the time i jumped off a mountain with a man strapped to my back and somehow managed to survive (or, a trip that would have given my mom a heartattack)

ok, so maybe it was more like he jumped off the mountain with me strapped to him and i didnt kill us both, but either way, were were on a mountain, and then we werent, and it was crazy. spent last weekend in mendoza, argentina. it was a great trip, although short. we went there by riding through the andes, and there were definitely times i thought the bus was going to fall off the side of the road. it was like we were a toy car set winding up one side of these mtns and then down the other. it was great. we also went on a wine-champagne-olive oil tour, i am now a connesiur (i dont need to spell french words too, ok?) of fine wine. we also took mate, a very traditional south american tea that is really strong and is drunk (drank? my english is getting worse as my spanish gets better) in a teeny tiny cup that you refill after every sip. it was not that tasty, but is considered an honor to be invited to share it with others. so consider me honored. what else? made some argentine friends and laughed with them as costumed partygoers climbed the stairs past us. they are creative with costumes, must be becuase they dont waste them on something like halloween. and then, also, we did jump off the mtn. it was indescrible, and so i wont try. but my guy was proud of me for not throwing up, as i guess a lot of people do. we didnt sleep a whole lot, something about argentines being nocturnal or whatnot, but it was a lot of crazy fun. we tried to get them to move the bus, but it didnt work out

me on top of the mtn we jumped off

guy, parachute, mtn.

my feet, the world very far below me. theres trees on those hills.

me above the world. i wouldnt be looking like such an idiot if the wind hadnt blown my face into that position.

the adventures of change man and madame ceviche

my parents in the plaza de armas

although images are worth more than words (say, perhaps, a thousand), the photos posted here can not begin to describe the debauchery had in a single week in this country with my parents.

a bottle of chilean wine on the day of their arrival quickly turned into piscolas in the hotel room, which led to a hangover in my 6pm class.

my city looking beautiful in the afternoon sun. my mother, of course, declined to climb to the top of cerro santa lucia. a bit too high.

the sunset in viña del mar, castle in the distance

my mother, looking beautiful and enjoying her favorite time of day, my dad using shadows to add to the mystique of his new persona.

¿donde esta la biblioteca? or -- life with the olsens--

so, the olsens were here on their magical mystery tour which, alas, has come to an end. although at times it seemed like a scene out of Lost in Translation, i think all in all it went pretty well. my mother fell in love with ceviche, a way of preparing fish, which she confused with cerveza, the spanish word for beer. needless to say, she got a lot of strange looks. my dad got chilean driving experience in our rented car while giving my mom and i whiplash. he also grew quite fond of the word despues, but often forgot what it meant (after, later), which lead to a lot of random confusion. they also had a lively incident with an atm machine that involved taking out 8, 20, 80 and 200 dollars in each of four attempts in a span of 5 minutes. we laughed a lot. i think the best part of it all was having them see my life here(and of course, seeing them), as though if people that are a large part of my life there see my life here, it will somehow make it more real. a lot of the time i feel as though i am living in this world that isnt quite real life, but it is the life that im living nonetheless. almost as though now the existance of this life is more valid now. i dont know. pictures to follow.

ba baby

so, somehow between an exam and a birthday party and a friend moving to london so ill never ever see him again the week passed by without my noticing. crazy how that happens. (ps. did you know it was april? yeah, me either). so here are the photos i promised like forever ago. enjoy. (above is a view of the andes from the airplane.) there is still a whole bunch of grafitti everywhere, much of which is a result of the economic crash in 2001 that still provides the intense exchange rate. tango show!

illana on a moped in colonia, uruguay.

me on the empty but beautiful beach in uruguay

leaving at sunrise

¿wheres the beef?

the beef, i tell you, is in argentina. i have never been a steak lover, but i was told it was a must-try in argentina. wow am i glad i did. i ordered it the first night and then proceeded to order it 3 out of the four following nights. amazingly tender and flavorful and juicy. wow. however, my beef is with the internet, which once again ate an entire long entry that i wrote all about our trip to buenos aires and uruguay. entonces, you are only goign to get a brief outline and a bunch of photos. sorry. -people in buenos aires are absolutely beautiful, fashion, posture, and physically also. i have never checked out so many women in my life (although i definitely checked out more men) -less mullets (yay) -tango show filled with all the sensuality and tension that one would expect -trip to colonia, uruguay that included renting and riding mopeds around town, as well as an absolutely beautiful, empty beach. quite possibly my favorite city so far. -illana´s war wound from her unruly moped -the most beautiful dance club i have ever seen, on the water, with a view of the city, modeled after the sydney opera house. -argentine men who are even more foreward than chilean men (if thats possible). actual conversation ´´are you sleeping alone tonight?´´ ´´yes´´. tries to kiss me. ´´sorry im not interested´´ tries to kiss me. (in chile the tounge definitely comes before the kiss, but at least it comes after the conversation) -boca juniors soccer game, in which the entire stadium was dancing and singing for the entire time, especially after we won with a beautiful goal in the last two minutes. -a ton of shopping (great exchange rate, although i feel badly for enjoying their economic struggles), sightseeing, and general debauchery (argentines party even later than chileans. clubs are open until 7am as opposed to our 4 or 5).

the madres march...these women are still protesting the kidnapping and murder of their children during the dictatorship years ago. they meet every thursday at 3 or so outside the capitol buildings and walk in circles around the plaza de mayo. very sad.

ok actually, the rest of the photos are going to be posted a bit later...its taking too long and i have an exam to study for. but theres a lot. get fired up.