The power of The Mate.

I'm still blogging for Glimpse.org. Click here: The power of The Mate.

I'm back . . . online. Kind of.

Oh hello there. I'm sorry to have neglected you. I swear I didn't mean it. I'm just trying not to spend my life on the Internet. It's not working very well.

Ha. Ok here's what's going on in Argentina:

(click here)
Floggers, the new urban tribe.

XO. Julie

Love in the city.

Spotted in the subte.

In the clutches of a coin shortage

So, besides working as a programs coordinator at a Spanish school, I'm also working for Glimpse, an online magazine for young people living abroad. I'm blogging for them, so I'll be posting some bits and pieces about life in Buenos Aires on Glimpse.org.

If you are interested in the latest on the coin shortage here, head over to the blog:

No hay monedas -- Buenos Aires in the clutches of a coin shortage.

Erk, I still haven't changed my flight . . . procrastination is eating away at me.

Wait, wait . . .

This is a subte station. For some reason, I'm really into taking pictures in the subte.

So I have something to admit.

I have not called to change my March 9 flight home to a later date. The idea is to change it to May. But I can't bring myself to do it. Why? I'm scared to make definite plans to go home.

Yes, I just went through and read some of my old blogs, how I was so scared to come here, and I've suddenly found myself 180 degrees away from that -- I start shivering in my boots (or rather, sandals, it's summer here) when I think about setting foot in the good old U.S. of A. So many expectations, so few jobs . . . erk!

This procrastination is really bad though -- I need to call the airline company and change my flight to set a date, or I'll be selling some organs to buy a ticket to get back into tierra madre.

Spotted last Sunday in Buenos Aires' botanical gardens.

It's a good thing my parents are adventuring in Brazil at the moment (look at them!), or they'd be calling to ream me out.

This is in Colonia, Uruguay.

Stoplights and good food.

Above: Evening in Colonia, Uruguay on Wednesday.

The parents have arrived!

What does this mean?

The two of them have way more energy than I do, and on Wednesday went to dinner at midnight, when I had to curl up and retreat to my bed.

Stuart has found many uses for his Spanish. I was particularly impressed by the fact that he knew the word ''semáforo'' (stoplight) which is a word I'm not sure I'd be able to recall on the spot. He has not won over any nuns with his Spanish skills (the rumor is that this happened in Spain), but they still have two more days in Buenos Aires . . .

Molly has made it her goal to go to every craft fair, big and small, in the city. This is quite lofty in a city where every corner is a great place for a ''fair,'' but I would say she's doing quite well.

The two of them have figured out the subway system (after only a tiny bit of instruction) and today they even switched lines!

Also, we have embarked on ''Julie's unofficial international food tour of Buenos Aires.'' After almost six months in Argentina, I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to eat at some places that don't serve pizza or empanadas. So far we've hit up a falafel place and a Vietnamese restaurant. Tonight might be Mexican or Indian. It looks like for ''real'' Argentine food they're going to have to break off on their own.

Above is a shot I took when we visited Uruguay on Tuesday.

Bus stops

Above: Snapped on a recent evening downtown. There something about a bus stop that brings together people from all walks of life.