to go to 2 rivers and a mountain with streams. I don't know what the rivers were called. We had only just stopped for about 10 mins before we all clambered back into the truck. Apparently, it was too crowded. Next stop was San Lorenzo.
I had originally thought that the people of Salta were, for the most part, on similar economical levels. I had not seen the contrast of the really rich vs. the really poor in Salta. Well, it turns out that the rich live upon the hills. Anyways, Raphael FINALLY parks the car (I wanted to ask him if he wanted me to park it for him) and we all got out and headed uphill. Nice green trees with a few streams running downhill everywhere you look. We headed to a less crowded area and sat down to watch the water. I took some pics wherein one holds a mildly disagreeable expression of Beatriz's mom.
Things that make you go "hmmm..."
That evening, Beatriz brought Alex and me downtown. We went to this Cathedral that was pink, cream, gold and silver on the outside and most of the inside too. The ceiling on the inside had murals of various angels peeking down thru the clouds, menacingly - I thought. At the front of the church were 3 glittering statues: one of Jesus, one of Mary and one of some Saint. The Jesus statute stood the entire width of all the pews and was as tall as the vaulted ceiling. The other 2 were the width of the side aisles and only halfway to the ceiling. On one side leading up to the smaller statue, were confession boxes and actual priest talking to people. The other side had 2-3 doorways to enclosed rooms, with more glittering statues, for silent prayers.
According to the King James bible...
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or anylikeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,nor serve them.
hmmmmmmm.......
At the stop before Salta, the guy that sat next to me left. Wow. Everything was GREEN. The hills and mountains didn't seem like they stopped. Starting from the edge of the dirt road to as far as I was able to see was this lush and dense vegetation. As we descended into the city, you could see the vast rows of red tiled rooftops nestled between the mountains. It's quite a contrast: brick red and green. So I get there and wait for Alex and Beatriz to arrive.
Once we were all assembled, we grabbed a cab to Beatriz's mom's house. Beatriz's mom's house, which I will refer to now as the House, is in a neighbourhood I would normally avoid. Their neighbours aren't exactly living in shanty houses but, the one-storey buildings are falling apart. Some had makeshift items to replace something that had broken, like a door. So, the House, is the best on that street. Probably because the front doubles as a mini-mart and the family has been able to run a good profit over the years.
I'm just speculating as it would be too rude to ask your hosts how they came about $ in such a suppressing social situation. Apparently the mom is illiterate and I think the brother, Raphael, has a basic education. Beatriz, on the other hand, is smart and was able to go to university. Computer programming, I believe.
The House
Front Left: Gates guarding a path. Middle: Window and garden. Front Right: Store entrance.You walk in the store and head to the back and turn left. That's the kitchen. This is the first spatially functional kitchen I've seen in South America. Ample granite counter-tops and cupboard space. AND a doublesink. In the middle of the kitchen is the dining table. To the left of the kitchen is the main, and hardly used, entrance where they have a couple of sofas and a big plastic flashing Christmas tree. To the right of the kitchen is the formal dining room, hardly used as well. From the dining room, you can go out to the pathway that leads both to the front gate, and if you turn to the opposite direction, to the back courtyard. Once you open the door, you will be greeted by a big, hairy, shedding, stinky, dirty, overweight lush of a German Shepherd named Ringo. Once you get over the stench of the dog, you will notice the green grapevines above you. The back courtyard is a concrete pad with some dog shit for flavour. It's also where the bedroom windows open into.
Things that happened
As Beatriz's family are rather conservative Catholic folk, Beatriz shared a bed with her mom and Alex shared a room (separate beds) with Raphael. This leaves a big queen-sized bed all to me in my own room. Suited me fine.
After lunch, a shower and a nap, Alex and I were recruited to marinate the meat for New Year's Eve's dinner. I did a parsley butter chicken. Alex made some sort of pepper thing with the beef and Beatrizs mom did this vinegar salt marinade for the pork chops. After all the food was ready, we left everything to sit on the counter for a couple hours.
Raphael, still tending the store to last minute shoppers, wasn't ready to eat yet. When it came time to eat, we began serving the various dishes and pouring the various drinks of choice. On each plate was 3 pieces of meat, cut fist-sized, potato salad andmaybe something else, I can't remember. We've all sat down and I was ready to full-on chow down, but then midnight arrived so we had to toast and exchange kisses.
This also meant that the fireworks started. Off we went outside to watch the neighbourhood sky light up. Dinner was ready at about 10:30. We started eating at about 12:30. The whole fanfare of shoveling food down lasted about 20 mins. To quote Alex, "I wish a bit more attention was given to the food."
Our original plans were to head out after dinner to the bars and what not, but after hours travelling and a heavy dinner, we all opted to just crash. Seemed to fit the theme, eh?
The next afternoon, we (5 of us) went riding in the 2.5-seater truck to go to 2 rivers and a mountain with streams. I don't know what the rivers were called. We had only just stopped for about 10 mins before we all clambered back into the truck. Apparently, it was too crowded. Next stop was San Lorenzo.
I had originally thought that the people of Salta were, for the most part, on similar economical levels. I had not seen the contrast of the really rich vs. the really poor in Salta. Well, it turns out that the rich live upon the hills. Anyways, Raphael FINALLY parks the car (I wanted to ask him if he wanted me to park it for him) and we all got out and headed uphill. Nice green trees with a few streams running downhill everywhere you look. We headed to a less crowded area and sat down to watch the water. I took some pics wherein one holds a mildly disagreeable expression of Beatriz's mom.
Things that make you go "hmmm..."
That evening, Beatriz brought Alex and me downtown. We went to this Cathedral that was pink, cream, gold and silver on the outside and most of the inside too. The ceiling on the inside had murals of various angels peeking down thru the clouds, menacingly - I thought. At the front of the church were 3 glittering statues: one of Jesus, one of Mary and one of some Saint. The Jesus statute stood the entire width of all the pews and was as tall as the vaulted ceiling. The other 2 were the width of the side aisles and only halfway to the ceiling. On one side leading up to the smaller statue, were confession boxes and actual priest talking to people. The other side had 2-3 doorways to enclosed rooms, with more glittering statues, for silent prayers.
According to the King James bible...
Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or anylikeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,nor serve them.
hmmmmmmm.......
Monday, January 02, 2006
Salta- almost
I just wrote about 4 long paragraphs about this place which got wiped out when the computer crashed. I am soooo livid. Save or be sorry!
Anyways, I'll have to tell you guys about this another time. Too ticked off to write.
Anyways, I'll have to tell you guys about this another time. Too ticked off to write.
Friday, December 30, 2005
Back on track
So, now I'm in Mendoza, waiting for the bus to leave tonight for Salta. I've been here before, so nothing really special except for trying to lighten my pack some more and exchanging my $$.
I moved my pictures to:
Link no longer valid: see sidebar.
They look much better. I'm sure I'll have more to add. My buddy Alex has a digital, so New Year's pics and Salta pics will probably be online. I'm too scared to develop any more film in Argentina. I developed my pics from Iguazu falls and they managed to scratch some of my negatives and the prints came out really hazy. Not impressed.
I hope everyone has a great New Years!
I moved my pictures to:
Link no longer valid: see sidebar.
They look much better. I'm sure I'll have more to add. My buddy Alex has a digital, so New Year's pics and Salta pics will probably be online. I'm too scared to develop any more film in Argentina. I developed my pics from Iguazu falls and they managed to scratch some of my negatives and the prints came out really hazy. Not impressed.
I hope everyone has a great New Years!
Monday, December 26, 2005
Detour...
OK, gonna go to Chile tomorrow. Mainly to renew my passport. I'm with an Argentine and Sarah, who can speak Spanish fine so, I probably won't get ripped off when I pay the fine for overstaying my tourist visa. This is a big relief 'cause if I was on my way to Bolivia and they tell me at the border that I have to pay more $$, I'll be pissed.
So, when I rush back into Argentina, I hop a bus to Mendoza, then Salta. It is bloody hot here in Neuquen, which is more southern than Buenos Aires, which means less hot. I can't imagine what going to a hot humid place like Salta would be like. I can say tho, I can truly appreciate the siesta during the hottest part of the day.
So, when I rush back into Argentina, I hop a bus to Mendoza, then Salta. It is bloody hot here in Neuquen, which is more southern than Buenos Aires, which means less hot. I can't imagine what going to a hot humid place like Salta would be like. I can say tho, I can truly appreciate the siesta during the hottest part of the day.
Saturday, December 24, 2005
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!
Hello Everyone!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am in Neuquen, a province in Argentina, spending my holidays with my good friend, Sarah.
I arrived a couple of days ago and was all prepared to call her to pick me up from the bus terminal. Well, it turned out that I didn't have the correct phone number. And after I spent waaay too much money at the internet cafe, I found the new number in an email she had sent me a while ago. So, off I go to the pay phone. I must have dialed about 20 times and for 18 times, I got a not in service beeping sound. The 2 times that I got a ring tone, it cut out after 2 rings.
Obviously frustrated, I went outside, hoping that she got the hint that I was in town, just by the 2 times the phone rang. (Tired, hungry, dirty and lugging 20 lbs on my back. Waddaya expect? Logic?) Anyways, after being there for about an hour, I tried again. This time it got through and happily, Sarah and her boyfriend Horacio came to pick me up.
I was so happy to see her. We were good friends back in Vancouver and I hadn't seen her for about a year. I gave her a great big hug when she arrive and on the ride back to her place, we talked non-stop. In English, of course. :)
When we arrived to her place, and as she was getting out of the car, she pointed out to me that she was 5 months PREGNANT!!! In my excitement of seeing her, I didn't even notice her belly! It was sooo suprisingly, happily, shocking! What an incredible thing! I am really happy for her and her life and her choice of partner. I don't think I've ever seen her happier.
So far, we've done lots of shopping, talking non-stop - get this - in Spanish! Horacio doesn't really know English. So Sarah speaks in Spanish most of the time. Ironic. To go hang out with an English speaker only to speak more Spanish than I had in the the past 2 months!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! I am in Neuquen, a province in Argentina, spending my holidays with my good friend, Sarah.
I arrived a couple of days ago and was all prepared to call her to pick me up from the bus terminal. Well, it turned out that I didn't have the correct phone number. And after I spent waaay too much money at the internet cafe, I found the new number in an email she had sent me a while ago. So, off I go to the pay phone. I must have dialed about 20 times and for 18 times, I got a not in service beeping sound. The 2 times that I got a ring tone, it cut out after 2 rings.
Obviously frustrated, I went outside, hoping that she got the hint that I was in town, just by the 2 times the phone rang. (Tired, hungry, dirty and lugging 20 lbs on my back. Waddaya expect? Logic?) Anyways, after being there for about an hour, I tried again. This time it got through and happily, Sarah and her boyfriend Horacio came to pick me up.
I was so happy to see her. We were good friends back in Vancouver and I hadn't seen her for about a year. I gave her a great big hug when she arrive and on the ride back to her place, we talked non-stop. In English, of course. :)
When we arrived to her place, and as she was getting out of the car, she pointed out to me that she was 5 months PREGNANT!!! In my excitement of seeing her, I didn't even notice her belly! It was sooo suprisingly, happily, shocking! What an incredible thing! I am really happy for her and her life and her choice of partner. I don't think I've ever seen her happier.
So far, we've done lots of shopping, talking non-stop - get this - in Spanish! Horacio doesn't really know English. So Sarah speaks in Spanish most of the time. Ironic. To go hang out with an English speaker only to speak more Spanish than I had in the the past 2 months!
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Leaving BA
My last day in BA consisted of running around trying to find a Christmas present for my friend Sarah, whom I will be visiting tomorrow. Then, back home, throwing away 1/2 of my stuff and packing up the rest. I was able to get everything done with some time to spare.
So, off I went with one last coffee with Leandra and Joaquin.
As I'm leaving the terminal in the bus, I get a bit teary-eyed watching the scenery that was so familiar to me go by. I got flashbacks galore. From the first time I set foot in BA to bitching about the stupid winter to giving bad directions to locals in my broken Spanish. And to missing all the great people I had met in this big, busy, crazy city.
There's a t-shirt here that has a saying that encapsulates it all: BuenosFuckingAires. Amen to that.
To those wonderful people I call my friends, Adios and we'll catch each other in some other part of the world!
So, off I went with one last coffee with Leandra and Joaquin.
As I'm leaving the terminal in the bus, I get a bit teary-eyed watching the scenery that was so familiar to me go by. I got flashbacks galore. From the first time I set foot in BA to bitching about the stupid winter to giving bad directions to locals in my broken Spanish. And to missing all the great people I had met in this big, busy, crazy city.
There's a t-shirt here that has a saying that encapsulates it all: BuenosFuckingAires. Amen to that.
To those wonderful people I call my friends, Adios and we'll catch each other in some other part of the world!
Sunday, December 18, 2005
My route
My route is approximately this...
Iguazu falls (just did that today and it was AMAZING!)
Neuqen, Argentina
Salta, Argentina
Juyjuy, Argentina
La Paz, Bolivia
Machu Picchu, Peru
Quito, Ecuador (Basically taking a picture of the equatorial line and jumping back on the bus.)
Bogota, Colombia
Panama City, Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Honduras
Guatamala
Mexico
San Diego, California, USA (Where I'll be taking the Amtrack back to Richmond)
Iguazu falls (just did that today and it was AMAZING!)
Neuqen, Argentina
Salta, Argentina
Juyjuy, Argentina
La Paz, Bolivia
Machu Picchu, Peru
Quito, Ecuador (Basically taking a picture of the equatorial line and jumping back on the bus.)
Bogota, Colombia
Panama City, Panama
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Honduras
Guatamala
Mexico
San Diego, California, USA (Where I'll be taking the Amtrack back to Richmond)
Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Truly an Argentine saying
I was reading the Lonley Planet about various slang and expressions from Buenos Aires. The book said, "Che. Boludo, re boludo!" Which means, Dude. Crap/bullshit/load of shit/non-truths, a load of crap/bullshit/load of shit/non-truths.
I happen to disagree. The most Argentine expression in the world is this:
Que se yo? Che, boludo. Viste?
Ask your friendly Argentine youth to translate this for you.
And who says my Spanish sucks? ahhahahhha
I happen to disagree. The most Argentine expression in the world is this:
Que se yo? Che, boludo. Viste?
Ask your friendly Argentine youth to translate this for you.
And who says my Spanish sucks? ahhahahhha
More about the legless man
I caved today and gave out money. I normally don't. I don't believe in supporting a begging mentality. However, I was feeling sad because I'm leaving Buenos Aires and gave the guy $0.50 pesos.
Update
Ok, things that have happenned recently....
* I've been crazy busy lately preparing, giving and marking final exams. Now it's slowing down, so I have time to write.
* Got my tattoo.
* Studied more Spanish.
* Preparing, giving and marking final exams.
* Doing student evaluations.
* Watched Harry Potter.
* Had a farewell party for Milena (one of my roomates)
* Bought a really good and really big backpack for $275 pesos only to have the stupid cashier girl question the authenticity of all my cash until I exhibited my English Language abilitites, hence then, obviously, I don't speak Chinese because being bilingual is just unheard of. Which makes me also wonder what the Chinese community has done here to be the brunt of such racism. Something to do with not being able to speak the language. But English speakers who can't speak Spanish are OK?!
* Had a farewell party for Nataly (another one of my roomates)
* My buddy Alex came from Mendoza to celebrate my 30th with me.
* Celebrated my 30th by eating waaaaay too much steak.
* Packed.
* Moved to my friend Leandra's house.
* Preparing, giving and marking final exams.
* Had a farewell dinner for Bibiana (the last roomate).
* Bought tickets to Iguazu Falls.
Well, so far that's it. I'll update with better jucier stuff next time.
* I've been crazy busy lately preparing, giving and marking final exams. Now it's slowing down, so I have time to write.
* Got my tattoo.
* Studied more Spanish.
* Preparing, giving and marking final exams.
* Doing student evaluations.
* Watched Harry Potter.
* Had a farewell party for Milena (one of my roomates)
* Bought a really good and really big backpack for $275 pesos only to have the stupid cashier girl question the authenticity of all my cash until I exhibited my English Language abilitites, hence then, obviously, I don't speak Chinese because being bilingual is just unheard of. Which makes me also wonder what the Chinese community has done here to be the brunt of such racism. Something to do with not being able to speak the language. But English speakers who can't speak Spanish are OK?!
* Had a farewell party for Nataly (another one of my roomates)
* My buddy Alex came from Mendoza to celebrate my 30th with me.
* Celebrated my 30th by eating waaaaay too much steak.
* Packed.
* Moved to my friend Leandra's house.
* Preparing, giving and marking final exams.
* Had a farewell dinner for Bibiana (the last roomate).
* Bought tickets to Iguazu Falls.
Well, so far that's it. I'll update with better jucier stuff next time.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Good things that happenend last Sunday
So, something good DID happen last Sunday. I went to the Natural Sciences museum. Big dinosaur bones, insects of all sorts, whale bones, elephant bones, zebra bones, girraffe bones, cat bones, dog bones, human bones... I never thought that walking through Earth's cemetary would be so fascinating. And it only cost $2 pesos!
The legless man
I saw him the other day on the train. I'm glad he's not dead. In fact, he's sporting a new 'do and new wheels on the peice of ply wood he rides on.
Monday, November 07, 2005
EEEWWWWWW!
I am absolutely livid! Fucking fuming and completely pissed off to no end. I don't think I've ever been so angry.
I had a friend whom I met last December in an Argentine English Speaking Group and we started doing a language exchange once a week for a few weeks. He gets to practice his English, I practice my Spanish. We stopped for a few months and then started up again very recently. This 40-something Argentine guy is in the military, has a wife, 4 girls and an interesting job. We talk about various topics in our conversations. Usually very interesting. Well, last night he gave me a ride home, and then attempted to kiss me! I feel soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo disgusted and revolted. Literally, I WANT TO VOMIT.
What the fuck is wrong with the fucking men in this fucking country???????????? They say men and women can't be friends in this country. Well, if most of the men are dogs, then I see the light. Mother fucker, son of a bitch, immoral cheating, slime sucking, corruption sheltered, fucking ASSHOLE!
This happened yesterday. I am still pissed off. I've blocked his email and cancelled the next inter-change lesson, and I told him that I don't ever want to see his fucking mug ever again. And that I don't want him to contact me ever again.
For reference, this jerk's name is Jose Luis Medina. It revolts me just to write the name.
I've been seeing the spots on 'dem leopards a lot lately, it seems. You never know about people.
As my pessimistic Aunt says, "Never trust anyone."
I had a friend whom I met last December in an Argentine English Speaking Group and we started doing a language exchange once a week for a few weeks. He gets to practice his English, I practice my Spanish. We stopped for a few months and then started up again very recently. This 40-something Argentine guy is in the military, has a wife, 4 girls and an interesting job. We talk about various topics in our conversations. Usually very interesting. Well, last night he gave me a ride home, and then attempted to kiss me! I feel soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo disgusted and revolted. Literally, I WANT TO VOMIT.
What the fuck is wrong with the fucking men in this fucking country???????????? They say men and women can't be friends in this country. Well, if most of the men are dogs, then I see the light. Mother fucker, son of a bitch, immoral cheating, slime sucking, corruption sheltered, fucking ASSHOLE!
This happened yesterday. I am still pissed off. I've blocked his email and cancelled the next inter-change lesson, and I told him that I don't ever want to see his fucking mug ever again. And that I don't want him to contact me ever again.
For reference, this jerk's name is Jose Luis Medina. It revolts me just to write the name.
I've been seeing the spots on 'dem leopards a lot lately, it seems. You never know about people.
As my pessimistic Aunt says, "Never trust anyone."
Thursday, October 13, 2005
Mendoza!!
I went to another province in Argentina to visit a buddy of mine. Overall, it was very relaxing and spiritually centering... that could be the trees and clean air. Here's some of the highlights...
5 a.m. bus.
I took the first bus out of BA at 5 in the morning, thinking that people on the bus would want to sleep for the 16 hours it takes to get there. I get to the bus station with only about 2 hours of sleep. As I board the bus, a group of 17 kids, aged 9-10, boarded along with me. 11 hours of seat kicking and fidgeting. They got off somewhere in San Luis (another province) and I managed to get some sleep after that. (Notice that this paragraph reads a bit detatched... I'm still peturbed.)
Arrival
I get to the bus and there is my buddy Alex waiting for me. What a sight for sore (and tired) eyes! We hung out in December before he left to explore the rest of Argentina, and subsequently made Mendoza his home. I hadn't seen him for ages and was looking forward to some good wine and conversation. My first impression, which lasted me the whole 2 days I was there, was the lack of dog doo on the ground. And lack of garbage. What a beautiful city!!! Reminds me of home. And mountains! I haven't seen mountains since I left Vancouver. Man, I was glowing and grinning the whole time!
We walked back to his apartment to drop off my bags and headed out to the bars.
Por acà
We went to this little bar (no dancing) and had a bad bottle of wine. Can you believe it? Bad wine in Mendoza, the capital of wine for this country. But it went down ok, after the first glass. The bar was hip and trendy and, to my pleasant surprise - and to Alex's behest, played hip-hop. Upon me rapidly disintergrating to a point of slurring my words, we left and returned to the apartment where I abruptly hit the sack. In a separate room of course, much to the relief of his vacationing girlfriend.
to be continued...
5 a.m. bus.
I took the first bus out of BA at 5 in the morning, thinking that people on the bus would want to sleep for the 16 hours it takes to get there. I get to the bus station with only about 2 hours of sleep. As I board the bus, a group of 17 kids, aged 9-10, boarded along with me. 11 hours of seat kicking and fidgeting. They got off somewhere in San Luis (another province) and I managed to get some sleep after that. (Notice that this paragraph reads a bit detatched... I'm still peturbed.)
Arrival
I get to the bus and there is my buddy Alex waiting for me. What a sight for sore (and tired) eyes! We hung out in December before he left to explore the rest of Argentina, and subsequently made Mendoza his home. I hadn't seen him for ages and was looking forward to some good wine and conversation. My first impression, which lasted me the whole 2 days I was there, was the lack of dog doo on the ground. And lack of garbage. What a beautiful city!!! Reminds me of home. And mountains! I haven't seen mountains since I left Vancouver. Man, I was glowing and grinning the whole time!
We walked back to his apartment to drop off my bags and headed out to the bars.
Por acà
We went to this little bar (no dancing) and had a bad bottle of wine. Can you believe it? Bad wine in Mendoza, the capital of wine for this country. But it went down ok, after the first glass. The bar was hip and trendy and, to my pleasant surprise - and to Alex's behest, played hip-hop. Upon me rapidly disintergrating to a point of slurring my words, we left and returned to the apartment where I abruptly hit the sack. In a separate room of course, much to the relief of his vacationing girlfriend.
to be continued...
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Going to Mendoza!
I just bought bus tickets to Mendoza for next weekend. It's a province to the west of Buenos Aires where there are actually trees.... I am quite excited to go visit my friend Alex. He plans to take me on a tour of the local wineries whereby I will be drunk by the end of it as they offer a glass of free wine on each tour. I must remember to pack some food as to not have an empty stomach. I also imagine that I will be given a tour of the local pub scene. Which will be a quite nice change of scenery. Excited as heck to get there but I will be on the bus for about 16 hours, during the day. I can't get an overnight bus, as I have to work late the night before and miss all the buses out of Buenos Aires. Still, excited to go!!!
Saturday, October 01, 2005
Sick again
I've just started eating solid foods today. This consisted of fruit and an avacado. And lots of water. I've been out of commission for basically 2 weeks now. Fever, aches and pains, and everytime I eat, I have to run to the bathroom. Not fun. Especially when I still have to work. No flu shot here. I haven't been this sick since I was a child. It must have been residual from that rainy day....
Saturday, September 24, 2005
Ex-friend
So, I broke up with a friend today. The same one from the previous post. A little painful as she has been around for emotional lows, but I've never had friends that I don't and can't trust. And I don't intend to start.
So, BA, here I've regained some of my backbone.
So, BA, here I've regained some of my backbone.
Thursday, September 22, 2005
The best friend
A few weeks ago, a student, 35, asked me out using the guise of a lesson. I don't mix business with pleasure, so I brushed him off. If he had asked me out properly, I probably would have started dating him as he is an attractive man, personality-wise (not so much in the face). As the weeks go by, our casual conversations before and after class have turned into flirting, and trying to fit into this society, I was waiting for him to ask me out again. (If I were at home, I would have asked him out already if he wasn't my student.) All through these past weeks, I've been keeping my best friend in the loop.
Last Saturday, V dragged me to a club to keep my mind off my mom. There, I ran into my student and his friend. We all started dancing together and were having a pretty good time. Then I hear her ask him if he wanted to kiss me. After that, he just started staring at me. I was in such a drunken state that I felt really awkward and wanted to leave. So I did. I went home and curled up in my blankets on the floor/bed and passed out.
I get a phone call the next morning.
"Frances, I'm sooooo sorry. I slept with your student."
Last Saturday, V dragged me to a club to keep my mind off my mom. There, I ran into my student and his friend. We all started dancing together and were having a pretty good time. Then I hear her ask him if he wanted to kiss me. After that, he just started staring at me. I was in such a drunken state that I felt really awkward and wanted to leave. So I did. I went home and curled up in my blankets on the floor/bed and passed out.
I get a phone call the next morning.
"Frances, I'm sooooo sorry. I slept with your student."
More Mom updates
An email from my sister...
mom has been doing really well....she is making very good progress and is recovering step by step..... they moved her up to cardiac recovery from the the icu...yesterday, she was still groggy from the drugs, but today she was much more energized and alert....she's talking and moving her arms and legs around....tomorrow, the nurse is going to try to get mom to take a few steps.....everything looks good...all the major concerns they had initially are not concerns any more....they're trying to keep her blood pressure down.....today was about 135/80 which is really good....
Phew.
mom has been doing really well....she is making very good progress and is recovering step by step..... they moved her up to cardiac recovery from the the icu...yesterday, she was still groggy from the drugs, but today she was much more energized and alert....she's talking and moving her arms and legs around....tomorrow, the nurse is going to try to get mom to take a few steps.....everything looks good...all the major concerns they had initially are not concerns any more....they're trying to keep her blood pressure down.....today was about 135/80 which is really good....
Phew.
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