Frantically preparing for my overseas departure.  Oct 8th is quickly approaching.  I could be gone for 3 months or 10 years.  I have no idea and no plan to boot!  I'm already emotional thinking about leaving my friends and family but I am excited to see what more is out there.  Stay tuned!

Oceans - Great White Shark Research, South Africa

Once again I am falling short on updating the blog.  I am finding my desire to live each moment far outweighs the desire to write about it.  The blog has suffered and so has my personal journal.  If you are interested in what I have been up to, I've linked up my photos from Facebook to give you a taste of the past month in Mosselbaai, South Africa.  The experience was overwhelming and I take with me very fond memories of my fellow interns @ 92 Montagu.   I am now off to Kathmandu, Nepal for the next 3 months. This adventure will include a 10 day stay at Kopan Monastery, Mt Everest Base Camp Charity Trek, Tibet and Bhutan.  I also hope to volunteer for a month teaching English.  Stay tuned!

Facebook photos

The Mother City, South Africa

Yikes! It's been a long time since I have posted to the blog.  My apologies.  Sadly, the internet in Cape Town was rather expensive so posting pics was just not an option.  Instead, I have been updating Facebook and you can click here to see the photos over the past few weeks. My time in Cape Town was a complete blur.  The city is absolutely amazing in so many ways. While I wasn't planning to spend so much time there, I am really glad I did.  I extended my stay at a great hostel called The Backpack.  Great vibe, great people and a great location.  Not only did I get to see nearly everything in Cape Town, but I made some absolutely amazing connections that I wouldn't have otherwise made if I'd left so soon.  Mia and Lynden, where do I begin???  Such fond memories of you both and thank you for everything!

So after a long 6 hour bus ride east along the Garden Route, I now sit in Mossel Bay.  I am staying at the Park House Lodge for a few nights before my Great White Shark/Marine Lab internship begins at Oceans Research.  On Tuesday, I move to the intern house which I hear is right on the water.  So excited.  I took a quick walk today through town and down to The Point and I can't believe this will be my home for the next month.  My life definitely doesn't suck right now.  Ha ha!  Stay tuned for more news on what I will be doing and seeing.  I hope to post some great white shark activity in the coming week.

Only two months away...please support me and MaD Cambodia!

click image to zoom

Buenos Aires 3.0

My time here in Buenos Aires is coming to an end.  Once again, I sit here with mixed emotions.  Happy to move on to the next adventure but sad to leave new friends and a city I have grown to love.  This week has been bittersweet. I've had a lot of fun with friends but have also had to deal with some ridiculous sleeping issues, noisy neighbors and the feeling I am on the cusp of a cold or flu.

Wednesday, I went with the LIFE team out to the Las Horas to celebrate all the August birthdays.  LIFE does this for each of the four community centers every single month.  I think it's really special for the kids to be recognized on their birthday.  They get sung to, they get a gift and they are the first ones to get a piece of cake.  This is absolutely HUGE for them!  We spent much of our time coloring, blowing up balloons, playing board games and making birthday cards for the bday kids.  I'm glad I got to experience a LIFE birthday party!  Sorry the pics are poor quality.  They were taken with my iPhone.

Las Horas community center

Wanda just wanted to sit on my lap and color.  So sweet!

Wanda and her baby brother

The kids decorating the cakes

Time to blow out the candles!  Feliz Cumpleaños!

Alo and Helen cutting the cake

After the birthday festivities, Alo and I grabbed some dinner near our apts (we happen to live only a block away from each other) then met the group to check out a tango joint called El Beso on Riobamba.  I think we were expecting to get some kind of show but instead we walked into a full on tango club.  Seemed to be locals only.  For $20 pesos per head, we had a great time being spectators.  Unfortunately we couldn't take any pictures inside El Beso because apparently some of the patrons were probably out on their spouses and you know they might be found out on my facebook page!  Oh geezus, seriously??Oh well.  We respected the rules and had a great time drinking cerveza and watching people dance.  I have no idea what kept us so entertained until 4am!

The beginning of the night!

The end of the night.  What happened at El Beso stays in Vegas!

Alo, how are we going to get home??  The colectivo guia T to the rescue!

Crazy drunks annoying the bus driver.  ;)

Say queso!

December 30, 2004

For many Porteños, December 30, 2004 is a day that will never be forgotten.  At the corner of calles Mitre and Ecuador in Buenos Aires, 194 lives were lost amid the smoke and flames that engulfed República Cromañón nightclub.  R.I.P. 

At the club that night, a concert was being held by a rock band called the Callejeros. Generally, the band holds concerts in outdoor or large venues that allow for the use of flares. Cromagnon was considered so unsafe for pyrotechnics that the Callejeros pleaded with their groupies that if a flare was lit, there would be a disaster. A few moments into the show, someone lit a flare that engulfed the entire ceiling in flames within seconds. The ceiling was covered in a plastic flammable net that produced flames and smoke that instantly converted the club into a gas chamber filled with over 3,000 people.  The most tragic part of this story is that four of the six fire exits had been chained shut to avoid people from sneaking into the concert. Just think how many of those 194 lives could have been spared had those doors been able to open. Also, the club had been overdue for a fire inspection and plastic flammable netting should have (hopefully) been cited during that inspection.  Six years later, there still stands a large memorial outside the club with photos and a collection of shoes the kids were wearing the night they died inside the club and on the street.  I had recalled hearing about this back in the states and wanted to come and pay my respects while in BA.  A very moving experience indeed.  

Since this event, many BA night clubs have closed and maximum capacity limits have decreased exponentially.  The criminal investigations just finished last year and the owner of the club Omar Chabán received 20 years in prison, the rock band was acquitted but their manager received an 18 year prison term. 

  

Día del Niño

In Argentina, Children's Day is celebrated annually on the second Sunday of August.  This is a very important day here.  LIFE has been hosting an event for the kids they support over the past 10 years or so.  LIFE supports this event solely via private donation, companies willing to donate their time and services and volunteers.  There is no government support whatsoever.  Sadly, this year LIFE has had to drop their invitations by about 500 kids due to the economy.

We began the day by meeting at the LIFE office at 7:30am.  I would estimate there was 60 or so volunteers that showed up.  We loaded up the double decker bus with all the supplies and headed to the park.

Loading up

Lots of presents for the kids!

We arrived at Parque Roca around 9:30am to cold temps (low 40's) and a lot of fog!  Thankfully the sun started to break through around 11am just as the kids started to arrive. 

Unloading the bus

Sara (UK), Sara (Denmark) and Ruth (UK) trying to stay warm

Thankfully we got to choose what area we wanted to work in.  It was either the kitchen or play area.  Of course I chose to work in the play area...duh!  We had things like hula hoops, paddle ball, frog toss, jump rope etc.  Me, Alice, Sarah and Helen felt like we were 10 yrs old again.

Getting ready to play!
Margaret (USA), Sara (Denmark), me, Alice (France) and Helen (UK)

Blowing up balloons to decorate the park

Thank goodness I wasn't on kitchen duty!

Why do men always gravitate around the grill?  

Face-painting area completely full!

The kids loved all the toys...they didn't know where to start first!

Animal balloons were another big hit.  We were swarmed the entire day.

Sara painting Spiderman.  A crowd favorite.

Even for the little girls...

Kim and Darren (USA) working the coloring section.
They too quit their jobs and are traveling through So America.

Mask painting.

Finally...time for presents for all the kids.  So fun to give them out!!

Makes me smile!

The princess!

He loved his little green car!

Happy but exhausted volunteers!  Ciao until next year!
Sara, Alo, Alice and me

Buenos Aires 2.0

So here I sit at the end of my second week here in BA.  The time is absolutely flying by (yikes) but I always remember to stop and enjoy every second that goes by.

Tuesday I went with LIFE coordinator Jeremy Thierry out to the community center in Laferrere.  Laferrere is about 20 miles southwest of Buenos Aires.  Transportation out to Laferrere is a bit more involved than going to the other LIFE centers.  This center involves taking the public bus or "colectivo" for the first part of the journey. The colectivo is considered a source of pride in Argentina.  They represent one of the best known traditions in the country.  Back in the day, each one was uniquely hand-painted with phrases, graphics, etc in a style called fileteado.  Sadly, that tradition is not as prevalent but you can still catch a few old decorated buses around the city.  The bus map or "Guia T" is a 100 pages of maps & routes so you know what bus # to take.  You essentially find your starting point and end point on the map.  Then look to see what bus #'s might match those two locations.  If bus #60 stops at both places...well then you take bus #60.  When you go to the bus stop (and there are many), you must hail the driver like a taxi otherwise he won't stop.  When you get on the bus (and do it as quickly as possible) the driver dictates the fare based on how far you are going.  Fares can range from $1.10 - $1.60 (or 28 - 41 cents US).   Drivers have been known to charge gringos more if you're holding him up.  You then need to quickly find a seat because drivers have a heavy foot for both accelerating AND breaking!

The Guia "T" de Bolsillo

Each line/route has a uniquely decorated bus

After we were tossed around like rag dolls for 30 minutes or so, we got off at Plaza de Mayo and walked a couple of blocks to get the micro omnibus.  I am still not exactly clear how people know to stand out in front of Cafe Tortoni to get on a small bus that goes to Laferrere.  There is no sign, nothing.  Just a line of people waiting to go home.  I see this all around the city...a long line of people waiting patiently to go "somewhere". The omnibus fare was $6 pesos each and we had heating, a comfortable seat and a driver that apparently passed driving school.  We finally reached Laferrere in a little over an hour.  Phew!  Now, we walk.  We pick up a good pace to get to the community center quickly.  We are walking through a poor but only semi-dangerous part of town.  Jeremy tells me that the end of the street is a very very dangerous place and I point to the area he is referring to get confirmation because we seem awfully close.  He says sharply, "don't point"...shit...I've already failed Ghetto 101.  

We arrive at the center and basically it's a large room in someones household.  There are tables, chairs, bookshelves, etc.  I think this family is compensated for use of their property and they are asked to be the community "leader".  This finally made sense to me at the Kid's Day event on Saturday.  Like my time at Los Angelitos last Friday, we greet the local leader, make small talk and get to organizing the room before the kids show up.  We open the front door and that's a signal to the kids that we are open for business.  They come pouring in one by one, "hola" after "hola".  We have pages for them to color (spongebob and spiderman seem to be faves) and other projects designed by the LIFE coordinator.  After a few hours, we make hot chocolate and give the kids alfajors (cookies) as a snack.  The kids are really so sweet and happy to be there.  While many of them don't like doing school type work and would rather color or play, it's time off the dangerous streets and that is a very good thing. 

Fun at the feria

Weekends are a great time to go shopping in BA.  Many of the regular stores are closed and vendors/artisans come out and set up open air stalls in many of the plazas.  This weekend I decided to hit up both Feria Plaza Francia near the Recoleta Cemetery and Feria Plaza Serrano in Palermo Soho.  At both plaza's, vendors sell everything from jewelry, handmade scarfs, sweaters, leather belts, etc.  Seeing that I was in the market for a belt (yes, seems I might be losing a tiny bit of weight-yay), the Plaza Francia fair had plenty to choose from.  I scored a handmade (on the spot) leather belt for $38 pesos or about $10 USD.

Plaza Francia street fair

While I was at Plaza Francia, I checked out the Church of Nuestra Senora del Pilar built in 1732.  This church is immediately adjacent to the Recoleta Cemetery.  

The Plaza Serrano fair is quite similar to Plaza Francia however with a slight twist.  All of the bars and dance clubs in the plaza (there are many) revamp their interiors to accommodate individual vendors selling their wares...pool tables and disco balls not included.

Booths are set up with clothing, shoes and accessories

Feria Plaza Serrano