SURPRISE!!!

I'm back!
I know I said I would start writing in Costa Rica, but the beach was far too distracting and the internet didn't work well anyway.
We have had so much fun traveling even with the bumps and obstacles along the way, but we aren't done yet. We still have to make the long cross country trip from my moms in North Carolina all the way back to California.
Along the way, we make stops in Atlanta, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Phoenix.
I really miss a lot of the places we have seen. Chile was amazing! I absolutely fell in love and could see myself living there. I wish we could have been there longer, but 3 days was just enough to want to go back. And even though we got there right after the earthquake which we experienced all the way from Mendoza, we were still able to have a good time. Luckily there wasn't too much damage in the area we stayed and even with the little aftershocks, our hostel was all in good spirits and ready to party.
It was pretty cool being among the first people who were able to leave Santiago after the earthquake. It felt like we were a part of their history there, as we were being filmed by a local news station right as we were coming off the bus to the damaged airport. We were really lucky we didn't have to reschedule our flight like the many other travelers who had to.
Next, we embarked on an amazing vacation to Montezuma, Costa Rica for a couple weeks visiting our friends who lived there. We only stayed a couple weeks because it ended being more expensive than we thought and we were ready to finish our trip to head back home.
But the views there were so amazing.
I have so many pictures from each place we visited, all with their glorious landscapes of mountains, rocks, and bodies of water. And all the beautiful sunsets! My pictures are just a reminder of how lucky I was to experience all of the beauty in other parts of the world.

A view of the sunset from the ferry to Montezuma

Well, that was just an update. Now time to get back to the down right dirty garbage of Hangover Hair.

Video Phone

Not really. More like my digital camera.
This is a video I put together today, comprised of mini-videos I have taken since I have been in Argentina with my fiance, Brent.
It's 5 minutes long. So I wont be offended if you cant watch the whole thing, but hopefully I'm not too boring and you can sit through it.
For those of you who know me, this pretty much sums up what I've been doing over here. And for those who don't, maybe this will give you a view of what I am all about.
Much love and happy viewing!!!

X-mas in Mendoza

I was so drunk on Christmas Eve that I think I died and threw-up my entire soul into my bathroom sink. I pretty much killed a litre of Andes (beer) and two hole bottles of Chat Noir Extra Brut champagne to myself. I was a pure debaucherous mess. Subsequently, I was forced to spend X-mas in bed, nursing a headache and a bruised body. And of course all the stores were closed on X-mas out here, so it took forever to get water to take my Motrin. I have not been that hungover in a long time. Even after the nap that I took, I hadn't recovered.
It was pretty fun before I was inebriated though. We had a beautiful dinner on a rooftop overlooking the multiple fireworks shooting off in every direction. Fireworks are popular out here, they use them for pretty much every event or holiday, and they are totally legal.
I also got to play movie charades in Espanol for the first time. It was pretty challenging and I could never guess the movie they were acting out, since I don't know them in Spanish, but I was good at shouting out some of the actions which helped the opposing team.
Well, Christmas is over and now its time to move onto the next hangover. The New Years Hangover.

I set the table. I don't know if this is the correct placement of silverware. But it looked right to me.

Mullet Land

I am currently living in Mendoza, Argentina. A small wine country bordering the Andes mountains, populated by guys with mullets, modestly dressed women, lots of wine, music, steak, napping, and children begging for money while your eating a meal. They have no problem interrupting your meal or even trying to steal your food. It is disheartening but none the less most of locals just ignore them and go about their business. Oh yeah, and people speak Spanish here, which sucks because I cant understand most of what they are saying. Oh yeah, and I forgot to say I moved here with my fiance Brent, he is pretty much the reason I am here.

Back to the mullets. They are everywhere. I think they caught onto the trend back in the 70s and just rolled with it. I don't think they are even trying to give the mullet a comeback like some LA hipster, they are just mullet people in a mullet land. And if you don't have a mullet then you have a rat tail, a snip of hair kept in the back of your head that is longer than the rest of your hair, usually in a braid, or dread locked or just straight. I saw one guy with a curly rat tail, but it reminded me more of a pig tail.

Also, there are stray dogs everywhere. They pretty much run the city and live in the gutters. They come out to look for food and somewhat like the child beggers, they also bug you while you eat. Well, they don't bug me really since I like dogs, but some people here are cruel and will just kick a dog to make it leave the outside eating area. I love the dogs here. They are so smart. They kind of remind me of "All Dogs Go To Heaven" like they have their own little community underground Mendoza, beneath the gutters where they hold poker night and kidnap little girls. They are so smart that they even know not to cross the street when a car is speeding by. Which reminds me: DRIVERS AND PEDESTRIANS BEWARE!
The Argentines drive like maniacs. I fear my life every time I get in a taxi or cross the street. There is no speed limit, no pedestrians right of way, not even divider lines between lanes because there are no lanes. They just do what they please. One time Brent and I were on our way to a club, and our taxi driver sped through every red light to get us there. That was pretty fun but we also had another taxi almost crash us into another car a few weeks after that proving fun is not always safe.

I am still trying to get used to living here. I miss my friends and family but I am sure there are exciting things to come here in Mendoza. I have already experienced some of it and cant wait for more. Since I have been here, I shaved part of my head, maybe next I will shave the whole thing, leaving only a curly rat tail and force Brent to grow a mullet.

A precious pup posing for my camera in the streets


"All Dogs Go To Heaven" based on the stray dogs and homeless
children of Mendoza