On the road again real soon

It's December! And that means . . . vacation!

Amanda and I are in the midst of planning a big trip down to southern Argentina and into Chile. On December 17 we will receive a guest appearance from none other than Ms. Ellen Turkewitz, and the three of us will be (if all goes according to plan) hopping a bus to the lake district of Argentina (just a quick 20-hour jaunt), catching a ferry to an archipelago in Chile and then looping back up to Bariloche just before New Years.

In honor of my sheer excitement, I'm posting throwback pictures from Thailand. 

Oh how global we are

Sidewalk art outside a subte entrance.

The financial crisis has sent Argentina into quite a tizzy as well, the only difference being that Argentines are decidedly more adjusted to being in a tizzy about the state of their economy, while we Americans are still new to this. Argentina's economy hit a low in 2001, the peso fell to the floor and an enormous number of people lost of their jobs, so, as the economy goes south around the world, a lot of people in BA are experiencing a bit of dejavu.

Most of the papers here cover the elections closely, and my English students are superinterested in what I think of American politics.  They are fascinated by Obama, and they like to ask me point blank which candidates I'm "for," as if the election is a futbol game with diehard fans and a longstanding rivalry. 

Unfortunately, I made the mistake of expounding on my political beliefs at a recent dinner with a family from the local Chabad. (They asked! I swear I would never bring up politics at a shabbat dinner. Talking about it was certainly against my better judgment). I was rewarded with a lengthy and questionably sourced lecture (err, discussion?) on Obama's terrorist ties and how his election would lead to the triumph of the Arab world and the coming of the Messiah. 

I think "awkward" would be a good way to describe the rest of the evening. 

In other news, I just bought a bus ticket for Rosario, so I'll be spending most the weekend out of town. I know nothing about the town, except that my favorite Colombian pop singer has a an awesome song called "Rosario Tijeras." 

CHAU!

Julie

P.S. Click here to see Kenneth Cole's AWEARNESS blog, which is featuring my Thailand video!

"Uniforms distort man and make him crazy" 

(bueno . . . excuse my horrible translation skills)

Holler at the Andaman Rising team, which just received first place for "Multimedia Project" in this month's NPPA contest.

See info here:

National Press Photographers Association.

Andamanrising.org makes its debut

I spent the summer blogging to you all about my trip to Thailand with the jschool. Well our site - andamanrising.org - has launched. Check it out! It's an in-depth look at life in southern Thailand after the 2004 tsunami.