Desde Palermo a Acassuso

So, I haven't posted a blog since I moved into my apartment in Palermo, and now I have moved again, this time to Acassuso.

Highlights from the time passed:

ELINE THOMASSEN: Palermo Hollywood; Sushi; Scandonavians; the Pool on the Roof.

I enjoyed almost two whole months with my amazing roommate, Eline. She's from Norway and we have become really good friends. We shared lots of laughs, conversations, adventures and even tears. I didn't realize how important she had become to me until I moved out last week. And then, shortly after that, she moved back to Costa Rica (she lived there for three years before). Eline is like a sister to me, and I definitely miss her. She helped me get my footing here in this city, and also helped me a lot with my Spanish.

WALL STREET INSTITUTE: New Friends; Drinking Games; Non-Textbook English; Tandil

So, I love my job at the Wall Street Institute as an English teacher. And though I hardly make enough to live off of, it's okay 'cause I love what I do. I mean, today is a Saturday and I didn't work, but I went in to the institute anyway, just 'cause I love my students and I love the people I work with. Not to mention, I really believe in the program and it's exciting to see the students progressing and learning English. I'm developing friendships with my colleagues and students alike. I've been there for about a month and a half now and I have some great memories. I went on a weekend English immersion trip to a city called Tandil. I taught a lesson on Shel Silverstein poems, including, "A Boy Named Sue." (One example of the non-textbook English mentioned above was explaining the meaning of "helluva" in this poem.)

ACASSUSO: Big Dogs; Trains; Arabian Nights as told by Janet; Suntans

So now, I'm living in Acassuso. I have a little room with a bathroom that is actually  in the back yard by the pool, separated from the main house. I like it, I call it my casitita. Besides my place I have access to the main house. I live with a woman who owns the house, her daughter, and two Brits. I'm no longer in the Capital Federal of Buenos Aires. Now, I'm in the Province. It's quieter and cooler temperature-wise, from what I can tell. I am closer to my work, which is nice, and closer to a lot of the friends that I have made. I get along with everyone in the house, but I especially like Janet, la inglesa. Even though she's at an intermediate level of Spanish, she is very persevering in talking with me in Spanish which I appreciate. She has travelled (I use two l's because I'm talking about someone from the UK) all over the world. Most importantly she has lived in several arab countries such as Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia. I'm still getting used to life here, but things are looking good.

ARGENTINE LINGO: Lumfardo; Mate; Voseo; Lleísmo; Clarín; etc.

So, yeah, they speak different here, but I love it. Most of the time. I enjoy speaking using the verb form, vos, and I use it most of the time now. Learning the new words for some things has been interesting. Some examples: pool = pileta, avocado = palta, lawn = pasto. And yes they have words that don't start with "p" but I just picked those randomly. I am slowly adopting these words and other things like "che"(dude), "dale"(okay), and "bárbaro"(cool) into my everyday lexicon. One other quick interesting thing is that they pronounce y(when it's a consonant) and ll like "sh". I adopted this habit pretty quickly, but sometimes it's surprising still. I met a girl named Ashelyn, the other day. Except, it's not spelled that way, it's spelled, Ayelén. Well, I thought it was interesting at least.

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE: Changeable; Imaginitive; Flexible; Impassioned; Varying; Who Knows?

For anyone still willing to try and keep up with my plans, right now I am hoping to be in Buenos Aires until May or June. Then I will come back to the ATL for a short period of time. I will then go to another country to teach English where I can pay off my student loans as quickly as possible. Korea is an option, and I am looking to the possibilities in the Arab world such as Oman (Janet is helping me with some of this).

BAD NEWS: Crying; Anger; Fury; Tragedy; Photography Doesn't Like Me

Yeah... So I am going to admit it... I didn't want to believe it... but it's true... someone pickpocketed my camera on the subway. I noticed it as soon as I got out of the station, but tried to tell myself that I had not actually brought it with me, or that I had lost it in one of the pockets of my brief case (this has happened to many other things). Please don't ask me about this, I don't want to talk about it. But yeah, that's why there are no more photos. I'll try and make another video soon.

ENDING ON A HIGH NOTE: ¡Viva Argentina!

Let's be honest, I'm living in Argentina. This is why I went to college, 'cause I wanted to live in other countries! This is amazing. It's getting colder and colder in Atlanta, and I'm enjoying beautiful weather and I have a pool right outside my room. These are some beautiful times.

Mi Casita

So, for those of you who would like to see where I live, here's a little video of my new apartment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k6RjqhNikM

Please watch it, 'cause it's one of the few semi-productive things I did today. Pardon my bad camera skills. Chao.

Palermo Hollywood

Tonight, I spend my first night in my apartment in Palermo Hollywood (yeah, that's right-- sounds pretty ritzy, eh?).

I'll get back to that...

I need to get to sleep. I'll try and make this quick.

I'm a bit behind on my photos. I also forgot my battery charger for my camera on the last trip (I left a few things with a friend), so I only got photos of San Isidro. The pictures here are of Daniel, some of his friends, and El Rio de la Plata.

After staying with Daniel, I went a little farther north where I stayed with a girl named María Eugenia and her mom and brother, Rodrigo. I felt like I was visiting family, staying with them. They treated me re bien (in Bs.As. "re" means "very"). María is studying tourism and actually has classes with Daniel, the couch surfer I stayed with in San Isidro. She took me on a bit of a tour of Tigre, and the Rio de la Plata Delta. We took a boat out into the Delta and went for a walk on one of the islands. It was really great. María said that she would love to show me around Buenos Aires sometimes, as she loves the history of her country.

I had a great time with them and intend to keep in touch.

Then on Sunday, I went and met David, a Couch Surfer from Nueva York. We went to a couch surfing party and had lots of fun (even though I lost my voice and had difficulty talking). We talked a lot about the way the porteños (people from Bs.As.) speak. It's really interesting, I'll probably post about it at another time. I stayed at David's place in Recoleta, and then made my way to my new apartment this afternoon.

I'm now sharing an apartment with the girl from Norway that I met on the bus coming to Bs.As. from the airport. Her name is Eline, but here she goes by Elena 'cause it's easier. She made Norwegian Pancakes (panqueques noruegos) for lunch, and also made me some tea with honey for throat. She's great, and is gonna pretty much be an awesome roommate. She even insisted on paying for me when we went out for dinner tonight. I'll take some pictures of the place an post them at a later date. I have my own room and bathroom. We have a nice kitchen and living room with a balcony, and there's a pool on the roof. And we live in a neighborhood called Palermo, which is really nice, and more specifically in the Hollywood section. It's located basically in the place where Palermo meets Colegiales, Belgrano, y las Cañitas, for the few of you that are from here.

What more... I have an interview on Thursday for an English teaching position... Yeah, and I think that's it for now.

Stay tuned...

¿Dónde están las monedas?

Everything’s going great in Buenos Aires… a bit of an update:



Domingo: Primer Día

I went and met my host, Gaspar, after I ate breakfast. Gaspar is an awesome guy, and I am so glad I have met him. We have similar taste in music and shared various artists that we like, and then we went out for some gnocchi for lunch. I’ll be staying with him one more night, and then I really hope we keep in touch.

After eating, I called my new friend from Norway, Elena and told her that Gaspar and I were thinking about going to the Andrés Calamaro concert with her. (It’s a strange coincidence that Calamaro was playing on my first night in Buenos Aires and that someone randomly invited me to go, ‘cause a little over a year ago the exact same thing happened when I arrived in Barcelona, Spain.) Gaspar and I hung out with Elena a bit, and then I went with Elena to the concert (Gaspar had to get up early in the morning).

O, and I discovered something about Buenos Aires—They don’t have coins. And the buses only accept coins. Coins are difficult enough to find that if you want to get 90 cents to take the bus somewhere, you might have to buy a stick of gum in two different stores in order to get enough change to get on the bus. I bet I could sell a 1 peso coin for two pesos. Easily. It’s really a strange situation.

I’ve been speaking in Spanish so much, I can’t stop wanting to write in Spanish now.

Lunes: En la ciudad

On Monday, I began to get a feel for the city. I went and checked out an apartment that I was thinking about renting a room in (I decided not to rent it because it seems I am allergic to the cat).

Then I went for a walk around the historic part of Buenos Aires.

Later I caught up with one of my friends from Atlanta, Rachel (see picture), who also went with me to Spain a year ago. We went to a restaurant to share some mate (type of tea characteristic of Argentina, I actually tried it for the first time on Sunday with Gaspar). It was great to see Rachel, and she explained some things that would help me get around and understand people in Buenos Aires.

Then I hung out with Gaspar and had a great time eating, sharing music, and talking about all kinds of profound subjects.

Martes: A San Isidro

I left the house of Gaspar, sad to already be leaving. I will be seeing him again though. I went and had lunch with Elena (she cooked actually, and it was delicious), and decided to rent a room in her apartment for the next couple of months.

Then, I took the train to San Isidro where I am now staying with an awesome guy from CouchSurfing, Daniel. This guy is incredible. He is a tour guide and a photographer. He spent 7 months in India and Nepal, and has some breathtaking photos from his trip. He’s a truly unique individual, remarkably generous and with great insights. He picked me up from the train station on his motorcycle and it was the first time that I ever rode one.

Tonight, Daniel took me to a restaurant, or actually una “Parilla” and we ate all kinds of things that come from a cow: intestines, liver, ribs, and whatnot. Then we had some flan with dulce de leche. ¡Delicioso!

We finished the night, hanging out with two of Daniels friends from Argentina, and one from Barcelona.

I’m having the time of my life.

¡Buenos Días Buenos Aires!

Acabo de llegar en Buenos Aires, y a mi me encanta...

Oh, wait, most of my readers don't know Spanish. But my mind is definitely switching over already, after a few days in Miami now I'm in Argentina and it's not like Europe was. So far nobody speaks English, or at least they don't let on. In Spain when I was at say, the information desk in an airport, and spoke in Spanish with my American accent, they would talk to me in English. Here, there's none of that.

The plane ride was okay but long. We were supposed to leave at 6pm, and we boarded at 5pm. Then there was something wrong, so we didn't leave until 7pm. 11 hours in that plane!

When I took the bus from the airport to the main part of the city, a girl from Norway introduced herself and helped me find my bearings. She's been living here since last June and has learned the ropes of being a foreigner here. She was really cool. It's funny to think that we are both communicating in a language that is not our native tongue.

It was a lot colder than I had expected. One of these days I'm going to figure out this whole Celsius thing,

Well, for now I need to get going. I'm attaching a picture of me in this café on the Avenida Santa Fé. It's called, Talón. Maybe I should make a collection of pictures of me in cafés around the world or something...

Hasta luego.

South Florida

I haven't ever spent much time in South Florida, so I decided to check it out on my way to Argentina.

After my arrival at Miami International Airport, I rented a car and drove up to West Palm Beach. I had never rented a car, so that was a fun experience for me. One of the perks of being 25 is that I can rent cars for cheap! I got a silver 2008 Chevy Cobalt. Mostly I just love the sunroof.

In West Palm Beach, I stayed with a guy from Couch Surfing named Brian, who is working toward his doctorate at Florida Atlantic University. He was an awesome host, and introduced me to many cool friends of his in the evening I spent with him. The next morning, I met my cousin Marissa and we hung out until the afternoon. She's awesome and it's always good to spend time with her. She showed me around Palm Beach Atlantic University and we went for a walk by the beach and the intracoastal waterway.

Later, when she went off to coach some cheerleaders, I headed down to Delray Beach.

In Delray I am staying with another Couch Surfer, Erica, and her roommate, Ashley. Their apartment is no more than 150 yards from the beach and it's really beautiful here. Erica and I hung out with some of her friends, had dinner, caught the VP debate (which was far more interesting than the presidential debate), and went out to a bar. Today, I slept in and then went to a café downtown for lunch (see photo). This afternoon, I went for a walk on the beach with Ashley and I'm not sure what I'll be up to tonight.

Tomorrow, I'm driving to Miami, having lunch with my friend Thiago, and then I leave for Buenos Aires around 6:30.

Oh, and did I mention that I am not checking any luggage? I am traveling with a backpacking backpack and my computer bag. Call me a minimalist.

Destination: ¡Buenos Aires!

I will be in Atlanta, GA for a little more than 7.5 more hours until I leave for a short stay in Miami, FL. I've never been to Miami and I am definitely looking forward to my time there (I'm visiting my cousin, Marissa Rodriguez), but I think the big question the mind of my reader(s) is the following:

"So, WHY are you going to Buenos Aires?

Well, I wanted to go to Spain again, to be honest. But with the visa restrictions and labor laws of the European Union, I started to think that there might be another better option. Europe is also pretty expensive now with the Euro much stronger than the dollar, and who knows what's gonna happen with the exchange rates as a result of our current economic crisis?

Buenos Aires is called the "Paris of Latin America" but it's a lot cheaper than the Paris of Europe. And the visa restrictions are not nearly as difficult to work with. Also, I've never been to South America! So, why go somewhere I have been before when I can go somewhere new?

Then there's the fact that I have heard great stories about Buenos Aires from friends, and I know that it is a cultural center for much of Latin American film, music, literature and art. Another perk is that I get to skip a winter this way because Argentina is in the southern hemisphere (and I much prefer the heat of summer to the cold of winter). 

Lastly, I just found that as soon as I set my sights on Argentina, everything started falling together. I have lots of contacts down there, and I am about 95% sure that I am going to move into a particular apartment in San Telmo (a cool Buenos Aires neighborhood).

Argentina had a depression at the turn of the millenium, but they are recovering well from that. Some would say that the future is looking much brighter for the Argentineans from here on out.

How long am I staying? Not sure. Could be anywhere from a few months to a year and a half. Depends on work and how much I like it, and such.

But yeah, I can't believe that my new adventure begins... today!

Adios.

All good things come to an end...

So, I'm heading back to Atlanta on a plane. In about six hours.

So much has happened over the past four months.

I've traveled so many places, met so many people, and learned so much.

And it's supposed to get even more exciting in a few weeks.

I'm going to enjoy seeing my friends and family in Atlanta, but I am so pumped about going to Buenos Aires.

Exciting times!

But yeah, I love it here in Portland. And yes, I know I was here for some of the best weather it has to offer. But I hope to return again one day on at least a semi-permanent basis. We'll see.

Welcome to Portland

According to the August issue of Portland Monthly, people from all over are moving to Portland in search of a "promised land that's quirky, smart, forward-thinking, and artsy, where microbrew gushes from the fountains and locally roasted coffee rains from the sky."

That's why I came here and that's what I precisely what I found, and so much more. 

Okay, so forgive the hyperbole, but I'm really loving it here in Portland.

The weather is amazing right now, and I'm enjoying it knowing that many long months of darkness and rain are ahead. There are so many things to do all the time here. Festivals, races, fund-raisers, farmer's markets, art shows, free concerts, etc. Someone told me it's the best place in America to be unemployed... and it's true. Tons of freebies and hand outs.

Unfortunately, it's a bit tough to find a job. I keep meeting people who don't have jobs, and it's like, "Can there really be THIS many people without jobs?!"

People here are so interesting. There are is a sort of campaign to "Keep Portland Weird." There are signs all over, and if you spend a couple of days here, you'll understand. So, a couch surfer, a hippie, a painter, a musician, and a writer walk into a bar... Could be a joke, or just any corner in Portland.

The CouchSurfing network here is awesome. I went to a weekly gathering of CSers at a local bar and was really impressed by the group (I think about 30 showed up). Right now, they are getting flooded with couch requests because it is the best time of year to be here AND because everone and their mother is moving here (I stayed at someone's house the other day and they were hosting five other CSers). But these Portland CSers are still friendly and welcoming despite the herds of pioneers. Actually, it looks like advice from several of them at different times has changed the course of my life...

I'm seriously thinking about not doing the Peace Corps now. I might write another post about that when I know for sure. Currently, I'm waiting to hear back about a teaching job here in Portland at an elementary school. I should know next week sometime if I have the job. If I don't have it, I'm seriously considering selling my car and moving to Spain to look for a job teaching English.

So, teaching in Portland is plan A. And I am excited about the possibility. Teaching in Spain is plan B, and I am excited about that possibility!

Time will tell.

I went for a walk yesterday, and heard some people playing music in a little park. I went and sat down to read and listen for a while. It seems there are musicians in every park in Portland every afternoon. You'd almost think that they were paid. While I was sitting there, a girl I met a couple of weeks ago spotted me and we ended up going out for a beer. A few hours later when I walked back past the park, the musicians were still playing so I decided to record some of it to share with my "readers." It was night time, so there isn't really any video, just audio.

More Camp

So, things are flying by at Camp Krem for me.... I only have time for random updates... Forgive the inside jokes...

This session has been tougher than the first for me, but it's good. Lots of challenges and opportunity for personal growth.

I now have adopted the bandana as my accessory of choice. It's what the cool kids are doing I guess, and it keeps the hair out of my face.

Changing daipers on adults is way different than changing daipers on babies.

In Ireland, "crack" means "fun." Like when Sheena told me, "At the ski slopes in Europe, they have the best crack."

Sometimes Scherberts have sharp teeth.

I miss a certain stuttering camper.... "GOOOD M-m-morning P-p-patty!"

I am still in pretty much the same place in my book as I was a month ago. (Ciudad de la Bestia)

Thinking about getting a tattoo. Yeah, sorry family.

Looking forward to my day off Tuesday. And turnover starts Thursday.

Still planning on moving to Portland after Camp Krem.

I'll be spending the 4th of July in San Francisco.

Camp Krem

Our campers arrived on Sunday and everyone is starting to get into the swing of things. I have included an outline of our general schedule below.

It's really a lot of work. I knew this would be a challenge, and it's been just about as difficult as I thought it would be. I'm going to grow a lot this summer.

Every camper is so unique, and has very particular needs. For some, something as simple as explaining what they want to eat can be a challenge. Others need constant supervision so that they don't run off or hurt themselves. Our ratio of counselors to campers is about 1:2.

In my particular cabin, I work with three other counselors. I'm technically the "Team Leader," but that basically means I have a little more responsibility when it comes to paperwork. My team members are real self motivators and are awesome to work with. Half the time when I go to do something, I find that they have already taken care of it. I pretty much think I have the best team in the camp.

Our campers have an average age of about 49. There are six of them, and mostly independent in regards to daily routines like bathing and brushing teeth. Even so, they must be supervised at all times and need help much in the same way a young child would. They are pretty good about going to bed, but get up really early which has left us a bit tired.

Things are going well. I'm experiencing the challenge that I wanted to experience, but it's fun and interesting as well. The campers are endearing...

7:00ish --> Wake up. Get ready.

7:30 - 8:15 --> Meds. Get ready.

8:30 --> Breakfast.

After breakfast - 10:00 --> Clean up cabins and camp.

10:00 - 12:30 --> Various programmed activities (sports, arts and crafts, etc.)

12:30 --> Lunch

After lunch - 3:00pm --> Rest time.

3:00 - 5:00 --> Pool / Other activities

5:00 - 6:00 --> Free time with campers. Get ready for dinner.

6:00 --> Dinner

7:30 --> Nightly events (Ho-Down, Game Show, etc.)

9:00 - 9:30 --> Camper Bed Time

12:00 --> Counselor Bed Time

Campers Arrive Today

For those who don't know, I'm working at a camp for kids (and adults) with special needs this summer. The camp is called, "Camp Krem."

This week was training, and I really had a great time. We have about 70 counselors, and I have had the majority to spend time getting to know the majority of them over the course of the week. Fifteen of the counselors came over from Ireland for the summer.

Training consisted of everything from team building activities to sign language and learning how to lift someone from a wheel chair. On Friday night, most of us went camping for a night in Big Basin.

Our first campers arrive today. I'm actually heading to Sacramento in a few minutes to pick up some campers this morning. Our first session goes until next Thursday, and we will have the oldest campers of the summer. I think most of mine are older than thirty.

Well, that's all for now.

Oh, and I have another video. This is from a team building activity that we did, in which each group had to build a boat to carry one of their members across the pool. All we had was cardboard, pvc pipe, a tarp, and duct tape.

Grand Canyon

So, I went to the Grand Canyon. Check it out:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=MaRvI5SWZHM

The End of the Beginning

It's hard to believe I have reached the end of my road trip...

On Wednesday, I arrived in San Diego, where I stayed with some old friends of my father. My father and Jerry Muinos grew up together in Tampa, FL, but Jerry moved to San Diego a long time ago. He lives there with his wife, Joyce. I hung out with them the first night at a bar with some of their friends, and then the next day I went out for their "one day tour" of San Diego. I think this may be the most beautiful city I saw on my trip. The whole mountains/beaches thing really gets me. The plant life there is really impressive. We took a trip to the Balboa Gardens which are near the San Diego Zoo. The gardens have all kinds of amazing plants and trees from all over the world. They also took me to the Coronado Hotel, which was built in the 1880's and still stands as one of the most exclusive hotels in the area. We did lots of sight seeing and had delicious seafood. I had a great time with Jerry and Joyce.

On Friday morning, I headed for LA. I had lunch with a friend of mine, Melissa Schmitz. I was friends with Melissa when I lived in Kenosha, WI but she now lives in LA. Then I went to Ventura, CA where I stayed with an awesome girl named Sharnell. Sharnell took me out to the beach (which she lives very close to) and then we went to a concert and hung out with a bunch of her friends. I had a great time. Then on Saturday night, she had a concert to go to out of town, so she let me have a key to her house and said goodbye because I planned to leave before she returned. That night, I had dinner with one of my best friends from elementary school, and his family. They live in Thousand Oaks, fairly close to Ventura. That was really cool, as I had not seen them in years.

Next, I'm taking CA-1 up the coast to Santa Cruz, for my summer as a camp counselor.

Oh, The Grandness of it All

I stayed in Albuquerque a bit longer than I had planned. The people I stayed with wanted to go hiking by the Rio Grande. I thought it would be worth delaying my trip to Flagstaff a bit. I was glad I went. We took their dogs and played catch with them, letting them swim into the river after sticks. It was a blast.

Then I made my way up to Flagstaff, AZ, where I stayed with an awesome guy. He and his wife have a beautiful home and allowed me to stay in the guest room. Unfortunately his wife, Kate, was out of town 'cause she sounds like she would be a cool person to meet. Dan, the husband, has done a lot of cool things in his life. Currently he is a river guide in the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River. Years ago, he was a special ed teacher, and we talked about those experiences a bit. He was more than hospitable to me and even gave me some tips for my visit to the Grand Canyon.

I visited the Grand Canyon yesterday and it was amazing, as you would expect. I walked along various parts of the rim, and made a short video that I had trouble loading. Maybe I will get it to work later.

The drive from the Grand Canyon to Phoenix was also incredible to see. I just can't believe how much the landscape changes as you progress through the country. I saw cacti for the first time. They are so strange looking, and they are everywhere.

In Phoenix, I stayed with some friends of my family, Michael and Jessica Reynolds. I hadn't seen them in years, so I caught up a bit with them and then headed for San Diego on Wednesday morning.

America the Beautiful

On Saturday, I drove up to Boulder, CO and met a bunch of other Couch Surfers to hang out at the Boulder Creek Festival. It was interesting to talk to some CS ambassadors, and learn a little more about the network. Boulder is a pretty cool city and we had lots of fun. We even got to see "Zip Code Man," a guy who knows the cities that relate to every US zip code, and even some in other countries. (zipcodeman.com)

Then I headed southwest to Dillon, CO where I met up with my friend David Carr. Dillon is about an hour drive west from Denver, in the Rocky Mountains. I'm so glad I went to see him there because otherwise I never would have driven into the mountains. Instead, I would have just gone directly south and missed that experience. That night, I felt like I had entered a different world when I entered the mountains many of which were still covered in snow. David lives in an amazingly beautiful part of the world. We hung out that night, and I left in the morning. He says he is going to come visit me in Portland next fall.

On Sunday morning, I started heading south through Colorado to New Mexico. I just cannot express how awe inspiring it was to see that part of the US. The climate slowly changed from high altitude mountains covered with pines to a desert mesas with hoodoos and buttes. I've seen these landforms on television, but it's truly

I arrived in Albuquerque and met Allison Pierce, a roommate of the guy I had contacted through Couch Surfing. She asked if I had ever had, "New Mexican Food." I told her I had had Mexican, but not "New Mexican." So we tried that for dinner. Then we went back to the house and hung out with the other roommates Will Phillips and Landon Finch. They were really fun people and I had a great time. Will totally looks like Thom Yorke. Check out Will's music at www.myspace.com/deafsmith. Among other random facts about Albuquerque, I found out that they have a lot of volcanoes nearby. Who knew?

I'm including a video from my road trip near Dillon, CO.

Tap the Rockies!

I never drink Coors Light, but I might have to grab one while I am here, just so I can say I did.

The road to Denver from Omaha was rough. I drove through a severe thunderstorm, a windstorm (about 40 miles per hour), and a hail storm. During the windstorm, tumble weeds assaulted my vehicle. Not cool at all. I made it through all of these challenges fairly unscathed. The wind hurt my gas mileage and instead of 28 miles per gallon, I was getting about 25.

At times during this difficult leg of my trip, I thought about whether or not it would have been better to fly. But when I saw the Rocky Mountains begin to appear on the horizon, all those thoughts disappeared. It was so beautiful and awe inspiring for me. The mountains became more and more clear as I approached Denver. After a day traveling through plains, grasslands, and farmlands, it was truly remarkable to have this change of scenery.

I met my Couch Surfing host around 5:30pm. He's a really awesome guy named Sean Ryan, a kindred spirit. He has been a Spanish major for two years and is going to take some time off to go travel around Latin America for a while. He had an extra bike and took me on a bike tour of Denver. I absolutely love this city. It's really clean and there are great alternatives to driving a car. They have a good bus and rail system, and biking around was no problem at all (I know it's a bit tougher in the winter). Sean and I ate at a Japanese restaurant (Taki's) for dinner. The guy knew Sean and gave us free drinks and coupons for free meals on our next visit.

Sean and I stayed up late talking. I'm really glad we got to hang out. We'll be keeping in touch, and hopefully he and I will meet up in Latin America when I am in the Peace Corps.

Somewhere in Middle America

So, I made my way from St. Louis, MO to Omaha, Nebraska.

In Omaha, I stayed with a really genuine and friendly guy named Pete Bataillon. Pete is going to be leaving in a week to do the "Texas 4000" a cycling fundraiser in which the participants ride from Austin, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska. They are donating all of the funds raised to the American Cancer Society for research in fighting cancer.

Pete was a great host, and took me out for dinner on Wednesday night. He gave me some tips on where to go in Omaha the next day. I had some errands to run and things to do. I went to this really cool coffee house and spent some time there on the net. 

On Thursday night, Pete and I participated in the local "Taco Ride." Rated as one of the best weekly bike rides in the world, the Taco Ride goes from Nebraska to Omaha. At the end of the run everyone goes to this restaurant, eats tacos, and drinks beer and margaritas. Then everyone heads back to Omaha. It was lots of fun, except when Pete dislocated his shoulder. We had stopped to rest for a few minutes, and there was some really slippery mud on the side of the road. Thankfully, another rider was really familiar with how to set a shoulder back in place and she helped us out. Pete seemed okay afterward, although he did say it hurt this morning. At the restaurant, I helped Pete run a raffle to raise money for his trip.  (www.tacoride.com)

On Friday morning I made my way to Denver, CO...

The Beginning

On Monday morning, I left my home in Acworth, GA and headed northwest for St. Louis, MO. My little blue Mazda was packed full with just about every object that I own. The eight hour trip to St. Louis was the first leg of a series of trips I had planned for the coming couple of weeks. On June 1, I would arrive in Santa Cruz, CA, where I had landed a job as a camp counselor.

In St. Louis, I stayed with Kit Kellison, a person I met through www.couchsurfing.com. My stay in St. Louis was amazing, thanks to the incredible hospitality of Kit and her family. She cooked for me and made me feel like family while I stayed at her place. The first night, I went out with her son, Stevie, who goes to school at Reed College in Portland. Stevie is a cool kid and a talented musican. He told me about some of his experiences in Portland, and I told him I would catch up with him in the fall. The following day, I went to the St. Louis City Museum, which was described to me as "a giant touchable and interactive piece of art that inspires creativity." And it was just that. Hard to really explain, but I wish I had been able to go there as a kid (www.citymuseum.org). Then in the evening, I went to the music venue that is owned by Kit and her husband, Off Broadway (www.offbroadwaystl.com). Kit and I listened to a Beatle's tribute band there and then went to another venue to hear some St. Louis blues. It was an amazing stay.

After St. Louis, I made my way to Omaha, Nebraska...

[By the way, I am having trouble with my camera. So, I'm using my computer to take photos and Photo Booth flips everything like a mirror. I really drive on the left side of my car.]