We’ve been rather California-heavy here at the lohdown in the past few weeks — and I’m still too sad over the Gulf of Mexico oil spill to write anything fun anyway — so we’re gonna go back in time a few years. To 2007, to be exact, when our intrepid heroine spent a fantastic and way-too-short three months in Argentina. I dug up some of my scribblings from back then — I’d forgotten about most of them — and will post them here.

My camera broke while I was there, so photos are tragically few. But let me assure you: it’s beautiful, y’all. Me encanta Argentina.

Here is the first email I sent home to family and friends after arriving in Buenos Aires (in Argentina-flag blue) …

In the spirit of emulating how I must sound to Argentines when I speak in Spanish, I have run the following through an online translator into Spanish and back into English …

Hello each one! I have been in Buenos Aires during lightly more than one week now and while my Spanish remains abysmal, I have noticed a minor progress of my aptitude to remember words and phrases, and understanding what is the above mentioned to me. I do not have many news of excitement to do a report. I have spent most of my time helping my friends to obtain their matter ready to move in their new house and they should be completely moved in before the way of the week.

Till now I have been remaining in a hotel in the neighborhood of Palermo of Buenos Aires that is the bucket of enthusiasm. There is amusing life at night, many agreeable parks and nice buildings, etc. The climate could not be more perfect and the people of Buenos Aires are very friendly and very patient with my slaughter of their language. I have met some friends of friends from England and we had a big time exploring the bars and clubs of Buenos Aires.

It is interesting to see the people smoking everywhere – the sight of the people within centers of shopping with cigarettes lit in the hand is quite habitual. Buenos Aires is in the process of rules imposing who smoke, nevertheless, meaning that the people will have to go to areas designated to smoke. Then this will turn into really the city of the Good Air. Also, it seems that each person has companion dogs; they take them everywhere, and you see tons of walkers of the dog with 8 to 12 dogs simultaneously, throughout of the city. The general routine here is the ideal one for me – the people wake up late, take siestas and then go out in the city much late; it is quite habitual for the people to leave for the night at 1 a.m. and not to return to the house up to 5 or 6 a.m. This city remembers me of New Orleans from many points of view. The American dollar goes completely far here and to buy items / eat for dinner is fantastic. No complaints by no means.

My projects are to walk in Buenos Aires for the following couple of weeks and then to spread myself to other parts of the continent. I am not sure exactly where I am still going to be, I will explain all of you when I fix myself.

Salud,

eeeeeeeeeeeee

Traigos en Buenos Aires