Saturday, February 28, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
La Vuelta
I have returned to Buenos Aires, where I'll be chillin in style until July. Overall, it's nice to be back. Everything is familiar, and I definitely missed it while I was gone. I had to switch apartments AGAIN, but my new one seems like a pretty good place. My room is HUGE, and the rest of the apartment looks alright. I have SIX housemates, which seems ridiculous (the place isn't THAT big), but the other bedrooms I've seen are muuuuuch smaller than mine. In one, two guys from northern Argentina are sharing, and that room is about half the size of mine. Two of the girls have single rooms, but they're just about big enough for a bed, dresser, and desk. That's it. For a random room I found on the internet and chose primarily because it's one of the cheaper options, I totally lucked out. Lisa B had me all worried that the room wouldn't be furnished, but thankfully it is (small bed, but what can you do?). Also, the place has semi-reliable WiFi, thank you GOD. That's all I need, really.
Now that I've settled in, the next order of business is to find a job. I've been in touch with my institutes, and they seem eager to give me classes, but possibly not until March. A lot of my friends here have gotten supplemental/replacement jobs, which tend to have the benefit of regular hours, guaranteed pay, and a single location. I would really like to get a job like this. It's not that I don't like teaching English, but it gets exhausting running all over the city for verrrry little money. Hopefully I'll be able to get something part time, and keep teaching as well.
The job factor may be the main reason I wasn't completely excited to come back. It's only four months, but last time it took a while to build up the classes I needed to be able to live semi-comfortably. It's important to me to get absolutely everything I can out of this experience, but that always has to balance with practicality and responsibility. I think I'll be eating a lot of eggs and oranges this month (some of the cheapest veggie things available)!
And now, since we like pictures, here are some that I took before leaving BA in December:
The Congress Building:
Japanese Botanical Garden, Palermo:
Cathedral and 25 de Mayo monument, Plaza de Mayo:
Boat museum at sunset, Puerto Madero:
Jacaranda tree in bloom, Congreso:
The Waterworks Building:
Avenida de Mayo:
Now that I've settled in, the next order of business is to find a job. I've been in touch with my institutes, and they seem eager to give me classes, but possibly not until March. A lot of my friends here have gotten supplemental/replacement jobs, which tend to have the benefit of regular hours, guaranteed pay, and a single location. I would really like to get a job like this. It's not that I don't like teaching English, but it gets exhausting running all over the city for verrrry little money. Hopefully I'll be able to get something part time, and keep teaching as well.
The job factor may be the main reason I wasn't completely excited to come back. It's only four months, but last time it took a while to build up the classes I needed to be able to live semi-comfortably. It's important to me to get absolutely everything I can out of this experience, but that always has to balance with practicality and responsibility. I think I'll be eating a lot of eggs and oranges this month (some of the cheapest veggie things available)!
And now, since we like pictures, here are some that I took before leaving BA in December:
The Congress Building:
Japanese Botanical Garden, Palermo:
Cathedral and 25 de Mayo monument, Plaza de Mayo:
Boat museum at sunset, Puerto Madero:
Jacaranda tree in bloom, Congreso:
The Waterworks Building:
Avenida de Mayo:
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Hong Kong: January 30- 31
Our last stop was Hong Kong! I loved this city. North Island:
Delicious coconut juice on the street:
Clock Tower on the North Island:
Silk statue?
View of South Island:
South Island, near Lan Kwai Fong:
Mid-levels Escalator, taking us up the hill in style (I wish Tufts had had these):
I don't know what this is. Help?
"Bamboo Garden Icy-Crispy Dragon Beard Candy." Doesn't that sound good?
Times Square mall, South Island:
Swanky Peninsula Hotel, North Island. We had wine (and chips) here. It was classy.
South Island, view from the ferry:
South Island at night. The Chinese really like their colored lights:
We wanted to take the tram up to the Peak to get a great night view of the city. When we FINALLY found the Peak Tram, it was deserted and everything at the top was pretty much closed. Most of the signage in HK is great, but this left a little to be desired. We missed the last ferry back to the North Island too, and had to take the subway :-(
Here we are at the top:
Peak Tram!
I only got two days in Hong Kong, and I wish I could have spent more time there. It's really awesome, with a lot of British influence but a uniquely Asian feel. It was a great end to an amazing trip!
Delicious coconut juice on the street:
Clock Tower on the North Island:
Silk statue?
View of South Island:
South Island, near Lan Kwai Fong:
Mid-levels Escalator, taking us up the hill in style (I wish Tufts had had these):
I don't know what this is. Help?
"Bamboo Garden Icy-Crispy Dragon Beard Candy." Doesn't that sound good?
Times Square mall, South Island:
Swanky Peninsula Hotel, North Island. We had wine (and chips) here. It was classy.
South Island, view from the ferry:
South Island at night. The Chinese really like their colored lights:
We wanted to take the tram up to the Peak to get a great night view of the city. When we FINALLY found the Peak Tram, it was deserted and everything at the top was pretty much closed. Most of the signage in HK is great, but this left a little to be desired. We missed the last ferry back to the North Island too, and had to take the subway :-(
Here we are at the top:
Peak Tram!
I only got two days in Hong Kong, and I wish I could have spent more time there. It's really awesome, with a lot of British influence but a uniquely Asian feel. It was a great end to an amazing trip!
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
FYI
Just FYI, you should be able to click on all these photos to make them giant. If this isn't working, let me know!
Besos!
Besos!
Voyage back to China/Last day in Shenzhen: January 28-29
We spent all day getting back to China, and thennnnn we had an 8 hour bus ride from Nanning to Shenzhen. Fortunately, it was a sleeper bus with (fairly) comfortable beds. UNfortunately, there was no bathroom on the bus. Annoying, and we were awoken in the middle of the night to visit a disgusting rest stop. Figures. Here is D in her fab sleeper bunk (I was on the bottom level and couldn't sit upright):
When we got back to Shenzhen (at about 4 am), we went right back to sleep. Later, after an unsuccessful search for vegetable dumplings, we ended up back at the shop that sells peanuty noodles (cheap and tasty!). Here's the grocery store on the other side of the shop:
That night, we ventured far from D's neighborhood (Fu Tien) to get some GREAT food for our last meal in Shenzhen. It took us about an hour to find this place, but it was well worth it! I never tried baijiao, crazystrong Chinese liquor, though. Here we have gong bao chicken, a spicy cabbage thing, and veggie fried rice:
When we got back to Shenzhen (at about 4 am), we went right back to sleep. Later, after an unsuccessful search for vegetable dumplings, we ended up back at the shop that sells peanuty noodles (cheap and tasty!). Here's the grocery store on the other side of the shop:
That night, we ventured far from D's neighborhood (Fu Tien) to get some GREAT food for our last meal in Shenzhen. It took us about an hour to find this place, but it was well worth it! I never tried baijiao, crazystrong Chinese liquor, though. Here we have gong bao chicken, a spicy cabbage thing, and veggie fried rice:
Hanoi, Vietnam: January 27
We finally got to spend some time in Hanoi (not just the airport). It was definitely colder than the places we had been for the past week, and almost everything was closed for Tet, but we still got to see some things.
Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. The Vietnamese REALLY love that guy!
Officers on guard outside the mausoleum:
Shrine inside a pretty little pagoda:
Presidential Palace:
Elephant statue:
View of the Red River:
Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. The Vietnamese REALLY love that guy!
Officers on guard outside the mausoleum:
Shrine inside a pretty little pagoda:
Presidential Palace:
Elephant statue:
View of the Red River:
Saigon again and Cu Chi Tunnels, Vietnam: January 25-26
We spent the next full day traveling back to Saigon from Siem Reap (in order to catch our flight back to Hanoi the next day). When we got into the city, it was well past dark and all the New Year decorations were lit up. Gorgeous!
There was an awesome parade, and tons of families were out with their little children. What a fun time of year to be in Vietnam!
The Opera House, all lit up for Tet:
The next morning, we took a short trip to the nearby Cu Chi Tunnels. This was a base camp for the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) during the "American War." Here's Phong doing a demo of one of the tunnels the soldiers used to hide in. Now you see him...
...now you don't!
A bamboo trap with spikes at the bottom:
Snake wine for sale at the gift shop. This one is so much prettier than that crap we drank!
American missiles dropped on the Cu Chi area:
There was an awesome parade, and tons of families were out with their little children. What a fun time of year to be in Vietnam!
The Opera House, all lit up for Tet:
The next morning, we took a short trip to the nearby Cu Chi Tunnels. This was a base camp for the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) during the "American War." Here's Phong doing a demo of one of the tunnels the soldiers used to hide in. Now you see him...
...now you don't!
A bamboo trap with spikes at the bottom:
Snake wine for sale at the gift shop. This one is so much prettier than that crap we drank!
American missiles dropped on the Cu Chi area:
Angkor Wat and Siem Reap, Cambodia: January 23-24
Angkor Wat refers to an ancient city with many different buildings. The first one we visited is the actual Angkor Wat, a palace built for a Cambodian king. It's featured on Cambodia's flag:
What should the caption be for this sign?
These people were either attending a wedding or shooting a music video...
Angkor Thom:
Bayon:
Elephant Terrace:
As the guidebook points out, "the tree appears to be winning."
Here's the town of Siem Reap, pretty much only popular because lots of people want to visit nearby Angkor Wat. As a result, it's pretty touristy, but cute and fun overall.
What should the caption be for this sign?
These people were either attending a wedding or shooting a music video...
Angkor Thom:
Bayon:
Elephant Terrace:
As the guidebook points out, "the tree appears to be winning."
Here's the town of Siem Reap, pretty much only popular because lots of people want to visit nearby Angkor Wat. As a result, it's pretty touristy, but cute and fun overall.
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