buenos aires

i am probably the world's worst blogger. at least one of the most delinquent. i think FB has taken the steam out of my commitment to this blog, that's an explanation, but no excuse. so, where to begin again? it's been two months since i posted, right before i left quito.

here's a picture of a swanky marlboro sponsored smoking lounge in the quito airport. i'd never seen one quite like it, so i snapped a shot or two while waiting for my flight to buenos aires.

my last post talked of my insomnia, which i now see as "training" for the month and a half i spent in Buenos Aires because it is a nocturnal city through and through. it was summer in BA and deliciously hot. there were children playing in the parks until midnight or 1am. when we go out to dance, leaving at 2am and returning between 6 and 8am is normal.

here is my bedroom in the house on Uspallata, San Telmo, buenos aires, where i stayed for a month and a half. not that it got much use.

the only downside of the city is the mosquito problem. after my first night in BA i counted 30 bites just on my legs. aggghhh...i shake my fist at those who are not allergic. the itching drove me mad...and fighting them off when trying to sleep was daily operating procedure. sucky.




pic: entry to the la casa de Uspallata.
¡ojo! watch out! there's a security camera in the corner monitoring the amount of fun you're allowed to have! the lady lord sisters were a bit high strung about making sure we were not having parties and would watch us via webcam.



here are a few shots from the cast of characters in Buenos Aires...mostly taken during
our many house parties.



oliverio y facundo





paula, la peruana









the gals: millie, lou, paula, irma, me, bianca






princess viktoria and her peruvian prince hans




roomies on la terraza








the party fixture: matt horiuchi's backflipping on la terraza



viktoria and i pretending to be interested in a tourist map
of Tigre, the land of dancing children.




viktoria and rachel in la boca








and...people in the neighborhood...










and this guy, possibly the most famous anonymous statue in BA,
because who knows who he is?
Señor La Boca



the house on Uspallata is situated at the border of San Telmo, La Boca and Barrancas, right next to Parque Lezama. 1/2 a block from the house, on the corner of Av Patricios y Martin Garcia is the best heladería EVER. if in San Telmo, go see Paolo for the best ice cream in the 'hood (recommended flavors: crema mascarpone, chocolate suiza, arándano...) okay enough about ice cream. here are a few shots of the neighborhood:



the Uspallata house






















well, that's the brief PG-rated version of my time in buenos aires. i am back in quito after going to lima, cusco, and Machupicchu with Naomi, more blogging to come.....

i wish i could sleep

I've been having trouble sleeping for the past two months . I don't know exactly what it is, but insomnia is definitely back in my life. It’s 4:21 a.m. and after laying in bed listlessly for 2hrs, after trying to listen to music and the deep breathing, I finally gave in, got my ass out of bed and sat it down in front of the computer, to do some “work.” The nature of the work is yet to be determined.

about 2 hours later...

I lived in the relative “country” outside of Portland for about a year. The dang rooster on the property never, ever, crowed at the right time. It was cockadoodle-doo in the middle of meditation, all thru breakfast, and especially around 2am. What the fuck was wrong with that rooster? I spent 5 weeks in Tijuana and the roosters were about the same there, too. It is now 6 a.m and I still haven’t slept. I hear a rooster crowing now, and I just have to smile because it’s another thing I like about Quito, roosters actually crow at the right time here. I think I'm about ready to go to bed.

(note: this pic was taken after the all night Christmas party, me sans sleep)

atacames/esmeraldas, coast of ecuador

I went to the beach this past weekend for 5 days. It was beautiful. Caribbean looking waters, and very very hot. I think it has something to do with being in the middle of the world? Not sure. I thought Florida was hot and moved away to Portland to escape the oppressive humidity, but Florida's got nothing on the coast of Ecuador. So hot I could barely sleep.

I stayed with more family here. They have a house in Esmeraldas, that's more like a series of houses, a veritable compound, pretty cool. As well as a finca, a farm, but since it's in the jungle it's a finca. La finca. (pics below, also the fruit is from there). The yellow fruit below is cacao. It's pretty awesome. The seeds are covered in a white gummy substance that is super sweet and yummy. After enjoying the white part or carnaza, you peel away what's left of it and have the dark brown pods by which to make chocolate (the seeds are featured in my hand), after processing it in the sun and toasting them, etc.

I meant to start this blog a couple months ago, for those who have kept up with me on Facebook, no harm there. For those of you who don't Facebook, well, I am glad to provide some text and images to share my aventuras. Instead of backtracking at this time and filling in the blanks of the last two to three months, I have decided to start where I am at. Quito, Ecuador. I have been here now for a month and am loving it. I am staying with my stepmom, Monica's family and they are a load of fun, activity and love.

I cannot say with what frequency I will update this, or to what extent I will victimize you with my emotional indigestion, but I've started it at least. Love to all of you, I wish I could be in many places at once so I could enjoy all the wonderful people I cherish.

the title of the blog for now is ¿quién sabe?, which just means "who knows?". i couldn't come up with a name, and since i say this a lot in spanish, i thought i'd use it. who knows what will happen in the future? that's where i am at, so...let's be open to what learning we need to receive and what old ideas and patterns we can shed as we commence another year...