Córdoba was blue

The cold made my days in Córdoba blue.
...
But I still had a blast.

Fortunes

I had my fortune read today by some Gypsies. They told me that they have family in Jujuy. I'm pretty sure that they are my neighbors.

I can't remember everything that I'm supposed to be going through within the next 10 years but the Gypsy's first reading was dead on: "You work hard but don't make enough money." I should probably get a job one of these days...

Make me happy. Now.

The best way to make Josh happy: I walked into into the hostel that I am currently staying at and told the front desk girl my name in English (since I had registered with my American debit card). ¿Yoshwa? ¡Pero si pareces argentino! (But, you seem Argentine!)

:)

Ciao Signora, Hola Qué Tal?

I'm leaving the city of Buenos Aires today and heading up towards Córdoba, Argentina's second largest city. Córdoba is known as Argentina´s city of education because of the large quantities of students who reside there. Córdoba has a lot of colonial style housing dating from the Spanish occupation, it should provide me with a few photographic opportunities. I'm going to try to make it up to Jujuy by Monday or so, depending on the economic situation.

Taking a walk through El Caminito

A few images from my walk through El Caminito, a street dedicatd to artists and musicians.

Mercedes, my love.

Mercedes Sosa is my favorite female folk singer. Her song "Gracias a la Vida" never fails to give me goose bumps...

p.d. Dedico esta canción a mi primita Andrea. Te quiero mucho che...

Stand Up

Late last night* the Argentine people united to send a message to president Kristina Kirchner : "Please talk with us!" In Buenos Aires alone there were thousands banging their pots and pans trying to be heard by the national government. There has been a deadlock between the farmers and the national government for about 90 days concerning the high export tax. Due to the highways being cut by the farmers, I have been unable to get out of Buenos Aires by bus. I guess I'm going to have to fly out on Thursday and spend the weekend in Cordoba.

*Yes, I did partake in the demonstrations. I should have some videos uploaded to youtube soon.

Stuck in B.A.

I took the 'subte' to the bus terminal today and found out that there isn't a single bus going to Cordoba due to road blocks. In fact, none are even trying to make the trip since there isn't any possible way through. I then tried the train station, but the office that provides tickets to Cordoba and Tucuman is locked up and won't even open until Monday. In other words...I'm stuck in Buenos Aires until further notice. It's a good thing that I don't have any sort of fixed schedule planned out because I could be here for quite a few more days. There's lots of things to do and see here so I won't be short of entertainment. Let's just hope that my wallet holds out long enough...

Buenos Aires is Argentina and Argentina is home. It's been fun taking in all of the familiar sights (ex. sidewalks and taxis), sounds, foods, and literature. My friend Amy Wood gave me a book on Che's last days in Bolivia and I just bought a copy of his Bolivian journal (in Spanish) to go with it. Today I saw an old man selling some home-made sausage and cheese, so I bought some. It's really good, especially if I don't think about what it's doing to my body. Today at the train station I bought some home-baked bread to go with it. Yums.

Recoleta Cats

The cemetery in Recoleta (neighborhood in Buenos Aires) is an exquisite example of what beautiful cemetery architecture should be. Many famous people are buried there, including the Duarte and Sarmiento families.

One thing that struck me was the number of cats that I saw there. There were at least 20 within view, with many hiding, I'm sure. I overheard a tour guide say that they helped keep the rats away, which is why they were allowed to stay.

Life in Argentina post Europe

*I'm not here to judge or criticize any one's life style. Observations help me analyze my own and see what needs changing.

I feel like I've always been faced with the dilemma that many rich kids (probably) face. I can imagine how it feels to have a friend with less money brag about an object that they have that isn't really worth much. It's not that it doesn't mean anything, it just doesn't make sense to brag about it in front of someone who has more (as superficial as it all is). Likewise, I always become uncomfortable when someone brags about how good their society is, how bad the next person's is, and how everyone should live like them. Traveling through Europe (and other parts of the world) has shown me that there are so many more ways to live life that really seem to work. If anything: fast is good but not always the best, on time is cool but not always fun, big does not equal better, and a humble attitude is everything.

Being back in Argentina has brought up a strange kind of homeish feeling. The sidewalks in Buenos Aires look exactly the same as in Jujuy and Salta. Go figure.

The Freedom to Not Vote for Nobody

(http://i29.tinypic.com/9fv5nq.jpg)

I've been yelled at multiple times by family members for not voting in the U.S. elections. They say that I need to exercise my right to vote. I remember talking to an older gentleman on my way to Libertador (a small city in Jujuy) and him telling me how he hasn't voted in the Argentine elections in over 20 years, and hasn't gone to jail because of it! He couldn't really tell me how he got away with that though.

I can argue that I am either exercising my right to vote, or enjoying the freedom to not have to vote for Nobody.

A Most Random Thing.

I was sitting in front of a huge white bridge today with my friend Pablo when all of a sudden I saw someone who looked kind of familiar walk by. Who would have known that I would run into my friend Christian's parents who live in Tarija (Bolivia) here in Buenos Aires? They are on their way to Sweden. Talk about randoma.

FYI Argentina

I've been quite busy here in Indiana these past few days. I'm not sure what kind of Internet access I will have since I will be visiting friends in Buenos Aires until Sunday and then in Cordoba until (?). My Spanish is so rusty. Ouch.

Country Superlatives

*I acknowledge that I have only seen certain areas of these countries and that my observations where greatly influenced by the weather and such. My biases include that I am a white male who grew up in Argentina with a pet dog.

Prettiest people: Sweden
Friendliest: Belgium
Most Punctual: Switzerland
Least Punctual: Italy
Grouchiest: Latvia
Most familiar culture: Italy
Most beautiful landscape: Switzerland
Nicest trains: Sweden
City with most dreads: Geneva
Most tourists in one city: Copenhagen

That was long

I'm back in Klaipeda getting ready to head back to the States. My trip from Switzerland was the longest journey I've had in a long time (it almost rivals my trip to Peru, but not quite).

I took a total of 7 trains (10:30 am to 11:00 pm) to get to Italy, 3 buses (6 hrs in total) in Italy, Latvia, and Lithuania, and 1 airplane (2.5 hrs) from Milan to Riga.

I actually missed one of my trains within Italy (and the second one was an hour 'retardo') but I took advantage of the extra three hours to eat some panini and gelato. Mmhh good.

Tomorrow I plan on packing, spending time with friends at the beach and ice skating, and taking care of Roberto, my hostess' son.

The journey continues

Farewell Europe, hello North and South America.  It's hard to believe that I can count my days left in Europe with one hand.  Even cooler though, I need at least three hands to count the countries that I have visited within the past 5 months.  

June 2nd: Trains to Milan and stay the night in the airport.

June 3rd: Fly to Riga, Latvia.  Take bus to Klaipeda, Lithuania.

June 4th: Skate for the last time in Klaipeda.

June 5th: Fly to USA.  

June 10th: Argentina