It takes more than...

This week has been a bit confusing for my body. First of all it went from mid morning rise n' shine to 7am alarm-slamming wake-up calls. In order to not only eat tuna and rice for the next three months I found it necessary to take any class offered to me, which is usually the 8am ones, well, because no one else wants those obviously. Nothing functions well in this country before 10am, so really during my morning commute it's just me, the street cleaners, a handful of crazies getting to work early, and drunks stumbling home from the night before. Really it's the only part of my day I don't get starred at profusely with laser-sharp eyes of old men. They must all be having their morning coffee then.

Meg and I joined the gym. Thus, leading to further confusion for my body. Cardio? Elise. I've refrained from joining a gym the entire time I've been here because I was under the illusion that they were expensive, when in fact this is the cheapest physical activity I've done the entire time. While on the bike, Meg and I engaged ourselves in our favorite pastime, Twenty Questions, but it wouldn't have been so weird if, a) I wasn't given a private stare-down from the, b) the gym wasn't the size of an average two bedroom apartment, c) filled with a sausage fest of vein hombres pumping iron. So I'll be purchasing an MP3 player this week, this will help avert the stares and the sounds of faint grunting.

On Monday, I spoke with the admissions director at Miami Ad School. After some confusion on the requirements for job experience I have decided to apply to the summer Account Planning Bootcamp in Minneapolis. I quickly went searching for an internship as some job type of agency experience is a requirement for the program. The process was faster than I expected: A simple email titled::Will Work for Free:: and an interview in Spanish (silent victory dance!!). ¡Listo! I landed myself a spot at Cactus Advertising. I'm not entirely sure what it is I'll be doing, I offered to lick stamps and file papers. But this operation seems a little bit more creative than those tasks. It's fifteen hours a week and I get travel expenses covered. This is one of the most exciting things I've started in a while. Getting back into my advertising box feels right. Now let's start my application.

This also means that I will only have to teach two 8am classes now. big smiles.

I feel some great things coming this way. Just when you're starting to doubt yourself. This world is funny.

-E.

sign me up.

I need more classes. Pronto. I'm getting bored. There's only so much internet time my mind allows. Leisure book reading in the park isn't as much fun when you gotta pack on the OFF! and sunscreen and you're still sweating bullets the entire time because that Dengue brochure lying on your floor haunts you every time a mosquito comes within twenty feet of your skin. Late Christmas gifts received from your Bestie in Denton are perfect for passing the time researching new music.
I mean I'm already broke, and there's no amount of complaining that will change this but the facts are these: I only have a few more months here in this country. I've been here for nine months. My roommates are leaving for three weeks. My creativity is lacking on the things to do.

Joining to the gym is definitely on the priority list. I want my arrival home to be like the season finale of those extreme makeover shows on E! Entertainment. Everyone is always crying cause the other person looks hotter than them. Or they're secretly jealous of their awesome new free wardrobe. I can never tell. Also,it's been raining a lot here lately. I'm not really sure how to handle this. It's making me a little sad on the inside. Mis ojos miss the sunshine. This is South America, not England. I already did that shitty weather gig.

Oh! I think the sun just made a shy slide into the open sky. I better get out my to-do list. I feel motivated. kinda.

-E.

Big Return

I'm back. I spent the first day or so watching Gossip Girl and eating fruit. After a month of moving constantly everyday, my body was yearning for a day in la cama. I also spent some valuable time with my computer uploading photos to Facebook. I don't know what's going on with technology but I would really appreciate it if Facebook didn't change it's format every two months.

The trip ended well. Northern Argentina has it's charm. More than I expected. Vineyards in the middle of the mountains. Rivers that run through charming towns. Jungle, or what appears to be tropical lands, with birds. Green hills and valleys that look like they've come straight out of Sound of Music. Rocks with thousands of layers, that you would think it's the largest layer-cake you've ever seen. Roads that are paved with painted lines on them. It's just a wonder. Really. We had the opportunity to road trip it in a car for a few days as well. So, fun car games, like twenty questions and eye spy, were the main activities.

Now, I'm back. In the city. It felt good to come back. Comfortable. I have just over three months left here. I'm still on the hunt for that hot Argentine love affair. And most importantly there are so many things I still want to do in the city. But seeing as though my bank account would highly object to any thought of a with drawl at this point, I'll be doing a lot of "park-like" activities. It's all about the simple pleasures in life.

I'm applying to Miami Ad School's Account Planning Program. The questions for the application are quite intensive. I tried to give them some thought on the trip, but it didn't go so well. The one that is really stumping me is what kind of animal am I most like. Exotic bird? Dog? Giraffe? And a paradox that explains my life? I don't know people. I suppose I'm too tired to come up with anything at the moment. It's just been so long since I've really thought creatively. I need to do creative brain cartwheels or something. Any suggestions? Richard Simmons? Anything is possible really. But I have a feeling that staring at this computer screen anymore is just going to further impair my poor eyesight.


-E

Land of vos

Back in Argentina. A world of paved roads and buses that don't break down in the middle of the night or have two flat tires. A land where I can drink the water without fear of contracting some crazy bacterial infection.

If I weren't completely travel exhausted and broke I would be relishing in more of Northern Argentina, but I'm currently out of resources considering that I bought everything I touched in Bolivia.

Tilcara was beautiful, and full of sexy Argentines on vacation. Salta is wonderful and less hectic than Buenos Aires, but with the nice Argentine flare. Tomorrow I am off to indulge in wine and delcious scenery in Cafayate.

My boss emailed me, and I'm back to the teaching mill on Monday. So let's enjoy it while it lasts. Exhaustion is saying otherwise, sadly.

Back in the city con fotos by the weekend.

E

Bolivia Uplivia.

Been in Bolivia a while. It's wednesday. I know this because my watch has a little tick next to the "WE" on it´s face. Apparently it's the 3 of February. When I filled out the paperwork this morning at the hostel that is what he told me. So, I've been in Bolivia for a couple weeks now? Time is so relative when you're traveling. You begin to clump them together as an itinerary. Well, I went there before there. So it must have been after that. Yeah. Who knows? All I know is that I've seen some pretty great things in the last few weeks of travel.
Meg and I just left the Amazon Basin. Near Rurrenabaque, Bolivia. We had a run of good luck adn were able to take a flight out. Even though upon seeing the actual plane I was slightly frightened by it's Barbie size. It held no more than 20 people and since a door to the cockpit would have just been silly, you felt like everyone was flying the plane. But not everyone has a pilot license dudes!
During our pampas tour I did participate in the unsuccessful hunting of anacondas, but I did not however choose to have the guide put a banana on my head so wild monkeys could eat off of it. Have you ever seen monkeys in the wild. Freaky. as shit.
The tour ended well. I have some funky tan lines and a few mosquito bites. Thanks 100% DEET! No Dengue for this one. I tried to get my mack on with the 6 foot 8 inch cutie in our group. But three days of pampas and sleeping in bunglos will have you wanting clean sheets and a shower more than anything.

After a plane ride and a 14 hour bus ride we're currently in Sucre. This next week we will try to fit as many 14 hour bus rides in as we can. Our plan is to be back in Buenos Aires in about a week. Still have Northern Argentina to discover! Let's see what this camera memory card can do.

Chau chicos!!

Elise