Etymology: Late Latin spontaneus, from Latin sponte of one's free will, voluntarily
1 : proceeding from natural feeling or native tendency without external constraint
2 : arising from a momentary impulse
3 : Asking a random guy in the hallway to go to Chile, and actually being there 2 days later
true story. more to come soon
¡Bienvenido a mi vida!
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Do it like the hostel livin'
In these last days, I've been racing. Mentally, I am everywhere - and physically, I feel the need to be. The urgency of leaving makes the possibilities loom overhead, the sights, smells, tastes that I haven't experienced yet and could, but only in these last 10 days.
10 days.
I want to go to Chile. But there is a lot holding me back. I keep telling myself I will come back, and I truly hope I do. Maybe I'll wait, maybe not. I'm learning the practice of last-second travel more and more as I am here.
It's hitting me, albeit slowly, that I am not only leaving the country but the people. I am leaving cranky residencia staff, breakfast with homeade yoghurt, fresh squeesed orange juice, fried eggs with chewy bread and peeled whole kiwi.
I won't be able to complain about empenada's being all there is to eat, just to fall back in love with them the minute I bite into my hot, juicy 80cent dinner. It won't be normal to stand half-way in the road, searching for the right bus then curse that I only have 5 and 10's left in centavos. When I'm late for school, I won't take any more taxi's, or sit in a sweaty packed subte. I won't be able to walk a block in any direction and be able to buy whatever fruit I want, despite the disappointing quality, or stop in a kiosko for any late night snack need you can imagine.
I won't look down when I walk as much, in search of dog poo or misplaced cement blocks. I won't have to concentrate on not smiling or laughing as men whistle, make kissing noises, or whisper things like "que ojos! que hermosa," or "linda."
I won't be confused as much, wondering what people are saying, or what the heck Claro is saying every time they send me another prmotional text. I won't be able to pick up and travel as easily as I can decide to just lay in bed, I will have responsibilites. I wont be able to look out of my balcony to see if the laundromat, empenada or corner places are open. Or to see the over-burdened dog walkers. I will probobly never see so many small fluffy white dogs in one place.
I won't be able to walk to a zoo or a museum, get candied peanuts or a great steak, have the option of a carriage ride right next to a colectivo or taxi. I won't be able to justify every purchase by cutting the price 75%. I won't be able to go to one of endless giant ferrias to buy mate, crafts, or leather. I won't be able to talk about languages, accents, and adventures with people from al corners of the world.
I will miss the people - the travelers, CEAers, fellow states people, argentines, and the residencia crew. I will miss their quirks, their always-too-fast spanish, and our talks. I will miss getting to know people from scratch again - hearing stories, experiences, and opinions. I will miss playing polo, and just hanging out at the barn. Sipping mate to be polite even when the water is burning my mouth. I will miss every person who has helped me along the way : the girl on the bus to Pilar who just happened to know english, the driver, and my stop - the law student on the bus to Bolson who kept talking to me no matter how much I wanted to sleep. I will miss the small world moments like meeting Karen and both knowing Don, or having Julians uncle pick us up at a police station in Bariloche and bring us to his "hostel" which meant living with his mother and him for a night cooking, drinking beer and mate on the side of mountain. I will miss the travels - and all the memories accumulated - north to Iguazu, south to Bariloche and El Bolson, to the beach in Mar de Plata, the vineyards in San Rafael/Mendoza. I will miss my roomie and our crazy sleeping patterns, and her boy drama. Taking pictures with Jack, and walks with Joe.
I will miss so much more that I am sure I will write about later...but the point is that it is starting to set in. I'm gonna miss it. I will miss the freedom to do what I want, when I want. But there is so much to look forward to, and it is those thoughts - of sitting on the couch with my mom, sister, and dog watching grey's anatomy, of night swimming at the Bailey's, hummus at mellow mush, chilling with Fatima and Mack, driving with the windows down and country music turned up. All of these thoughts are meshing - the things I am waiting to miss, and the one's I ahve missed but will have so soon.
So I'm gonna try and slow down this mental, physical race. I'm going to try and enjoy the last 10 days in the same way I enjoyed my night tonight. Just chilling at a hostel, getting to know a few more people while drinking armenian coffee over a trilengual conversation of spanish, english and portugese. Just talking, reflecting, and enjoying the night.
So what are my plans from here? No clue. But for now, I'm gonna let the race slow down, and try to just soak it all up....while I can.
10 days.
I want to go to Chile. But there is a lot holding me back. I keep telling myself I will come back, and I truly hope I do. Maybe I'll wait, maybe not. I'm learning the practice of last-second travel more and more as I am here.
It's hitting me, albeit slowly, that I am not only leaving the country but the people. I am leaving cranky residencia staff, breakfast with homeade yoghurt, fresh squeesed orange juice, fried eggs with chewy bread and peeled whole kiwi.
I won't be able to complain about empenada's being all there is to eat, just to fall back in love with them the minute I bite into my hot, juicy 80cent dinner. It won't be normal to stand half-way in the road, searching for the right bus then curse that I only have 5 and 10's left in centavos. When I'm late for school, I won't take any more taxi's, or sit in a sweaty packed subte. I won't be able to walk a block in any direction and be able to buy whatever fruit I want, despite the disappointing quality, or stop in a kiosko for any late night snack need you can imagine.
I won't look down when I walk as much, in search of dog poo or misplaced cement blocks. I won't have to concentrate on not smiling or laughing as men whistle, make kissing noises, or whisper things like "que ojos! que hermosa," or "linda."
I won't be confused as much, wondering what people are saying, or what the heck Claro is saying every time they send me another prmotional text. I won't be able to pick up and travel as easily as I can decide to just lay in bed, I will have responsibilites. I wont be able to look out of my balcony to see if the laundromat, empenada or corner places are open. Or to see the over-burdened dog walkers. I will probobly never see so many small fluffy white dogs in one place.
I won't be able to walk to a zoo or a museum, get candied peanuts or a great steak, have the option of a carriage ride right next to a colectivo or taxi. I won't be able to justify every purchase by cutting the price 75%. I won't be able to go to one of endless giant ferrias to buy mate, crafts, or leather. I won't be able to talk about languages, accents, and adventures with people from al corners of the world.
I will miss the people - the travelers, CEAers, fellow states people, argentines, and the residencia crew. I will miss their quirks, their always-too-fast spanish, and our talks. I will miss getting to know people from scratch again - hearing stories, experiences, and opinions. I will miss playing polo, and just hanging out at the barn. Sipping mate to be polite even when the water is burning my mouth. I will miss every person who has helped me along the way : the girl on the bus to Pilar who just happened to know english, the driver, and my stop - the law student on the bus to Bolson who kept talking to me no matter how much I wanted to sleep. I will miss the small world moments like meeting Karen and both knowing Don, or having Julians uncle pick us up at a police station in Bariloche and bring us to his "hostel" which meant living with his mother and him for a night cooking, drinking beer and mate on the side of mountain. I will miss the travels - and all the memories accumulated - north to Iguazu, south to Bariloche and El Bolson, to the beach in Mar de Plata, the vineyards in San Rafael/Mendoza. I will miss my roomie and our crazy sleeping patterns, and her boy drama. Taking pictures with Jack, and walks with Joe.
I will miss so much more that I am sure I will write about later...but the point is that it is starting to set in. I'm gonna miss it. I will miss the freedom to do what I want, when I want. But there is so much to look forward to, and it is those thoughts - of sitting on the couch with my mom, sister, and dog watching grey's anatomy, of night swimming at the Bailey's, hummus at mellow mush, chilling with Fatima and Mack, driving with the windows down and country music turned up. All of these thoughts are meshing - the things I am waiting to miss, and the one's I ahve missed but will have so soon.
So I'm gonna try and slow down this mental, physical race. I'm going to try and enjoy the last 10 days in the same way I enjoyed my night tonight. Just chilling at a hostel, getting to know a few more people while drinking armenian coffee over a trilengual conversation of spanish, english and portugese. Just talking, reflecting, and enjoying the night.
So what are my plans from here? No clue. But for now, I'm gonna let the race slow down, and try to just soak it all up....while I can.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
20
So, my birthday was bomb. No other way to say it.
Here are 20 of the reasons why:
20 - playing pool and ping-pong at midnight
19 - finally going to the Japanese Botanical Gardens
18 - feeding giant Koi with little portenos
17 - eating the best sushi I have had here
16 - coming home to a decked out Feliz Cumple room
15 - getting a Muma's cupcake and muffin with candycanes
14 - finding out my roomie is sneakier and craftier than I could have imagined
13 - sweet party hats and an explosive candle
12 - having happy birthday sung in spanish and english...several times
11 - Crobar and perfectly timed facebook-adds
10 - VIP, free entrance for all 20ish of us
9 - repping the Res: Columbia, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, and USA
8- mini fried empenadas, pumpkin with orange chicked, tomato basil sticks
7- live spanish rock band
6- more than one group bonding over ...limes? :)
5- discovering Jack learned quite a bit from cotillion
4- bonding in the bathroom with Andrea, not losing my phone, money, or coat
3- dancing the night away to reggaetone and running into more friends
2- getting home around 6 in the morning
1- turning 20 in Argentina!!!
Special thanks to Jack for distracting me, and Andrea for making it all happen! :)
Here are 20 of the reasons why:
20 - playing pool and ping-pong at midnight
19 - finally going to the Japanese Botanical Gardens
18 - feeding giant Koi with little portenos
17 - eating the best sushi I have had here
16 - coming home to a decked out Feliz Cumple room
15 - getting a Muma's cupcake and muffin with candycanes
14 - finding out my roomie is sneakier and craftier than I could have imagined
13 - sweet party hats and an explosive candle
12 - having happy birthday sung in spanish and english...several times
11 - Crobar and perfectly timed facebook-adds
10 - VIP, free entrance for all 20ish of us
9 - repping the Res: Columbia, Venezuela, Argentina, Peru, and USA
8- mini fried empenadas, pumpkin with orange chicked, tomato basil sticks
7- live spanish rock band
6- more than one group bonding over ...limes? :)
5- discovering Jack learned quite a bit from cotillion
4- bonding in the bathroom with Andrea, not losing my phone, money, or coat
3- dancing the night away to reggaetone and running into more friends
2- getting home around 6 in the morning
1- turning 20 in Argentina!!!
Special thanks to Jack for distracting me, and Andrea for making it all happen! :)
Friday, June 4, 2010
Soneto XVII
Pablo Neruda was one of the main reasons I wanted to learn spanish. He was a determining factor in deciding to study in Chile. His homes and birthplace are still motivating my travel plans, and his words keep me entertained and inspired on long nights. This one was my first Neruda poem, and is still my favorite...beautiful in both languages as only the master himself is capable of.
Sonnet XVII
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
Soneto XVII
No te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio
o flecha de claveles que propagan el fuego:
te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,
secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.
Te amo como la planta que no florece y lleva
dentro de sí, escondida, la luz de aquellas flores,
y gracias a tu amor vive oscuro en mi cuerpo
el apretado aroma que ascendió de la tierra.
Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde,
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,
sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres,
tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía,
tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño.
Sonnet XVII
I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz,
or the arrow of carnations the fire shoots off.
I love you as certain dark things are to be loved,
in secret, between the shadow and the soul.
I love you as the plant that never blooms
but carries in itself the light of hidden flowers;
thanks to your love a certain solid fragrance,
risen from the earth, lives darkly in my body.
I love you without knowing how, or when, or from where.
I love you straightforwardly, without complexities or pride;
so I love you because I know no other way
than this: where I does not exist, nor you,
so close that your hand on my chest is my hand,
so close that your eyes close as I fall asleep.
Soneto XVII
No te amo como si fueras rosa de sal, topacio
o flecha de claveles que propagan el fuego:
te amo como se aman ciertas cosas oscuras,
secretamente, entre la sombra y el alma.
Te amo como la planta que no florece y lleva
dentro de sí, escondida, la luz de aquellas flores,
y gracias a tu amor vive oscuro en mi cuerpo
el apretado aroma que ascendió de la tierra.
Te amo sin saber cómo, ni cuándo, ni de dónde,
te amo directamente sin problemas ni orgullo:
así te amo porque no sé amar de otra manera,
sino así de este modo en que no soy ni eres,
tan cerca que tu mano sobre mi pecho es mía,
tan cerca que se cierran tus ojos con mi sueño.
6/3/2010
Goodbye Yvette, I know you knew how much you were loved.
You were the glue, and the light of so many peoples lives. You were not a victim of cancer, you were a conqueror of it. What so many would take as a final death sentence, you took almost 10 years ago as if it were a common cold. I remember our talk about the wording, the mind-set of it all. You were, in fact living with cancer. You beat the odds more than once, and never took any credit for it. I wish I could write more eloquently about you, about it, becasue it is the least I could do. But that's just it. I didn't learn how to decorate life with frills from you, I learned how to live. And for as much as you knew, you will never know how much that has meant to me. I am more than thankful for the time we had together, for the long talks, the food, the crafts. For the distance, and the gaps between visits - we did a pretty good job. My biggest regret is that we couldn't have longer. I would have loved to grow up with you. Thank you for teaching me about life, for always believing in me, and for giving me something to aspire to. I love and miss you so much. RIP
Your neice,
Chelsey
You were the glue, and the light of so many peoples lives. You were not a victim of cancer, you were a conqueror of it. What so many would take as a final death sentence, you took almost 10 years ago as if it were a common cold. I remember our talk about the wording, the mind-set of it all. You were, in fact living with cancer. You beat the odds more than once, and never took any credit for it. I wish I could write more eloquently about you, about it, becasue it is the least I could do. But that's just it. I didn't learn how to decorate life with frills from you, I learned how to live. And for as much as you knew, you will never know how much that has meant to me. I am more than thankful for the time we had together, for the long talks, the food, the crafts. For the distance, and the gaps between visits - we did a pretty good job. My biggest regret is that we couldn't have longer. I would have loved to grow up with you. Thank you for teaching me about life, for always believing in me, and for giving me something to aspire to. I love and miss you so much. RIP
Your neice,
Chelsey
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Moments
- drinking a Brahmes in a garage-turned-dico Easter night in Bariloche with Joe from England
- Standing under the falls at Iguazu, screaming at the top of lungs only to be drowned out by the sound of the water
- 1st night at Azucar, after the nicest drinks @ Milion...learning to dance Salsa with a girl from Barcelona, an Argentinian cop and his friend "Walter"
- Dancing a traditional kerchief dance with the sweetest old woman at the Bicentenario, hundreds of people making a circle around and being the only "gringa" in a whirlwind of traditional dresses, scarves, and snapping fingers
- Making a tent in Masters for movie watching
- Spending the night in the Bariloche bus station, tent pitched and locked between the main station and the outside by the security guards with the girls and our adopted stray dog....being protected from the homeless men
- Petunias camping in Bariloche when the old man took our passports for the night, then told us to sleep "tranquila"
- Bariloche little girl getting mad we took her bottle saying "es mio puta!"
- Passing out on the beach in Mar de Plata....one of the worse sun-burns of my life
- Watching polo all day at Zarate
- Riding in mendoza, leading, then galloping with the gaucho
- 1st bus ride to pilar...Belen the girl who saved me by knowing my stop then the bus driver who made sure I got there. Meeting Val at a gas station by myself, hoping for the best (and ending up having one of the best experiences of my life @ her farm)
- CEA mendoza night - guitar,harmonica,singing "stand by me"
- playing chicken in the river misiones province only to find out there are poisonous snakes
- "weekend" 5 day trip for semana santa to Bariloche, then to El Bolson 2 hrs south with some of the coolest chicas around...camping in a 2 person tent and freezing, discovering small-world moments with Tato's hostel, seeing the most dreadlocks of my life, steph's 1st horseback riding, El Pueblito's, lots of new friends..., learning to check the dates on ourbus tickets, and sooo much more
- hearing Mauricio beat-box for the 1st time late night outside residencia
- Standing under the falls at Iguazu, screaming at the top of lungs only to be drowned out by the sound of the water
- 1st night at Azucar, after the nicest drinks @ Milion...learning to dance Salsa with a girl from Barcelona, an Argentinian cop and his friend "Walter"
- Dancing a traditional kerchief dance with the sweetest old woman at the Bicentenario, hundreds of people making a circle around and being the only "gringa" in a whirlwind of traditional dresses, scarves, and snapping fingers
- Making a tent in Masters for movie watching
- Spending the night in the Bariloche bus station, tent pitched and locked between the main station and the outside by the security guards with the girls and our adopted stray dog....being protected from the homeless men
- Petunias camping in Bariloche when the old man took our passports for the night, then told us to sleep "tranquila"
- Bariloche little girl getting mad we took her bottle saying "es mio puta!"
- Passing out on the beach in Mar de Plata....one of the worse sun-burns of my life
- Watching polo all day at Zarate
- Riding in mendoza, leading, then galloping with the gaucho
- 1st bus ride to pilar...Belen the girl who saved me by knowing my stop then the bus driver who made sure I got there. Meeting Val at a gas station by myself, hoping for the best (and ending up having one of the best experiences of my life @ her farm)
- CEA mendoza night - guitar,harmonica,singing "stand by me"
- playing chicken in the river misiones province only to find out there are poisonous snakes
- "weekend" 5 day trip for semana santa to Bariloche, then to El Bolson 2 hrs south with some of the coolest chicas around...camping in a 2 person tent and freezing, discovering small-world moments with Tato's hostel, seeing the most dreadlocks of my life, steph's 1st horseback riding, El Pueblito's, lots of new friends..., learning to check the dates on ourbus tickets, and sooo much more
- hearing Mauricio beat-box for the 1st time late night outside residencia
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