After our Project Patagonia project, Tanner and I headed off to Chile for a few days in a rented car.  It was a great trip. I'll go ahead and share this trip through photos as well. You can click any photo to blow it up. Enjoy!

Hope you enjoyed the photos! Until next time!

One week ago, I got back from two weeks of traveling. Time is flying. I can hardly believe it myself.  The first week was planned, the second was completely impromptu, and both were great!  The first week, I volunteered with Project Patagonia (www.projectpatagonia.org), a non-profit founded by two former ambassadorial scholars that obtains and installs computers for rural schools in the northern Patagonia region of Argentina. 

My specific assignment was to record, via video and photos our week delivering these computers.  It was a great experience.  Since I have over 1200 photos, I decided to make this entry a photo-essay with a few of them to explain the trip. You can click on any photo to see an enlarged version of it. Enjoy part 1 of 2 - Project Patagonia (Part 2 will have some photos from my trip to Chile):

After our participation in the parade, Tanner and I went off to Chile for a few days.  I'll provide some photos from that trip in my next entry, which will be soon! Until next time!

Hey! You still there? Good, just checking. So I finally got my camera problem taken care of (the problem was really me and my lack of tech savvy), which means more photos! So with my functioning camera in hand, I took a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay.  Colonia, a historic colonial town, makes a nice day trip and is only a 1-hour comfortable boat ride away from BsAs. Colonia is a beautiful relaxing getaway from the hustle bustle of Buenos Aires.

It was a beautiful day with a light breeze. I strolled around on my own, exploring the town snapping a few photos and noticed the high volume of scooters and motorcycles. Everyone and their mom (literally) were riding these things around.  “I should really learn to ride a motorcycle,” I thought to myself (foreshadowing!). Then I spent about 3-hours walking around, chit chatting with locals and learning about the town, before my French friend Charlotte arrived with her friend Alice, who was also French. I had arranged to meet with them since they were arriving on a later boat.

I met them at the port, which was about a 10-minute walk from where I was. Before I could propose my already hatched plan for the rest of the day’s agenda, Charlotte exclaimed, “We’ve decided we want to rent bikes!” with the glee of a 6-year old receiving an early Christmas gift.  I paused, my brow furrowing slightly.

“Like… motorcycles?” I asked.

 “Yeah!”

“Well…I don’t know how to ride one”

“Neither do I!

“Do you?” I asked Alice

“I’ve ridden a few times,” she responded with a shrug.

I froze. I really didn’t know how to handle this.  These French girls were not only ready, but EXCITED about hopping on a 2-wheeled gas-powered vehicle barreling down the injury superhighway.  I had only broken one bone in my life, my finger, and I planned on keeping it that way…

“Ok,” I muttered… Mom, please forgive me for my poor peer pressure fortitude.  In this moment, I was not only representing myself, but the entire male species and the good ol’ US of A. Plus my own pride was on the line, which is apparently more important to me than my bodily well being (It's like I’m in middle school again).

When we went to rent bikes from the first shop we saw, the owners asked us if we knew how to ride. I described our skills generously as “mas o menos” (more or less), to which they responded with an absolute refusal, saying it was too dangerous.  I was so relieved…but my French friends would hear none of it. We finally found a place that didn’t ask questions, accepted my Texas driver’s license as proof, and Alice’s French ID that wasn’t even a driver’s license.  A huge lump formed in my throat as the moment of truth approached and the owner explained how to operate the bike (It was really more of a scooter, but calling it a scooter makes me feel even more ridiculous). I pulled away from the shop, swerving on the bike in one direction then another as I jetted forward and jerked to a stop repeatedly.  The girls were having quite a good laugh. They told me later they weren’t laughing at my driving, but at the face of the owner as I scooted away from him just missing another bike and a car… both of which were parked.

After a couple of minutes, I got the hang of it, and I had an amazing time zipping around on that little thing. We saw some local sites (see below), and I enjoyed the rest of the day with Charlotte and Alice before I took the ferry back to go to my classes that night.

I learned an important lesson on this trip though thanks to the persistent French duo.  I was terrified, but after some active learning I had an absolute blast.  If I had let my fear guide me, I wouldn’t have learned how to ride a bike (I refuse to emasculate myself further by calling it a scooter).  It was a valuable learning experience, and I committed myself to prohibiting fear from limiting my experiences on this trip, and life in general.  I also got a reminder that as terrifying as some things are, an important aspect of life, especially living in another country, is to try new things and open yourself up to new experiences.

Anyway, I’ll wrap this up, as I’m currently on a Rotary adventure in Patagonia.  I am with two former ambassadorial scholars who started an NGO called Project Patagonia (www.projectpatagonia.org), and will be helping out as they deliver computers to rural schools in the area.  I just arrived, and will be sure to update soon. I went yesterday to the District 4890 district conference in Buenos Aires, which was a great experience.  There’s so much to write about! I’ll update soon! I promise! I’ve committed myself anew to updating my blog regularly.  Thanks again, and stay tuned!

Nos vemos!

This week has been great. I moved into my new apartment, and my roommates are very nice and super easy-going.  Though I am paying more than I did for my previous apartment, the experience of living with Argentines, plus the great location and great neighborhood definitely make it worth it.

I was eating dinner with my roommates and we were watching tv, when I was very suprised to see Hillary Clinton having a press conference with the president of Argentina, Kristina Fernández de Kirchner.  I knew that Hillary Clinton was planning to visit Chile (Read this article for an interesting comparison between the Chilean and Haitian earthquakes), but I was not aware that Argentina was on her itinerary as well.

During the conference, Kirchner asked Clinton for US to mediate between Argentina and Great Britain over the ongoing row over the Malvinas Islands (or the Falklands as the British call them).  When she asked this, an audible "ooooh" escaped my lips which could have been interpreted as disapproval or trepidation perhaps.  My roommates snapped their heads back to look at me and asked, "You disapprove?" I told them, that I thought it was a good idea, but I thought it would be politically difficult for the US to do.  Allow me to explain...

These islands were first explored by the French, but in 1765 a British explorer, unaware of the small French presence explored the islands and claimed them for England.  When the US Revolutionary War began in 1776, Britain abandoned the islands to use these resources in the war, leaving behind a plaque claiming them for Britain.  The Spanish Crown then asserted itself on the islands (already in control of modern day Latin America, with the exception of Brazil which was under Portuguese control) until it too left in 1811.  In 1820, the first claiming of the islands took place by the Argentine government.  Thirteen years later, a British commander returned, informing the Argentine governor that he planned to reassert British sovereignty over the islands.

Since the 20th century, Argentina and the UK have continued to argue with each other over who really controls the island.  What makes it particularly complicated is that the majority of the residents of the island are of British descent and would prefer to remain under British rule.  The Argentines insist that they have claim to the islands, which even resulted in a war in 1982 when the ruling military junta invaded the islands in an attempt to distract Argentines from the domestic economic woes.  The British defeated Argentina a little over 2 months later after 655 Argentine and 255 British servicemen had been killed.  This defeat along with domestic chaos led to the eventual abdication of the military junta, and democracy was established.

Since the war, Argentina has continued to insist its sovereign rights over the islands.  Its even in the constitution, and the issue is often used in presidential campaigns.  The issue has come up again very recently after British oil companies have begun searching for oil off the coast of the islands.  Argentina has brought it before the UN and has now asked for the US to mediate.

Clinton this week proposed the idea to Gordon Brown, to which the British Prime Minister said "thanks, but no thanks".  The British insist that there is no need for negotiations as they have sovereign rights over the islands, and the people of the islands want British rule.  The Argentines see things differently, and the island wound is open anew now that drilling has begun.

Important warnings to all visitors though: 1.  When in Argentina, call them the Malvinas (NOT Falklands) and 2. if you happen to side with the British on this one, don't tell an Argentine.

Greeting everyone!  I'm back and this time I mean it.  Living in a new country has been exciting, overwhelming, and exhausting.  I think my body is exhausted and I've got a small cold, but my spirits are high!  I've been living the past month in a beautiful little apartment in Caballito, a wonderful authentic "Porteño" (from Buenos Aires) neighborhood geographically at the center of the city.  As much as I enjoyed my apartment, and American roommate, I really wanted a more authentic living experience with Argentines.  Unfortunately, this is hard to find as most Argentines live with their parents until they are well along into their professional careers or have families.

Fortunately, I was able to find an apartment with two Argentine guys that are both very friendly and use to living with foreigners (such as having to explain lunfardo - local Porteño slang - words and sayings).  This will help improve my spanish as well.  To also help with this, I'm taking spanish classes 5 days a week for 4 hours.  Learning all this technical grammar that I know I've already learned, but forgotten, is exhausting though.

That's right ladies and gentlemen, Thomas Mendez is officially a graduate student.  My classes start the 15th of March, and I'm very excited.  The faculty and staff at the school are friendly and intelligent, and the campus is beautiful, located in Puerto Madero, the port area, with some of the most expensive real estate in the city.  I'll be sure to snap some pictures of the area as soon as I get a voltage converter for my camera so I can charge it to take more pictures (should have thought of that!)

In addition to my academic and personal adventures, I have been working the Rotary scene as well.  I am so lucky to have a great and helpful host counselor (far left), pictured here with the vice-president (far right) of my host club, Villa Lugano.  I have attended two meetings of the club.  The first one was an asado (see below) with family members of various Rotarians.  It was a really great experience, and my first encounter with many members of Villa Lugano since my official arrival.  They accepted me warmly and it was very comforting, knowing I have such a welcoming and loving Rotary family here in Buenos Aires.

This is a picture from the Villa Lugano "asado" which was delicious, and I will discuss shortly.  The man I'm sitting next to here is the "Bill Barmore" (for you Rotarians reading this) in Buenos Aires.  He is the scholarship coordinator for Ambassadorial scholars and I'm not sure what all of his responsibilites include, but he is planning on getting all of the Ambassadorial scholars in the BsAs area together along with the District Governor.  He is a great guy, as are all of the Rotarians here that I've met and a member of the Villa Lugano club.

Also, I promise we were all having a great time, even though the people on my side of the table don't particularly look like it.  This picture must have been taken between laughs, or maybe everyone was too busy enjoying the meat, which reminds me...

This, ladies and gentlemen, is a humble "parrilla" (grill) at a friendly Rotarian "asado" (BBQ).  What's amazing about this picture, if you ask your humble correspondent, is not how great this particularly asado was, but that in reality it was pretty average according to Argentine standards.  

You have not experienced Argentina if you have not tried its delicious beef (not to mention pork, veal, and more).  Argentina has the highest consumption of beef per capita in the world.  For all you vegetarians, I highly recommend you check your non-meat eating habits along with your baggage at the airport before coming to visit (I need some healthy suspension of disbelief here from you, the reader, so we can ignore the fact that you should ideally pick up your baggage upon your arrival).  Eating beef is such an essential part of the Argentina experience, and one of my favorites. 

For you vegetarians out there unwilling or unable to shirk your eating regiment for an Argentina adventure, do not despair.  Though meat is definitely an Argentine staple, there are many delicious vegetarian options, which will have to wait for another post though unfortunately.

Sorry for the delay in the update folks, and I look forward to sharing more info about my time here...Now I'm off to have a delicious choripan...I'll share this beautiful edible creation in another entry. Hasta luego!

It's time to get down to serious blogging business after a long hiatus. I now have the task of synthesizing approximately a month's worth of activity which included leaving, arriving, and adjusting in a small blog entry. Well, let's discuss briefly my departure, and then jump to Argentina, where I'll limit the discussion to a couple of topics:

I am so lucky to have had a great sendoff from my large Rotary Family (see video  from previous entry), my sponsor club in Kingwood, and good friends.  It was an honor to be named a Paul Harris Fellow through the generosity of the Kingwood Rotary Club.  My farewell party thrown for me by my good friends was also great, with one minor downside.  Due to food poisoning, I spent a fair portion of the evening either lying down or with my head in the toilet.  HOWEVER, I did enjoy seeing so many of my friends, in between bouts of nausea, before I left town.

As I am sitting here, and trying to figure out what I should share about my short time here, its a little overwhelming.  I'm definitely going to be blogging more frequently to avoid this problem in the future.  I decided to simply provide some highlights and interesting observations and comments about Buenos Aires and the culture:

1) Transportation - Buenos Aires has an extensive public transportation system that includes several subway lines, even more trains, and extensive and confusing bus routes.  And for this I am so thankful, because I don't believe I could ever drive here.  Driving in BA is much like driving in the rest of Latin America...crazy.  I'm still amazed I haven't seen an accident yet.  I'll have to make a video and post it soon. I have to confess that I look forward to having my mom come visit, who grabs the "oh sh*t" handle occasionally when I'm driving with her in the passenger seat.  A blindfold will most likely be the only remedy when we take a taxi.

2) Food - Delicious.  I'll probably have to do a whole other blog entry on some of the food, but its GREAT.  Even the mistakes taste good.  One afternoon I sat down to eat lunch with my host counselor here (who is awesome by the way), and I ordered a hamburger (which tastes different than a US burger) with fries.  Well I have to say, I was getting really excited about this burger, so I had to quickly conceal the disappointment that must have been apparent in my face when the waitress brought me out two hamburger patties (no bun and toppings) with fries.  My disappointment vanished though after I tried the patties and they were delicious.  I later figured out, after discussing it with an Argentine friend of mine, that I thought the waitress offered me "el plato," which I interpreted as the plate of the day.  She actually said "al plato," which refers to how the hamburger is prepared (without buns).  I didn't even know that was an option.  Anyway, the mistake was still delicious.

3) Time - I have traveled in Latin America before.  Even taken classes about intercultural issues and even specifically on Latin American cultures.  One of the important aspects of culture to understand is how time is seen and interpreted differently.  For example, the US culture adheres to time constraints and being on time much more that Latin America as a whole.  I knew and have known for some time that Latin America moves at a different pace.  That said, I find it hilarious how I am still having trouble adjusting.  With my friends back home, I consider myself the flexible one, who doesn't like to schedule things and sort of goes with the flow.  I'm not sure how to describe it, but appointments are kind of general, and they may or may not happen.  I suddenly feel like I'm now on the other end of the spectrum.

Things that are planned may or may not happen, and things that are not planned suddenly do happen.  Its spontaneous, great, enjoyable, frustrating, puzzling, and more.  I feel like I'm looking at one of those abstract paintings where I should just see whats there, but I haven't seen it yet, and I squint and look closer, then take a couple of steps back, and I still don't see it!  Anyway, I'm working on it and trying to not just understand it but figure out how to operate in it.

I'll go ahead and wrap it up here as I got to be up at a decent hour to do some homework for the spanish classes I've enrolled in and started this week.  It's an intense 4 hours a day class learning all these things I'm a little rusty on (or just didn't know).

 There are so many things to talk about! I'll be blogging more frequently though, so stay tuned!

Cimela Kidonakis of Optix Studios just posted the video that she made for the going away party for the 5890 scholars who are about to leave.  Cimela made a high caliber video as always, so check it out below.  Big thanks again to Monica, Angie Jimenez, Bill Barmore, the Buscemis and all the Rotarians and Rotaractors with family and friends who made the evening a wonderful celebration.  I will miss my 5890 Rotary family, but look forward to representing this great district abroad and keeping all you fifty-eight nintiers (we need to come up with a catchier way to say that) well informed of whats going on in Buenos Aires.

In other news, I am still working on getting this website up to snuff before I start publicizing it more so please, friendly observer and loyal reader, share any suggestions you may have to make the site more user friendly and clear.  Don't worry about offending.  My skin is as thick as a rhino's (see below).

Though my skin is rhinoesque (in a metaphorical sense), I'd like to think my temperament is much milder. Until next time!

Hello everyone! This is my first post on my "in construction" website. I'm new to blogging and constructing a website, but WELCOME none the less!  I am very excited about my upcoming trip.

I will give a quick up to date account of where I am in the whole process.  Thanks to my mother's years of work with Continental I am lucky to have free flights (on standby) all over the world.  I am eligible as long as I am under 25 and still enrolled in school, so I will definitely take advantage of this as much as I can before I'm ineligible.  By the way, anybody have a good suggestion for a credit card where I can collect miles? I better start collecting now.

Anyway, the point of that tangent was to explain my ability to fly down to Buenos Aires a few weeks ago.  I was there for a week, and during that time, was able to interview for my school, get accepted, visit my host Rotary Club (Villa Lugano) in what seem to be the suburbs of Buenos Aires, and find an apartment!  It was a very productive and exciting trip.  I made new friends and even met up with old friends from UST, my alma mater.

I am currently straightening up everything with my insurance and just need to get proof of my clean criminal record for application of my visa, which I will do once I am in BA.  For all of you planning to come visit, the governments of the USA and Argentina have kindly arranged for you the ability to travel to Argentina for up to 90 days with no visa.  So its that much easier to come see me! I did catch wind of a 100 something dollar tax for tourists though.  More info on that when I get it.

A quick thanks to Monica Aleman (and the Rotaractors), Bill Barmore, and Angie Jimenez for planning a wonderful going away party for the outgoing ambassadorial scholars and myself a week ago.  Once I get some pictures of the event, I'll post them with a description of the event.