Duties include answering the door and phone, checking in guests and answering their questions, and generally just being there for whatever comes up.  Usually I just chat with guests, listen to music, and work on my various writing projects.  It’s right up my alley.

I also love the other people that work here, everyone has really interesting tales of their wanderings around South America.  It’s nice to have a constant stream of new folks coming through that are generally chill and unique.

I was out of commission for a little while there dealing with getting settled and hunkering down on some big projects, but I’m back full force now. I should have some new pictures up from the hostel and around Buenos Aires real soon.

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1. Vietnam!

When I first decided to come down to Buenos Aires, I had two friends that were supposed to accompany me.  Offering me assurances that they were definitely coming, I went ahead and purchased my one-way ticket to Argentina.  Lo and behold, they both ended up having to back out.  Being forced to fly solo was a bit scary at the time, but I had a two months to wrap my head around it and ended up relishing a chance to strike out on my own with a complete lack of a support network.

My arrival in Buenos Aires and my first few weeks were a frenetic mix of culture shock, settling in, and scrambling to complete my TEFL course.  The language barrier was also firmly in place, since my Spanish was very rusty at that point and came from Spain besides.  Once I finished my course and started to get my bearings, I began teaching English and job hunting for other opportunities on the side.  Make no mistake, living as an expat on a TEFL salary is no easy task, and those pretty websites pimping the experience fail to illustrate the financial reality of what it really is.

It was after a month or so of being here that the idea of a blog came up, more from my laziness towards answering personal emails than any burning need to write.  But once I started writing I quickly realized I enjoyed it immensely and it became a sort of cathartic release when something baffled me or I had a particularly trying day.  Once people began commenting on my writing, I figured I’d give it a whirl as a means to support myself.

Not a week after I started looking into freelance resources and ways to break into writing, I nabbed an interview with MiniHostels for a staff writing position.  They actually checked out my blog when we spoke, and I ended up getting the job.  I enjoyed working for MiniHostels, and got paid to research and write about what I loved (travel).  I wrote tour reviews, backpacker articles, and itineraries, I got to interview hostels and businesses, and stayed for free at hostels in our network.  All in all, a plum job.

I worked for them until January, when a cash flow crisis caused us writers to get snipped.  Since then I’ve bounced around from writing gig to writing gig, and have landed some steady work doing web copy for a couple of companies.  I hope to launch my own website for my services soon, and then be off to the races.

So here I am at 6 months, bouncing around from apartment to hostel to apartment, working whatever job comes my way, and trying to stay afloat down here in America del Sur.  It’s been a hell of a ride, and I’m excited to see where the merry-go-round will let me off.  I’ve looked into hopping over to work on an organic farm down in Patagonia for a month or two, and teaching English in summer camps in China and Italy.  I’ve got no set plans or responsibilities, I’m rudderless, but I like the feeling of uncertainty and not knowing what the next day will bring.  I originally planned on settling down in the US after a year abroad, but at this point I have no idea when I’ll make it back, this is just too addicting.

If you’re just out of college and debating whether to pull the trigger on a crazy trip, or you’re wrapped up in a job and want to take a break for a round the world trip, do it.  This experience has been mind-blowingly awesome.

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From sleeping in the airport in Barcelona, to going crazy in Amsterdam, the friends you make while traveling will always share a certain kinship with you.  Your experiences on the road will translate into unique stories that only you and your travel buddies are privy to.  Davy and I will always remember all the trials and tribulations we went through in Europe biking, and Ben and I will always remember our Italian whirlwind tour.

With services and websites like Skype, Facebook, and CouchSurfing it’s easier than ever to stay in touch with other nomads.  Talking with old friends always gets me pumped to travel again, especially if they’re going places I’ve never been before!  In my opinion, someone who wants to travel is going to be more open by their very nature.  Hostel-hopping peeps are some of the most easygoing people I’ve ever encountered.  If you open yourself to other people, you’re bound to make some amazing chums!

You can find the first 4 parts of this post series here:

• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 1: Self-Sufficiency
• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 2: Patience
• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 3: Thriftiness
• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 4: Cultural Awareness

PS- Check out a traveler dispatch post I contributed over on TravelOjos, good blog to follow if you like Latin America!

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Well, Saturday night we all met up in Palermo for a round-table discussion, and it was actually really fun.  Our group of Americans ranged from 23 to 34 years old, with professions ranging from TEFL teacher to travel consultant.  The only common theme was our expatriate status.

Questions focused mainly on how our experiences here in Buenos Aires could translate into helpful advice for young Americans.  My posts on self-sufficiency and thriftiness came to mind pretty quickly, and I ended up sharing some budgeting advice and purchasing tips that I use down here.  Since I’m a bit of a personal finance nerd, it was great to hear other viewpoints from people at or around my own age.

Advice from Argentine friends varied, but my personal experience with my TEFL students (some of whom were Accenture economists) was that that this sort of wake-up call would be healthy for the US.  Rampant credit card debt, living beyond our means, buy buy buy; these are all going to have to stop.  Argentines have been living very frugally ever since the collapse of 2001, so this new crisis is old hat for them.  I’ve not seen any sort of self-pity or “woe is me” acts coming from young people here, and my perception from the news that I catch in Argentina is that this is pretty common in the US right now.  Hopefully this collective belt-tightening will translate to more responsible habits for my generation (the fresh out of college).

All in all, I really enjoyed taking part in the documentary and was glad I got to hear so many different viewpoints.  It sparked a lot of debate and made me examine my own views on money in a new light.  The producers who filmed us said the documentary should be out sometime around May, so I’ll be sure to post again when I know the exact date!

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Any news I read online about Obama or current events in the US in general is reflected through the lens of Argentines when I hear it on the streets.  It’s an odd sort of distortion, but it forces me to analyze the news with a more critical eye after hearing so many different viewpoints.  I get to participate in all sorts of Argentine traditions that don’t exist or are very different in the US (asados = barbecues, maté = coffee, etc.).

I’ve also been fortunate to have a window into how people in other countries live through my English teaching.  Family here in Argentina is very important.  Most of my students were middle-aged professionals with children, and they loved to talk about them.  I see adults walking with their elderly parents everyday, and family meals I’ve been invited to can stretch on for hours.  It’s refreshing, and something I’m not used to coming from the go go GO culture of the states.

I’m only in the beginning of my travels, but already I can tell I’ll end up as a smorgasbord of different traditions and lifestyles.  Few things bring me more joy than learning about distant peoples and traveling to new places, I love to explore.  I’m getting giddy right now thinking about the plans I have for the next year…

Travel can seriously broaden your horizons if you’ll let it.  I constantly find myself checking my assumptions because of my time here, examining it through the eyes of people outside the microcosm that is the United States.  Give travel a chance and you’re sure to have a similar experience!

You can see the earlier posts from this series here:

• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 1: Self-Sufficiency
• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 2: Patience
• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 3: Thriftiness

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They put all the drum circles from my hometown to shame; everyone in the crowd just throws themselves around with abandon.  If any of my friends still needed confirmation that I’m a dirty hippie, all they have to do is accompany me to one of these shows.  It’s like a mosh pit but with a crunchy hippie groove.  Cartman would hate it.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3Ax6ghMHIg

Couch Surfing always has a really big presence there, and they’re fun to grab a drink and chat with beforehand.  You’ll meet all sorts of other interesting characters just walking around during the show.  Can’t recommend it enough!

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One of the most expensive elements of any trip is feeding yourself.  Restaurants are expensive, and eating out every meal will deplete your travel funds very quickly.  By sticking to local markets and restaurants that don’t cater to tourist dollars, you’ll be surprised how much further your money goes.  In the picture above Davy and I are munching on some baguette and mystery meat sandwiches, which made up about 90% of our diet on our biking trip.  Throw in fruit, and you’ve got 100%.  We rarely ate at restaurants or slept in hostels; choosing instead to look for places to pitch our tent.  Being frugal allowed us to stay in Europe for much longer than anticipated.

Living in Argentina now I’ve quickly discovered the difference between needs and wants.  I have barely any of the creature comforts I took for granted back in the US, but I also quickly learned to do without.  Simple living has been the key that has stretched my money down here, and I’ve seen friends leave after only a couple of months because they don’t budget or plan where their money should go.

Living abroad long-term on little money has been challenging, but these thrifty lessons will be invaluable whenever I return home.  I’ve come to value experiences over things, and this thriftiness that has allowed me to thrive down here will definitely carry over to my lifestyle in the US.

See parts 1 and 2 of this series here:

• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 1: Self-Sufficiency
• What Can Long-Term Travel Teach You? Pt. 2: Patience

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Each evening’s menu has a specific theme, and ours was the Teapot Dome Scandal of 1921.  All of the menu items had some sort of tea used in their preparation.  We started with an excellent salad:

This was the first time I’d had a salad with pistachios, and it worked beautifully.  The rest of the ingredients include red onions, spinach, feta cheese, and fresh peas.  The dressing was a Spring Mint tea-infused vinaigrette.  Then soup:

Potato soup.  Simple and delicious.  He used a Calm blend of tea here for the soup stock, and also added in leeks and onions.  I think the soup gets a tie for first place of the evening in my mind.  The soup was followed by an Italian dish:

Langanelli is an unevenly cut wheat pasta, and Dan tossed it with sauteed chickpeas, celery, and olive oil, then added cubed chicken rubbed in Indian Market tea.  It was very good, but the salmon to follow came in neck and neck for the top spot with the potato soup:

Great, great dish.  I’m a huge fan of salmon to begin with, and I’ve never had it combined with polenta.  The salmon was rubbed with the Chinese Soul tea blend and baked, then placed atop the polenta with drizzled brown butter.  And for those with a sweet tooth:

The dessert was a peach custard tart using cream infused with Rooibos tea from Africa.  I don’t have much of a sweet tooth but I enjoyed a couple of nibbles.

Also, though not pictured each course comes with a wine pairing, and I have to say that every wine we had was excellent.  Do keep in mind though that I’m 23 and know next to nothing about wines beyond the fact that 5 glasses leaves me a little tipsy.  My parents and I thoroughly enjoyed our dinner there, and I can’t recommend it enough for a unique night out if you’re visiting Buenos Aires.  Here’s a crowd shot, with Dan standing:

For more information on our evening, Dan has posted the menu here (with comments), as well as an explanation on his own food blog, Saltshaker.  I’d also like to thank Henry, Dan’s partner and our host for the evening.

PS- Shout out to my sister Courtney and cousin Ashley for getting into UNC, GO HEELS!

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I’ve been living in Buenos Aires for 5 months now, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that punctuality is relative here.  Cable repairman tells you 3pm, he shows up at 5pm.  Business meeting scheduled for 4pm, you’ll still be sipping coffee at 6pm.

Relax.

Initially this drove me bonkers.  But over time I’ve come to let these inconveniences slide off my shoulders and become more relaxed.  Raging about it rarely changes the situation.  Now if I get stuck in an airport or a bus station I just hunker down with a good book, and watch the guy about to blow a vein in his forehead from yelling at the desk agent in awe.

This patience also ties into my self-sufficiency post.  Not only will long-term travel equip you to deal with problems, but it helps you realize how insignificant some problems really are.  One of my favorite sayings in Spanish is “tranquilo,” which means “peace” or “relax.”  Life here in Argentina is much better when you let the little things go.

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That said, I am very glad to be settling back in.  I underestimated how tiring being a tour guide can be.  2009 is officially here, and I’ve got some big plans for this blog, my travels, and conquering the writing world… stay tuned!

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