Voyage of the Blonde Treader

Happy Sunday!

2015-02-15T13:34:00.004-08:00

It's been awhile. Almost three years since I last posted anything. A lot can happen in three years! I will try to give you a quick overview of life during that period.

My last post details my journey as a gluten-free individual and that is still the same today. I am allergic to gluten, as well as the wheat and barley separately (which both contain gluten). This has been one of the biggest life changes to get used to but I am feeling like my old self again, physically. I am still getting there mentally though - my brain fog is pretty much gone, I still have some challenging days though. Someone told me it could take years to go away and then one day you will wake up and feel it just lift away and clarity will return! Sure enough, one day I was talking to a co-worker about diet changes and thought "oh my gosh, it's finally gone!" I still have some days where I experience it in small doses, usually after mistakenly eating something that I shouldn't have (ie.my official cheat day: Corn dogs and fried everything at the State Fair of Texas). But about food...

I moved home from Argentina in November of 2012. I was still working for 3rd Home, but realized I could no longer sustain myself on an income that low so I moved back to Texas, with $400 to my name and did what every college graduate dreams of doing: moved back in with the parents to share a room with their high school sister again. That was fun for about two whole weeks and I knew something had to change so I quit 3rd Home and started working on getting my teaching certificate. About two months into that a friend of mine, Katie, suggested I apply for an HR job at her company. I did and was soon an active HR professional! I have been at Employer Flexible every since.

I quit Facebook about the same time I quit 3rd Home. After years of being online all the time for work and when trying to maintain relationships with friends in family back in Texas, I just needed to disconnect for awhile. It is amazing what a habit that had become and how much time I had for new things after that, I highly recommend it for anyone just needing a break.

During my confinement at my parents I was able to save some money which afforded me the chance to visit my brother while my old friend, Phil was visiting the Bay Area as well. That was a lot of fun since it had been years since I had seen either of them.

Happy 4th of July!

Muir Woods

Meanwhile, Facundo and I decided we wanted to move forward in our relationship so he started working on getting his fiancee visa to the USA. That was a long, exhausting process both mentally and emotionally. That process took about a year and a significant amount of our time and bank accounts, but eventually he moved got his visa to Dallas in January of 2014.

On February 21, 2014 he officially proposed to me at my apartment after I got home from work that day...and a week later we were married.

Engagement

Starting our greatest journey together.

About two months after Facu moved in we decided to do what every sane, young, married, financially struggling couple should do - adopt a dog! Much to the objection of my parents, we went to "just look at a dogs" one day and of course came home with one the next. As much as we probably shouldn't have done it, I am so happy we did, because Enzo has been so much fun to have this past year.

Enzo F. Duggan

Facu eventually got his work visa (and subsequently a job) around October of last year which allowed us the opportunity to visit some friends in New York City for NYE. I also had the chance to travel and see friends and family since I moved home (Kate in St. Petersburg) and some friends have been able to come visit here as well. I love being able to show people around my hometown and spend time sharing the things I love about with them so they can love it too. Philippe came to visit last Spring, Andy came in the summer, and Edita came in the Fall.

St. Pete

Lake Tahoe - North Star

The Rustic

Edita came to experience a real, American Thanksgiving, which was Facu's first as well. I think they both enjoyed it and can now share their experience with people they care about. Hopefully I will get the chance to visit Lithuania some day too...I have heard nothing but wonderful things and have added it to the list :)

Edita's first American pedicure!

It's kind of crazy to look back on things and see how much as changed since I last wrote a post here. I made some other decision during this time as well that have helped me change what direction I want my life to go in. There is an old quote we used to say at Southwestern:

"The person you hope to someday be, you are now becoming."

I try to remember this whenever I get frustrated with life and things that might be happening the way I do not want them to happen. I joined a new church (Shoreline Dallas) which has been a new and exciting journey as well.

Also, after seeing how much my diet change my health, I decided to stop complaining about my back and went to see a new doctor who advised me to try yoga. He said it would help strengthen my core and it has helped tremendously. Not only that, but it has helped me combat stress and encouraged me to look at other health-related aspects in my life as well. I am going to have to admit that I have gotten on the essential oil train (the using kind, not the selling kind) and am going to start up doing things I enjoy more, like writing. I am going to revamp my cooking blog again. I think I will change it in a new direction though, not just healthy eating on a budget, but trying to bring things back to the basics - I have two chairs I am going to reupholster myself, I am going to start brewing my own Kombucha Tea, making my own cosmetics, etc., and you are welcome to read all about that journey as well.

It's good to be back.

Bridget

Back to normal...kinda

2012-09-17T13:28:00.002-07:00

So I've officially been on the gluten free diet for 2.5 months and I'm feeling much better. Mentally and emotionally I almost feel like my old self, physically I am much better, but still not quite there yet. But I think it will take a few months more since I do not know for sure what some of the ingredients are in certain foods down here. But I did feel better playing soccer on Saturday! Well, except for the whole big girl run me over and sprain my ankle part, but that wouldn't be the first time. Before that incident I felt much better than I did trying to run an 8k two weeks before. I almost died. I was in a pain and even dry heaved a few times. Pretty sad, I know, but it's most likely a combination of being incredibly out of shape, as well as eating apple strudel (with gluten!) the day before. Not my brightest idea, but my roommate is from Germany and worked so hard at it and I just...wanted...a...little...piece. Probably not worth the feeling that terrible while trying to run more than I have the rest of the year combined, but it was still delicious. And I learned my lesson: no cheating on the diet. Sorry Andy! (He had to run with me).

Don't really have any pictures to post here, I don't think, unless...wait. Here you go:

cankle time!

Probably not what you wanted to see, but I'm struggling financially theses days so I haven't really traveled around Argentina much. The one place I wanted to go was Mendoza but still haven't made it. Hopefully I will someday, I've heard it's beautiful. Anyway, I head home in November and cannot wait to see everyone!

A sister blog

2012-08-17T14:36:00.002-07:00

I started a new blog for to help with my new gluten-free life! I'll be expirimenting with recipes and such so feel free to check it out! http://simplywithout.blogspot.com.ar/

Bridget

Finally!

2012-08-07T08:50:00.002-07:00

After about 24 hours of traveling, a very tired Facu and I just got back to Buenos Aires. I will upload the photos and add a post about all the stuff we did and places we saw when I can find the cord to my camera/get the internet to work, so sorry about the delay. But I do have some updates from the doctor!

I don’t know if I ever told you, although I’m sure I did multiple times knowing myself, but I’ve been having a lot of medical problems since I was a sophomore in college. It started when I found out I was anemic even though my iron levels are normal and then just grew gradually from there. Nothing ever big enough to suggest something needs immediate attention, but enough to make me aware something was not right. I started noticing when I was suddenly exhausted all the time - even just walking one flight up the stairs. And of course people would say “oh you’re just stressed” or “maybe you have mono” which I went and got tested for because I was so tired, but it was negative and I wasn’t getting any better after taking cold medicine. Then other things started to happen like my short-term memory would be off and I couldn’t focus on tasks as well as before and then I was having a really hard time getting out of bed after 8 hours of sleep. And I have always been a morning person because I like the quiet and taking my time eating, getting ready, reading, etc. so this was really annoying because I didn’t want to get out of bed. I thought maybe I wasn’t getting enough sleep so I upped my count to 10 hours. But nothing changed. And then I started getting acne that was worse than any I had ever had during adolescence which confused me quite a bit since I thought I had grown out of it.

And since the changes were so small and gradual nobody else really noticed a difference in me or my habits but me. And it was weird because I never really felt bad, but I never felt good either. So I became sleep obsessed. I mean, I went to bed at 11PM during the week and on weekends I would plan on going out in Memphis but would frequently find myself opting to stay home and relax because I was “tired” and “needed to catch up on sleep.”

And then I noticed a huge difference in my food digestion that prompted me to try the celiac diet. So I kicked gluten out but I didn’t notice a difference in how I felt so I nixed that after a few months. And then I had some blood work done; which is where I discovered that my anemia had nothing to do with iron but we weren’t sure why. And things remained the same for about a year or so until after graduation I would get terrible headaches sporadically every few months (enough so to get my eyes checked in case they were the problem) and then my joints began aching too if I sat still for too long. And I can’t tell you how incredibly frustrating this all was, not knowing what’s wrong or if there is even something wrong at all. People would tell me they thought I was a hypochondriac and was fine and it was all in my head (which, of course at this point, I’m sure you know that was really encouraging to hear).

I became insanely stressed because I didn’t know what was wrong, and maybe people were right and it was just in my head. I was getting angry and worked up over nothing, I went from crying once a year to crying to every other day. And over stupid things too. Wow, I’m crying because I missed my exit on the highway? What is wrong with me? And I know people change, which I clearly have over the past few years just because of life, but I became really cynical about everything. I still appreciated life with it’s challenges, but I just noticed a negativity I’ve never seen in myself before. I could find something wrong with everything.

And there were good days and bad days too. Most of the time though, I couldn’t sleep through the night without waking up every hour. And then I would wake up feeling hung-over even though I didn’t drink the day before. And poor Facu and my mom have had to put up with me the most since I’m living down in Argentina and they're the ones I vent to when I can. So, when I was home this past month we took a day away from our vacation to go to the doctor to figure out what the heck was wrong.

Two arms and a leg later I found out I am allergic to...pretty much everything. The main thing is gluten, which wasn’t much of a surprise, but the setback is that I’m also allergic to cow milk – which immediately kills most cheeses, yogurt, ice cream, milk, etc. And then there's eggs (the yolks and the whites), cherries, almonds, black pepper, garlic (really God?), avocado, apricot, pineapple, green beans, mushrooms, kidney beans (Actually, I think I’m okay with this one), chili powder, mustard, and the list goes on. Oh and don't forget brewer’s yeast! So that means no beer, even the gluten free ones. But I guess the dairy, eggs, and garlic probably explains why I didn’t see much improvement with the celiac diet. I was substituting yogurt and eggs for breakfast cereal, and I wad definitely drinking gluten free beer and putting garlic in everything when I cooked – all of which are things I’m allergic to. Awesome. And I guess it's really hard for your body to function properly without absorbing any nutrients for years (which I know my mom will claim is the reason I'm so short).

On the bright side, coffee and chocolate are safe along with meat and seafood, and I apparently need to eat MORE salt so I won’t complain about that. I can’t tell you what a relief it is just to know. I mean, I definitely cried when I saw the list and found out that mushrooms and garlic were a no go too, but still it’s much better to know and be able to solve everything then be left wondering if you’re crazy or if you have something more serious.

And there’s also a possibility that after 2 or 3 years I can start gradually introducing certain things back into my diet. But we’ll see, I’ve only been on the new diet for 2 days so I’m still trying to figure out what I CAN eat so that I can start feeling better. So if you know of any cheeses besides goat’s cheese that don’t have cow milk let me know! Also I’m still a bit confused about alcohol because I thought brewer’s yeast was only in beer, but I’ve read it might be in wine too (which would be really sad), but I really don’t know so help would be great.

Bridget

Choice

2012-06-19T09:16:00.002-07:00

Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts. Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one's lifetime.
- Innocents Abroad, Mark Twain

I love this quote, because traveling seems to kill the little silly things that don't matter much but become such a big part of your everyday life, while at the same time, it seems to exaggerate and solidify the things that are most important to you. And once you've disposed of the unessential items you'll have much more time for the things you love.

For me, the most important thing a person has is: CHOICE. The ability to choose what you do, what you believe, the way you react, the way you think, and the way to change your situation if you've chosen not to be complacent with it. So often we choose to take the entitlement mentality that is based around the mindset that we are victims to our situations.

I've been doing it quite a bit lately, but then I remember even though something may happen that's out of my control, I still have the choice to complain about it, deal with it, change it, or remove myself from the situation altogether. Maybe it's inconvenient and takes a little time and work, but nothing comes easy in life for anyone.

There are some people in this world who have not been taught that they have the power to choose the way they live their lives. Some think it's all given to them and they are therefore entitled to it as well as anything else they desire while others think there's nothing they can do to better their situation and everyone else is to blame for it. Both are false. Anyone can do anything if they have at least 2 of 3 things:

1. an education (and I'm not just talking about the schooling kind)
2. a desire
3. a strong work ethic

Don't let anybody tell you any different, even yourself.

Argentina is the place for doppelgangers

2012-06-02T08:51:00.000-07:00

If you want to find yours then head on down to Buenos Aires! They say that there is at least one other person in this world that looks like you and apparently they all live here.

Seriously not a week goes by that I don’t see someone and think “what are you doing here?” and realize it’s not who I think it is but instead is a complete stranger. Or I meet someone and can’t stop staring at them because I feel like I’ve met them before. Only to soon realize that they just remind me of someone because they look and act scarily similar.

I’ve compiled a list of my friends who have “been in Argentina” in the past year:

Ben Kessler (you have a salsa-dancing, flannel wearing clone down here)

Peter Hall (Equipped with a North Face vest, fratastic shirt, and the same hairstyle, I’m still pretty sure it’s actually you)

Willie Dale (your long lost, brown haired, brown-eyed brother with extremely flat feet)

Blake or Andy?

Alex Nicholson (in this case, your doppelganger is an expat as well. Same hair, same nose, same humor, and same manner of walking – only British)

David Guetta

Blake Rustmann (a brown haired, big-headed version – only smarter ;) )

~~Katherine Lagow~~ (wait, that actually was you)

Sarah Casey (American-born, Spanish speaking, freckle faced, Argentine living version)

Harry Potter (real-life version)

Aaron Nicholson (same ginger beard and all)

There’s definitely more, I just can’t think of them off the top of my head, but I’ll update as I remember. Also, I really need to start taking pictures because it’s ridiculous how similar these people are.

Wait a second...

2012-05-01T08:36:00.002-07:00

So if a christian says something derogatory about a certain type of person it's hateful and unintelligent (which I agree, it shouldn't be done considering it goes against everything Jesus taught) yet when other people say something derogatory about Christians it's not hateful and not ignorant? And aren't they the ones preaching about being more open minded to other people's beliefs? I see a double standard here.

Valuable lessons from Rhodes College

2012-04-26T05:51:00.001-07:00

It's 6:30 AM in Argentina and I can't sleep, so what better way to pass the time then to reminisce about Rhodes College and the wonderful things I discovered from its diverse social scene.

1. The Gold Medallion Shoe
I may not know the name of these shoes (I literally got the picture from googling "gold medallion shoe"), but I do know one thing about them, the girls at Rhodes College love the shit out of these things. They had them in every style imaginable: neon, plaid, heels, sparkly, etc. And they wore them with their dresses, they wore them with their skirts, and they even wore them with their Nike shorts - so of course they had to have at least 3 pairs each to coordinate with their various ensembles. Because why would anyone pay 20 bucks for a pair of old navy flats when you could pay 70 for the same ones with gold medallions glued to them?

2. The North Face

Another thing people at Rhodes loved was to give the appearance that they had been mountain climbing recently. And by that, I mean they loved The North Face. And I'm not talking any North Face, I'm talking about the Denali jacket. I have never seen this jacket so many times as when I went to eat lunch on the first day of fall at Rhodes College. Bust out your power sweatshirts everyone! And if you didn't have one when you started at Rhodes, you had one when you left, because who would be caught dead wearing a Patagonia? Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good jacket and a good brand, but I doubt that most people who were wearing it didn't actually know what the name "The North Face" even refers to.

3. Nike Shorts
Apparently these shorts are a staple to any college girls wardrobe. Even if she has never gone on a run in her life. Which is fine, they're comfy and fashionable and can be paired with gold medallion shoes and North Face Jackets to turn any bad day into a stylish one! No but really, these shorts are everywhere. I had the old version of these shorts for soccer practice when I was younger and didn't even realize the gold mine of a fashion statement I was sitting on until I got to Rhodes. I busted those babies out as soon as I caught on! Although they weren't quite as cute as these neon pink tiger stripe ones on the right here so I had to invest half my paycheck in a more updated version. And quite frankly, for as cute as they look, I can't help but be disappointed about the poofy section in the front near the elastic line. Does anyone else have that problem or did I just buy the wrong season of Nike shorts?

4. Sperry Topsiders

These shoes have a fashion niche that spans generations. From my mom having her own pair of the beloved boat shoes to my younger sister's praise of their wardrobe versatility, these shoes have are tale of the ages that makes everyone a bit nostalgic for the feeling of the ocean's breeze flowing through your hair.. Comfy and sophisticated, you can even buy special nude color-panty-hose-type socks to wear with them so they don't get stinky. Or, if you want to see a variety of the different styles I advise you not to walk by the ATO and Kappa Sigma frat houses. The RAT would be a better bet because apparently the only reason people dare to brave the questionable cuisine there is to show off the new additions to their wardrobe. It's like the whole J Crew catalog just came to life. So, if you're the type like me who buys them because their comfy and about as close to owning a yacht as I will ever get, then I recommend the bluefish 2 eye version.

5. Rainbow Sandals

God bless California Surfers for teaching us that you don't find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow, but instead, theses little bundles of leathery delight. And I think I can speak for everyone when I say that the first 2 blister filled, calloused weeks of breaking these babies in is totally worth it. For just $40 bucks and bearing this slight 2 week grievance your feet are rewarded with a bliss that is molded to the contour of your feet and makes you feel like you're walking on pillows. Just don't let them get wet otherwise it feels like you're walking on sticky floor type pillows.

6. Longchamp

I'm going to be honest and say that I didn't know the significance of these either until my friend brought me a $2 Shanghai knockoff last year. But I do remember that EVERY girl at Rhodes College had these. If not the first semester, they soon learned to ditch their North Face backpack for this more feminine tote that can function both as a book bag as well as a purse. I was a little amazed and appalled to find that they cost upwards of $115. I'll stick to the Shanghai specials, especially since nobody seems to be able to tell the difference.

7. Croakies

Don't let the name deceive you. Although it might scream redneck I can assure you that only the most fratty of frat boys will be found sporting these. And that is pretty much every single one at Rhodes College. Just wander past the library on a Friday evening and you'll be greeted with a slew of men dawning these along with their Columbia vest on top of a collard shirt (paired with J crew critter shorts and Sperry's of course). Before Rhodes I thought Oakley dominated the sports eye-wear market, only to find that there is a whole other realm of sports out there I wasn't aware of. And they all seemed to originate on the thresholds of frat houses. The original founders probably had something to do with a mix of frat houses and duck hunting, but now I'm pretty sure the wearers of said eye wear would rather hunt for a pledge to make a beer run than a duck. Be sure to get the attachment so they don't fall of your head!

List 2 will be coming soon. Here are a few teasers: Ugg boots, the entire J crew store, and anything Kate Spade.

It's been awhile

2012-04-13T17:32:00.001-07:00

So I've been a terrible blogger lately. It's been over 2 months since I last updated. To be honest though, I haven't really felt up to writing lately because I work online about 10 hours a day and being on the computer anymore than necessary isn't that appealing. But what needs to be done, needs to get done!

So to recap a bit, I went to the beach with Facu and his family. They have a house there with a grill and it was so nice to escape the big city and just enjoy the ocean. Especially since there weren't a ton of people there since it was chilly. His mom made homemade fried calamari one night which was wonderful. With just a little bit of lemon and salt and we were all set. Nom nom nom...

I think the best part of the entire trip though was when we went out to a bar one night with some friends and they had a special going on for unlimited beer for 3 hours for 30 pesos. And that my friends is the equivalent of $6.83 USD. Oh what fools! They told that secret to the wrong group of people too. Why pay 24 pesos for one beer if I can pay 30 for infinite beer? And then, to make the night even better, the bouncer was from none other than the greatest city in the world: Dallas, Texas. AND THEN, if you didn't think the night could get any better, oh it did. This random German Shepherd just strolled into the bar and plopped himself down on a couch like he owned the place. And of course we took a picture with the celebrity before he was quickly shooed away:

The rest of the weekend we spent failing miserably at fishing, but at least we tried.

Facu Fishing

Facu's Dad fishing

And then this week was spent getting back into the swing of things. Facu's birthday was yesterday so I made some chocolate chip oatmeal raisin walnut peanut butter cookies since he doesn't really like cake. Nom nom nom.

Yes, that is a triple decker cookie stacked with layers of dulce de leche!

Anyway, that's all I've got going on at the moment, but hopefully I'll have some stories after my first soccer game this weekend! Got my cleats ready and everything (my mommy polished them for me before she sent them). I'll let you know.

Bridget

Pinamar beach

My new crib

2012-02-09T15:22:00.001-08:00

I have officially moved into the city. For the past 2 months I had been living outside it in Quilmes where the beer is made. But now I'm a city dweller! I'm living in the home of a good friend of Facu's that's in a really nice part of the city called Retiro. I'm next to the train station and a few touristy places and the most important thing...a Starbucks. I'm getting a little tired of this instant coffee thing so the fact that there's 2 within walking distance is incredibly convenient. And there's also 3 grocery stores within 2 blocks as well as some fruit ladies that sit nearby selling produce to people that walk by.

But of course this is Argentina (TIA) and 4 days after I move in to this awesome place, there's a story all over the news about some French photographer getting killed in the park down the street. Seriously? He apparently went for a walk yesterday morning and was taking pictures of some nature in plaza San Martin (a relatively safe place - during the day) when some rando tried to steal his camera. Of course the frenchie said no, and proceeded to tackle the man to get his camera back which is when he was then stabbed in the chest...6 times. The poor guy was on vacation here and just wanted to take a few pictures of some trees. At least he kicked the thief's butt. Although if he hadn't done so he would probably still be alive.

I don't understand the way people can warrant taking another human's life for something as insignificant as a camera. Btw the criminal was caught and is now in jail. Lucky for him the photographer wasn't a Texan, because then he would have pulled out his gun and shot the thief and got his camera back (in the leg of course so as not to kill him).

Anyway, mom and dad don't worry I'll be smart so I'm safe. Also I'm not french and I don't have expensive things...except the phone I'm writing this with. But I'll be careful. Okay I guess I should give a tour of my new place.

shared living room

my bathroom...Jacuzzi tub!

shared kitchen

my giant bedroom

my living room/work space

It's beginning to look a lot like Summer

2011-12-26T14:55:00.000-08:00

This was my first Christmas away from home so I figured I'd make I might as well make it as nontraditional as possible and spend it in the southern hemisphere.

There were a few things a bit different for me being in Argentina. For starters, it's summer here, which might be normal for Argentina, but not for us winter Christmasers who bundle up in sweaters with cocoa and coffee to watch Home Alone marathons on a regular basis. Another things is that, like New Years Eve is for us, Christmas Eve is the biggest night of the year down here. So we celebrated by dressing up and having an asado (barbeque) around 10:30 pm and cracking open a bottle of champagne to go watch the fireworks outside. They were going off like crazy all over the city - it was like the 4th of July when I was a kid, before firework control to effect. Some guy in the villas (slums) was even setting them off as well, Facu said "he probably didn't eat tonight, but he's setting off fireworks." Which is pretty amazing and sad at the same time since they probably didn't much to give, yet they're willing to give what they did have to share the celebration of Christ's birth with everyone.

About 12:15 AM on Christmas morning!

After the fireworks finished, we all went back inside to open presents from "Papa Noel" (Santa Claus). Us foreigners were really surprised because we usually open presents after everyone wakes up in the morning, but this was really neat doing it this way because then you can enjoy the rest of the day with your friends and family. So we sat around and some more people came over for dessert and then around 2A.M. we headed out to a Christmas party at a friend's house.

When we got home the next morning (!), I changed into a skirt and tank top, strolled downstairs and got ready for another asado with Facu's dad's family. He is one of 7 kids so they all came over with their kids and it reminded me a lot of Christmas with my family since there were tons of people in the house. They set some tables up outside for lunch and then we all went inside and exchanged more gifts. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming to us confused winter celebraters and it was a lot of fun. And even though I missed my family and friends at home quite a bit I'm really glad I got to experience and appreciate celebrating a little differently this year. I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and I cannot wait to see what this next year has in store.

Fruit Pizza for the Christmas BBQ

Skyping with my family later

Machu Picchu

2011-12-11T08:01:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally got the opportunity to see Machu Picchu. It had been on the travel list for awhile and then the trip just kind of fell into my lap. Bernard Chu, a Southwestern buddy, had been telling me he was heading that way in November and so I just jumped on board. The only issue was missing Christmas since I was planning on heading to Argentina and didn't see a point of going back to the States when I was already so close. But my parents assured me that they wouldn't disown me for missing out (although my mom has graciously been sending me pictures of all the Christmas decorations she decided to put up to rub it in). I will just pretend it's her way of coping with my absence this year.

NFL Sunday

So after avoiding the malls on Black Friday, I shoved half my life into a few suitcases hoping I wouldn't be charged an arm and a leg for luggage fees. After arriving in Lima I met up with Bernard and we headed to stay at a guest house of our friend Whitney - also a booketeer. She actually grew up in Peru so we took advantage of her language skills and headed to Cuzco. Cuzco is a great little city but a bit high so we had to spend a little time getting acclimated up there with some Coca Tea. There is a great little pub called Norton Rat's in the main square that we crashed for awhile. They were promoting NFL Sunday so as Americans it was a no-brainer which bar to go to. It was actually pretty weird because I ran into a guy with a Cowboys hat on that happened to be from the exact same city as me and even lived with a family friend of ours when he was out in LA. Small world.

Our trip to Peru was already planned out and completely organized be a tour guide that my friend Emily recommended. His name is Jimmy Jhon and he was awesome and if any of you want to travel there some day let me know so I can give you his info. Not only was he more reasonably priced than most guides, but he also picked us up from the airport in Cuzco and from then on out we didn't have to worry about anything. He already had our meals, hostels, excursions, train tickets, and tickets to Machu Picchu all set up so all we needed to do was survive long enough to take advantage of everything. Easier said than done though. (Also her really like to be called Jaime Juan).

The first day we took a van up to the top of a mountain that was 2796 feet above sea level (4500 meters) and then biked 72 Kilometers down (about 45 miles). It was great, the weather was beautiful, the view was amazing, etc. And the roads were surprisingly good. Afterwards we grabbed some lunch and went white water rafting which was good. We headed to dinner and then a local bar for a bit, keeping in mind that we had to get up at 6am the next day. The 2nd day we had an 8 hour hike up the Inca Jungle Trail with a few stops on the way (Thanks God). It was the most difficult hike I've ever done. Not really sure if it's the altitude or that I'm just out of shape, but I was really sore the next few days. It was beautiful though because we could see the whole valley from the top. And the places we stopped at for more water, bug spray, etc. were neat little homes of people that lived up there. They all had monkeys for pets and sold their homemade juices, chocolate, and other things like Gatorade. At the end of the hike though there were some really nice hot springs strategically located for our use. So good.

Relaxing in the hot springs

The next day we went zip lining between the mountains which was really cool. Some of the areas between the lines though were a little iffy. For instance, we landed on one platform and had to climb up a ladder (which is probably the best word for it) that consisted of metal bars hammered in to the rock on the side of the mountain. Which reminds me to mention, that if you're afraid of heights then you should probably avoid going to Machu Picchu or at least hiking any of the trails to it. There were many parts were I knew if I slipped or stepped on a loose rock that I was a goner. Not really sure how I managed to survive actually, seeing as I'm not the most coordinated person and add a backpack on there that weighs have my body weight. It's a miracle really.

Path up Wayna Picchu

We had a 3 hour hike over some railroad tracks after the zip lining which brought us to Aguas Calientes, the town at the base of Machu Picchu. It was a cute little town built around the river, probably one of the nicest towns I saw while in Peru. Some good restaurants and little shops to look through, though the prices were a lot higher compared to Cuzco since we were at Machu Picchu. But we had an option of either waking up at 4am to hike to Machu Picchu the next day or wake up at 530 and take a bus up. Definitely chose the bus. Best choice we could have made too because not only did we get to sleep longer, but Whitney had sprained her ankle the week before and it was swelling up again after all the hiking, but also, if we had hiked up we would have been completely drained. And this would probably have prevented us from hiking up Wayna Picchu which is a cliff overlooking Machu Picchu. It was really steep and you had to go slow since it was a lot riskier than your typical mounting hike, but it was definitely worth it once you got to the top. The view was amazing.

There were some "stairs" if that's what you want to call them that people were coming down while we were hiking up. All I could think when looking at them was "there is no way in hell that I'm going down those stairs." Here's a pic of them:

And even though we went up a different way, guess had we had to go down? That's right, the stairs of death. They give you no other option. It was okay though, you just had to go REALLY slow. But it was definitely worth it.

There were a few first experiences for me this trip. One was peeing in a hole in the ground. Awesome. Now I see why guys love peeing outside. Another was the consistent lack of running water in the hostels we stayed at. It was great for me because I had an excuse not to shower everyday (although a few cold showers were necessary when running water was found). I think my favorite part was in one hostel the water wasn't working so Bernard went to tell the lady "hey there's no water...no hay agua" and she just looked at him and said in Spanish: "yeah, the water is turned off" and then just walked away. No big deal, and not going to do anything about it. Another thing I had never seen before was people taking the pet monkeys around town. We were eating breakfast one day and this woman's brown hair started moving and then jumped down onto the table. Obviously it wasn't really her hair, just the baby monkey living in it...which she proceeded to start feeding at the table in the middle of the restaurant. Don't worry though, I'm pretty sure health codes don't exist in Peru, so nobody got mad at her. A very common thing there that I wasn't used to was when you were standing in line somewhere, patiently waiting your turn, people would just come up and cut in front of you. No biggie, I was just standing there for 10 minutes like a normal human being, but thanks for making me hate you. Forget social courtesy, next time I go I'm gonna cut lines like nobody's business.

Also, while Cuzco and Aguas Calientes were really nice cities, Lima was the ugliest place I have ever seen. And I'm from Plano, Texas. Plano. First off there was no green anywhere, I don't remember seeing any trees outside of this one park we went to. Second, the buildings were no higher than 3 stories, brown, and everywhere. I think the city has 10 something million people and there aren't really any skyscrapers so it was just built out. I didn't feel it was necessary to take any picture of it during the day time. I took one picture of a street at night where the lights could help disguise the ugliness. Here it is, enjoy:

Anyway, I think that's it. Here are some more pictures from the trip!


Cuzco, main square

Where we biked the 1st day

Monkey on a leash

the group

chewing Coca leaves to help with altitude sicknes

not really sure what these are

nice safe mountain pass

Santa Maria ghost town

my feet after the 8 hour hike

they were blasting one of the mountains

Cuzco

Machu Picchu

our awesome guide

at the top of Wayna Picchu

Machu Picchu

travel buddies

rest stop

fountain park in Lima

Southern Traditions

2011-10-27T17:20:00.000-07:00

So I've officially moved back to Dallas. Training finished and I came home to work from here. The Sunday before I left though, I heard something loud behind the house. There's a farm back there that's open to the public and when looking, we discovered a civil war reenactment going on. I had never seen one before and it was kind of cool. Nerdy, but cool.

It was pretty crazy how much the gound shook when they fired those cannons. Here's some more pictures:


The aftermath

Then on my way home I stopped in Memphis for the Rhodes College Homecoming. I got to see my old roommates and a bunch of friends. We relived the old glory days at Central BBQ, Memphis Pizza Cafe, and Celtic Crossing. Pinky and I even snagged some classy strawberry Andre from Tip Top to take to the game. We all tried to take a shot beforehand but failed miserably. Just aint what we used to be huh?

It also felt really weird being there and not going to school anymore. It's weird to think about how life moves on after you even though it happens all the time. High school, college, job changes, moving to different places, etc. I sometimes forget that it happens with everything, even when going home to my own home. It's especially weird when you discover that you're now officially the shortest person in the family (like I did when my 14 year old brother inched ahead).

:(

Here are some pictures from Homecoming.

I think that's all for now because the RANGERS game is on. WOOT!

Nashville & Boston

2011-10-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

So I've been really bad at updating since I returned Stateside. But to sum things up since then here's what's been going on: went floating down the Guadalupe River with friends, spent a significant amount of time job hunting, found a job, drove to Nashville for training, and now I'm still here. I got a job with a company called 3rd Home (3rdhome.com) which is a sister company of Southwestern. They had 3 of us come here for training so I stopped in Memphis on the way over. You know, after leaving Southwestern last summer I never thought I'd be coming back to Lander's Plaza so soon. I feel like that's what every book kid says after every summer.

Nashville is a pretty cool city. Corey B came to visit last weekend and we ate the most delicious pancakes in the world at the Pancake Pantry. I'm pretty sure they're filled with crack because they are just too good to not be made with illegal substances. Hung out with Colleen some last week when her work needed girls for an intense game of coed kickball. She gave me a nice dress to wear so that my shirt matched everyone else's. I felt really cool. Oh and some random guy on the opposing team just whipped out a cigarette and started smoking it on second base like it was no big deal. Really?

Chelsea introduced me to Radnor Lake in Brentwood. I'm kind of addicted to going there every Sunday now. Now the big question is whether to go go Homecoming or not. My boss asked me to stick around Nashville for a few more weeks, so I might just have to stop by Rhodes on the way home. I feel so old.

What else? Oh, I flew up to Boston for my cousin's wedding. It was really great to see everyone since it had been at least 5 years since we'd been up there last (except Steve who was avoiding his favorite cousin). I don't know how Shane did it, but he needs to give my brother a lesson on how to trick pretty girls into marrying you. Eric and I got to stay with Janet and explore the city with Sheila and Rob. Such a great city. We got to see Betty's new bakery as well. Check out her website if you want to induce a food coma: On the Rise Baking

Here are some pictures from the last few weeks:

Beale Street, Memphis, TN

Where the Boston Massacre took place.

Boston Aquarium

"I'm gonna kill me some redcoats."

Paul Revere's footstone (bottom right). haha.

Eric and mom

Franklin, Tennessee

update!

2011-08-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

Ummm so it's still hot here in Texas. As far as new stuff going on, well, it's 103F today, that's a bit better than yesterday's high of 107. That's about the extent of excitement in my life right now. Things might really start to get crazy if it goes below the 100 mark. But let's pray to God that never happens!

Home, Sweet Texas.

2011-08-02T17:58:00.000-07:00

I'm home now and it's ridiculously hot here. 108 degrees hot. So far I've had Mexican food, Chinese food, normal milk, real orange juice - with pulp, Ben and Jerry's, and root beer. And there's still more to come. I am going to be so fat so soon.

I've also begun job hunting. It is such a long and tedious process, but hopefully it will pay off!

On another note, I got to spend 2 hours with Erin Stewart today on her BIRTHDAY! yay! What a great day already :) mmmmm S Korea is so lucky.

...and I hope Dan Dekay is jealous.

The last few weeks

2011-07-27T12:29:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven’t updated in awhile, I’ve just been really busy since school’s been over. NOT. I actually didn’t do anything really until Lauren got here. Eat, sleep, walk to the store to buy more food, watch some Copa America, etc. Going shopping with Paz and Romi was a good break from being a vegetable, and it was nice to hang out with them without having to worry about getting up for school the next day. I also got to witness a FIRST EVER Starbucks tasting because Romi had never tried it before. BLASPHEMY!

The new artist in residence, Alice, got here on Friday so we showed her around a bit. She went to capital with Facu and me that night to meet some people. As we waited for the bus at the stop some rando came up to us and asked politely if we could “give him all of our belongings.” And of course he said it in Spanish so Alice and I didn’t know that he was trying to mug us. Especially since he couldn’t make eye contact with us, had a grocery bag in his hand, and couldn’t decide if he wanted to keep his gun out or not. He kind of half heartedly touched Alice’s purse strap and she was so confused that she thought he was trying to tell her there was something on her back. And when Facu saw the gun, he told him in Spanish “Ok, wait. We will give you what you want,” but the guy just turned around and walked away. Slowly. What a weirdo. Piss poor effort on his part if I may say so. We were so confused when the bus came that we just walked on like nothing had happened. Welcome to Argentina Alice!

Lauren Lynn got here on Tuesday; so her, Alice, and I did all of the touristy stuff in Buenos Aires this week. Woo! Wednesday was “friend day” here in Argentina which is kind of like mother’s day or father’s day, but for your friends. Everyone gets together with their friends and has dinner. Isn’t that cute? So naturally, since the 3 of us were on our own, we decided to buy some friendship bracelets and do friend things together and then meet up with the boys afterwards. Our own little wolf pack.

We spent the rest of the time going out…way too much - and sight-seeing too I guess. And then, as a last hurrah, we went to La Bomba del Tiempo on Monday night. If only we had known Lauren’s flight on Tuesday would be cancelled. I just can’t seem to get rid of her! Haha no just kidding I’m really glad she came. I had so much fun this past week, it’s going to make it hard to leave on Thursday. I guess we’ll both just have to continue the fun in Dallas.

I’ll put pictures up later.

Stateside on Friday.

Travel Photos

2011-07-12T09:26:00.001-07:00

I just updated the travel photos slideshow. Check it out!

El Gripe

2011-07-09T05:10:00.000-07:00

So school finally finished on Friday and what better way to celebrate than getting the flu! Woo! Everyone is getting it too. I know at least 4 people besides me who had it this week and 4 other people who "weren't feeling well." Everyone's just spreading the love I guess.

But since it was the last day I mustered up some afternoon strength and went to say goodbye to the kids. They gave Jeff and me a mug each with the St. George's logo on it. And then lots of hugs and cheek kisses! Good thing that's allowed in this country otherwise I would have some very concerned parents to deal with. They kids were really cute though: "Miss, do you like it here? Why are you leaving?" I felt like such a traitor telling them I was going back to the States.

I also remembered that rumor I had forgotten like 4 posts ago. For some reason everyone at the school thinks I'm technologically gifted. I would just be walking through the hallway and someone would come up with a random question: "My computer's frozen. Can you fix it?" Umm I'll give it a look, I guess. And me, being so technologically savvy just held the power button till the computer turned off and then turned it back on. GENIUS! I guess I should be flattered, but I just don't quite get it.   It might just be because I'm a little younger than them and they think I'm obligated to know something, but still, who started this rumor? I'm awful with computers, so it's good that most of the stuff was pretty basic. Here are some of my frequently asked questions:

"Do you know how to move the pictures from the camera to the computer?"
"Do you know how to put a power point onto a CD?"
"Can you make a folder appear on the main screen?"
"Why won't it let me save this?"
"How do you look at the power point from a different view?"
"How do you open this?"

It's like talking to my mom at home ;) I love you mom.

Anyway, I have approximately 20 days till I'm stepping on free soil. Hot, humid, sticky soil. In the meantime, Lauren Lynn get's here in 10 days so that will be fun. I would like to travel a bit, but we'll see. Jeff and Sam are going to Brazil which I can't go to because I don't have a visa. They require one for Americans because we require one for them. Fair enough. Can't get angry about that. It's just that on their government's website they seem very, very bitter about it. Here's a few snippets from their tourist visa page:

U.S. citizens traveling to Brazil are required to obtain a visa prior to entering Brazil.   This requirement is in reciprocity to the U.S. government demand that all Brazilian citizens hold a visa in order to enter the United States. Citizens of countries that do not demand visas from Brazilian nationals usually do not need visas to enter Brazil.

5. U.S. citizens must pay a non-refundable $140.00 reciprocity fee (as of June 2010).
(This is because the U.S. government charges Brazilian citizens who apply for a U.S. visa a minimum of 2 mandatory fees).
Payment is done at the Consulate on the appointment day.
Cash, personal checks and credit cards are not accepted for the payment of the $140.00 reciprocity fee.

7. All consular fees must be paid in U. S. Postal Service money order made to the Consulate General of Brazil

Thanks for the shout-out Brazil. Also, I'm not sure if we make it extremely difficult for other countries to pay for their visas, but only accepting a U.S. Postal Service money order seems very picky. Very, very picky. Especially since the only way to obtain one is to go to a USPS office and hand them a wad of cash. Who still uses money orders anymore? Well, besides my dad. So pretty much, if you are currently not in the USA and you are not my dad, then you do not stand a chance of paying for your visa. I guess I'll just have to postpone visiting my friends until later.   I will make it someday! I still love you Brazil!

I'll let you know if I figure out any travel plans soon!

Iguazu Falls!

2011-06-27T07:19:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I flew with Peggy to the North of Argentina to Iguazu Falls. We almost didn’t make it because of the Ash cloud from the volcano in Chile. But after an hour or so delay we were able to take off and fly north. Take that volcano!

The waterfalls are located on the border of Brazil and Argentina. Paraguay is also very close. Unfortunately I couldn’t go to the Brazilian side of the falls because they require a visa for Americans. But it worked out fine because the Argentine side is better since you can go below the falls, on top of the falls, and get a pretty good long shot of them as well. Wow. That’s all I can really say. They were amazing. Much different from Niagra where you only really need to spend an afternoon looking at the falls. We spent two days walking around the area and we still didn’t do everything!

It was cold and it rained a lot, but only after we had already left the park for the day. And the hostel we stayed out was pretty nice because it wasn’t very crowded because of the weather. So it worked out perfectly for us.

La Garganta del Diablo

La Garganta del Diablo (The Devil’s Throat) was ridiculous. It’s the main waterfall and I can’t even begin to describe the amount of water the flows over it. It was one of those moments where you just look at it and are speechless. Un montón de agua! So much water! It really makes you sit back and realize how miniscule we really are in the grand scheme of things. Here's a video of it, but it still doesn't quite capture it.

The other falls were breathtaking as well. There was so much green everywhere! We saw monkeys, birds, etc. There were also these other animals called coatís that would come to the area where all the tourists were and try and steal their food. It was funny to watch.

Afterwards we almost didn’t make it back to Buenos Aires because the bus didn’t come when we thought it would. And when we tried to order a taxi there weren’t any because it was a local election day. Luckily, we managed to convince the only available taxi to bring us to the airport and were able to make it back.

Earlier in the week though I was surprised to hear that Katherine Lagow was in Baires. So I met up with her at Jackie's art exhibition and we went to get some dinner afterwards. It was good to finally see Jackie's photos! She does pinhole photography and then printed them on metal sheets or drew them for display. They were awesome!

The artist and her work!

Now there are only two weeks left of school. And I’m spending this week at the North campus to help out a bit with the kindergarten. It’s a bit of an inconvenience getting up early for the hour commute, but oh well, I can get over an inconvenience for one week. I’ll let you know how it works out! Here are some more pictures from Iguazu:

La Selva

Giant mate!

a secluded fall

Rainbow

Stuck between a rock and a hard place.

2011-06-18T09:52:00.000-07:00

Hydra

The school’s Hercules play was this week. It involved grades 1^st-3^rd as well as Jeff, Peggy, and me who were asked to help play some of evil roles. Mwahaha. I was the Hydra and the Ice Titan. I died a lot. But if was fun. I’ve never been part of a play before so it was a good first…next stop Hollywood!

Jeff was Nessus and the Cyclops and had some rather daunting lines to remember like “step aside two legs!” Peggy got to play the Fire Titan and join me in having little kids stab her with light up swords. We all enjoyed it though.

Titans

The kids were pretty funny. They would forget they had microphones on and be like “your turn!” or say something completely inappropriate like “I just farted” in Spanish. And then when they saw Jeff, Peggy, and me they would start talking to us backstage when they were supposed to be really quite. Or they would leave the stage in the middle of the play to ask their teacher a question. So cute at that age. I have a good video of the 1^st graders dancing to Kool & the Gang. This one kid at the end has some pretty good moves.***The server is rejecting the video I have, here is a shorter one that's not quite as good though.

So, besides some short attention spans and a few curtain mishaps, it went very well. The costumes were awesome. Facu’s mom did most of them and some of the face painting. The art teacher made the Hydra costume which looked very scary!

Us with Hades, a muse, and Hermes

Cylcops and Fire Titan

Yesterday a few of us went to see La Fuerza Bruta which is this really cool music and acrobatic show. I don't really know how else to explain it, except that it's very surreal. The things they do are like things you might dream about, it's very strange but very cool. They're from Argentina but travel around the world apparently. So that was quite fun to watch. Now I'm just waiting to head to Iguazu and then for Lauren Lynn to come visit :) And until then, I have just got to figure out what I am going to do this fall as far as jobs and traveling. Job hunting can be stressful, especially when you're hunting on two different continents. And I really want to get over to Europe but it depends on a lot of different things. I'll keep you posted!

The Revolution Continues

2011-06-12T08:09:00.000-07:00

I just found out that Ron Paul is running for President again. Thank God. As our current administration has proven time and time again, the majority of U.S. politicians have one goal in mind: increase their power and that of the federal government by decreasing our personal freedom. Mr. Paul is the exception. He reminds us that there is still hope to empower a politician who actually cares about the people of his country: their liberties, their laws, and their privacy. He is also consistently consistent with his voting record. If the founding father's didn't write it, he doesn't vote for it.

Check him out: Ron Paul 2012

2011-06-08T09:05:00.000-07:00

I was born under a wandrin' star,
I was born under a wandrin' star.

Wheels are made for rollin'
mules are made to pack.
I've never seen a sight that didn't look better looking back.
I was born under a wandrin' star.

Mud can make you prisoner, and the plains can bake you dry.
Snow can burn your eyes, but only people make you cry.
Home is made for comin' from, for dreams of goin' to,
which with any luck will never come true.

I was born under a wandrin' star,
I was born under a wandrin' star.
--The great Lee Marvin

La Boca

2011-06-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

Another week done! And as we inch closer to the weekend of the play, we've had more and more rehearsals to fine-tune everything as best we can. Some of the kids really need help with their lines still, but a bunch of them have them down pretty well. I got to try the Hydra costume on this week and I must say the art teacher did a really good job painting it. I'm going to be so scary! Haha.

This weekend I went up to San Isidro for Luli's birthday (Manu's sister). It was a lot of fun and a good opportunity to practice some castellano. Although trying to play Taboo in Spanish was quite a challenge. I wasn't really much of an asset to my team, but the other team had Manu so I guess it evened out :p Dinner was yummy, and for dessert Luli had 3 birthday cakes...good girl! And a friend of hers decided to put what seemed to be a firework on the cake instead of a candle. It was pretty funny watching her try to blow it out. All the cakes had some form of dulce de leche in them too so of course I had to try them all. Afterwards we all went to Kika, a discoteca in capital and then we went back to Manu's house after. I cuddle with his dog Lupe on the couch. Their other dog, Afra, is a big Argentina dog called a "dogo" that is really cool.

Apparently they can be very dangerous though because some are very mean and aggressive, but his is really nice. She just gets a little carried away sometimes and forgets how big she is. So I didn't try cuddling with her.

Then today Jeff and I went into La Boca to check out El Caminito, an area there with all different colored buildings. It was really neat, it reminded me of a more colorful New Orleans. La Boca is also home to the Boca Juniors, they team Maradona played on, rival of River Plate. We opted not to walk to the stadium though because it's in a dodgy area, so we just got our fill of it when we drove past. There is a small market in the area that goes on during the day so we walked around and looked at some really cool paintings. And we each got a pendant made from different coins. I got one from Argentina and Jeff got a coin from Portugal that's really cool. Here was a German one I really liked:

Almost got it for Nathan but it was a bit too pricey. Sorry Nathan but I'm too cheap to be a good sister! Then it started getting dark so we left. It's too cold when the suns not out, plus we were told that La Boca is pretty sketch at night. Just like Maradona.

Here are some more pics from La Boca. I guess my touristy outings with Jeff aren't helping the rumor mill much. Oh well.

Statue ouside a museum in La Boca

kids playing soccer

A little fun in the graveyard.

2011-05-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

Another week finished! My time here in Argentina seems to be going by faster and faster each week. It’s hard to believe I’m already half way done with my stay.

I went to the Sublime concert with Jeff on Wednesday which was a nice break during the week. Because besides that, this past week was just busy with play rehearsals and classes. Speaking of classes, I haven’t gone to spin class in over a month. Oops. The most exercise I’ve gotten was walking all around Quilmes with Facu, trying to find a post office that actually sends packages and not just letters. Because who would have guessed that you can’t send packages at the post office? Silly Argentina.

Things here are “flexible,” as someone recently told me. And in all honesty, that is the best way to describe it. One of my favorite games to play is “put credit on your cell phone” because it’s quite common for the “system to be down” here so I usually end up having to go to 2 or 3 different places to get it done. Another fun game is “collecting enough change for the bus.” The buses here only except coins, or monedas, and the shops are extremely stingy with coins when they give you change. Even as a paying customer, when I ask for my change back in coins they get a little fussy and shake their heads “no.” So you have to be strategic about how to get enough coins: like buying a Subte pass one way and giving them 2 pesos because then they HAVE to give you coins back. Because if you buy a roundtrip pass and give them 5 pesos then they will give you back 2 pesos in cash. So better to stand in line twice to make sure you have money to get home.

Jackie and I tried to solve our coin problems on Saturday by buying a Monedero card for the bus but the place that sells them had a sign out saying they weren’t selling cards that day, only recharging them. So then, the two of us tried to wait for the expensive bus because it takes cash (and by expensive I mean $1.25 USD). But I guess they just decided they weren’t going to run that day which we discovered after waiting 45 minutes. Well, at least it’s consistently inconsistent.

But despite Quilmes’ best efforts we prevailed! We made it into capital around 3:30 pm. But only because an angel of a newspaper salesman exchanged money with us. Bless that man!

Tomb in the Recoleta Cemetery

In town, we sat down for a bit and had una cerveza and then went to visit the Recoleta Cemetery. I know that sounds weird, but I promise, it’s completely normal to walk around the cemetery and take pictures. It is actually quite an incredible place. The tombs were huge and so ornate that some even looked like mini cathedrals. I do feel kind of like a weirdo though because I was taking pictures of dead people’s tombs, but they were just so cool. But at the same time, it seems a little invasive. Especially since some were super creepy because the doors were cracked open or the glass was shattered and there were all these rando cats running around. But we all know that cats are evil, so it was perfectly appropriate for them to be there. And since Jackie does pinhole photography she had to take some of her homemade cameras to set up. We had fun finding them at the end; a little scavenger hunt in the graveyard when it’s closing, no big deal. And of course we made sure to stop and say hi to Evita on the way out.

Melted sidewalk in Recoleta

Then we headed back to home sweet Quilmes. When we got back, we met up with the boys and went to a local club here for some dancing. Here are some more pictures from our day! I hope you enjoy them.

Jackie setting up her camera.

This is a little Eerie.

The inside of the previous tomb - I'm sorry for intruding!

Creepy hand...

plants growing inside a tomb

say hi to Jesus on the right!

This looks like a building you might find in a city.

Shoes?

Also, I would like to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my amazing mom!