Arrival in Buenos Aires

$160 surprise reciprocity fee
ouch
another disadvantage to flying I guess

but immediately met with nice people
a lady on the bus offered to pay for my trip to the center with her
fare card, since i didn{t have any metal money.

then when i got off the bus, a gentleman helped me find the best place

to buy a SIM card and waited while I installed it to make sure it
worked.

Then the bus driver of the second bus made sure I got off at the right
corner and told me which way to walk

then I have the most amazing host from couchsurfing, a pretty cool use
of social networking. He{s a second year medical student who loves
soccer. I just try to be the ideal guest, cooking, cleaning and
staying out of the way of his pharmacology studies.

and today, first full day in Buenos Aires, absolutely wonderful.
slept in, first run in a week through giant parks with giant statues
what strikes me the most about the city is how well everyone dresses
it definitely makes people more attractive, as much as i hate to admitt it
people take pride in their appearance here and it shows
i{ll need to upgrade my wardrobe for sure

there is also some Paris flavor
lots of dog poop and sidewalks that smell like pee
but also wonderful bakeries and ice cream shoppes
flower ladies, bocci grampas, chess parks, and so many monuments

after enjoying my first warm shower in a month
the weather here is ideal. 60s in the day, low 50s at night. I{m sure
it{s too warm for me during the summer, though maybe not?
I stopped by the Argentine AAA to get a road map
so that I can follow along on my bus journey tomorrow (BA -- Mendoza)

joined a Spanish tour of an amazing little cemetary
Could understand most of the stories, but some key words went over my head.

stopped into a whole in the wall where the afterwork croud was
enjoying 40oz beers, and convinced them to change the channel to the
Spain Portugal game. Initially there was resistance because they were
watching a division II Argentine game, and so we were flipping back
and forth between both games. But then some more of their friends came
in who were more excited about Spain than Chicagolitos, and I got to
watch the whole second half, OT and the shootout. Espana! they
deserved to win for sure. hoping for Espana Alamania final.

tomorrow I{ll by my bus ticket and find some more varieties of dulce
de leche. tried the ice cream and the candy but would love to try the
pure stuff, on bread I guess.

Happy Birthday Brother Silas!

My host took me out to one of his soccer games, and I had a very poor
showing. Legs absolutely flat after my first run in a week this
morning. Also not used to the style of play, always pushing forward,
lots of dribbling. Got megged at least twice. My pride is wounded and
I felt bad representing the entire USA. Hopefully I{ll get a chance
for redemption in Mendoza. I{ve got to show them that we really can
play futbol.

then I made them fajitas with zuchini
I get super hungry by the 10pm dinner time
think I had 8 fajitas...

Last week in Riberalta and South Bound

after realizing that the best way to travel this land is motorcycle
(I{m serious dad, we{ve got to do SA on bikes)
i postponed my lovely dusty 6 day sprint bus trip from northern
Bolivia to Mendoza, and bought an airline ticket from Santa Cruz,
Bolivia, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. this route still required two
overnight bus trips, but will give me an extra 2 days in Mendoza plus
2 days to explore Buenos Aires. All this justification because i feel
like a wimp for skipping out on the land journey.

Last week in Riberalta was a blur. Diarrhea cleared up with Cipro,
thanks everyone for the advice. A couple more trips out to my host
family{s ranches, including a day of vaccinating cattle. I will miss
the people, but the heat and dust and mosquitos can stay up there
while I head down to winter.

First leg to Trinidad was smooth, but then the buses were all leaving
early from there due to rumors of protest bloqueados along the road to
Santa Cruz. So I caught the latest bus I could, which was only at 5pm.
Of course there were no problems, so I arrive in the largest city in
Bolivia with nowhere to stay at 1am. With no other ideas, decide to
call my couchsurfing host for the following night and see if she was
still awake. Luckly, Brazilians dont seem to go to bed early, and upon
arriving at the compound of Brazilian students, it was apparent that
nobody was close to going to bed at 2am. They were all in Santa Cruz
because the tuition is much lower than in Brazil. Mostly medical
students, but also pilot students, graphic design and some others.

I was the first to bed at 3am, and the first up at 9. Then off to
explore Santa Cruz. Really charming center for such a large city. I{ll
try to post some pictures once I get to Mendoza.

The next day I left the Brazilians having made some new friends, and
headed out to the main road. Turns out none of the buses going to the
airport would make any stops. they were all express. So I got on a bus
headed the right direction, and got off as close as possible to the
airport. This left a two mile walk, and despite the many offers from
passing taxis, I had time, so I enjoyed a bit of exercise. Palm trees
and warm breezes reminded me of Hawaii.

Before I knew it, I was on a plane to Buenos Aires. Month in Bolivia
went really fast.
Not fully processed yet.

My first sunburn in Bolivia

How did a readhead forget his sunscreen?
Well I woke up with diarrea for the third time in three weeks (more
about this later). After cancelling my ride to 0600 soccer practice, I
went back to sleep till 0800. I woke up to a bustle of activity. I
decided that I needed to get out of the house despite my GI
difficulties, and packed up my bag to go to the library. As I was
walking out, I realized that my host dad and some friends were headed

out to the ranch with the swimming hole. They asked if I wanted to
come. Host dad said he was worried that my stomach would get bad on
the drive or while we were out in on the range, but if I wanted to
come I could. I said that´s okay, I´ll sit this one out. They drove
off and I immediately changed my mind. So I ran out after them but
they were too far down the street to hear me. So I flagged a mototaxi
and said "catch that truck'' in completely unconjugated Spanish. He
seemed to understand, but we couldn´t make up any distance with our
5hp motor. Eventually they slowed for a corner and we cought up.
Everyone had a good laugh at my indecisiveness.

Now the diarrea. What gives? My wáter is filtered, then zapped with
UV. My food is the same as everyone elses. So why do I get sick and
nobody else does? I've managed to stay hydradated during each 24 hour
stint, so it´s more inconvenience than anything else. But it does put
me in a poor mood when I can´t exercise (no bathroom at the soccer
field and no good places to stop on my running routes). Oh well, I
can´t say that germ theory carries much weight here. I was handed a
knife straight from cutting raw chicken with which I was supposed to
cut up some oranges. I decided to wash it first, but of course I
washed it with river wáter which was probably more dirty than the
chicken. Small things like this are why I keep getting sick.
Advantages to host family are the language opportunities. The
disadvantages are giving up all control of diet and privacy. Worth it?
Yes.

On the way back from the ranch, I got in the truck and put on my
seatbelt out of habit. There was a 10 yr old kid next to me and after
studying me for about 2 minutes, he decided toput on his seatbelt as
well. Point.

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Post from June 16, 2012
I´ve been going to 0600 soccer practices and then I got invited to
play in their game on Sunday, but today I woke up with Diarrhea for
the second time in three weeks. I´ve got to stop accepting everything
that is offered to me. Im pretty sure it was this weird green drink
made with sugar cane that got me, probably made with unboiled water,
offered to me by my Spanish teacher´s mother. It´s poor form to turn
down gifts, but it also sucks to spend a whole day feeling crappy.

Why is it called toilet paper

if you can´t put it in the toilet?

Last night
after tucking in the mosquito net all around my bed
I realized that I had forgotten to set my phone alarm
which was charging across the room

I decided that I hadn´t had any problems with my watch alarm yet, so I could just trust the one
but my intuition knew
all night I tossed and turned because I only had one alarm set
and I had been invited to soccer practice with a local team at 0600
and of course, it turns out I should have set two
because somehow during the night
I reset my watch to east coast time
and I wake up to my new friend sticking his head through the window
and admonishing me for being asleep
we were already 7 minutes late for the 0600 soccer practice
super embarrassed, I rushed into the bathroom to put in my contacts etc
yet somehow spaced out putting the toilet paper into into the bin next to the toilet
I realized my error just after the last wipe
and contemplated reaching in to correct my error, before deciding that just this once couldn´t hurt
besides, every second was making us later
luckily, it all flushed (not even sure what the reason is behind the practice)
and besides
it´s that super brown triple recycled toilet paper that practically disintegrates in humid air

turns out it was full sided scrimmage day
and because we were late
we were both subs
my buddy didn´t even get into the game
because he had to go to work at 0730
I feel super bad

I did eventually get out onto the field, as one of the central defenders
playing in old running shoes
on a field covered with dawn dew
I made some silly errors
but I also prevented at least two goals
and they didn´t score while I was on the field
so they invited me back for tomorrow
I´ll probably set 3 alarms just to be safe
I just hope these shoes hold together for another week
after surviving 500 miles and one rough snow shoe race
theyre tearing on both sides, and soccer puts a lot of torque on them
would by another pair, but...

running short on cash after buying an airline ticket to Buenos Aires
decided the six days that I would have been on buses between here and Mendoza can be better utilized in preparation for my research in Mendoza. It will be good to find a host family and get oriented a few days before I start at the hospital. I´ll save the land journey for another time. Perhaps by motorcycle dad?

Speaking of motos
I´ve gotten a lot more comfortable as a passenger, as with the increasing heat, I´ve opted more often to take a mototaxi than walk when I need to get accross town. Yesterday, I piled on one along with half of my host family. Never thought that 5 people could fit on an 8hp moto...

Riberalta 2 two

My running options are a balance between dust and dogs. The roads with
lots of traffic have dogs that dont bother to get up when I go running
by, but I end up inhaling tons of dust and exhaust. On the other hand,
nice quiet roads have dogs lying where youd least expect, waiting for
something to chase and bark at. Now that Im familiar with the

mortality rate for rabbies, I think Ill stick to the dust and fumes.
Its not that much at 6am anyway.

I have yet to find a hill, so occasionally Ill do some intervals
between telephone poles. When I get back to my host familys compound,
I stretch out and do core work in and around the stockyard of giant
cement pipes. I practice my new Spanish words in an Arnold
Schwarzenegger accent while doing pushups. This makes me feel much
tougher than I am.

I already explained a bit about the meatyness of my diet, but there
are some other food groups. Among the vegetables of note is yucca
root, though as a health care worker, I dont think it qualifies as a
vegatable. It reminds me of potato, and it is often put into soups.
Fruits really outnumber veggies here, and I can only name about half
of all that Ive tried.

I arranged Spanish lessons with a local high school teacher. She
teaches vocational skills in the school here, and Im working on
replicating the system that we used in Peace Corps language school.
Its been difficult without such quality materials though. Most
language materials are based on reading and writing, and the PCs was
specifically based on speaking and understanding. I can only remember
about half of the cool exercises that we would do. Its been difficult
to teach these exercises to my teacher in a language that I barely
speak. As in Ukraine though, many of my largest breakthroughs are
coming outside of the classroom, with the abuelitas in the markets,
the moto taxi drivers, and the kids I live with.

As for the soccer, Im super happy for Ukraine/////
They beat Sweden today, barely, and I cheered them all the way.
However, I think that FIFA needs to crack down on faking injuries by
making the actors stay off for at least 5 minutes if they go down with
an injury, real or imagined.
In this respect Ukraine was embarrasing. I recognized much of the
latino attitude toward soccer, in that contact equals fall equals
foul. The France vs. England game demonstrated soccer on a higher
level and also showed that it is a real contact sport. Not every fall
was called yet the ref did a great job keeping things under control.

Back to mototaxis. Theyre everywhere. Thats all. Im sure Ill remember
what I was going to write about as soon as I leave this cafe.

Riberalta 2

Yes, I did recover my backpack from the airline office downtown upon
my arrival, and yes, my GI is functioning normally again.

My days have settled into a nice pattern of dawn run, meaty breakfast,

Spanish lesson, Eurocup, Spanish homework, meaty dinner, tv, sleep.
Not only have I abandoned vegetarianism for the summer, I can´t even
remember a single meal since I arrived in Riberalta last week that
didn´t have some meet in it. Oddly enough, my newly gained anatomical
knowledge has come in quite handy, and makes eating various organs
less disgusting somehow. I will say that I am not a fan of tripa or
pansa (cow small intestine and stomach) though I did manage to finish
what was served to me.

Well internet time is up. Off to watch France in the cup!

Getting to Riberalta, Bolivia

well my arrival was as choppy as this dust caked keyboard

I´ve been systematically eliminating each internet cafe due to extremely sticky keyboards.. I don´t think they´ve ever been typed on. The only three keys that are loose are the ones used to play the first person shooter games that are taking over the world.

So the plan seemed simple. Chinese turboprop from Cochabamba to Riberalta over 800+ miles of forests. The flight stopped in Trinidad, as planned, and I hung my head out the door to feel warm rain. There was an ancient DC-3 on the side of the tarmac and the rusting skeleton of a crashed Boeing 727 flashed by beneath us about a half mile from the runway.

The next place we landed looked like Riberalta. There was a large river, small town and lots of jungle, so I got of the plane, watched my bag being taken off the plane, and then stood on the side of the grass field waiting to be allowed to go pick my bag up after the drug dogs went through it. In the mean time, the plane I had arrived on, one of only two flights per week, took off. Finally we were waved over to pick up our bags. Mine was gone! I showed them my baggage tag and everyone started laughing. My baggage tag said Riberalta, and this was Guameryn, they explained. Not too bad, I thought, because I had everything essential in my carry on, but I sure don´t want to loose my backpack. I started to ask about a place to stay while waiting the 3 days for the next flight, but they laughed again and explained that Riberalta was only 60km from Guameryn. So I went to the autostop (where people go to fill their cars with passengers), and completed the last part of my trip by car. Cost an extra 70Bolivianos which is about $10. A tax for not asking the most simple question I guess. It was especially funny to my host family when I retold the story later that night. Good practice laughing at myself anyway.

Gastrointestinal acclimatization

I just got through the obligatory day of diarrhea that occurs when you stop being super uptight about eating only cooked things. Think it was a tomato that got me, washed, but washed with unboiled water. 

Spanish is easier than Ukrainian in terms of structure, but still requires that I memorize a large number of words. Definitely frustrating when I stumble upon an impasse created by my lack of vocabulary and hear at least 4 different ways of saying what I need to say in Ukrainian. Long ways to fluency.

Got a ticket into the Amazon basin for tomorrow. Let's hope that this mefloquine does what it's supposed to. Other than that, Bolivia is absolutely beautiful. Amazing mountains, altiplano and I'll let you know about the jungle.

Time to make some chicken soup!

Cochabamba Tour, 1 June, 2012

"Don't say your're from America", he warned, "some people will take that as arrogant because we're all from America". I remembered hearing this one other time, perhaps when going through customs on my way into France. The point is well taken, as I'm sure a South African can't simply claim all of Africa as his nationality. Still, it's really stuck in my head since Ukrainians never say spoluscheni shtatakh ameriki, it's just too long and difficult to pronounce, even if you are Ukrainian. But I'll work on changing my ways. I think E.U. will work, even though in my head, I just think of the European Union.

My time line is starting to sort itself out. I'll go ahead and splurge on a $100 flight up to Riberalta this Tuesday, since I have all of my stuff, some presents for N's family, and a care package from V to get up there. It's amazing that the bus would take more than two days while the plane takes less than two hours including a stop. I guess there really are many mountains and rainforests in the way. I'm excited for the flight. Hope I get a window seat.

Explored more of Cochabamba today. High points included fresh squeezed orange juice, 1400 stairs up to a giant statue of Christ, and a tour bus trip where I understood at least enough to turn my head the same way as everyone else…

Bus from La Paz to Cochabamba, May 30, 2012

After my huge night of sleep, I decided to have a more relaxing day. Went down for the continental breakfast (which was amazing with fresh milk and papaya), and then back to my room to look up some words that I really need to know. I've also decided that I need to quickly get a beginner's grasp preterite, present indicative, and future indicative so that I can express myself effectively.

The bus ride was wonderful. Things that happened in incomplete sentences include:

-bus broke down

-neighbor is first grade teacher and used baby Spanish to tell me about her family and her son's medical education.

-stopped at roadside pension and had an amazing bowl of soup.

-went downhill for 50km on a road that my dad would love to take his car on

-arrived in Cochabamba just at sunset and was met by an amazing amount of generosity. 

It appears that V is staying with a neighbor while I am here. I am left feeling slightly guilty as I can't figure out a way to repay all of this kindness. The only thing that I can think to do is take a package up to Riberalta for V's brother. And help V dig a compost pit. And maybe clean the house while she's at work. Actually, I'm sure the reason she moved out of her house is probably complicated and culturally motivated, but I know that I must accept before I seek to understand.

So now I've got to decide where it makes more sense to study Spanish. Here in Cochabamba there are some Spanish schools which are used to teaching foreigners. Up in Riberalta I would be mostly on my own. There are advantages to both. Also, having seen the quality of the roads and landscape, I am less excited to take a bus at the end of June all the way from the northern side of Bolivia to my project site in Mendoza, Argentina. Next time I have internet (which is when I'll post this), I'll investigate a few other modes of transport. Rivers are navigable in the north, and there are trains in the south, so I may be able to get to the Argentine border without a bus. The Argentine roads are supposed to be pretty good. Primero, Castellano...