I started my CELTA class today! I like all my fellow classmates, and our tutors seem to be pretty funny and truly interested in us and our success, so we're off to a good start. We've already got a lot of work to do, and I think it'll only get more intense as we teach more involved lessons. Tomorrow we're all splitting up the two-hour session with our learners and teaching a short activity each. Talk about diving right in. I think everyone in the class is unsure of what to expect, even though we observed our classes today and know generally what level the students are at, etc. It's one thing to watch someone else teach and a whole different animal to do it yourself, but I'm glad that we're getting so much practice with this course, and starting right off the bat. Stay tuned for the results...
Other than trying to recoop my health and energy to start class, I haven't been doing much for the past few days. Taking it easy is good for me, and not something I do very often, so I suppose it was a good usage of time. Since I've been pretty lazy and slightly bedridden, I've blasted through quite a few movies: Lord of the Rings (The Fellowship), Pirates #4, Crazy Stupid Love, Four Christmases, Water for Elephants, Puss in Boots...as well as catching up on past episodes of the Sing Off. Disclaimer: I'm really not this much of a TV person. I'd rather be outside doing something fun and active, but since my stomach wouldn't have liked that too well, and my knee won't let me go for a run anyway, I decided to give in to my sedate state and veg out. I did enjoy it, but it's nice to be busy doing things again. I may take that statement back next week when I'm run down, but for now I'm relishing in the purpose of each day.
Also, rather randomly, I've been doing some reflecting on life, relationships, and people, partly spurred by news from a dear friend of mine about the recent death of her father, and the anniversary of the death of a different dear friend's pops. Both of these situations, though inherently very distinct from one another, seem incredibly unfair to me, and it's times like these when I have a hard time holding to my philosophy that everything happens for a reason. I know eventually the reason will show from it, but is there ever really a reason that a loved one has to be taken away from us so suddenly and prematurely? As cliché as it sounds, the obvious lesson from it is to appreciate the people you have in your life and let them know how much they mean to you, because they could be snatched away from you just like that. Remind me again of why I've moved so far away from all the people I care about?
Interestingly enough, one of my housemates, Andrés (the elder) and I had a little conversation about this a few nights ago. We were talking about the independence that so many kids in the states seem to adopt and feel entitled to, and how for some, family values have totally fallen by the wayside, in sharp contrast to the majority of people that I've met in Latin America. He told me a story of a Colombian girl he knew who was here in Buenos Aires and decided to go home because she couldn't stand being so far away from all her family. He asked me what I would do if one of my family members, like a grandparent, died...would I go back to be with everyone, or would I stay where I am in Buenos Aires? I didn't have to think long about the answer, but I did pause for shame. I honestly would stay where I am (this actually happened to me last summer while I was in Spain). Is that bad? I guess the biggest reason for me staying put is that plane tickets are expensive. But that shouldn't be a deterrent if it was really important for me to get back home for a family affair. Does that mean that I don't value my family enough? Who's to determine how much is enough? For the record, all my dear relatives who are reading this, I love you all with all I am, and I hope you know this. But what does it mean if I say that, yet act differently?
I'll leave it as a rhetorical question, put out there as a thought provoker. And on a happier note, I've been thinking a lot about what it is that makes traveling with someone, even a person you just met, such a special and trusting thing. Let's think about the way I traveled around Perú, for example. I met two guys in a bar, they invited me to go camping with them, and I didn't have a second thought. This is totally not something I would do with two characters from a bar in Colorado. I could flatter myself and say that I'm just an excellent judge of character and knew I didn't have anything to worry about, but that would be an exaggeration. True, I didn't feel there was any cause to worry, but why was I so quick to trust? And not just me, but them as well? And all the travelers everywhere who have spontaneously decided to merge their paths and walk together for a while? It's because there is some kind of unspoken camaraderie and trust amongst travelers. I'm still working out exactly what this consists of, or how to explain it, but I think I'm making progress. The most basic explanation I can proffer is that since we're all out of our routine and our comfort zone, to varying degrees, we're apt to drop all the precautions and prejudices we otherwise would've been instructed by, and we forge relationships with everybody we meet. These bonds are crazy fast, but also remarkably strong. Why? I don't rightly know.
Stay tuned...and tell them that you love them. I love you!
Rain! and more pictures
We're having quite a thunderstorm here in BA! It's been sunny every day until today. The thunder is awesome.
Also, I've added some more pictures for your viewing pleasure (and Mom, I added them here first, just for you): Huaraz, Laguna Churup, Cuzco, the Lares trek, and Machu Picchu!
Also, I've added some more pictures for your viewing pleasure (and Mom, I added them here first, just for you): Huaraz, Laguna Churup, Cuzco, the Lares trek, and Machu Picchu!
A post-birthday note.
I'm 22! + a day. I'd like to report that I did many wonderful things for my birthday yesterday, but that would be a lie. Truth be told, I've been sleeping for the majority of each day since I arrived in Buenos Aires, I suppose owing to the fact that I've been fighting some kind of bug. Up until yesterday, it was just body aches and fatigue that got me down, but then things stepped up a notch.
I woke up yesterday midmorning, and decided to indulge my hankering to watch the Lion King. There have been posters up for it everywhere since it's coming out in 3D, so I just had to take that little trip down memory lane. The movie was great, and I tried to motivate myself to get out of bed when it was over, but no such luck. I felt sleepy (like the two days prior) so I took a nice long nap. I finally did talk myself into getting up, putting on some clothes, and going for a little stroll outside, since some exercise usually helps me to feel better. I walked down Avenida Santa Fe to a cell phone store, where I put some credit on the chip that I'd purchased the day before, and then I hopped on the metro (locally known as the subte) to go find out where my class will be come Monday. I was feeling tired still, so the stroll acquired a lazy pace, and I snacked on a delicious giant pear I'd bought from a fruit stand as I wandered around the neighborhood of Belgrano. I finally found my school building, and noted the time as I walked away so I could get an idea of how long it might take me to get there on Monday morning for my first day of class. 6 pm, on the dot. I made my way back to the subte and hopped on the train going in the opposite direction, towards home. About two stops before mine, I started to feel increasingly dizzy and weak...all I wanted to do was sit down, but all the seats were taken. By the time someone noticed that I wasn't doing so hot, my stop had arrived, so I thanked them for their concern but said that I would be fine. Not. My timing in getting off the subte couldn't have been better...right as I reached the top of the exit staircase, I was sweating and disoriented, and my vision was clouding over. Great. Luckily I was right by a galería, a small mall of sorts, so I sat on the ground in front of one of the shops to ride out the storm. It took about ten seconds for a nice lady to come and ask me if I was alright, and if I wanted her to call health services or anything. I told her that I just needed to sit for a minute to clear my head, and she walked away (just, as it turned out, into the shop next door to get them to call for help). I don't know how long I was sitting there (couldn't have been more than a couple minutes) but my maladies gradually disappeared and I felt well enough to walk home, which I wanted to do quickly so I could be sick in bed rather than on the street. Suffice it to say that I was scared, because that had never happened to me before, and I now had to acknowledge the fact that I was sick, and not just tired.
I lay low for a couple hours, and then, feeling better and stronger, decided to venture to my friend Robin's house, per his invitation. Robin is a fellow Salidan (graduated the year before I started high school) who has co-founded a biking tour business here in BA with his college roommate, called Biking Buenos Aires. Yay for getting people out of cars and onto two wheels! Our high school Spanish teacher put us in touch, once she found out that I was headed to Argentina, and Robin has been a great help in answering my questions about the city and offering their couch if I need a place to crash (if I brought them peanut butter in return, which I did and they looked like kids at Christmas when they heard about it). Robin and his roomies Mike, BJ, and Troy live about ten blocks from me, so it was a nice walk to get some "fresh" air. When I arrived, the power was out in a two-block radius around their apartment, so I found their door by the light of my phone and was ushered in to a candlelit living room. Shortly after I arrived, TR (another Salida kid spending a year of his high school career studying abroad in Neuquen) got back with a birthday cake...chocolate, walnuts, and dulce de leche. So yummy! I was serenaded in español and then cut the cake - by candlelight, which means that the pieces were all sorts of wacky, but it just added to the fun. We all sat around and talked for a while, and then, *bling* the lights came back. The open balcony door ushered in the sounds of people cheering on the street at the return of power.
The guys had been waiting to eat dinner, since they couldn't see to cook, and by the time the power came back, it seemed like a good time to call for delivery. They decided to go for a new Chinese place, and though I wasn't feeling super hungry after my slice of cake, I ordered some too...Chinese makes for great leftovers. We sat around eating and talking (and they gave me an avocado to go with my veggie rice, for my birthday!) our way through Chinese food, a bottle of wine from Neuquen that TR brought, and cake and ice cream (banana split!) for them until someone mentioned Forrest Gump. Which of course got us all thinking about it and saying that, even as tired as we were, we'd stay up to watch that movie. We gathered around the TV, but as the movie went on our numbers slowly dwindled, heavy eyelids winning over us one by one. I dozed on the couch through the second half of the film, waking at random intervals but never for long. By the time it was over, Mike and TR were the only ones left, and I decided it was time to head home, even though it turned out to be 3 in the morning (I was feeling a bit ill again, and wanted to be sick in my bed, not on their couch). TR walked me down to the street to catch a cab, and not long afterwards I collapsed gratefully into my bed and slept until 1:45 this afternoon.
And thus passed my birthday. Since I've been doing a lot of sleeping here so far (lame, yes) I haven't done a whole bunch else, except for that the night before last I was kindly taken around the center of town by two of my Colombian housemates, both names Andrés. They are 18 and 19 and are here studying, and they're two of the nicest people I've met. They took me downtown on the subte, and showed me the Obelisco, the Casa Rosada, Avenida Florida, and the Puente de la Mujer. We walked and talked for a couple hours, and hung out in the communal kitchen eating and playing guitar (yes, the elder Andrés had a guitar! I'm saved!) upon our return. We stayed up past midnight, so they were technically the first ones to wish me a happy birthday and help me usher in my 22nd year. What an interesting one it's been so far...
So, my priorities for the next three days before class starts: get well, finish the pre-course assignments for my class, get well, ride in the masa critica on Sunday, get well, hopefully meet up with some classmates prior to Monday, and let's see, did I mention get well yet? Fingers crossed that yesterday was the low point and that from here I'll just be getting better. Now to try to stay awake to do some homework! Ta-ta for now, love, me.
I woke up yesterday midmorning, and decided to indulge my hankering to watch the Lion King. There have been posters up for it everywhere since it's coming out in 3D, so I just had to take that little trip down memory lane. The movie was great, and I tried to motivate myself to get out of bed when it was over, but no such luck. I felt sleepy (like the two days prior) so I took a nice long nap. I finally did talk myself into getting up, putting on some clothes, and going for a little stroll outside, since some exercise usually helps me to feel better. I walked down Avenida Santa Fe to a cell phone store, where I put some credit on the chip that I'd purchased the day before, and then I hopped on the metro (locally known as the subte) to go find out where my class will be come Monday. I was feeling tired still, so the stroll acquired a lazy pace, and I snacked on a delicious giant pear I'd bought from a fruit stand as I wandered around the neighborhood of Belgrano. I finally found my school building, and noted the time as I walked away so I could get an idea of how long it might take me to get there on Monday morning for my first day of class. 6 pm, on the dot. I made my way back to the subte and hopped on the train going in the opposite direction, towards home. About two stops before mine, I started to feel increasingly dizzy and weak...all I wanted to do was sit down, but all the seats were taken. By the time someone noticed that I wasn't doing so hot, my stop had arrived, so I thanked them for their concern but said that I would be fine. Not. My timing in getting off the subte couldn't have been better...right as I reached the top of the exit staircase, I was sweating and disoriented, and my vision was clouding over. Great. Luckily I was right by a galería, a small mall of sorts, so I sat on the ground in front of one of the shops to ride out the storm. It took about ten seconds for a nice lady to come and ask me if I was alright, and if I wanted her to call health services or anything. I told her that I just needed to sit for a minute to clear my head, and she walked away (just, as it turned out, into the shop next door to get them to call for help). I don't know how long I was sitting there (couldn't have been more than a couple minutes) but my maladies gradually disappeared and I felt well enough to walk home, which I wanted to do quickly so I could be sick in bed rather than on the street. Suffice it to say that I was scared, because that had never happened to me before, and I now had to acknowledge the fact that I was sick, and not just tired.
I lay low for a couple hours, and then, feeling better and stronger, decided to venture to my friend Robin's house, per his invitation. Robin is a fellow Salidan (graduated the year before I started high school) who has co-founded a biking tour business here in BA with his college roommate, called Biking Buenos Aires. Yay for getting people out of cars and onto two wheels! Our high school Spanish teacher put us in touch, once she found out that I was headed to Argentina, and Robin has been a great help in answering my questions about the city and offering their couch if I need a place to crash (if I brought them peanut butter in return, which I did and they looked like kids at Christmas when they heard about it). Robin and his roomies Mike, BJ, and Troy live about ten blocks from me, so it was a nice walk to get some "fresh" air. When I arrived, the power was out in a two-block radius around their apartment, so I found their door by the light of my phone and was ushered in to a candlelit living room. Shortly after I arrived, TR (another Salida kid spending a year of his high school career studying abroad in Neuquen) got back with a birthday cake...chocolate, walnuts, and dulce de leche. So yummy! I was serenaded in español and then cut the cake - by candlelight, which means that the pieces were all sorts of wacky, but it just added to the fun. We all sat around and talked for a while, and then, *bling* the lights came back. The open balcony door ushered in the sounds of people cheering on the street at the return of power.
The guys had been waiting to eat dinner, since they couldn't see to cook, and by the time the power came back, it seemed like a good time to call for delivery. They decided to go for a new Chinese place, and though I wasn't feeling super hungry after my slice of cake, I ordered some too...Chinese makes for great leftovers. We sat around eating and talking (and they gave me an avocado to go with my veggie rice, for my birthday!) our way through Chinese food, a bottle of wine from Neuquen that TR brought, and cake and ice cream (banana split!) for them until someone mentioned Forrest Gump. Which of course got us all thinking about it and saying that, even as tired as we were, we'd stay up to watch that movie. We gathered around the TV, but as the movie went on our numbers slowly dwindled, heavy eyelids winning over us one by one. I dozed on the couch through the second half of the film, waking at random intervals but never for long. By the time it was over, Mike and TR were the only ones left, and I decided it was time to head home, even though it turned out to be 3 in the morning (I was feeling a bit ill again, and wanted to be sick in my bed, not on their couch). TR walked me down to the street to catch a cab, and not long afterwards I collapsed gratefully into my bed and slept until 1:45 this afternoon.
And thus passed my birthday. Since I've been doing a lot of sleeping here so far (lame, yes) I haven't done a whole bunch else, except for that the night before last I was kindly taken around the center of town by two of my Colombian housemates, both names Andrés. They are 18 and 19 and are here studying, and they're two of the nicest people I've met. They took me downtown on the subte, and showed me the Obelisco, the Casa Rosada, Avenida Florida, and the Puente de la Mujer. We walked and talked for a couple hours, and hung out in the communal kitchen eating and playing guitar (yes, the elder Andrés had a guitar! I'm saved!) upon our return. We stayed up past midnight, so they were technically the first ones to wish me a happy birthday and help me usher in my 22nd year. What an interesting one it's been so far...
So, my priorities for the next three days before class starts: get well, finish the pre-course assignments for my class, get well, ride in the masa critica on Sunday, get well, hopefully meet up with some classmates prior to Monday, and let's see, did I mention get well yet? Fingers crossed that yesterday was the low point and that from here I'll just be getting better. Now to try to stay awake to do some homework! Ta-ta for now, love, me.
Buenos Aires, buenas vibras
So, I made it. Soooo relieved to be in a place with a bed! Instead of a table. If you can't imagine it already, spending a night in the airport is less than fun, but I did catch maybe an hour and a half of sleep in the food court sitting at a table with my head down. Woke up to the sound of seven or eight guys drinking beers at 6 in the morning...hey, when in Rome, I guess. I grabbed a cinnamon roll for breakfast and awaited Carlos's arrival with my duffel. Awfully nice of him to drive it all the way out to the airport for me. We didn't have much time to chat by the time he got there, and I got through security and to the gate just in time to start boarding the plane.
I flew with LAN, which turns out to be a really nice airline. They give you blankets and pillows and each seat has a personal TV lodged in the back of the chair in front of it. Somehow, by the greatest stroke of luck ever, I had the whole middle row to my self...3 seats beckoning for me to lay down and doze off. Which is exactly what I did for the whole four-hour plane ride. And I felt so much better!
Getting through immigration and customs was easy peasy, and per suggestion from my hosts in town, I took a bus service that left me right at the doorstep of my new home. I've yet to wander around the neighborhood (Palermo), but it seems like a good area of town with everything I need within a few blocks. Laura, the daughter of the woman who owns this place (Eva), is very friendly, as I'm getting a sense that most Argentines are, and I'm pretty happy with where I've ended up. I have my own small room right next to a bathroom and kitchen on the second story of a really nice house which doubles as Eva's real estate office. There are three little dogs, two Colombians, and one other Argentine girl who live here as well.
For the most part, I've unpacked everything and am settling in well. I'm just now realizing how stinky all my clothes and sleeping bag and hiking boots are...the one window is wide open in here to help air everything out. You know you've had a good trip and been in good places when this is the case.
In general, I'm getting a great feeling about being here...the buenas vibras are strong. It's sunny and springtime, so what could be better? Woo I'm in Argentina!
I flew with LAN, which turns out to be a really nice airline. They give you blankets and pillows and each seat has a personal TV lodged in the back of the chair in front of it. Somehow, by the greatest stroke of luck ever, I had the whole middle row to my self...3 seats beckoning for me to lay down and doze off. Which is exactly what I did for the whole four-hour plane ride. And I felt so much better!
Getting through immigration and customs was easy peasy, and per suggestion from my hosts in town, I took a bus service that left me right at the doorstep of my new home. I've yet to wander around the neighborhood (Palermo), but it seems like a good area of town with everything I need within a few blocks. Laura, the daughter of the woman who owns this place (Eva), is very friendly, as I'm getting a sense that most Argentines are, and I'm pretty happy with where I've ended up. I have my own small room right next to a bathroom and kitchen on the second story of a really nice house which doubles as Eva's real estate office. There are three little dogs, two Colombians, and one other Argentine girl who live here as well.
For the most part, I've unpacked everything and am settling in well. I'm just now realizing how stinky all my clothes and sleeping bag and hiking boots are...the one window is wide open in here to help air everything out. You know you've had a good trip and been in good places when this is the case.
In general, I'm getting a great feeling about being here...the buenas vibras are strong. It's sunny and springtime, so what could be better? Woo I'm in Argentina!
An observation
So, yes, it's currently 3:06 in the morning and I'm still awake. I've been sitting at this same table at a restaurant in the Lima airport for the past...hmm...7 or 8 hours. Yikes. I think the people that work here are wondering what the crazy gringa is doing with her computer, her book, her headphones, and two backpacks. Hey, it's a fair question (lucky for you all, I've been updating this blog, since I neglected it while I was off galavanting around in the mountains).
I'm about ready to pack it in and find a place to catch a couple zees before Carlos gets here with my other duffel bag that I left at his house when I departed Lima. But as I was perusing my friend Louisa's blog, I realized I haven't done much reflecting about this trip thus far, and the rest of my plans for South America, or at least I haven't blogged about it. So here's one little tidbit to make up for that: the sense of pride I get when I tell people what the next half year of my life is gonna look like. You know, you meet new people in your travels, you always ask what they've done and where they're off to next, and they (hopefully) reciprocate the questions. Everyone's got their interesting little story, and the most common response is that people are just traveling around through a few countries on the continent, which is awesome, and immediately links us as kindred spirits. Even better is when you find someone who's got some other motive for being where they are, like volunteering or studying or working or whatever. Proud to say that I fall into that category, generally. True, Perú has been my playground, and I've been doing the usual touring about here, but then I think about what else I have ahead of me...my CELTA course in Buenos Aires, and then let's not forget the long-awaited four months of work in Patagonia at CP. That one is really the gi-frickin-normous cherry on top of the cake, and it gives me some other sense of connection to and ownership of my future and this place. It's pretty cool to see peoples' facial expressions when CP comes up, because I know how I would feel if I met someone telling me that that was their plan. JEALOUS. And inspired. So I'm doing my best to honor those feelings and live up to them. Boom. Ready, go.
Just had to share. Thanks for listening.
I'm about ready to pack it in and find a place to catch a couple zees before Carlos gets here with my other duffel bag that I left at his house when I departed Lima. But as I was perusing my friend Louisa's blog, I realized I haven't done much reflecting about this trip thus far, and the rest of my plans for South America, or at least I haven't blogged about it. So here's one little tidbit to make up for that: the sense of pride I get when I tell people what the next half year of my life is gonna look like. You know, you meet new people in your travels, you always ask what they've done and where they're off to next, and they (hopefully) reciprocate the questions. Everyone's got their interesting little story, and the most common response is that people are just traveling around through a few countries on the continent, which is awesome, and immediately links us as kindred spirits. Even better is when you find someone who's got some other motive for being where they are, like volunteering or studying or working or whatever. Proud to say that I fall into that category, generally. True, Perú has been my playground, and I've been doing the usual touring about here, but then I think about what else I have ahead of me...my CELTA course in Buenos Aires, and then let's not forget the long-awaited four months of work in Patagonia at CP. That one is really the gi-frickin-normous cherry on top of the cake, and it gives me some other sense of connection to and ownership of my future and this place. It's pretty cool to see peoples' facial expressions when CP comes up, because I know how I would feel if I met someone telling me that that was their plan. JEALOUS. And inspired. So I'm doing my best to honor those feelings and live up to them. Boom. Ready, go.
Just had to share. Thanks for listening.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)