On The Blog Again

Sidewalk Rage and a Change of Hemisphere

DATE: February 13, 2006

It's been a little too long since I've written one of these. I've just been quite, well, LAME about writing! And the longer I wait, the harder it is. So enough of the dribble. You have enough to read as it is. =)

Now in Argentina

As many of you know, I was at home for Thanksgiving and Christmas. It was great to spend time with the family and not pack/unpack the bag every few days... to have a shower that didn´t involve carrying a bunch of soap/shampoo/towels into a crowded room with a wet floor, using a bucket, etc. I had good home cooking, saw good friends (although not for enough time as I would have liked - not having a car can be quite a grievance in the states!)... and generally had a fantastic time.

Come new year though, the feet were itching again. This time it was off to England, with a brief 'HAPPY NEW YEAR!' stint in Kitzbühel, Austria, staying in a RANDOM hostel owned by a guy named Dave who LOVED to tell you to f*ck off, but didn´t understand why people might ever rate the place poorly. I actually liked the guy for some reason, but that's because I was on his good side! Anyway, what were doing there? SKIING! WOO! It was great. Powder was easy to find, even off the groomed runs, so I was happy. I also learned how to play "Texas Hold-Em" poker, from a bunch of Kiwis and Aussies in Austria. How random is that?

So yeah, England. The UK nearly rejected me at the airport. I've never been so close to being turned back by Customs. Why? Well, I was an idiot, frankly. I'm so used to easy border crossings that I didn't even give it a second thought to put 'UNEMPLOYED' under occupation, and say 'oh, about a month or so, I dunno...' for how long I'd be travelling, 'LONDON' as my address in the UK. Hmmm... did I have proof of onward travel? No. Did I have proof of sufficient funds? Um... no. 'Here's a credit card!' I'm surprised they did let me in, in the end! But thank God, they did. On to baggage claim. My connecting flight in Copenhagen had been severly delayed due to a snow storm. They decided not to load ANYONE'S bags in the plane because it was too snowy. They could FLY, but they couldn´t load BAGS. Does that make ANY sense?? So I had no luggage. And I was going to Austria the NEXT DAY to ski. No bags. Yeah. I think the UK was giving a giant finger on arrival. 'We don't want you here!' Oh, and I chose not to mention the fact that I was applying for a work visa in the UK! (which, by the way, was ACCEPTED! YAY!) At least Shea was there to pick me up having waited over 3 hours at the airport, wondering why I was in such an ill mood when I got out! It was nice to see a friendly, welcoming face!!

Living in London for a month was an interesting experience, coming from laid-back SE Asia and then laid-back Keyport, WA. London is fast paced; people run you over if you dawdle in the street and then curse you for it. Eye contact = aggression (like in the world of apes), so you´re supposed to duck and run in the masses of people on the sidewalk to avoid pissing anyone off. They don't default to one side of the sidewalk in organized "people-flows." It's all out pedestrian warfare; survival of the fittest. Road rage meets the sidewalk.

And let´s not talk about the tube (subway)... ok, let's. Keep your eyes down and best if you have a trashy paper to read! Actually I believe there are two separate worlds in the tube. That of people who look up, and that of people who don´t. Those who look up sometimes connect eyes and telepathically agree, nay, bond "yeah, we´re in the world of people who look around." This feels great, until you get the freak who decides to come up to you and chat. Then you learn to always, ALWAYS look down. And best if you have some sort of trashy paper to read. ;)

In the end, London is not a bad place. The people warm up a LOT when the sun (yeah, it actually does come out now and then) goes down and everyone heads for the local watering hole. Gossip, whether political, global, or local is endlessly entertaining.

However, without a job, London can get a bit boring. Yes, I did say that. Being a housewife or bum is no fun when crossing the street isn´t a life-death dash (although crossing the sidewalk might be!) and there aren't any good hiking trails nearby. I´m not really a museum person, and after a few days of museums and battling the sidewalk, I felt I had saturated London´s capacity for entertaining a homeless jobless vagabond. I made pathetic attempts to shop, but the city is so expensive I more doubled my monthly budget! And I wasn't even paying for lodging. With a job, things could be a lot more fun.

So I was supposed to go to India after London. That didn´t exactly work out as expected, so I spun the globe and took a fresh look. Decided to go to a whole new HEMISPHERE. Back to warm weather! Don´t Cry for Me Argentinnnnaaaa!! I am writing you from the southernmost city in the WORLLLLLLD. Ushuaia. From here, people go to Antarctica. Unfortunately I don't have 4 grand to spare, so I likely won´t go unless I can fit in someone's suitcase! I dare say I might actually try it. To see Antarctica would be a dream come true! I will get to realize another dream though - Patagonia. I'm very excited about the trekking prospects.

Before this, I stopped in Madrid for a couple of days, then Buenos Aires, saw some Tango, learned how to play cribbage (wha? that's not spanish!), ate some steak... ahhh, nice. It feels good to be here. My Spanish is coming back like a flood. It´s nice to be in a place where I feel like I fit in. In fact, I was just thinking that the other day.. walking along the sidewalk in Buenos Aires, no one running into me, enjoying the sun on my cheeks... thinking 'yeah, I fit in here. That feels good.' And just as the thought grew to the point where it was almost cocky, overconfident - I stood a little straighter and strutted like a local - I fell FLAT ON MY FACE. I was fully sprawled on the sidewalk, arms spread, groceries everywhere, people staring... Doesn´t matter that there was a huge gaping hole in the sidewalk. Locals just don´t do that. That´s grace for you. Yeah I fit in REAL good.

...And now I'm in this strange town and I have no guidebook or any idea what I should do. I'm sure I'll figure something out soon. :) As usual I am completely unprepared and disorganized. It's 11pm and I haven't eaten dinner. We'll see what happens!