So, as i turns out my little bargain hunting self got in trouble... you see I always bye my tickets to Argentina on Brazilian airlines.... because it is abour $400 dollars cheaper than buying something on an American airline.
Well.... as fate may have it.... the afformentioned 'cheap' Brazilian airline went under and I given the choice to leave South America rather immediately... or perhaps stay there for eternity as I would have to buy a new ticket on a different airline... with money that... I did not have.
So... after spending some long agonizng days with people in the telecentro at Varig.... they put me on a United flight to New York... which went thru. Washington D.C.
So, after making some quick decisions.... I am now in the Dominican Republic... renting a condo. I am tanning and studying via internet by day... and that's about it.
I will be here until Aug. 31... unless American airlines.... decides to cut all of their service to the Caribbean... then... well... I will most likely be floating aroung in an intertube trying to make it to Florida.... or at least attempting to find the American coast guards. :)
Tuesday, July 25, 2006
Friday, July 07, 2006
Kosher McDonalds & More
Yesterday my brother, Jeff came to spend the day with me in Buenos Aires. We did not have anything specific planned. In the morning we went to La Boca, a somewhat rundown neighborhood with colorful houses. After that we went back to my hostel and drank Mate (Argentina tea). After that we went to eat pizza for lunch.
A series of two quests started after lunch.... 1) to go to Palermo Viejo... so, some famous park and 2) to find the only Kosher McDonalds in the world outside Isreal. We were successful in both quests... Quest number one turned out to be a waste of time as we found the park after much walking and it was extreamely dissapointing.... but we did see a very large Islamic Culture center (from the outside) while walking around... and my brother was convinced it was some sort of cult... as a sign was posted that one could ´inscribe´ to the center on Tues and Thurs at 2pm. This was all before we found the sign that said Islamic Culture Center.
After that began the quest for the Kosher McDonalds.... You may not beaware but Buenos Aires has the second largest Jewish population in the world out side of Isreal... just New York City is infront of it. But... lucky Argentine is the ONLY place in the world with a Kosher McDonalds outside of Isreal. I guess that must mean that Argentine Orthodox Jews enjoy McDonalds more so than the US Orthodox Jews... which is quite surprising... Any way... After asking some employees at a non-Kosher...i.e REGULAR McDonalds... where the Kosher McDonalds was.... which involved them giving us weird looks and telling us... there was a lot of Jewish people in a neighborhood called Once... we went online to search the WWW.... This was much easier and I was able to locate the subway/metro stop and shopping mall it was located in. So... we transfered several trains.... got to the mall and happened upon a McDonalds on the ground floor... there were no Kosher signs... and people wearing yamikas (sp?)... so, we walked around the modern shopping mall some more until we located the food court.... which on onside had a KOSHER McDonalds... and on the opposite end had a REGULAR McDonalds... we took out out cameras snapped some pictures... and looked around for the large Orthodox Jew population that were supposed to be eating Big Macs and McTastys... without cheese of course and they were no where to be seen... what a disapointment!!! So.... at least we have pics of us in front of it... and it was a fun trip to find it though we did not eat there as... we wanted desert and they only had icecream at the Non-Kosher McDonalds...
After that.... we did nothing... walked around a bit and then my brother went back to the bus station to catch a 10:15pm bus and I went back to my awful, very loud, hot hostel.
A series of two quests started after lunch.... 1) to go to Palermo Viejo... so, some famous park and 2) to find the only Kosher McDonalds in the world outside Isreal. We were successful in both quests... Quest number one turned out to be a waste of time as we found the park after much walking and it was extreamely dissapointing.... but we did see a very large Islamic Culture center (from the outside) while walking around... and my brother was convinced it was some sort of cult... as a sign was posted that one could ´inscribe´ to the center on Tues and Thurs at 2pm. This was all before we found the sign that said Islamic Culture Center.
After that began the quest for the Kosher McDonalds.... You may not beaware but Buenos Aires has the second largest Jewish population in the world out side of Isreal... just New York City is infront of it. But... lucky Argentine is the ONLY place in the world with a Kosher McDonalds outside of Isreal. I guess that must mean that Argentine Orthodox Jews enjoy McDonalds more so than the US Orthodox Jews... which is quite surprising... Any way... After asking some employees at a non-Kosher...i.e REGULAR McDonalds... where the Kosher McDonalds was.... which involved them giving us weird looks and telling us... there was a lot of Jewish people in a neighborhood called Once... we went online to search the WWW.... This was much easier and I was able to locate the subway/metro stop and shopping mall it was located in. So... we transfered several trains.... got to the mall and happened upon a McDonalds on the ground floor... there were no Kosher signs... and people wearing yamikas (sp?)... so, we walked around the modern shopping mall some more until we located the food court.... which on onside had a KOSHER McDonalds... and on the opposite end had a REGULAR McDonalds... we took out out cameras snapped some pictures... and looked around for the large Orthodox Jew population that were supposed to be eating Big Macs and McTastys... without cheese of course and they were no where to be seen... what a disapointment!!! So.... at least we have pics of us in front of it... and it was a fun trip to find it though we did not eat there as... we wanted desert and they only had icecream at the Non-Kosher McDonalds...
After that.... we did nothing... walked around a bit and then my brother went back to the bus station to catch a 10:15pm bus and I went back to my awful, very loud, hot hostel.
Wednesday, July 05, 2006
Buenos Aires... not so fun??
I am staying at a ###### hostel at the moment and doing nothing but sleeping and stuff for my online classes. It isnt exactly ###### I am just not happy with my rooming situation... I have to sleep on the top bunk and this Korean girl who speaks no Spanish or English sleeps below me.... but thats not the fun part of the story....
The Korean locked me into the room yesterday.... since there is only one key and no one can communicate with her.... she and everyone else are a bit at wits end. The lock on the door is an old fashion lock... you need a skeleton key to unlock it from the inside and outside of the room.... I was locked in last night... around 10pm... I attempted to go to bed at 9pm, because I have a cold or flu or something.... but then I was woken up by some 70 yr old lady who just checked in (not exactly youth hostel material) and was trying to get in to the room. I was locked in the inside of the room.... she on the outside and the Korean girl was no where to be found.... once they got the door onlocked... which took a lot of pounding, kicking, yelling and pure frusturation.... I yelled at the old lady, yelled at the dude at the front desk.... and then went storming back up to the room climbed in to the bed and preceed to tell the old lady that when the Korean girl comes back... tell her to bring the key to the front desk as I do not wish to be woken up or locked in the room again.... I think she was terrified. I guess, in my cold-ful-half-sleeping-half-awake state of mind...I was a little bit... um... mean. So, I heard the lady try to tell the girl to talk to the people at the front desk... and I think someone must have mimed to her what not to as this morning she did things the correct way with the key.
To make the rooming situation even FUNNER the old lady (who I had yelled at) had to sleep on the other top bunk.
OH.... did I mention the owners of the hostel must have just got central heating (a VERY rare concept here) and must not really know how to operate it... as it is about 90 degrees in the hostel and my dorm room has no windows or fan.... and then think of me being trapped... l mean... locked in the room... left to die.... ok... I let the drama over come me.
Another complaint after being in Uruguay for a week... and now being back in Argentina. Uruguay just passed a law that there is NO smoking aloud in ANY public place... it was really nice... not I get back to Argentina and have this awful cold/flu/madness going on and there is smoke, cigarettes and more smoke every where... I think I may be dying!
Ok... enough drama... I am going to bed... My brother is coming to Bs.As. tomorrow to meet me... and I have to wake up, shower and get to the bus station all before 9am. I live a rought life!
Paz.
The Korean locked me into the room yesterday.... since there is only one key and no one can communicate with her.... she and everyone else are a bit at wits end. The lock on the door is an old fashion lock... you need a skeleton key to unlock it from the inside and outside of the room.... I was locked in last night... around 10pm... I attempted to go to bed at 9pm, because I have a cold or flu or something.... but then I was woken up by some 70 yr old lady who just checked in (not exactly youth hostel material) and was trying to get in to the room. I was locked in the inside of the room.... she on the outside and the Korean girl was no where to be found.... once they got the door onlocked... which took a lot of pounding, kicking, yelling and pure frusturation.... I yelled at the old lady, yelled at the dude at the front desk.... and then went storming back up to the room climbed in to the bed and preceed to tell the old lady that when the Korean girl comes back... tell her to bring the key to the front desk as I do not wish to be woken up or locked in the room again.... I think she was terrified. I guess, in my cold-ful-half-sleeping-half-awake state of mind...I was a little bit... um... mean. So, I heard the lady try to tell the girl to talk to the people at the front desk... and I think someone must have mimed to her what not to as this morning she did things the correct way with the key.
To make the rooming situation even FUNNER the old lady (who I had yelled at) had to sleep on the other top bunk.
OH.... did I mention the owners of the hostel must have just got central heating (a VERY rare concept here) and must not really know how to operate it... as it is about 90 degrees in the hostel and my dorm room has no windows or fan.... and then think of me being trapped... l mean... locked in the room... left to die.... ok... I let the drama over come me.
Another complaint after being in Uruguay for a week... and now being back in Argentina. Uruguay just passed a law that there is NO smoking aloud in ANY public place... it was really nice... not I get back to Argentina and have this awful cold/flu/madness going on and there is smoke, cigarettes and more smoke every where... I think I may be dying!
Ok... enough drama... I am going to bed... My brother is coming to Bs.As. tomorrow to meet me... and I have to wake up, shower and get to the bus station all before 9am. I live a rought life!
Paz.
Monday, July 03, 2006
URUGUAY!!
I have been in Montevideo, Uruguay for almost the last week. I have not really been doing anything.... besides going out and hanging out with cool people from around the world. Montevideo is a pretty boring city... but it is almost the same as Argentina... so, I do not really mind. It is more expensive than Argentina but every where cannot be super cheap.
Tomorrow I am going back to Buenos Aires.
Tomorrow I am going back to Buenos Aires.
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