Por El Amor de Che

4-5-10
I woke up in time for breakfast which made me happy though I did miss out on the fabulous orange juice. I talked to some people before heading out in search of the place my doctor told me about to get my blood drawn. This was a failed mission. Even when I asked an officer where the suggested place was, he had no idea. Guess there was some miss-communication but I am seeing my doctor tomorrow so I will get it all figured out. I came back in time to have lunch at the residencia. After, I headed to school.

I found out my History class was canceled when I showed up for class. It has yet to be postponed till a date yet to be decided. I hung in the cafeteria and talked to friends in the time since there was no point to going home. I eventually headed to Spanish class. We talked about our Semana Santas, the love of Che here, and other stuff like that. Back at home, I tried to work on my schedule for the fall. I talked to friends and read. Then I grabbed dinner. I came back, talked to Abbey about her visit to Seattle among other things. After she went to bed, I signed up for classes. Granted they could be some changes but it looks likes this at the moment.

Monday/Wednesday
8:30-9:45 - Art History Survey
10:00-11:15 - Colonial Latin America
6:30-8:00 - Guilfordian meeting (only on Mondays)
Tuesday/Thursday
1:00-2:50 - 2D Design
4:00-5:15 - Senior English
7:30 - Photo Club (On Tuesdays)

Now to rest before sleep since I have class at 10... Adios.

Another show down

2-5-10

After my late night, I woke up around 10ish. I hung out most of the morning. Showering and relaxing. I wrote part of my article for the Guilfordian about my volunteer work. I then relaxed and ate lunch and watched Friends. I talked to some people who are leaving soon.

After a while, we all headed to school. In art class, we made a tree and had the children make animals, fruits, and more for the tree. It was interesting to see what they came up with. Eventually, we got in our families and tried to get the children to focus on presenting. Some of the children really knew the information, while others didn´t. The show took forever, with rain coming. I was getting impatient. Some of the presentations were good and really interesting, others were meh. Mine went ok. The kids did ok but the pinata failed. After the show, we had our meeting but got it short.

I then went to dinner at Jack´s since Justin was leaving tonight. It was pretty good to chat. Then Michele and I walked back together. We are doing breakfast, running errands and planning Sunday. Then I watched Harry Potter with some people before bed.

Frustration at the media though I am part of it

Day 16 (1-26-10)

I woke up in the 9ish hour. After a nice hot, and my first shave in weeks, I chilled with some of the other guests. We watched and followed the news on tv. We are all annoyed with the lack of coverage of the landslides and the floodings here on the global news circuit. All the news is reporting is that tourists have been trapped at Machu Picchu or that people can´t go there. In fact on CNN, it was a weather woman who reported this news. No one outside of Peru seems to care that people are losing their homes and towns at the very least. No one seems to be reporting how many people have lost their lives minus a couple that went back into their house, an Argentine tourist and tour guide. This can not stand and I hope that people are awaken to this tragedy that is happening. I am planning on writing a Guilfordian article about this since most people outside of Peru have no clue or don´t care. Some people here are trying to talk to the Red Cross about trying to help out if they can. Rumor has it that the trains won´t even start running again till the 5th. I am going back to Peru Rail and hope to get my money back. I would be upset but considering all the mess of what is going on, there are more important things in life. So I can get mad. I can always try to come back, unlike the houses and lives that have been lost. So I need to focus my energy on the good that I am trying to do with my volunteering.

On a lighter note, I am also going to probably sacrfice doing the bus back to Buenos Aires from Santiago. I am enjoying working with the children and going to try to do it for a third week and fly back to Buenos Aires the 13th. After that no idea.

After watching the news, I had some juice and bread for breakfast and talked to people online. I am getting a jacket from the place I am volunteering with. I am considering getting a shirt as well. Hmm.. I then relaxed, ate and read until it was time to go volunteer.

At the place, I played more games with the children though I refused to play scrabble. I played this cool game called Set among others. The children are wondeful and full of life. I quite enjoy it. We met in the big circle and discussed the landslides and what not. Despite their ages, the children are well aware of what is going on. Yet CNN doesn´t. Fail.

We then broke up into our groups of "families." Our family´s mission for the day was to get the children to dance. This was extremely difficult because the children in my group are 11 years old and wiling to rebel against the teachers. But eventually after much struggle we got them to do the dance for the show we are having on Friday. It will be interesting. Eventually our work was done for the day and we headed back to the hostel.

I have been hanging out, got dinner and chilling.

The Kindness of Strangers

My first Guilfordian article of the semester
http://www.guilfordian.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=d0031fbe-d705-4e47-a87d-48abd0ee723c

Currently working on the second. Enjoy

What to do for a month in South America

1-13-10/Day 3 (continued)
After I left the Starbucks, I went back to my hotel to hang out. I read and finished my book, leaving me with a few books to read though I am thinking of borrowing a book from my hotel. I watched some tv and then went out for a quick dinner. After I relaxed for a while, before hanging out in the lobby with some of the night staff and their friends. I got to practice my Spanish, which I have not lost much of which is nice. After a few hours of hanging, and chatting, I went to bed.

1-14-10/Day 4
I woke up this morning around 9ish but still wifi (still not working, no real surprise there). I very briefly talked to Abbey but she had an emergency to take of so she had to go. I then booked a flight from Lima to Cusco, due to its relatively cheap price and it is much safer. I realized that if I stay in Cusco for five days, which is what I am thinking, that still gives me roughly a month of unplanned activities. I really am unsure about what to do with this time. I am thinking Bolivia but I am going to plan it, if I go, either in Chile or Peru to make sure it is safe in La Paz. I don´t want to go if it is too risky, obviously. I miss my life in the US, but I will not let it comsume me. I guess I just wish I had a travel buddy. It would make this a lot easier but I will meet people like I have already and then when my program starts it will be fun too.

I went to figure out what happened with my phone. When I got to Movistar, they couldn´t figure it out at first but they eventually did. They told me to wait 30 minutes so I grabbed a quick lunch and went to the bank. When I returned, my phone was working. Me and the ladies at Movistar were very happy about this. They even gave me ten extra pesos on my phone for which I gave them a hight five each and many graciases. I then headed back to my hotel. I then headed back to Starbucks to use their wifi. There I checked and sent out emails, uploaded photos my facebook, wrote a possible article for the Guilfordian, talked to some friends and booked a hostel in Cusco, apparently very near the center but also close to the airport. I am now planned till the afternoon of the 25th. No idea what to do from then on. I want to go back to Buenos Aires for a little bit and I might go to Patagonia with a friend but besides that, I have no plans. So if you got suggestions, let me know. I headed back and started to pack but I took a break to post this.

Agenda for the next few days
Santiago tomorrow for the night, Lima: Saturday-20th, Cusco: 20th-25th. So don´t expect a blog entry every day, but occasionally and same with photos. I might do mini things to show I am alive and well but don´t expect a lot

Check my photos on my flickr, www.flickr.com/jsinclair88. You will see the Argentina labeled album. Remember, any is for sale and enjoy

This Boy Can Dream

Yesterday after waking up from a pleasant sleep, I got up and grabbed breakfast. Around midday, I headed into the city to see if I could find a cheap decent flash for my D-80. After getting some good advice from the people at the store, I know what I am looking for, an SB-600 or 800. Unfortunately could not find one cheaply, I have decided to try later, maybe even in Buenos Aires, where the exchange rate works in favor. I then proceeded around downtown to do some minor looks at stores. I considered getting black nice pants but I can do that down in BA. I also did a look in Borders for a book that I had some difficulty finding. I typed it into the search box with a result of "likely in store." I dashed over to the Metaphysical section, where I FOUND IT! Great Success. I had not found this but one store. Despite not getting other things I wanted, I got one thing I had been searching for without ordering it! I then headed home. There I had lunch, read and relaxed. I got to talk to Abbey and others via Skype.

My friend from Julia, who lives in Seattle as well, texted me and asked what I was up to for the night. I said no plans. So she told me to come to a friend's house where they were chilling. But first I went to my aunt and uncle's house. This turned into a hilarious episode where my grandparents wanted to go a Japanese restaurant, but the other adults knew it was bad but didn't want to the bubble. Eventually they let up and confessed that it sucked. So we decided to order Chinese food. While we waited, my cousin and I watched Jersey Shore. That show is ridiculous. Then we ate and chatted. After we all parted ways. I stopped at a market and grabbed a six pack to contribute. Eventually after getting a bit lost, including by accidentally turning into a cemetery, I found my way and showed up just in time to catch the tail end of Inglorious Bastards. Wonderful movie I must say. There, was my friend Julia, a Guilford student named Aaron who I have shared a class, there was Guilford alum, Dan Miller, who was my predecessor as Photo Editor for the Guilfordian as well as two of Julia's friends, Josh and Anna.

We then headed to a restaurant, where some people got food and others beer. Our waitress was convinced Anna looked like one of her good friends and tried to prove it to us via Facebook on a blackberry but it wouldn't work. It was a pretty hilarious episode considering it kept getting worse and worse. She pretty much dug herself six feet deep. Dan and Josh, who is also a photographer, and I talked camera stuff which was cool. I am def jealous of Dan's gear. From the restaurant, Anna and Dan left and Aaron, Josh and Julia and I went to Julia's house where we drank and watched Fired Up! This movie looked sooooooooooo stupid when I saw the trailer but we all could not stop laughing. It was a pleasant surprise. It was a lot of fun. Then I headed home where I went to bed.