In conclusion I guess the purpose of this post is to encourage you, if you are going to get a dog, to consider rescuing one for they can be sweet and saved.
Tuesday, November 15, 2016
A post dedicated to the homeless dogs of Argentina.
My journey has ended and I have adjusted back to life here in the States. I recently talked to Sofia's mother and I felt that my understanding of what she was saying in Spanish had improved. I really need to keep practicing and maybe take a class. Though my journey is finished until next time I wanted to make one final post of some of the homeless dogs I saw in the cities of Argentina. These dogs seemed really nice and I was sad to seem them without homes however it was inspiring to see how they survived and often still seemed happy.
In conclusion I guess the purpose of this post is to encourage you, if you are going to get a dog, to consider rescuing one for they can be sweet and saved.
In conclusion I guess the purpose of this post is to encourage you, if you are going to get a dog, to consider rescuing one for they can be sweet and saved.
Monday, November 7, 2016
A journey back
11/2
I sit in the airport waiting for my flight to leaving from Cordoba. I already said my goodbyes to Sofia. It was hard. For a minute I thought I wasn't going to be able to hold myself together. Something about the idea of one second being together and the next not overwhelms me. The only thing that kept me together was the idea that she is only one plane ticket away and that traveling is not that hard in reality. I have learned a lot this trip not only able Argentina and it's culture but about the US and what it means to live there. Although I wouldn't mind living here I would have to learn Spanish and I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in the US where opportunity feels so abundant. I have really learned a lot from Sofia as well. This trip has made me really want to go get my masters and specialize in something. I think I know what too. I want to be a sound engineer which will complement my songwriting and love for music. Life is too precious not to try to take something to the top and education is not the only way to get there but the most recognized and stable. I am definitely going back to school. As a 22 year old it's hard for me to imagine that I have already met someone who I would spend my life with just because I am not really in that stage like she is. I am still positive and think that we can make it work. I definitely care about her a lot and I think that her and I make a good pare. As of right now I am excited to be back in familiar territory and praying that all my flights go safely and my baggage goes through. The 2 days before me departure I rented a car which alowed Sofia and I to go explore a town that was pretty far away that would have been unpractical to go by bus. Driving on the roads was pretty crazy but also very much the same. The km/per hour speed gage was interesting and hard to get used too. Driving out in the country side was very much the same as in the USA but in the city with very few signs, no marked designated lanes, almost no stop signs, big buses, aggressive taxi's made me nervous. I fared okay though and avoided any real close calls.
ps. My bags made it though as well as all of my fragile gifts undamaged.
I sit in the airport waiting for my flight to leaving from Cordoba. I already said my goodbyes to Sofia. It was hard. For a minute I thought I wasn't going to be able to hold myself together. Something about the idea of one second being together and the next not overwhelms me. The only thing that kept me together was the idea that she is only one plane ticket away and that traveling is not that hard in reality. I have learned a lot this trip not only able Argentina and it's culture but about the US and what it means to live there. Although I wouldn't mind living here I would have to learn Spanish and I consider myself fortunate to have grown up in the US where opportunity feels so abundant. I have really learned a lot from Sofia as well. This trip has made me really want to go get my masters and specialize in something. I think I know what too. I want to be a sound engineer which will complement my songwriting and love for music. Life is too precious not to try to take something to the top and education is not the only way to get there but the most recognized and stable. I am definitely going back to school. As a 22 year old it's hard for me to imagine that I have already met someone who I would spend my life with just because I am not really in that stage like she is. I am still positive and think that we can make it work. I definitely care about her a lot and I think that her and I make a good pare. As of right now I am excited to be back in familiar territory and praying that all my flights go safely and my baggage goes through. The 2 days before me departure I rented a car which alowed Sofia and I to go explore a town that was pretty far away that would have been unpractical to go by bus. Driving on the roads was pretty crazy but also very much the same. The km/per hour speed gage was interesting and hard to get used too. Driving out in the country side was very much the same as in the USA but in the city with very few signs, no marked designated lanes, almost no stop signs, big buses, aggressive taxi's made me nervous. I fared okay though and avoided any real close calls.
ps. My bags made it though as well as all of my fragile gifts undamaged.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Things I've noticed in Argentina
OCT 27th
- No free refills at restaurants. All drinks come in bottles.
- No stop signs or traffic lights in the cities.
- Some things like cheese and wine can be really cheap in the groceries store. ($1.50 for cheese, $5-6 for wine.
- Main meals are lunch ( around 2 pm) and dinner (around 10 pm) with breakfast (morning) and merienda (around 5 pm) being light and consisting of pastry or bread and coffee
- Drinking mate is social tradition. Drank everyday and on long car rides.
- Refer to most people from the US as Yankees. Which is interesting because unless you are from NYC or northern state I would assume you don't consider yourself a Yankee.
- Argentinean tend to not like Donald Trump
- People drive on their motorcycles while they hold their helmet in their hands.
- The homeless dogs are really sweet and well behaved.
- Music in English is really common
- People wear shirts with English words (I wonder if they know what it means)
- Taxi rides are very cheap ($5 for I decent distance)
- Asado is also social tradition and consists really good different cuts of meat
- Its free to see a doctor
- At 2 pm to 5 or 6 pm business's close for siesta and then open again 6 pm to 10 pm
- Gaucho shoes and garb is common and fashionable... our version of cowboy
- The only people of color here are seem to be actually from Africa and here to sell stuff on the street.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Tucuman.. Rdo de Tafi del Valle.. Salta Cafayate
10/25
Tucuman was awesome and especially Cafayate. Sofia and I took a 2 hour bus ride to Tucuman from Santiago where we stayed in a nice apartment in a brand new building. Tucuman was clearly bigger then Santiago but still had its own unique charm and a lot of big buildings. I got to meet Sofia's Aunt who invited us over to dinner where I had the best empanadas (ie. turnovers) I have had this trip. The following day we went to have lunch at a hotel in the hills outside the city. We took a bus up a a mountain on this very winding road. Our bus driver was wiping it around the bends and it was more thrilling then most Disney World rides honestly. It was foggy out so the world around us was all white, which was kind of unfortunate because the view was spectacular of the city (I got to see it a little on the bus ride down the mountain.) We Sofia told me to look for the big Jesus and that would signal us to get off. We didnt see any Jesus and she went to talk to the bus driver. We had missed the stop so we got off the bus and calculated that we were a 1 km away from the hotel we wanted be. At this point we were on a back country road completely vulnerable. I have to admit I was a little scared at first that we were this vulnerable. We started walking (most of it was up hill). Sofia said "There is the Jesus". No wonder we missed it.
We finally made it to the hotel.
It was interesting because on our trips in and out of the hotel grounds we had a different homeless dog escorts.
The bus was supposed to come at 8 am and the next bus wasn't until 2:15 pm (which didn't arrive until 3) so we hung out at the bus for a little over an hour as to not miss it. To pass time we played with the homeless dogs.
We had a rotation of 3 dogs with us at first but at some point I looked out and saw about 6 dogs some with very big builds all running toward the bus stop. Fortunately we were not attacked. All the dogs ran away and finally the bus came. Later that day the same Aunt we visited the night before had a party for 2 of Sofia' nieces. Apparently this is common in Argentina. Party for the sake of party without it being a birthday or any special occasion.
After 2 nights in the hotel we embarked on a road trip with a married couple who were Sofia's long time friends. There was another girl with us whose boyfriend lived in Cafayate so it was a group of 6 of us. They were all really sweet people who did speak some English so communication was pretty good. We drove two hours passing fields of sugar cane and landscape. I wanted to stay awake to look out the window but I fell asleep and I don't regret it because I needed it. When I awoke I was amidst probably the biggest mountains I have ever seen. (Defiantly) Also I saw the biggest cacti I have ever seen and a lot of them. Every time I see a surface of stone, brick, or any thing, I think about how it would make a great back drop for a photo shoot. Seeing the cacti makes me want to to a all cactus photo shoot. I think photography is definitely something that I enjoy and would We stopped at the little city of Rdo del Valle and got gas and shopped around. I bought typically Argentinean gaucho shoes and a sweater as well as some gifts to take home. We walked up to an overlook and ate pepperoni and cheese.
One direction,
the north, look dry as a bone with the mountains brown, while to the south, the landscape held a layer of fog and the mountains held vegetation.
We drove again another 2 hours and arrived at our campsite in Cafayate where we spent the night after having merienda in the plaza, drinking wine, playing guitar and charango and casually plucking meat from an asado. I was hoping to see the stars from our campsite but it was too well lit which was probably for the best. The following day we went to a vineyard for a wine testing. In hind sight I should have paid a little and sat through the 3 minutes of Spanish I wouldn't understand just to try the wines but instead I opted to sit with Sofia on the porch of the vineyard and soak in the sights. It was so gorgeous that I don't regret it either. The mountains in Cafayate were dry but covered in large cacti. The view was truly reminiscent of heaven.
We finally made it to the hotel.
 |
| Our favorite and most protective of the bunch. |
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| Tucuman from Aunts Rooftop patio. |
One direction, the north, look dry as a bone with the mountains brown, while to the south, the landscape held a layer of fog and the mountains held vegetation. We drove again another 2 hours and arrived at our campsite in Cafayate where we spent the night after having merienda in the plaza, drinking wine, playing guitar and charango and casually plucking meat from an asado. I was hoping to see the stars from our campsite but it was too well lit which was probably for the best. The following day we went to a vineyard for a wine testing. In hind sight I should have paid a little and sat through the 3 minutes of Spanish I wouldn't understand just to try the wines but instead I opted to sit with Sofia on the porch of the vineyard and soak in the sights. It was so gorgeous that I don't regret it either. The mountains in Cafayate were dry but covered in large cacti. The view was truly reminiscent of heaven.
Going Out
October 17th.
It is crazy that I only have a little over 2 weeks left in my visit to Argentina. I have had a lot of fun this past weekend. Friday night we celebrated Sofia's birthday and went out with 2 of her friends to 2 different bar/clubs. We started the pregame at her house at about midnight and didn't leave to the the first club until 2 am. I gained a new perspective on this late night behavior. A lot of people don't really want to stay up that late, they just do because that's the only time things are "lit" or alive. Up until 2 am or a little after people are sitting. The music is, what people from the US are more used to, hip hop or dubstep. Later in the night you hear Latino music with a cumbia beat. I had went to the club in Cordoba too and I had a much less of a good time even though I really tried. It was so crowded that I couldn't dance. People seemed to just take over your space as if you didn't exist . When I resisted this it seemed like more of an offensive move then the intended defensive one I was aiming for. There seemed to be a constant flow of people walking through our group. Friday night however we were not as crowded. Sofia's cousin who worked at the club even gave us a whole bottle of Smirnoff. I had never had alcohol at my disposal like that at a club. We danced until about 4:30 AM and then went to a hotel restaurant for lomito. A steak egg and ham sandwich with mayonnaise. Saturday night went and got Sushi to celebrate Sofia's sisters birthday. whose birthday was Sunday. The sushi took over an hour to get but it was really good once it came so it was worth it. Serving at restaurants here is much different then in the States. Here it the server doesn't come to you a lot. Just the essential times like to order and to dispatch food and the bill.
It is crazy that I only have a little over 2 weeks left in my visit to Argentina. I have had a lot of fun this past weekend. Friday night we celebrated Sofia's birthday and went out with 2 of her friends to 2 different bar/clubs. We started the pregame at her house at about midnight and didn't leave to the the first club until 2 am. I gained a new perspective on this late night behavior. A lot of people don't really want to stay up that late, they just do because that's the only time things are "lit" or alive. Up until 2 am or a little after people are sitting. The music is, what people from the US are more used to, hip hop or dubstep. Later in the night you hear Latino music with a cumbia beat. I had went to the club in Cordoba too and I had a much less of a good time even though I really tried. It was so crowded that I couldn't dance. People seemed to just take over your space as if you didn't exist . When I resisted this it seemed like more of an offensive move then the intended defensive one I was aiming for. There seemed to be a constant flow of people walking through our group. Friday night however we were not as crowded. Sofia's cousin who worked at the club even gave us a whole bottle of Smirnoff. I had never had alcohol at my disposal like that at a club. We danced until about 4:30 AM and then went to a hotel restaurant for lomito. A steak egg and ham sandwich with mayonnaise. Saturday night went and got Sushi to celebrate Sofia's sisters birthday. whose birthday was Sunday. The sushi took over an hour to get but it was really good once it came so it was worth it. Serving at restaurants here is much different then in the States. Here it the server doesn't come to you a lot. Just the essential times like to order and to dispatch food and the bill.
The 3rd week drop.
October 19th
Yesterday I felt a little home sick. I find this to be normal for me as the idea of going home to my own room and not living out of a suitcase becomes starts becoming sweeter. I know, however that once I do go home, after a day or so I will be ready for another adventure. So I am going to keep the mindset that as I finish out my journey. My previous experience has shown me that around week 3 of a trip and the initial excitement is over that this stage sets in. It is only temporary though and the end of my trip will rebound. The language barrier has been getting to me a little. Conversations that are social I participate in parts of and I am left out of business oriented conversations. I understand though.. It is up to me to adapt. I find I can only listen so much to people talk words I don't understand. I understands words here and there but I miss whole pieces of sentences and I'm sure many nuances of conversations. I do think that I am getting better at listening and deciphering actual words instead of gibberish when people speak. Sofia ordered food for me in the hotel and when I went to pick up and pay for the order. It was clear that did not speak Spanish. When the delivery guy left he said "entiendo nada" and I replied "entiendo un poco" feeling slightly insulted. I have been in a hotel the past 3 nights because Sofia's apartment, I was staying in, needed to be rented. The hotel is frustrating because I cannot log onto the WIFI. If there is one thing that really needs to work for foreigners in a different country it is WIFI. I asked the guy at the desk and he told me that it was better to work from the lobby after a fragmented conversation in Spanish. The other thing is that the shower leaks water onto the bathroom floor. I feel like I am complaining like a first world spoiled brat but can you blame me? I just want the basic things to work like my WIFI and my shower. Tomorrow I leave the hotel though so I am not too too worried about it. Sofia and I are going to the Tucuman. We are going to go camping and I am very excited to see the landscape. Tucuman apparently is a little bit bigger of a city then Santiago but I hope to see mountains.
Yesterday I felt a little home sick. I find this to be normal for me as the idea of going home to my own room and not living out of a suitcase becomes starts becoming sweeter. I know, however that once I do go home, after a day or so I will be ready for another adventure. So I am going to keep the mindset that as I finish out my journey. My previous experience has shown me that around week 3 of a trip and the initial excitement is over that this stage sets in. It is only temporary though and the end of my trip will rebound. The language barrier has been getting to me a little. Conversations that are social I participate in parts of and I am left out of business oriented conversations. I understand though.. It is up to me to adapt. I find I can only listen so much to people talk words I don't understand. I understands words here and there but I miss whole pieces of sentences and I'm sure many nuances of conversations. I do think that I am getting better at listening and deciphering actual words instead of gibberish when people speak. Sofia ordered food for me in the hotel and when I went to pick up and pay for the order. It was clear that did not speak Spanish. When the delivery guy left he said "entiendo nada" and I replied "entiendo un poco" feeling slightly insulted. I have been in a hotel the past 3 nights because Sofia's apartment, I was staying in, needed to be rented. The hotel is frustrating because I cannot log onto the WIFI. If there is one thing that really needs to work for foreigners in a different country it is WIFI. I asked the guy at the desk and he told me that it was better to work from the lobby after a fragmented conversation in Spanish. The other thing is that the shower leaks water onto the bathroom floor. I feel like I am complaining like a first world spoiled brat but can you blame me? I just want the basic things to work like my WIFI and my shower. Tomorrow I leave the hotel though so I am not too too worried about it. Sofia and I are going to the Tucuman. We are going to go camping and I am very excited to see the landscape. Tucuman apparently is a little bit bigger of a city then Santiago but I hope to see mountains.
Friday, October 14, 2016
A life time's meat and potato's
October 14th
I have been reflecting on a conversation I had back in Cordoba with a member of the band Power Sexy, Guanma. Sofia and Power Sexy did a cover of Barbie girl that was really good and I filmed it for Instagram. I accidentally stole Guanma's shirt because it was under my jacket so the day following the recording he invited me to go on some errands with him and I gave him back my shirt.We walked through the beautiful and unfamiliar Cordoba and talked about how his band had made it viral through a video but that it was not enough to constantly strive to make viral hits. As an artist, or artists you need basic material. The analogy I thought of immediately was meat and potatoes vs. the ice cream. The ice cream is the viral videos that make it big. But a meal can't be all ice cream or it isn't any good (at least not nourishing) a meal requires meat and potatoes or real content with substance. One thing I have learned while creating this blog is how time consuming it can really be to do something well. I am came into this blog with no real expectations of it but to reach the bare minimum of blog still has required time and real content. I find my mind still drifting toward the idea that I could write a passage that would acquire many views and be really enjoyed by people and be really good. This is a trap fall I feel that I have and probably a lot of people have been absorbed in. Writing a really good blog is not to come all of a sudden. I need to work up a lot more meat a potato's and share those meat and potato's a lot more before I were to break through to the ice cream. This meat and potatoes metaphor has me thinking differently then I did before about careers. Those 8 hours a day people go to work is what primarily determines the content or meat and potato's of their life. That's why it is so crucial to do what your passion is and what will make you great in those hours. So when you are older you can look back at your life and see more then just time spent making money but time spent making you great. Here is some meat and potato's in the form of a Lomito I had in a a restaurant called Budda in Satiago Del Estero.
I have been reflecting on a conversation I had back in Cordoba with a member of the band Power Sexy, Guanma. Sofia and Power Sexy did a cover of Barbie girl that was really good and I filmed it for Instagram. I accidentally stole Guanma's shirt because it was under my jacket so the day following the recording he invited me to go on some errands with him and I gave him back my shirt.We walked through the beautiful and unfamiliar Cordoba and talked about how his band had made it viral through a video but that it was not enough to constantly strive to make viral hits. As an artist, or artists you need basic material. The analogy I thought of immediately was meat and potatoes vs. the ice cream. The ice cream is the viral videos that make it big. But a meal can't be all ice cream or it isn't any good (at least not nourishing) a meal requires meat and potatoes or real content with substance. One thing I have learned while creating this blog is how time consuming it can really be to do something well. I am came into this blog with no real expectations of it but to reach the bare minimum of blog still has required time and real content. I find my mind still drifting toward the idea that I could write a passage that would acquire many views and be really enjoyed by people and be really good. This is a trap fall I feel that I have and probably a lot of people have been absorbed in. Writing a really good blog is not to come all of a sudden. I need to work up a lot more meat a potato's and share those meat and potato's a lot more before I were to break through to the ice cream. This meat and potatoes metaphor has me thinking differently then I did before about careers. Those 8 hours a day people go to work is what primarily determines the content or meat and potato's of their life. That's why it is so crucial to do what your passion is and what will make you great in those hours. So when you are older you can look back at your life and see more then just time spent making money but time spent making you great. Here is some meat and potato's in the form of a Lomito I had in a a restaurant called Budda in Satiago Del Estero.
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