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Surfing Crash Course, Robbery at the Border, and Coming Home

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 22:36:09 -0600

I’m Home! It’s been a fantastic trip, but it’s so great to be back. I arrived in the Nashville airport less than a week ago and was enthusiastically greeted by my parents and two younger sisters. The last part of my trip was pretty busy, so I’ll try and hit the highlights.

Last blog entry, I talked about my plans to go surfing in Huanchaco, Peru. Overall, surfing was a success. I did about as much wiping out as I did surfing, but not too bad for my first time. During breakfast at the hostel, I received some advice from a British computer programmer who had taken some surfing lessons a few days earlier. He recommended a place to take lessons and told me to expect to be really sore afterward. That afternoon, I headed down to the beach to meet my enthusiastic surfing instructor, Yamika. I changed into my wetsuit and then he taught me the 4 steps to stand up on a surfboard. He didn’t speak English, so it was lucky that I knew Spanish. First, we practiced on a surfboard in the surf shop, and then headed to the ocean. With Yamika’s help pushing my board when waves came, I was able to stand up on my second try! The waves were small, but I was feeling pretty pumped. After an hour and a half I was pretty tired, and we scheduled a second lesson for the next morning.

Feeling pretty optimistic about my surfing ability, the next morning I agreed to venture 500 feet offshore to find some bigger waves and practice timing. However, when I hopped on my surfboard, I realized how sore my arms and sternum were. Looking at how big the waves were, I could tell this was going to be a tough lesson. The previous day, the waves were about 2 or 3 feet tall. Today, the waves were about 6 feet tall! To make a long story short, I was no match for the waves. For the first 30 minutes, I was able to muster enough strength to paddle hard and stand up a few times. By the end of the lesson my arms were so weak that Yamika had to get behind me to push me further out so I wasn’t battered as the huge waves broke right on top of me and sent me and my board tumbling. One of my best runs ended abruptly as I was surfing a big wave and my board and right foot tripped over a fishing net as the rest of my body smacked hard into the water. When I couldn’t untangle myself from the net because of the rough waves, Yamika came over to help and we both decided it would be best to call it a day. I briefly considered going back for a third lesson the following day, but I was so sore the next morning that I decided that two days of surfing had been enough for now.

The next big adventure was crossing the border from Peru into Ecuador. Because we had visited Goctca, the recently discovered third-tallest waterfall in the world, and Kuelap, an ancient fortress used by pre-Colombian civilizations, the closest border-crossing was a remote outpost called “La Balsa.” In order to cross into Ecuador at La Balsa we were required pass through a number of very small villages using unconventional and unreliable transportation methods. Since other routes to cross the border would have taken much longer, we decided to go for it. Because there is no public transportation to the border, we took colectivo taxis from town to town. The system works like this: first you are dropped off in the middle of the small town with all of your stuff. Next, you ask around to find out where the colectivos are that go to your next town. Once, you find the spot with the colectivos you pick one, sit inside, and wait until your taxi is full of people. A full taxi typically means 7 people and their stuff crammed into a small sedan. Since we were traveling on a slow day, it took 3 hours to fill up the taxi and drive 2 hours to the next town. Although traveling by colectivo was inconvenient, it was a unique opportunity to talk with indigenous locals. I met a number of poor, illiterate coffee farmers who had never been outside of their small towns and our conversations were quite interesting. Also, the taxi would occasionally stop at paramilitary checkpoints manned with machine-gun-toting soldiers. Functioning like a neighborhood watch, these paramilitary groups asked for tips in return for patrolling the rural roads to protect travelers from thieves and kidnappers. I gladly paid my share.

After a day full of crowded car rides and waiting for hours in small dusty towns, we arrived around 9pm to Jaen, a decently large city where we could find a hotel. Because Jaen is a very poor city, the majority of vehicles are motorcycles or mototaxis (imagine a motorcycle for the front and a tricycle buggy for the back). We loaded up our stuff on the back of the mototaxi and asked the fourteen-year-old driver to help us find a hotel. He started driving, and I tried my best to make sure my stuff didn’t fall off the back of the buggy. We slowed down a bit as we turned off the main road onto a crowded dirt road. Suddenly, I felt my backpacking being yanked out the back of the mototaxi! I turned around to see man running away with my pack. I jumped down from the taxi and sprinted after him, screaming at the top of my lungs! The man quickly jumped on a motorcycle and sped off. He took a right turn, so I tried to cut him off by running through a park, but I couldn’t keep up. Out of breath, I jumped on another mototaxi to pursue him, but after a few minutes of riding around in the dark, I gave up. I returned to the robbery location to find Whitney still in the middle of the street, surrounded by a crowd of people who were trying to figure out what had happened. Eventually, a kind woman sheltered us from the crowd and led us into her house where we put down our things. She accompanied me to the local police station where I filed a police report. Luckily the stolen backpack only had clothes, toiletries, and my hiking boots. I still had my wallet, passport, and laptop. After completing the report, two police officers and I drove around the neighborhood to ask witnesses for information. We talked to a few residents who saw the thief driving away with my backpack, but none could tell us where he went or what he looked like. We went back, grabbed our things from the woman’s house, and found a hotel for the night. As I laid down to go to sleep around midnight, my heart was still racing and I realized I hadn’t eaten dinner. I didn’t sleep well that night.

I woke up the next morning, ate some breakfast, bought a few pairs of clothes, and we continued on the journey. We got a late start, and ended up arriving at the border just before dark. We considered sleeping there for the night, but decided to continue despite the darkness. There were no other people in the immigration office, and we immediately got stamped and walked across a bridge into Ecuador. We watched the end of a mud-volleyball game as it started raining and getting dark. A few hours later our transportation arrived, a ranchero. A ranchero is a large truck, the size of a small school bus, with wooden seats in the back. I asked myself, “How is this massive truck going to get up these tiny mountain roads in the pitch dark and in a rain storm?” Given that we had no other options, we strapped our stuff to the back and got onto the ranchero. Sure enough, only 5 minutes into the crazy journey the ranchero got stuck in the mud halfway up a big mountain. After spinning the tires in the mud, dangerously close to the edge of the cliff, we started backing down. After a few more terrifying tries, we finally got enough momentum and made it up the mountain. The roller-coaster journey lasted another 2 hours, and we finally arrived to our second-to-last stop at 11pm. Luckily, the next town had buses on relatively paved roads to our final destination, so we bought our tickets and collapsed asleep on top of our luggage. I never knew crossing a border could be such an adventure.

We spent the next few days relaxing in the beautiful town of Vilcabamba, a town known as the “Valley of Longevity” because some residents are said to have lived past the age of 120. We went horseback riding, hiking, and got cheap massages. It was a great change of pace. On Thanksgiving, we even found a local restaurant that served an all-you-can-eat turkey and stuffing buffet. I called home to talk to my parents after thanksgiving lunch. It was a bit sad to miss out on the family holiday, but I was still happy to be traveling. That weekend we took a trip to the jungle and saw some spectacular scenery. Unfortunately, it rained the whole time and I got soaked…but I guess that what you get when you visit the “rain” forest, oh well. We also took a trip to Guayaquil, the largest city in Ecuador. My favorite part was Iguana Park, a park in the middle of the city with hundreds of iguanas walking around and climbing in the trees! We watched kids feed the iguanas oranges and try to pull their tails. One little girl learned her lesson when she was unexpectedly drenched by iguana urine coming from the tree above her. I’m not sure how iguana urination works, but instead of a steady stream, iguanas let it all go at once. This little girl got nailed with a bucket-full. Needless to say, her mom was mortified. But, I think I saw her dad chuckling to himself.

After Guayaquil we headed to Ecuador’s capital, Quito. We arrived in town during the last days of their month-long, annual independence festival. It was a blast. A highlight was riding around town in a “chiva.” A Chiva is a large truck with colorful decorations and wooden seats in the back. In addition, the chiva has a platform on top of the truck where a live brass band plays music. During the independence festival, the chivas drive around town with the people in the back singing and the band playing patriotic songs. We had a great time learning the songs and chants. We even got out of the truck halfway through the ride to dance around in the street. During the festival we also enjoyed parades, a concert, and a bullfight.

The final stop was Bogota, Colombia. We flew into Colombia early in the morning and spent the afternoon walking around the colonial center decorated with a large Christmas tree in the middle of the central plaza. However, it was peculiar seeing the holiday decorations during the hot weather. I also enjoyed looking at the beautiful colonial buildings and trying interesting food from street vendors. The next day we visited the police museum with an interesting exhibit about the life and capture of drug-lord Pablo Escobar. The following day we took a trip to a massive artisanal market where I did some Christmas shopping and saw some intricate woodwork. For the last night of our trip, we watched the sunset from Cerro Monseratte, the mountain overlooking the massive city. It was a beautiful view and a great way to finish the trip.

It was a bit weird coming back home. Buildings and cars seemed unusually big and clean. There were no beggars asking for spare change. It seemed like such a long time ago that I left for my trip, but luckily not much had changed. I have a load of cool memories, a bunch of new friends, and a sense of accomplishment from great trip.

Thanks so much for reading about my trip on this blog. Please let me know what you think and ask me questions about my trip. I would love to hear from you; see ya!

Goodbye Buenos Aires - Hello Peru

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:30:16 -0600

Leaving Buenos Aires was much harder than I thought it would be. Although I had only been in Argentina for less than 4 months, it seemed like much longer with all of the friends and memories I made.

My last week in Buenos Aires was pretty hectic because I was trying to visit all the sights in the city that I hadn’t seen yet, and simultaneously trying to spend time with friends that I would be leaving soon.

One interesting experience was a visit to the Blind Theatre, a dinner and performance in complete darkness. A group of 5 other friends and I arrived to the theatre lobby at 9pm (sound like a late dinner? Argentines normally dine around 10pm or 11pm, so this was actually a bit early.) When our party was called, they arranged us into a single-file line and instructed us to put our hands on the shoulders of the person in front of us. Our waiter led us through two sets of curtains into a pitch-black room with soft music and hushed voices. When, we arrived at our table, we stumbled around a bit before finding our designated seats. After successfully sitting down, we tried to figure out who was sitting where, what shape our table was, and the size of the room we were in. I had thought eventually my eyes would adjust to the darkness, but instead I started imagining white shapes that my brain created due to the lack of visual stimulation.

After a few minutes, our waiter came over and took our drink order. One by one, he put his hand on our shoulders and asked if we would like water or all-you-can-drink wine. We naturally chose the wine. We didn’t need to choose a main course because everyone was given the same thing, meat and vegetables on a kebab to eat with your fingers and a strawberry cake for dessert. At first, it was hard to tell what you were eating, and I accidentally ate the dessert first…oops. Halfway through the meal, we discovered bread in an edible basket also made of bread in the center of the table, so we polished that off too. After we had finished eating, the performance began. A woman began singing in Spanish on one side of the room and was accompanied by a piano on the other side of the room. Neither the voice nor the piano had microphones, which added to the interesting acoustic effect. The direction of her voice changed as she walked around the room. She walked right behind me multiple times, but I fought off the urge to reach out and touch her with my hand. Her voice was powerful and beautiful, and I tried with partial success, to interpret the Spanish lyrics. When she was finished, everyone applauded and they gradually turned on the lights! The room and table looked very different than I had imagined. Our waiter, who it turns out was actually blind, came over to our table, served us more wine, and told us about the history of the blind theatre. The first blind theatre was started in the late 90s and now there are a few of them around Buenos Aires. The employees of each theatre are part of an employment cooperative. The chefs, waiters, hosts, and musicians are all paid the same wage. Organizational decisions are made collectively because there is no boss, he explained. We wished him well and then headed out the door…definitely a cool experience.

Thursday, November 6th was the final exam of my intensive Spanish course. The exam was easy, so my classmates and I all went to celebrate afterward to eat fajitas and drink beer. The following day, we went to our professor’s lovely apartment to celebrate the end of the semester and say goodbye. I’m very glad I chose to do an intensive Spanish course because I received lots of individual attention for my speaking and writing in a stress-free environment.

The following Monday was my last day of volunteering at the local tutoring center where I had been helping students with their English homework. I made good relationships with the middle school students, and it was sad to leave. In addition to helping with homework, I did a lot of talking to the students about my life US and what I was doing in Buenos Aires. One of my favorite parts was after tutoring I would go downstairs and play piano with a Peruvian student as the other kids watched. Hopefully someday I’ll be able to teach music to students for a longer amount of time.

I also enjoyed my visits to community centers in the poorest parts of Buenos Aires. I visited Voluntario Global in La Boca, a poor neighborhood next to the port where poor Italian immigrants settled in the 1800s. Today, it has a very high crime rate and many of the buildings are run-down and crowded with homeless families. Voluntario Global is in the process of building an apartment complex for the homeless and gives away meals, groceries, and clothes in exchange for work on sewing machines and in the kitchen. I also visited Conviven, an community center in one of the city’s villas, or shanty-towns, called Cuidad Oculta, or hidden city. Many families move to Buenos Aires in search of a job, but when unsuccessful and end up living in the villas without legal housing, water, or electricity. Despite the government’s efforts to get them to move out of the city, they refuse to leave because they receive free education and healthcare that they wouldn’t receive if they left the city. Conviven organizes music and English classes for students, in addition to providing free meals. My visit to these neighborhoods was very eye-opening and I hope to learn more about development strategies for these areas.

Tuesday night November 10th was my final night in Buenos Aires. After packing up all of my things, and playing a final game of billiards, my friends and I stayed up until 3am reminiscing about the semester’s memories. I woke up the next morning in a somber mood. I ate my final meal at the residence, and before I knew it, the airport taxi arrived at 3pm. Whitney started crying and I got teary-eyed too as we took a final group picture and gave final goodbye hugs. It was sad to think that I would never live with these friends again, but I promised them I would be back to visit Argentina someday.

The flight to Lima, Peru went smoothly, and when we touched down, I was able to forget about the sadness of leaving Buenos Aires, and focus on journey ahead: a 32-day trip from Lima, Peru to Bogota, Colombia.

The initial arrival into an unfamiliar city is definitely one of my favorite parts of traveling. I was taken aback by the beautiful view of the Pacific Ocean from the beachside cliffs of Lima at night as our taxi took us from the airport to our hostel. Later that night, we went out in search of a late dinner. We found a good restaurant, and I ordered heart meat on a kebab. I was feeling adventurous when I ordered, but started having second thoughts as I pondered how heart meat would taste. As it turns out, heart meat is very flavorful and tender and looks exactly like pieces of steak…I would definitely recommend it. The next day, we took a jog along the beach and I was really impressed with the well-kept parks and beaches. We also visited some catacombs and saw a fountain-light show later that evening. For our last day in Lima, we decided to go paragliding, basically get strapped into a parachute with a guy then run off of a cliff and let the wind carry you up into the air. It was only $50, much cheaper than prices in the US, and I thought it would be a great way to get view of the city. We tried to go in the morning, but when Todd, my friend from the hostel, took off it was instantly apparent that the winds weren’t strong enough. He glided slowly from the cliffs where we were standing to the beaches 500 feet below. However, we returned in the afternoon and the wind was strong enough. My paragliding guy and I ran off the cliff with our parachute and were instantly lifted into the air. We glided over the beach and then over the city’s skyscrapers. I was amazed by how large the city was, and was a little surprised how close we were going to the buildings. After an exhilarating 10 minutes, we landed softly in the grassy park from where we took off, Whew!

Today, It’s rainy here in Huaraz, Peru. Whitney and I are in a coffee shop reading and waiting for the rain to pass. Yesterday, we hiked into the Cordilleras Blancas, part of the in the second highest mountain range in the world. After a really bumpy bus ride, we hiked up to 4100 meters to see a spectacular green lake. The altitude gave us a big headache, but we’re fine now. We’ve met some interesting people: a German surfer who has been in South America and the Caribbean since January camping, and a Danish brick-layer who traveled across north and south America for 2.5 years and married a woman from Nicaragua and is back on vacation.

Tonight, we head for Huanchaco, Peru where I’m going to try and take some surfing lessons and see some ancient ruins. Huanchaco is a small fishing village famous for longest left breaking wave in the world. Most likely, I’ll be doing more wiping out than surfing, but we’ll see how it goes. Until next time, see ya!

walking 37 miles in 15 hours, touching a tiger and soccer mania!

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:47:20 -0500

Hello everyone: first of all I would like to apologize for not updating my blog for a really long time (Since September 12th!). I have no good excuse other than I’ve been staying busy and doing lots of fun stuff...

During the weekend of September 18th, Whitney and I took a weekend trip to San Luis, a small town 10 hours east of Buenos Aires. We chose San Luis to get a break from the big city and find a place with no international tourists. Well, it worked…we met a bunch of local Argentines and had an action-packed trip. We stayed in a hostel in central San Luis and took day-trips to the surrounding areas each day.
The first day we visited the small town of “Potrero de Los Funes” (We almost weren’t able to go because a peculiar police blockade cut off our bus’s path…luckily some friendly old folks helped us get there a different way). When we finally arrived, we took a hike, drank the clean mountain water from a lucky waterfall pool, and took a walk on antique-car racetrack surrounding the town’s beautiful lake.
The second day was even more hectic than the first. To start the day off, I accidentally set my alarm clock an hour early instead of an hour late to account for the time-zone difference, which caused us to wake up at 4 a.m. I blamed my mistake on the crazy governor of San Luis who decided San Luis would abide by a different time-zone than the rest of Argentina…no one really knows why…Anyway, after waking up for second time we tried to catch a 7 a.m. bus to a national park with dinosaur footprints and mountains like in the cartoon roadrunner. Unfortunately, we were misinformed and public transportation doesn’t go to this national park. So on the spur of the moment, we decided we would go to a town famous for hot-baths and salt-deserts instead. We hopped on the bus, got settled, then asked the bus driver when we could catch a bus back to San Luis from the hot-bath/salt-desert town. He told us that then next one was in 12 hours…Hm. In a quick, game-time huddle decision, we decided that 12 hours was way too long to spend in hot baths or looking at lots of salt. So, we hopped off the bus in the middle of nowhere and walked for an hour back to San Luis. It was only 10 a.m. by now but we were pretty tired already. We ended up meeting a 40-year-old biking enthusiast at the hostel who agreed to drive us to the national park with dinosaur footprints in his car. We had a great day, and slept really good that night.
The third day, we took a bus to Carolina, a tiny town consisting of about 5 buildings, a restaurant, and a church. We hiked up a nearby mountain for a beautiful view, and then headed back to San Luis to catch our bus back to Buenos Aires. An interesting and exciting weekend trip…

Another interesting experience was my trip to the Buenos Aires zoo. After waking up super early (7am!) to go to the immigration office and get student visas, we decided to skip class for the day and go to the zoo. The zoo seemed pretty standard except for some very peculiar animals walking on the sidewalks with the people! I never found out what they were called, but they have a head of a rabbit and a body of a beagle-sized dog. They were eating grass and seemed very comfortable around people. Peacocks also roamed the zoo alongside the people. If you startled them, they would let out a shriek and poof out their rear feathers. Needless to say, I tried to startle the peacocks and I eventually got the reaction I was looking for!
I also saw a dad chimpanzee wrestling with his son. They were having a ball and their antics attracted a large crowd of people. Then, the mom woke up, climbed to the top of the jungle gym and pooped (look out below!). Some people in the crowd laughed, but were appalled when the father and son went to inspect the poop and then ate it! EWWWW!

About 4 weekends ago I took part in the most grueling thing I’ve ever done, a 60km (37 mile) pilgrimage by foot to a town outside of Buenos Aires. My friends and I walked continuously from 1 p.m. until 4:30 a.m. with about one million other Argentines taking part in this religious tradition. At first it was like a huge party on the move. The streets were blocked off and it was shoulder-to-shoulder people walking in the sweltering heat. However, people were very upbeat – many had rolling carts with Latin music blasting from megaphone-type speakers. Also, in each new town we were greeted with free tea and snacks.
Then, at about 11pm (after walking since 1pm) things were deteriorating. My feet were swollen and bruised so I bought a wooden cane. Stopping to take breaks was useless because my feet started to swell more, and the cane didn’t help much either. But probably the worse thing was that people kept telling us different distances to the end, and it was really taking a psychological toll.
At 3:30am, we finally arrived at our destination city of Lujan and were told that there were only 12 more blocks to the cathedral. “I walk 12 blocks to school everyday; this will be a piece of cake,” I told myself. But, each block seemed to go on forever as we hobbled along the street at a snail’s pace.
When we finally finished the 12 blocks we were able to see the spectacular cathedral, illuminated by bright lights even at 4:30 in the morning. The tradition is to crowd into the cathedral and pay homage to the virgin. Well, we got inside the church and collapsed on the floor next to 20 people sleeping in the corner…I don’t know if you can call that homage, but we made it all the way nonetheless.
Somehow we managed to find a bus back to Buenos Aires and arrived at our residence at 7am in the morning the most tired I had ever been. The following day, I only left my bed once to find some Ibuprofen…yeah pretty incredible experience.

In addition to the 60km pilgrimage, I had another very interesting cultural experience – a South American soccer game. Eduardo, a local soccer fanatic, convinced me and my American roommate, Evan, to come with him to see his favorite team, “Independencia” play a home game. He advised us to wear red, the home team’s colors, and not to bring a camera, wallet, or anything valuable.
We met up at the residence an hour and a half before the game started and headed off to catch the train. We were running late (very common in Argentina) but instead of being laid back about it, Eduardo made us run almost all the way there so we wouldn’t miss the beginning of the game. As we got off the train, and started the run toward the stadium it became increasingly apparent that this was going to be cool. You could feel the excitement from the fans on the crowded street who were singing and yelling indecipherable Spanish phrases.
When we got to the stadium, we packed into the crowd of people and were herded through like cattle inside the stadium. As we were going in, Eduardo told us, “If we get separated, meet right here after the game ok?” Before we could agree, he blitzed inside. Immediately as we entered the stadium we were blasted by a chorus of crazed fans singing, a three-part horn section, and a single bass drum. The exclusively male, testosterone-infused fans were jumping up and down, waving red flags, and singing constantly in a crowded concrete area in between two sections of seating.
As I looked around, I first noticed that we were completely surrounded by a 30-foot high chain link fence topped with barbed wire. Secondly, I verified that the crowd was completely guys. And thirdly, I noticed that fans were everywhere. They were climbing on the chain-link fence, hanging from rails, and standing on top of concrete barriers. After jumping around and pushing each other for about 20 minutes, the crowd of fans started running around the stadium. I got separated from my friends as the crowd dispersed into the stands, but luckily after a few minutes of scanning the crowd, I spotted them. Eduardo had commandeered the top of a concrete pole and was hanging onto a tattered red banner that stretched from the top of the stands to the bottom. Evan and I took our place crowded beside the concrete barrier.
Apparently, the game had just started but I missed the kickoff while running with the fans and while I got separated from my friends. I thought the fans would eventually stop singing, but they never did. We couldn’t hear the horns, but the constant beat of the bass drum helped keep all the fans singing on tempo. I think they have about 15 team songs that everyone knows by heart and they keep singing over and over again. I also thought they would clean up the trash and toilet paper that fans had thrown onto the field, but no one really seemed to care. About 20 minutes into the first half, Independencia scored a goal and the crowd behind me immediately pushed everyone forward three rows causing a huge collision of people. I guess that’s standard operating procedure when your team scores a goal.
Well, Independencia won the game 2-1. There was no scoreboard anywhere in the stadium, but everyone knew. Needless to say, the fans kept singing all the way out of the stadium. But to my surprise, they KEPT singing on the bus ride back to the city center, banging on the walls and hanging out of the windows. People on the street turned to look and cheer as our bus passed by. I arrived back and went straight to bed. Whew, what a night!

In addition to trips, a religious pilgrimage, and a soccer game I’m staying pretty busy with other stuff too. I’m playing ultimate Frisbee twice a week in a local Frisbee league. I’m volunteering once a week to help Argentine teenagers with their English homework, and I’m giving private English lessons to a silly 7-year-old boy named Tristan. His mom is the coordinator of my university’s international exchange program, and she wants him to learn English at a young age. The problem is that Tristan doesn’t really want to learn English so I have to trick him into learning. The best way I’ve found is to act like I don’t speak Spanish, and teach him English songs on the guitar. It works pretty well because he loves the Beatles and Michael Jackson, so we first figure out what the lyrics mean and then he plays and sings. It’s really fun!

In other news, I shaved my beard that I had going for over 3 months. I kept my mustache for a little while so I could take some pictures, but now it’s all gone and it feels so strange! My class took a field trip to some tango lessons, but somehow I can’t get past the basic steps, oh well! Last weekend I visited a zoo, unlike any other I’ve ever heard of. I got to pet a full-grown tiger, hold lion cubs, ride a camel, and ride an elephant. It was really cool, and everyone was really laid back about the whole thing. We didn’t even have to sign a waiver or anything!

That’s pretty much it. I have two more weeks of Spanish class left, and my conversation and reading abilities are improving rapidly. I’m also in the process of planning a 32-day trip to Peru, Ecuador, and Colombia after the semester - so stay tuned!

Check out the pictures from my adventures here: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2385737&id=9432033&l=ea594a4a91

tango shows, field trips, music studio, & singing lessons

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 16:52:04 -0500

I’ve here in Buenos Aires and five weeks into classes. It’s amazing that I’ve been here almost two months; this trip is flying by. My mid-term exam is this Friday, I’ll be graduating from the elementary level to the intermediate level! WooHoo! I’m excited to be done with basics, so we can do fun stuff like watching Spanish movies in class and taking more field trips.

I’ve been staying busy outside of class as well. The World Tango Festival just concluded in Buenos Aires and I went to everything from a tango lesson to a tango dance “espectaculo”! One Sunday night a few weeks ago, a group of us went to a restaurant for a combo dinner/tango show. We were expecting a flashy dance show for tourists, but it turned out to be completely different. Upon entering the small, crowded restaurant, it was instantly clear that this wasn’t a touristy place. We stuck out like sore thumbs in the crowd of local regulars: about 15 elderly couples. We ordered our food and then the show started. One at a time, each person in the restaurant walked onto the small stage to sing a traditional tango song accompanied by an cheesy-sounding electric keyboard. Since we were newcomers to the restaurant, the performers all sang directly to us! Although we felt very out of place at first, the silly performers and friendly locals made us feel very comfortable. My friend Molly even went on stage and tried to sing along to a song she didn’t know the words to. Later in the night, a large, 75-year-old, red-haired woman came over to our table and danced seductively to my friend Richard, a macho lacrosse player from England…so hilarious!!!

I was also able to take two trips outside of Buenos Aires. A few weeks ago, I took a day trip to Tigre, a popular weekend destination for locals on the delta of the Rio del Plata. It was a 1.5 hour crowded train ride, but only cost $4 for transportation round trip! We took a 1 hour ride on the river and took a long walk around the small town. (Picture: Yesterday, my class took a field trip to the suburb of Pilar to visit the agriculture campus of my school. We went with my class of 7 Americans and another class of 7 Chinese students in a similar immersion program. We had a picnic, the guys played basketball, I played guitar for everyone, and we played Texas Hold ‘Em or just “Texas” as they call it here, with crackers for chips. It was good to do something a little different for class than sit in the classroom.

In other news: the chef at my dormitory invited my friend Hannah and I to play guitar with his band, and I got to go and play with them in a professional music studio and make a recording…so cool! I also joined a Frisbee team in the new Buenos Aires Ultimate Frisbee League. Last weekend, Argentina played Brazil and I watched the game on TV with some local soccer fanatics...it was disappointing we lost, but fun nevertheless. Also, I’ve started weekly singing lessons with a local singing teacher. Anyways, I’m having a great time here and staying busy.

Adjusting to Buenos Aires and a totally unique dining experience

Thu, 20 Aug 2009 22:09:55 -0500

So, I’ve been in Buenos Aires taking classes for two and a half weeks and I’m starting to feel comfortable here. At first it was really cool and exciting. Then, I started to miss friends and family, playing Frisbee and basketball, American concerts, playing the piano, and the comfort of knowing how everything works. But, I think I’m over the hump and I am feeling more at home each day.

I’ve been really busy over the past few weeks, just the way I like it. I have my intensive Spanish class Monday through Friday from 1:30 pm to 5:30 pm. We cover a ton of grammar each day and I learn about 50 new words each class. There are only 7 students in my class, so it’s a great opportunity to practice speaking too. Also, throughout the day I carry a pen and a little notebook in my pocket to write down Spanish words I don’t know or English words that I need to translate when I get a chance.

After class, I like to come back to my dorm and relax for a bit. Then around 9:30pm (they eat really late dinners here) I go downstairs to eat in the small restaurant/cafeteria. It’s fun to eat a new type of Argentine food each day and to make friends. About half of the students in the residence are from Argentina and the other half are international students. My favorite friends are the chef Federico, a loud and crazy guitar player with a big mustache, and his assistant Guada, a silly girl who always has funny stuff to say. Neither one speaks much English so it’s a good chance to practice my new Spanish phrases.

In addition to going to class and making new friends in the dorm, I’ve been able to do a lot of cool stuff in Buenos Aires. For example, every Monday night there is concert nearby called “La Bomba del Tiempo” (the time bomb). It’s a group of 25 Brazilian percussionists who perform for a crowd of 500 people. The crowd participates with syncopated claps, everyone dances their butt off, and the energy is incredible. Each week they feature a different music guest, like a guitarist, bassist, or French horn player to accompany the percussion group. I’ve been twice so far and I’m going to try and go every Monday night that I can. Check out the pictures here: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2362372&id=9432033&l=9487c7d2a7 I also went to a Tango lesson – more on that next time!

However, that wasn’t even the coolest thing I’ve done. About a week ago, a group of friends and I were invited to a free dinner and music show at the restaurant of Federico (the chef at the dorm). I agreed without really knowing what I was getting myself into. After a 50 minute train ride, we arrived at an unmarked green door in an abandoned-looking town. Federico greeted us at the door and led us up some stairs and into an apartment that was decorated like a gourmet restaurant! I proceeded to eat the best beef stroganoff and carrot cake I’ve ever had in my life. And, that wasn’t it! After dinner, we witnessed an incredible music performance by the chefs and the waitress. They played some fantastic original songs, and a killer rendition of “while my guitar gently weeps.” After a few songs, Hannah, my friend from Maine who plays clarinet, and I were invited to play along with them. We played music until after midnight and missed our train back to Buenos Aires. I ended up sleeping on the floor, and we caught the train back at 9am…totally worth it. Check out the pictures here: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2365066&id=9432033&l=77029b7f6 I definitely want to go back again.

Until next time, see ya!

Arrival in Buenos Aires and a 22-Hour Bus Ride to The Andes

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 08:24:59 -0500

I’m exhausted. I just finished a 5-day trip to Bariloche, a small mountain town in western Argentina. Now I’m riding back to Buenos Aires on a bus through the Andes and I can’t stop taking pictures of the spectacular mountains and unusual rock formations. It’s a 22-hour bus ride, but I’m not complaining because but this bus is far superior to a Greyhound and the scenery is unbeatable. My seat is as comfortable as Lazy Boy chair, and a man just brought around ham and cheese crescent rolls…mmm.

The trip was great. I went with a group of five other Americans and we stayed in a really nice hostel. We were able to snowboard, kayak, and take an incredible hike. Walking through the town of Bariloche was also cool. The town is next to a massive lake that is surrounded by snow-capped mountains. The locals were relaxed, friendly, and much easier to understand than the fast-talking city-folk of Buenos Aires.

Before my trip I spent 6 days in Buenos Aires, and I can tell I will love the city. I live in a student residence with about half local and half international students. My roommates are Philip, an economics student from Germany, and Evan, a linguistics student from New Orleans. Three people makes it kind of crowded in our small room, but I think we will get a long really well.

The residence is really nice. The basement has a pool table, ping-pong table, big-screen TV, and some workout equipment. There’s a small restaurant/cafeteria on the first floor where two chefs make excellent food. There’s a standard menu of local food, but everyday there’s a different “plata del dia” that I always get. They make great flan, a light kind of pudding, with some caramel-looking stuff called dulce de leche.

My classes start on Monday and although going to class isn’t my favorite thing to do, I think it will be good to get into a regular schedule. Stay tuned for more about Buenos Aires and how classes are going!

A good visit home…8 hours until liftoff to Argentina

Mon, 20 Jul 2009 08:18:21 -0500

It’s almost midnight in Nashville. I should be sleeping but I’m not tired and I have too much to think about. My flight to Buenos Aires, Argentina leaves at 8:30AM…8 hours from now.

I left Washington DC on Tuesday after a few days of sad goodbyes. It’s crazy how close you can become to friends in only 6 weeks – I hope you guys are doing well!

I spent the last few days at home in Nashville with my friends and family. Last night I had a few friends over to my house for a going away party. We grilled burgers and brats, ate homemade vanilla ice cream, and played an epic game of Pictionary (Go red team!). The gathering was last minute, so no everyone was able to come, but it was really good to see some friends before my departure. Tonight was family night. We ate lasagna and played Monopoly. Usually I’m pretty good, but tonight I blew it. I made some good deals and bought some good real estate, but I kept forgetting to collect rent when people landed on my property and didn’t have any money left to pay my own rent…yep, typical Scott

Anyway, I can’t quite describe how I’m feeling right now. I’m excited, but I don’t really know what to expect. I’m slightly nervous, but I’m not sure what to be nervous about. I think I’ve packed everything, but I still feel like I’m forgetting something. It’s starting to hit me that 5 months is a long time to be gone. But, overall I’m really excited and can’t wait to get down there and make some new friends.

Check out the place I’ll be staying: www.alfa2000.com.ar

I suspended my phone service today, but if you want to talk – download the free program “Skype” and we can video chat. Just search for “Scott Wofford.” I’ll be updating this blog soon - wish me luck!

Washington Post Visit, Metro Crash, and a DC 4th of July!!!

Sun, 5 Jul 2009 22:13:44 -0500

Since I last updated, I’ve taken a tour of the Washington Post, touched Woodrow Wilson’s student notebook, and experienced a Washington DC 4th of July. This trip has flown by; I only have one more week left!

One of the highlights was seeing the “School of Rock,” a group of kids who learn to play in a rock band through their school. The group performed during lunch at the Woodrow Wilson Plaza, right next door to my office at the Wilson Center. The lead singer was a very talented 8-year-old girl! She had the head-bang, the 360 spin, and an awesome voice…everything you need to be a 8-year-old rock star.

My friends who intern at Capitol Hill encouraged me to go to a congressional hearing. So, during a lunch break I went to the hill to see a hearing about “The Humanitarian Crisis in Pakistan.” The hearing had a live video feed from a human rights advocacy group in Pakistan. Also over the past few weeks I visited the office of Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Rep. Jim Cooper (D-TN) to talk to the foreign policy staffers. This week I’m visiting the offices of Rep. John Tanner (D-TN) and Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN). It was also really exciting to watch the passage of the Cap and Trade Bill in the House.

Through events sponsored by the Harvard Institute of Politics, I was able to tour the Washington Post and Politico. We had lunch with the Post’s media lawyer, Eric Lieberman, who is responsible for representing the newspaper against libel suits. He told the incredible story of the Valerie Plame case and other accounts of investigative journalism. He probably has his hands full now with Post’s recent lobbyist scandal. A few days later, we met with the founder and some editors of Politio.com, a newspaper started in 2007 by ex-Post writers. The political-guru writers talked so fast it was hard to keep up but nevertheless, very exciting.

In other news, on June 22 one DC metro train smashed into another one and killed 9 people. It happened only one metro stop from where I live…wow. Luckily, I was sick that day from work and no one I know was injured…Whew!

Earlier this week I visited the Library of Congress to find one of Woodrow Wilson’s student notebooks. The Wilson Center is updating their small Woodrow Wilson exhibit and asked me to help locate a book that shows Wilson’s shorthand, a type of note taking, to recreate in the exhibit. After I passed though security and got my official “Research ID card,” I proceeded to the manuscripts section. A librarian helped me find the notebook in the special Presidential Collections section, and to my surprise, I was able to touch the presidential notebook with my bare hands!

Yesterday, I got to experience the 4th of July Washington DC style! At noon on the 4th, a group of us from the hostel headed to the National Mall to watch the parade and check out the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. By far, the highlight of the parade was a Barack Obama superhero dancing and jumping around…so hilarious! After the parade was over, we found some free Indian food and sat down to watch an Indian music performance. That night we saw Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, and Natasha Bedingfield perform at “A Capitol Fourth,” broadcast on PBS. Barack Obama came on screen during the concert and asked for the audience to scream so loud that he could hear us from the White House…I think we did it. Immediately following the concert we watched the spectacular fireworks over the Washington Monument. Woo Hoo America!

An update after two weeks in DC

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 22:45:50 -0500

I arrived in Washington DC 10 days ago, but I’m already sure that this is where I want to move after I graduate. There’s so much excitement, and it seems like everyone I meet has a really cool job!

I’m working three days per week at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in the Department of Outreach and Communication. On my first day I sat in on a company's proposal to redisign their website. They have really cool speakers and events everyday and I've been to:
-"Preventing and Rebuilding Failed States Amid Global Economic Crisis: What are realistic options for U.S. Policy?"
-"Renewing the Partnership between the U.S. and Mexico: Shared Responsibility and Shared Strategies"
-"Hijacked Justice: Dealing with the Past in the Balkans"
One of my jobs is to go to these events then write an event summary to post on the website. I'm still getting the hang of it. I also got to go with our director to the Woodrow Wilson House (Wilson's house after the presidency, now a museum) to pick out one of his top hats and a jacket to display at the Wilson Center :-)

The other two days per week I'm doing Public Affairs in the Disaster Operations Center of the American Red Cross. During a disaster, Public Affairs of the DOC is responsible for responding to national media inquiries and coaching local chapters on how to respond to local media. The first few days I helped to edit a new volunteer disaster handbook. Now I'm working to update a list of Communications Directors at each local chapter so we can send out a survey to determine each chapter's communication capabilities. Both jobs are pretty neat and everyone is really nice and helpful :-)

I’m living in a hostel in northern DC and I’m meeting a lot of other cool students who are here for summer internships. The hostel is a large 3-story townhouse with a common TV room and kitchen downstairs with bedrooms upstairs. Each bedroom has 4 bunk beds with 8 total people, so it's kind of crowded trying get ready in the morning, but other than that it's fine. There's a basketball court and park across the street so it's fun to get some exercise there.

Other news:
-I went to a benefit dinner at the State Department on Tuesday night that was really cool. Check out the pictures: it was super fancy and there were even some celebrities there. Former American Idol contestant, David Archuleta, performed "Imagine" and "Prayer of the Children;" he was really good.
-This morning I heard General Petraeus, head of US Central Command, give a speech about our progress in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan...pretty neat.

I've been pretty busy, so I'm looking forward to this weekend to relax
a bit. Until next time...See ya!

Miami, Florida Keys, Everglades trip - tarpon bites, juggled knives!

Sat, 30 May 2009 22:34:45 -0500

My trip to Florida was awesome. We saw so much in just two weeks! Here’s a quick summary:

After driving 2.5 days, we finally made it to Key West from Nashville. On our first night we walked to Mallory Square to watch the sunset. While watching a street performer do tricks, and I was chosen to be a part of the show! He told me to lay flat on my back while he walked on a tightrope held up like a tug-of-rope by more volunteers. Then, he started juggled knives right over me. Whew! Also while in Key West, we sailed to a reef and snorkeled with tons of beautiful fish, had some awesome lemonade from a local named Izzy, almost went spear fishing with Captain Upchuck and ate a “Cheeseburger in Paradise” from Jimmy Buffet’s original Margaritaville.

Next we headed to John Pennekamp State Park in Key Largo to do some camping. We went snorkeling and saw a barracuda, did a kayak trip through the mangrove swamps, but the most exciting thing was the tarpon experience…After finishing our kayak trip, the locals encouraged us to feed the tarpon, a very large game fish that can grow up to 6 feet long and weigh up to 350 lbs. We bought a bucket of fish and took it out to the dock where approximately 150 tarpon were swimming. They told us to hold the fish in our hands right over the water and the tarpon would jump out of the water and bite our arms until we let go of the fish. They assured us that unlike sharks, tarpon have sandpaper mouths instead of sharp teeth and it wouldn’t hurt. We did as they said, and sure enough the tarpon leaped out of the water, bit our arms, then slid down taking the fish with them…wow! Check out the video here:

After Key Largo, we headed to the everglades. On our first day, we took a ranger-guided boardwalk tour and saw over 20 alligators in the swamp right under the boardwalk! The next day, we took a boat ride and saw a crocodile and some small sharks too. Here’s a video of some wildlife: We also discovered that McDonalds in Florida sells cheeseburgers for $.60 a piece on Tuesdays. Naturally, my roommate and I decided to buy 33 cheeseburgers and eat as many as we could…it turned out to be not as good of an idea as it initially sounded.

After the everglades we continued onto Miami, our final destination. The walking tour of South Beach was cool, especially the interesting Art Deco architecture. We visited a famous tattoo parlor where they film the show “Miami Ink” on TLC. Little Havana was interesting and we ate some great Cuban sandwiches, bought some Spanish CDs, and found a cool cigar shop. On our last day, we visited a “fronton” where the interesting sport of “Ja-Alai” is played. Tons of locals were gambling and yelling at the players and it was really exciting.

After returning from my trip I thought I would have time to relax, but instead my cousin Rachael had just graduated high school and my relatives were in town to help celebrate. We had a great time catching up, laughing, and eating good food.

I fly to Washington DC on Monday, June 1 and Thursday is my first day at the Woodrow Wilson Center internship. I’ll keep you posted!