Audrey in Good Air

My last month in country...

2010-04-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

With my friend Fatima, her daughter Basma, preschool teacher Essaadia and her two baby goats!Health lesson at the preschool
Learning how to brush our teeth
A weekend away at the lake with my girlfriend Jamiaa

The breakfast spreadWalking into Jamiaa's uncle's house (this picture and the last should be in reverse order)
Wildflowers!!!

Bin el Ouidane, a lake an hour from my house
Making khobs nsegui, a delicious fried bread dish covered in chicken soup, it gets really mushy and you eat it with your fingers (like everything else).

Rquia showing us how it's prepared
My friend Moira's site in the province of Boulmane--in the middle of NOwhere. It looked a lot like an Indian reservation in the Dakotas...

The two sweetest girls ever!
Fetching water
Moira, Emmy and me
Soccer tournament at the boy's boarding school where prizes (soccer balls, jerseys and shorts) were donated by Ricardo and a Moroccan association.

Camel trek, M'Hamid, Zagora

2009-10-15T04:07:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from my brother's visit in May.

At an oasis

Travis with our guides

Grass leading up to the dunes

I didn't realize how beautiful the desert could be!...

...that being said, three days in it is plenty!

Grass leading up to the dunes Ait Ben Haddou, Ouarzazate

Hike

2009-10-11T06:43:00.000-07:00

These pictures are from a group hike around the province. The objective was rural health education.

Day 3: Group shot in Ait Boulli Starting out

At a volunteer's house in Bougamez

I never get tired of pictures of mud houses with a satellite dish. Earlier this day I saw a man plowing his field. He walked barefoot behind a donkey pulling a traditional plow. It could have been a scene in an 18th century painting if he hadn't been talking on his cell phone.

On our way to lesson #2

A skit on how germs are spread and the importance of washing your hands

Those indentations in the rock are dinosaur footprints. I can certainly imagine them roaming around this area.

I loved this baby donkey with its tuft of hair!

On an afternoon walk through the beautiful valley of Ait Bougamez.

The geology in this province is so interesting.

What never ceases to amaze me about these mountains is that no matter how desolate it feels-you are never alone. Take for example this mountain side below. It was in the middle of NOWHERE.

If you take a closer look in the very center of the photo you will see a house...

Day 5: the worst.

It started raining around 3pm and we hadn't found a water source to camp by. We walked along the road and fortunately the afternoon transit van passed. There wasn't any room inside but they let us ride on roof. Had it not been lightening and driver didn't go so quickly on the mountain turns so we could feel the mud sliding out from under the wheels at every turn, it might have been enjoyable. Although at that point we were grateful for any reprieve from hiking. That day (which ended well after dark) we logged more than 30 kilometers by foot.

The transit took us as far as it could. Shortly after it dropped us off and we picked up the trail again, it began to hail and quickly accumulated. I noticed several large animal prints that looked like they could be from a camel. Sure enough a few kilometers later I (I was a good distance from the group) happened upon a nomadic camel herder with a herd of 18 camels. I was up on a mountain trail and he was in the valley. I stopped and waved. He waved back and we just stood staring at each other. After a few minutes I waved again and moved on and he did the same, but we shared a moment, one of mutual understanding and curiosity (at least in my head). It made me wonder about his existence and laugh at myself for complaining that there was no place to set up camp. Clearly it was possible, we were just incapable. Because of the weather I didn't take out my camera but I'll never forget seeing camel prints in the snow. We were later told that during fall months the nomads come up to the mountains from the Zagora area because there is nothing to eat in the Sahara. When is there something to eat in the Sahara?

First lesson in Zaohia Ahansal after drying out and recuperating the day before.

Making carpets

Faedema, who runs the rug co-op, holding her 21st child! Of the 21 births, 17 survived. We had a family planning chat with her and her daughters.

That village in the distance is where we were headed to give our afternoon lessons to adults.

Inside a new neddy built for carpet weaving. It was the site of our nutrition and family planning discussion. The latter was particularly frustrating. Although the women finished with a clear understanding of how to stop having children and agreed with the importance of family planning it all seemed for nought. The clinic, only a half hour walk away, is empty. I went and spoke with the mid-wife assigned to it (who doesn't speak the local language) and she said they've been out of all means of contraception for months but were hopeful to receive a shipment this month.

The obligatory tea invite. This was after a tough family planning discussion. The moqaddam (a village elder who resolves disputes), pictured with the yellow headwrap was a delight. The first time I met him I wasn't sure he understood me or could even hear me. It turns out he's as sharp as a tack!

Day 12: almost home. View of Tamga from the top of a transit van

Asilah

2009-08-11T12:32:00.000-07:00

In the clean, relaxed and artsy town of Asilah on the Atlantic coast

Sometimes I love being a tourist!

Inside the Hassan II mosque in Casablanca

It has a retractable ceiling, heated floor, and most of it was built out over the ocean. It's also one of the few that non-muslims are allowed to enter.

At night the minaret sends a laser beam towards mecca

miscellaneous...

2009-08-10T14:41:00.000-07:00

walking to market

souq (market)

talking to my counterpart

Getting henna in anticipation for Ricardo's visit

Traditional Birth Attendent Training

Women washing their hands before lunch

All of the midwives engaged in discussion

Distributing supplies (very rudimentary)

the outskirts of Tilouguite (my site)

The midwife, Fatima, and me celebrating the success the conference

Ancient rock carvings!

2009-08-03T12:24:00.000-07:00

In a fellow PCV's site, on a four hour hike up to a pass where there are 2,000 year old rock carvings. (The estimated age of the carvings varies by thousands of years depending upon who you ask.) It's a beautiful area and a great day hike. Ait Boulli

Ashley & Matt

Work

2009-05-03T05:50:00.001-07:00

On a walk in Tilouguite with my friend Fatima and her daughter, Bessima. Her name means 'smile'.

Gathering wildflowers with my host siblings while taking out the goats to graze.

Because of so much snow this winter the wildflowers are abundant this spring. A fresh bouquet decorates my appartment every week.

On the Equipe mobile

Three times a year a 4x4 is sent from the provincial capital to our clinic stocked with meds. We spend a week going out to the farther villages in our area to reach people who can't easily make it in to the clinic.

In this village, Tamga, after chasing out the mice we set up at the mosque.

From left to right: our Equipe mobile driver who is an Amazigh (Berber) and interprets for the Arab doctor who after four years in Tilouguite speaks no Tamazight; a local authority figure who informs the village of when we will come, arranges for a location and hosts lunch; our nurse, an Amazigh who is also my direct counterpart; our doctor who as you can see very modern, besides being a doctor she wears pants and doesn't cover her hair. She is from Rabat.

The roads are awful, precarious at best in most places. It is this and the distance which are most prohibitive for people coming in to see us at the clinic. The farthest villages we visited were two hours away by 4x4. Most people come by foot.

An impromptu stop along the way. There was a large group of women with infants washing clothes in the river. Anyone can flag us down.

My counterpart using the same needle to vaccinate this baby as he did the previous six. He re-used needles when vaccinating the women too. When we were finished he gathered the syringes and threw them into the river. In the beginning of the week I was still suprised by such things. As days wore on practices and behaviors grew more and more incredulous.

I found myself in many disputes this week and was suprised every day that they would invite me back the next.

The doctor doing "consultations" out of the back of the Land Rover. Due to the language barrier (as you can see, Abdel Aziz, the interpreter is in the background having a smoke) the women point to whatever is bothering them and the doctor hands them medicine and takes down their name. All week I never once saw her examine anyone or inquire about symptoms.

Where I was lead when I told our host's daughter that I needed to go to the bathroom. It's not that I was expecting an outhouse, but here there is no cover; especially from watchful eyes that NEVER take themselves off the foreigner.

On the roof at our host's having tea before beginning work for the day. There was a lot of tea drinking-sometimes more than work.

A local moqqadam's wife baking bread for lunch. She said she is about 80 years old (although she doesn't look it) and has birthed 18 children! 13 of them are still living today.

Imi N'Ifri (mouth of the cave) right outside of Demnate

This is Ashley, my sitemate, Samira, a local teacher and me on a hike. We were taking a break from an environmental education conference organized by PCVs in Imi N'Ifri.

Not yet defunct

2009-04-29T11:44:00.000-07:00

The clinic where I work on Tuesdays. Tuesday is vaccination day when mothers bring in their babies. I keep the register, weigh babies, and try to do education.

As the mark of one year flies by and I have so few blog posts to relay it, I suppose an explanation is in order. First, I would say the greatest hindrance to regular updating is the internet, lack thereof, speed of the connection and a limit on how much time I’m able to spend on it (very little-especially as of late due to transportation). Secondly, at some point the novelty of living in Morocco wore off and I no longer feel like could be working for National Geographic . And lastly, I’m a terrible correspondent, who is lucky to have any friends at all, considering my abominable communication. Also, work was very slow getting started, the language not easily acquired, relationships were frustrating as a result etc. and I was pretty unhappy overall. I just didn’t have much of anything positive to report. FINALLY these last three months things have really started to pick up and I am able say that I’m happy to be here.

While on the topic of friends Claire and Adam came to visit, which was GREAT and all the pictures below are from their trip. Hopefully they will inspire others to visit!

So, I’m hoping to start posting more frequently, at least more than once every six months!

My site: Tilouguite

Claire and me going to market

It's a hike to get anywhere in my site

January

The stars at night are AMAZING!!! Not well conveyed in this photo unfortunately.

My province, Azilal

2008-08-18T08:09:00.000-07:00

Our mule on loan eating

Ashley, my site mate, and me on a mule. That's right-we're high class. We don't ride donkies.

Nice view from damn near my site

I had never seen goats climb trees before Morocco

Men on their way to souq

Me cooking at my host family's

Bougamez, Dan's site, group hike

I managed to stay dry while filling up my waterbottle

Tanagamelt
Kaylyn in her site where I visited for a weekend

The Cascades of Ouzoud There are monkeys all around here. I don't know why I didn't get any pictures of them
The translation of rainbow from Tamazigt to English is 'bride of the rain'. I like that.

Yes, this is how ridiculous I always look. Actually, that's probably one of my better days!

Work

2008-08-18T06:22:00.000-07:00

So, the idea is to organize women throughout the region who are already skilled rug makers so they might form a co-op in the future as a means of income generation. Pictured here are women who have already formed their own association but could use some help in reaching out to other markets (besides tourists passing through town). We are also planning a traveling workshop to teach about color, design and natural dyes.

I don't know if it's me or blogger that doesn't post the images in the order that I would like:(

I want to buy this one in the center. (The two white rugs on both sides are wedding rugs, used for decorating at a wedding.) It's quite large and detailed with varying levels. It's for sale for about 142USD. It was made by a nomadic woman so I'm not sure how payment would work.

Beautiful Zaohouiat Ahansal

2008-08-01T07:14:00.000-07:00

(Also in my province) It's the sheer rock faces like these that earn this place worldwide renown among rockclimbers

Tagia

Noura collecting water
The gite/hotel where we stayed

On our hike to Tagia

I loved this little girl! This family invited us in for tea one morning. We ended up staying all afternoon until tea.

They also gave us a tour of the kasbah

which I also loved, filled with bats and all

Outer door

Inner door

Old man who left his job at the commune to walk 3k to show us the home of a woman we were looking for.

In the early morning hours

Oh my god! You have to see this!

2008-06-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Claire sent me a link to this video to make me happy. If you haven't yet seen it (the where in the hell is matt video) you must!

http://fr.youtube.com/watch?v=zlfKdbWwruY&feature=dir

More miscellaneous photos from training

2008-06-27T05:17:00.000-07:00

Chris serving coffee

I absolutely loved this little girl!

Weekly market (souq) in Kelaa El M'Gouna

Salt...a lot could be said about this...maybe later
Traditional healer who yelled a lot of Quranic verses and at me to go away

The parking lot
Man with monkey on a chain?

Hafida, her calf and me

Hafida and me making bread

Host family with extended relatives

My host brother and his wife very happy to receive a tea set
My host dad working on the well in the courtyard as seen from door to my room

Marakech

2008-06-23T09:41:00.000-07:00

Sunset in Place Djema ElFnaa

Can you see the woman in the center of this picture?

Dinner in Djema lFnaa locals eating goat heads. ( Look to the left of the guy's blue sleeve.) I had a salad.

2008-06-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

One of the many reasons I hate Fox News, CNN and Chris Matthews...

http://www.womensmediacenter.com/sexism_sells.html

Training in Ouarzazat

2008-05-17T06:58:00.000-07:00

You'll notice it's a very relaxed learning environment

Everywhere we go we're followed by a trail of children
The health clinic

My house (with the black door).

My room

More photos and updates to come.

Field Trip

2008-03-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Dental Hygiene lesson

Tingir

Rabat

Morocco here I come

2008-03-03T07:44:00.000-08:00

I applied to the PC ten months ago. Today I'm finally leaving. My hands are shaking...

Mother Russia

2008-01-25T05:54:00.000-08:00

Outside the Kremlin
Walking in The view from Nastya's kitchen window

Dinner with Nastya and her roommates

Propaganda for Russia's national campaign to increase family size

Sergeiv Posad

Inside an Orthodox church

What's left of communist activism; a procession through Red Square.

Icons Lenin and Marx

Everyday life on the electritchka
Tanya and me en route to Sergeiv Posad
Dostyevesky's grave
largest micky d in the world
Stalinist architecture

St. Petersburg
Birthplace of the October Revolution
Cafe Literati

My Greek friend and me

more st. petersburg...

Ice skating in the Red Square

Nastya's aunt and uncle: Valaerii and Galina who were very gracious hosts to us last weekend.

Moscow State University

This is too funny!

2008-01-07T16:11:00.000-08:00

January 3, 2008

A User’s Manual to Seat 21C
By Wayne Curtis

CONGRATULATIONS ON SELECTING SEAT 21C! This manual is intended to familiarize you with the many options available to you.

Before BUCKLING in, please note that the man standing in the aislenext to you is about to make a request. He wonders if it would beokay for you to switch seats with his wife, who is in the middle seatthree rows ahead. She is the one seated between the former linebackerand the canola oil salesman, and is peering over the seatbacks at youwith wide and imploring eyes.
The man will ask this in a voice sufficiently loud that allpassengers seated within several rows will look up from their sudokupuzzles and await your answer. If you say no, the passengers will allwonder: Why do you hate married people? You must be a bitter andlonely person. Note also that there is no overhead luggage spacethree rows ahead, so you will have to wait for the entire plane toempty to come back and retrieve your bags. Have a good flight up at 18E!

Once permanently seated, grasp both ends of SEAT BELT and pressfirmly together. If you hear only a dull metallic clanking soundrather than a smart “click,” extend half of the seat belt to yourseatmate and awkwardly suggest that he must be sitting on your half.

If you would like a small and insubstantial PILLOW and cannot locateone, ring the flight attendant call button located directly overhead.If the flight attendant does not appear within five seconds, pressthe button repeatedly and with increasing urgency. If the flightattendant tells you no more are available, wait five minutes andrepeat process.

On either side of you is an ARMREST. If you look down and see that itis currently occupied by the ham-sized elbow of your seatmate, it isoften possible to claim your space by simply pressing your clammyforearm against his with a casualness that suggests that you hadn’tnoticed that you were even touching. (Note: this is effective chieflyin man-to-man seating configurations.)

Ahead of you is the marsupial-like SEAT BACK POUCH. In it you willfind a magazine featuring ads for foreign language software favoredby farm boys hoping to impress hot Italian models; an emergencyevacuation card depicting families who seem disturbingly calm forpeople about to abandon a sinking airliner for a shark-filled ocean;stray bits of Life Saver foil; and a boarding pass stub from someonenamed Richard from Ohio.

Also, you will find the SKYMALL CATALOG, from which you may order aproduct called “Poop Freeze,” described as a spray refrigerant that“chills animal waste to -62°F, creating an outer ‘crust’ that enablesyou to quickly place in a bag and dispose.” Feel free to spend theremainder of the flight trying to process this information.

Once the plane is airborne, you may RECLINE YOUR SEATBACK by pressing the button inside the armrest. If you chose not to recline, be aware that the person ahead of you will soon do so fully and abruptly, causing sharp discomfort on and around the patella but rewarding you with a panoramic view of several acres of scalp. You may mitigate this situation, at least psychologically, with a loud and audibly moist “sneeze,” or by directing your personal air jet to the top of the encroaching head.

Directly ahead of you is the TRAY TABLE, which may be lowered for“snack service.” The circular depression in the upper right corner isfor your plastic cup, an item you may find oddly wide-mouthed forsomething conveying sticky beverages in an environment subject tosudden and dramatic up-and-down and to-and-fro motions. Also, notethe cup is designed such that empty mylar pretzel pellet bags stuffedin them to facilitate trash collection will not remain there, but will repeatedly and mesmerizingly creep back out and onto the tray table.

Once the plane arrives at its destination, be aware that yourSEATBELT BUCKLE is specially designed to disengage most efficientlyif you place your hand on it for several minutes prior to arrival atthe gate. The instant the seat belt sign is turned off and the softgong sounds, snap it open vigorously, then swiftly stand up and lungefor the overhead bins. Those seated on the aisle should immediatelyadvance one or two rows before others crowd in and hinder forwardmotion. Those in window seats should also stand immediately, adaptingthe attractively hunched Cro-Magnon stance under the luggage bins forthe 12 minutes before your row is released for deplaning.

We hope that you find your seat comfortable and your flight pleasant.We know you have a choice of many other seats, and we thank you forchoosing SEAT 21C.

:(

2007-05-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

Well, much to my dismay I turned 23 yesterday. This month is rough, first graduation and then a birthday...anyhow, this a.m. I woke up with a raging headache and was told at the dentist's office that I need an emergency root canal. Yikes. It's been scheduled for 3:30 this afternoon. Double yikes. Last time I was at the dentist in Sept. before leaving for Argentina I was told that I needed a crown and if I didn't do it right away eventually I would need a root canal. Well, they told me it would be almost $600 so I opted not to have it done. Now, of course, nine months later, I need the root canal (price not yet known) and a crown. I guess that's what happens when you get old? Anyhow, once I found out I'm about to drop all of my graduation money, plus put the remainder on a card, I bought my ticket to the East coast. Boston, NYC, DC, Charlotte. Woo hoo! I'm also very pleased to report finishing my last semester with straight "A"s. Double woo hoo.

Pics of graduation

2007-05-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

My mom and I (before).
The ceremony was long, hot and uneventful. I had people over to my house afterwards which was nice. Five days 'til I leave for Alaska!

2007-05-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

I turned in my last paper today at 12:30 p.m.
That's it.
I'm now as free as bird.

I'm a loser

2007-04-23T15:06:00.000-07:00

I didn't get the scholarship to study Russian. My summer plans are now to bum around the east coast and study for the GRE; not as exciting as St. Petersburg, nonetheless I'm really looking forward it. In other news, I graduate in three weeks, and was coerced into walking in the ceremony. I haven't yet sent any invitations but if you don't get one soon you're certainly invited. (May 12th) Also I've definitively decided to apply for the Peace Corps, and am heading to Alaska the end of May to see my brother. That's all I've got for now.

JEWEL

2007-04-15T13:21:00.000-07:00

So I gave up on Brian. Ni modo. Thanks to those of you who did send an email. I'd still like to finish the NYC post but, I'm dying to tell about this weekend. Saturday was a good day. I ran Miles4Smiles in the morning which was a fun 5k run at school to raise money for children's cancer research. They had a BBQ afterwards put on by Outback and a live band who was pretty good. You couldn't have asked for a nicer day. Claire ran with me and we took it easy, nonetheless I'm a little sore today.

Then...in the evening we bought tickets to a benefit concert Jewel was putting on in Denver. I adore Jewel. Anyhow, we bought the cheapest general admission tickets (that were not cheap at all). On the way in to the show we stopped at the KBCO both to chat and the kid who's working asks if we have any friends that want to see the show because he had extra tickets and hated to see them go to waste. "Oh shoot!" we said in unison, we explained that we had parked a ways away and our cell phones stayed in the car. We didn't know anyone's phone number and the show was to start any minute. After a few more "oh that's a bummer"s we went in the show. Had we dressed nicer (and arrived more than two minutes before the show started) we could have gotten into the meet and greet where everyone was sipping on champagne and eating from the chocolate fondue fountain. When I say 'gotten in' read 'snuck in'. Those tickets were a bit more expensive. Anywho, we giddily show the usher our tickets expecting to be showed to the top/back section, but are pleasantly suprised when we're showed to out seats in row 22 Section 2 that were not bad at all. Colorado Convention Ctr is small and intimate at any rate, there's really not a bad seat in the house. As we find our seats and the lights start to dim my lightbulb goes on.

A: "Claire, why didn't ask that guy where the seats were that he had? Maybe they're better than ours."
C: "Dude, let's go!"

We rush out to find the kid tearing down his tent.

A&C: "Hey! Do you still have those tickets?!"
Dude: "Yeah, did you find somebody who wants 'em?"
A&C: "Um, where are they for?"
Dude: "It looks like front and center..."
A&C: "Can we trade you?!"
Dude: "Yeah, sure. Here."

We look over them to find Row 1, seat 11&12 and that's when the delirium set in.

A&C: "Thank you so much! This is so cool!!!"
Dude: "Yeah sure, no problem. You know what? If you guys want I can just give you my number and you can call if there's a show you want to see. We always have extra tickets and I hate it when they don't get used. Here, take this. My name's Evan and I'll be working here 'til mid-July."
A&C: "Oh my god! Sweet! Thank you so much. You'll be hearing from us. We're Claire and Audrey. Thanks a lot again man. Talk to you soon."
Evan: "Yeah, sure. Enjoy the show."

We re-enter the venue and are led up to the front, to the very front, as in front row and dead center! I'm not kidding that Jewel was directly in front of us only ten feet away. It was surreal. I couldn't stop laughing and marveling at our good fortune. The reflection from the lights on her guitar kept ending up in my lap. WE WERE SO CLOSE!!! Jewel was a solo act, no openers, just her and her two guitars. She even sang a few numbers acapella (one of them being an Italian opera piece). It was a chill audience, a bunch of rich people, but an excellent performance. She's so good live.

Anyhow, sorry, I know I could have shared a shorter version, but I'm still in shock. She' so cool! She's super down to earth, really funny, has an amazing voice, and is a great songwriter. Really, I want to be her. Lucky for you my brownies are done, so I'm off. Below is pasted a picture. (The story behind that will come later;)

I'd really like to update my blog...

2007-04-12T10:55:00.000-07:00

I keep getting emails about my hiatus from blogger. As a general response, I'd like you to know that I too would like to update. It's just that I want to keep things in order so I'd like to finish my NYC post. I can't do that until I get the rest of the pictures from Brian. (He apparently can't pull himself away from his internet games long enough to make me a disc.) I've been asking for months. So now I'm asking for help. You can help me move him to action by sending him an email at

drawerfixer@hotmail.com

Maybe that will help. Thanks and hopefully new pictures will be up soon!

New York, New York

2007-01-27T10:58:00.000-08:00

Here are a few random photos of my recent trip to NYC. You won't find any of the Empire State building, Statue of Liberty, or really any of the city's most recognizable landmarks, all of which you've seen before. Below is the UN building, both the Security Council and General Assembly rooms, Brian reading the paper as we cruise through Central Park, me (asking someone to take a picture of me on the Staten Island Ferry in front of the Statue of Liberty...they somehow missed the Statue), Hypnotic Brass Ensemble playing at the subway station in Times Square, and an inside view of the Guggenheim.

2006-12-22T23:06:00.000-08:00

This is what we went to see...the last three pictures is what we saw. We actually did get a glimpse at the Fitz Roy for a few minutes in the evening just as the sun was going down, the clouds finally cleared. This is the Fitz Roy peak close to the town of El Chalten (pop. 250). It is the Argentine equivalent of Chile's Torres del Paine. The other pictures are on my hike on the way to the Fitz Roy lookout. (Fitz Roy was named after Captain Fitz Roy in Darwin's Beagle, although he never actually saw F.R. he navigated a river not 30 km away.) The picture below is the light of sunrise on the rocks.

Patagonia cont'd

2006-12-22T22:35:00.000-08:00

The first two pictures are of flamingos. The following two are examples of the brilliant turquoise color of the water in the area. It takes on that color as a result of the glacier receding and sort of polishing the rocks. The fine dust that this creates is called til which is so light it does not sift down and remains on top of the water giving it the green. In the fourth photo you can see the contrast of water with til and the dark blue water in front of it without.

2006-12-22T21:47:00.000-08:00

Statement of the obvious: I'm still working on figuring out captions. Because that may take millennia I'll just go ahead and sum up what's in these pictures...a glacier. The Perito Moreno Glacier. The second picture is of the obelisk in Buenos Aires that is its most recognizable monument. Any given point on this glacier dwarfs the obelisk that is 60m tall.

MORE glacier

2006-12-22T20:47:00.000-08:00

1)National Glacier Park
Perito Moreno Glacier
2)Examples of the terrain entering the park
3)I'm not sure how evident it is in this picture, however, the mountains are sculpted in a strange manner. There is a plateau about half-way up from the glacier receding over millions of years. The Perito Moreno is no longer receding. It is now in 'stable condition'.
4)Starting out on the glacier after a two hour hike in through the forest. Ten trekkers, four guides
5)The guides making stairs for us
6)This is where we had lunch. I filled up my water bottle with the best tasting water I've ever had in my life.
7)Glacier blue. Literally.
8)A view from the forest on the hike down
9)Moi
10)This is what the top of each of the peaks look like...
Whatever. I started with these in order, but blogger proves to be quite capricious. Hopefully it at least gives you an idea.

The Big Ice Adventure

Ahhhh!!!! I'm in Houston..."until further notice".

2006-12-21T06:05:00.000-08:00

"Oh Denver? Dats cancelled. Weer now confirmin the 25th."

So here I am. Like Tom Hanks in that movie The Terminal. I don't really have any news other than that I am not happy. Internet is .25/min and I checked my cell phone so I'll be in touch as soon as I can.

Patagonia-Peninsula Valdes

2006-12-04T17:07:00.000-08:00

I received permission to leave work at noon on Friday and made it to the bus station to buy a ticket just as the double decker was pulling away. I rode 20 hours to Patagonia to see whales. Their breeding season ends in December so it was my last chance to catch a glimpse. And I did! I saw about a half a dozen Right Whales including a calf swimming over the top of its mother´s back. They are absolutely amazing. I was also hoping to see some Killer Whales ( or even Willy himself) and some were in fact spotted that morning, but we didn´t see any.

town on Peninsula Valdes with a population of 450.

I ended up seeing a ton of wildlife. Sea lions, seals, elephant seals...

Magellanic peguins. In the nest below are two babies.

On the left are sheep, but mixed in are two ostriches. And in the other are guanacos, or llamas.

So apparently I¨m a terrible photographer, however unwilling to accept all of the blame. My camera is also a piece of shit. I figured out what I´m asking for for Christmas;)

To do list: 1-take belly dancing lessons

2006-11-26T16:56:00.000-08:00

I WANT TO BE SHAKIRA!!! That´s who´s in this picture. You´ll just have to take my word for it. We bought standing room only tickets and started up not far from the stage but apparently some people are more fanatical about Shakira than I am. We couldn´t stand the pushing and brewing mosh pit. I couldn´t even take a picture! But all in all it was a great show. She´s an amazing performer and an even more amazing dancer. I love her! I want to be her!

Iguazu Falls

2006-11-26T16:11:00.000-08:00

Michelle and I took the 20 hour bus ride to Argentina´s most northern province, Misiones, that borders Brazil and Paraguay. There we spent Thanksgiving at the national Iguazu park.

The magnitude of this one (the main fall-left) is not at all captured by this photo. But the water splashes back up and creates mist that doesn´t allow you to see the bottom.

These are curious coatis that are all over the park.

The Brazilian side

Cai monkies

Miche on a trail, this is prior to her being bit by unidentifiable bugs, becoming ill an hour later convinced that she had Dengue Fever

Me under a waterfall on a side trail

Guinea pig-rat looking animals also all over the park

I have no idea what these things are

Polo

2006-11-26T16:00:00.000-08:00

Campeanato Argentino

These pictures are actually from last weekend when I mingled with the rich and beautiful of Argentina at a championship polo match. (I´ve fallen behind on my updating.) Polo is a big deal here (I guess?) and it was cool to see, in spite of the fact that I couldn´t actually follow the match because I don´t know the rules. The choice of pictures is random and not a good one, but for some reason I just lost all of the posts that I¨d made so redoing them I´m lacking on time, energy and interest.

I hate blogger

2006-11-12T23:53:00.000-08:00

I still don´t know how to post and keep photos in order and don´t have the patience to figure it out. Having said that, these are pictures of an afternoon reception the newly arrived Ambassador held at his residence on Friday. The images aren´t exactly how or of what I would have liked to have taken, but because cameras aren´t actually allowed most of them were taken quickly and as indiscretely as possible. But just to give you an idea of where your tax dollars go...
This is what I romanticized the Embassy would be like.

Guests are entertained (only allowed) on the second floor where there are three dining rooms and four different sitting rooms. Truth be told, it´s really kind of lackluster compared to other countries´residences.

Misc. pics from this fin de semana

2006-11-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Our favorite passtime...renting bikes

Tango dancing in the street in San Telmo

A community service announcement contra drinking and driving

The Casa Rosada, which literally is ´pink house´, the Arg. equivalent of the White House

An art exhibit in Plaza San Martin. A taste of my neighborhood.

Tigre-River Plate

2006-10-30T19:53:00.000-08:00

Tigre is a town of about three thousand people spread about on various tributaries leading into the mouth of the River Plate. It´s about a half hour train ride north of BA and good weekend getaway.

The hostel where we stayed.

The only means of transportation.

The morning´s activity.

Update

2006-10-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

Because cameras are not permitted in the embassy (along with cell phones, MP3 players, basically anything electronic) I stopped by on Saturday to take a picture of the outside. Within less than thirty seconds of having taken the photo, two police officers rushed up to me and told me that the photo must be deleted (you know, security reasons?!) Anyhow, this is the perfectly hideous builing that the U.S. built expressly to be an embassy. It´s more like a compound occupying half the block. During the week there is line trailing around the corner of visa applicants.

Photos from this weekend

2006-10-25T21:06:00.000-07:00

Here we are (along with half of BA) on the edge of Rio de la Plata river. It was a great day for a picnic and we had champagne, and strawberries that we dipped in a gigantic chocolate bar we left in the sun. It´s about a half hour bike ride from the city.

2006-10-25T01:40:00.000-07:00

I intended to photo document my whole weekend but blogger goes down a lot, it´s one thirty and I meet the acting ambassador tomorrow. A bit about today though, I accompanied my office mate to lunch with a contact within the local (meaning BA) legislature, who was a total weasel. Attended a course for diplomats on the history of Peronism where we some how got seated next to the Venezuelans and had to endure very akward small talk as a result. This evening attended a presentation put on by the Eisenhower Fellowship on democracy and higher education. All in all an informative day and long ( I put in more than 12 hours).

I can´t figure out how to post and keep things in order! Sorry...

2006-10-18T17:16:00.000-07:00

My roommate was amazed that I was able to take so many pictures of such a small space.

My apartment:

1472 Scalabrini Ortiz
5th floor #22
Palermo

Entryway

Entry #1

2006-10-18T17:05:00.000-07:00

My roommate:

Michelle Sriwongtong
23 yrs. old
calls LA home
played soccer at and graduated 1 yr ago from Brown with an IR degree
worked for 1 yr. for the Thai gov´t (she is of Thai origin) and is now learning Spanish before moving on to Recife, Brazil in Dec.

Here we are at Puerto Madero and the photo to the left is the port by day. It no longer functions as a port but is lined by very expensive restaurants on one side and hotels and nightclubs on the other.

Welcome to my blog?

2006-10-12T00:51:00.000-07:00

For those of you who know that I am the least technology literate 22 year old in the developed world, you realize what an accomplishment this is for me. I have decided to join the 21st century and ATTEMPT to keep a blog. I´ve been told they´re more efficient than mass emails?! A blog?! After having criticized others for months I am jumping on the bandwagon.

I am justifying this accordingly:

It´s the least lame alternative to Facebook and Myspace. The former I morally oppose and the latter was too hard to figure out (besides, I think you have to have an account as well to be able to view someone on myspace). Regardless it serves to the same ends. It avoids me unduly repeating myself and eventually will erradicate the necessity for mass emails. I don´t know. Maybe that´s too ambitious, it could be a total flop that I will abandon momentarily...
It also plays to my vanity which assumes that everyone is dying to know what I´m up to.

So now that I´ve cleared my conscience, where to start? I´ve been in Buenos Aires (BA) for two weeks now and am in love! It´s very cosmopolitan while retaining most elements of the Latin American culture of which I am so fond.

I can´t wait until I figure out how to post pictures!!!