World Cup Fever

One thing is pretty evident as you travel around South America right now. The people of this continent LIVE for football!! The atmosphere here is absolutely electric, and I really wish Ireland were taking part. Every guy you meet is coordinating travel plans around the world cup games and the cities are jam-packed full of people on the hunt for big screen TVs.

The Argentina - Serbia Montenegro match is on right now. I am sitting in an internet cafe bursting with locals all glued to the tv! Argentina seem to be kicking ass, as expected. Most of the businesses have shut until the match is over, and there´s a real holiday atmosphere around the centre. Every time Argentina score, you can hear roars for miles around! The girls seem to be screaming the loudest, while the men run out of shop doors and perform strange ritualistic dances with each other in the middle of the street before hurrying back inside to catch the replays.

I´m waiting around like a fugitive for a bus at nine o´clock tonight. I´m off to Cordoba for a few days and am planning to escape into the Sierra mountains for a bit if I can. I really want to get away from the big cities for a while and just chill out somewhere quiet. Today, also, I have to organise my flight to New Zealand. I´m hoping to fly on July 31st and have found a pretty good fare, I think.

Went horse-riding for the second time yesterday. It was fantastic to be out in the fresh air all day surrounded by spectacular mountains, condors soaring above us. My horse´s name was Penqueño and he was a particualarly willful creature. We rode all afternoon and returned to a blazing log fire and a spread fit for a king in a little log cabin. We lazed for a few hours drinking Malbec wine and mate before climbing reluctantly back into our bus back to Mendoza.

(The Argentinians are really addicted to drinking mate. It´s a herb grown mainly in Argentina and Bolivia, and is full of good things apparently. They drink it from special gourds with a long spout, and it is prepared by filling the vessel almost to the brim with the herb, adding some sugar to the top and then topping it off with boiling water. You suck the liquid through the straw until it is gone, then top it up again and pass to someone else. It´s a very social pratice, and you rarely see an Argentinian without a gourd and thermos flask under his arm.)

When we arrived back Rachel, Ringo and Sarah left to travel to Buenos Aires, so myself and Karen had a "quiet night" in the hostel playing Jenga with some Argentinians and a couple from Longford. Good clean fun all around. Had a much needed early night but had some seriously crazy dreams....

My Knight in Shining Beetlecrushers & An Illegal Border Crossing

Well, ít´s been an EVENTFUL few days! Right now, I´m back in Mendoza, Argentina feeling like I need a holiday from my holiday. I travelled here with Ringo, an English guy, two English girls called Sarah and Rachel, and Karen from DOnegal. On SUnday night, we made our way to the bus terminal in Santiago to reserve our tickets to Mendoza for the following day. On the way back, we were walking along the main street, the Alameda, deep in chat about world religions or something when suddenly my bag (which is more of a satchel really) was yanked violently. I had it around my body underneath my jacket and so the mugger nearly put my shoulder out with the force at which he pulled. The pretty sturdy strap gave way and he disappeared into a huge crowd of people while I looked after him completely helpless. Out of nowhere, this guy with a punk hairstyle, covered in studs, and wearing an enormous pair of boots, came running up to me and asked me in which direction the mugger ran. He took off running. I stood there not really knowing what was happening...thinking maybe they were together...realising slowly that my passport, my recently replaced credit card, bus ticket, money, MP3 player were all in the bag. I felt ill.

Two minutes later, the guy emerged from the crowd holding my bag. He had managed to get it back with EVERYTHING still in it. He didnt seem to want any thanks, but I hugged him so hard. Ihave never been so grateful to anyone in my life! Looking at this guy, you would expect him to be the one on the street to rob you. He was amazing, and now looking back I feel that I shoudl have made some gesture of thanks to him, but it all happened so suddenly. It was very surreal for all of us. Anyway, he left and, as we stood there recovering from the shock of what had just happened, the thief reappeared and grabbed the bag from my hands!!!!! This time, everyone around was ready for him, and he didnt manage to get enough of a grip on it to get away.

We took off up the Alameda at speed, back to the safety of the hostel. That night, I lay in bed thinking about what had happened, how fast it happened, the feelings of those moments. I remember the punk guy´s face so clearly, how glad he seemed to be able to help. I hope that something really wonderful happens for him. I wish I had done something more by way of thanks. It´s a great feeling when someone, especially a complete stranger, goes out of their way to help someone else.

So, the next day we got the midday bus to Mendoza. Not long into the journey, Ringo realised that he didnt have his tourist visa slip. Without this, you cant leave Chile. Panic ensued. Being the only one of us with any bit of Spanish, (yes, I am proud to say, I can now make myself understood without looking like some sort of tree-top creature, pointing and hooting) I explained the situation to the bus steward who said that, unfortunately, Ringo would have to turn back to Santiago. We looked out at the heavy snow and the white peaks of the Andes - the prospect of abandonding poor Ringo at the frontier in the snow and ice wasnt a nice one. As we sat, comfort-munching cookies and discussing RIngos plight, the steward calledthe two of us to the back of the bus. In hushed tones, he said that if we were prepared to pay he could bribe the Argentinian border officials. None of us had any CHilean, Argentinian or American dollars. All Ringo had was about $100 Australian dollars. HE told us to wait for him at the border check and he would tell us how much it was going to cost. He was very anxious to stress that none of this money was for himself...only for the border police. But later that night, when the bus finally arrived in Mendoza, he looked well pleased with himself..so Im sure he took a nice chunk of it for himsef...understandable really!

We got to the border and we negotiated a price with him. He wanted $100US, but in the end agreed to accept the Australian money (which worked out to about $80US...). He took Ringo under his wing while I went through the "proper channels". Ten minutes later, Ringo had his exit stamp and was grinning like a Cheshire cat! Success! The snow was heavy at the border and it was COLD! As we huddled over polystyrene cups of coffee and waited for our bags to be searched, we spotted a big Mercedes partially buried in the snow.

Anyway, so I´m back in Mendoza. It´s marginally warmer than Santiago and much sunnier. There are leaves falling everywhere, which I love. Myself and Karen are going horse-riding tomorrow, and then we are heading off to Cordoba for a few days, while Ringo, Rachel and Sarah go to Buenos Aires. I´m looking forward to Cordoba...apparently, there is a lot of Jesuit architecture there and a lot to see and do.

In Travelling Limbo

It´s pouring rain here today in Santiago. It feels somewhat strange, as it hasnt rained once in all the time I have been here, though not unpleasant. It´s quite nice to be sitting inside watching the little rivulets of water racing each other down the window. Unfortunately though, this rain is a bad sign for me. If it´s raining here in Santiago, that means the weather in the mountains is terrible which means that the road over the Andes to Mendoza is still closed. I had hoped to leave yesterday, but the bus company told us it´s not possible for a couple of days. So, we wait. I´m travelling with an English guy I met here in Santiago, called Ringo. To be honest, I really just want some time to myself for a few days, but itmakes sense to travel together seeing as we are both going the same direction. It´s very surprising just how little time you have to yourself when you travel. One would think that travelling alone could be quite lonely, but it´s not at all. When you are hostelling, sharing dorms, you rarely have time where you can shut the door and just be on your own. Of course, that´s not a bad thing - it can just get a bit claustrophobic sometimes when you need to be on your own.

So, the time has finally rolled around to say goodbye to Santiago. It´s been 4 months since I arrived here!! I never expected to settle here for this length of time. I´m sure if I stayed and tried hard to build up my work hours, I could, but it could take a while. I´m anxious to get back on the road again, meet some new people, see some new countries. I´m leaving Chile with some very fond memories, and hopefully I will be given the chance to return one day and do it all again.

So, what´s next? If the road to Mendoza EVER opens up again, it´s Argentina (AGAIN!) for the next few weeks, followed by Brazil. From Rio de J. I hope to fly to Auckland in late July, early August. I have a contact there who may be able to help me in finding a job. My biggest regret in leaving South America is that the little SPanish I have grasped will undoubetdly decline, although I imagine a certain relief will come with arriving once again in an English-speaking country. I´m hugely looking forward to NZ, and Ive a whole heap of things planned for there. I´ve no idea how long I will stay there - 3 months, 6 months, maybe even a year...but I´m looking forward to seeing a new continent and starting another chapter in this trip!

Itchy Feet or Homesickness?

It´s been a few weeks since I touched the blog, but tonight I find myself with some time to spare for the first time in a while. It´s been GO, GO, GO for the last while running around (in my only pair of respectable shoes) doing interviews and sitting in (like a big plant) on demonstration English classes and the like. But, at last, I am working - boring the pants off (i.e. teaching English to) executives in various companies around the city. So far, I´m enjoying it even though it´s pretty demanding. It involves a lot of hopping on and off the Metro, preparing classes and writing up reports. Also, I love the students I have. They are really lovable, and I thought I´d explode laughing when one of them gave me a little present of an alarm clock during the week. It was so nice! (and I really DID need an alarm clock...) So, all in all, it´s going well, and the Institute I work for are very pleasant to deal with and very encouraging.

BUT.....

Atfer all that, after happily having made up my mind to settle here for a while, two things have happened.

1) It seems that $100ish a week isnt enough to live off here in Santiago. Iif I stay, the rest of my travel kitty will be gone in a matter of a few short months. If the Institute feel that I dont suck too much at the whole teaching thing, there is always the possibility that I may get more hours...but ´taint a certainty! So...Im faced with a dilemma....Do I love Santiago enough to dwindle all my savings here and simply return home having not seen NZ, Australia, etc.....?

2) I have suddenly become the victim of a SEVERE bout of homesickness. It´s Ennio Morricone´s fault, so I´ve boycotted his music in future. I was wandering around Santiago last Sunday in super form until "that song from the Aer Lingus ad" (Gabriel´s Oboe) came on my MP3 player. As I walked, I thought nostalgically of our national carrier, it´s sad decline into low-faredom, my family´s various employment histories with the company, the beloved members of my family, our faithful dog and cat, my bed at home......(you get the picture). Since then, I have been on a major DOWNER...tearful...checking out airfares....staring for hours on end at pictures of Aer Lingus aircrafts....

However, if it came to actually booking a flight home, I´m pretty sure it´s not something I want to do yet. And so, I started thinking that maybe I just have a dose of itchy feet again. Staying too long in one place causes you to make too many comparisons with your life at home, and maybe the homesickness would be easily cured by just getting back on the road again. I have until August to get to NZ before my working visa becomes null.....and I have yet to see Buenos Aires and Rio de J. before I have completed my SA leg...

What to do......what to do.....I really dont know.

Apparently, getting work in NZ is effortless, and I could earn pretty good money there, which would fund the rest of the trip back home...

HELP!!!!!!!!! Advice/suggestions appreciated........

Confused Ev.

My First Flirt with the Law

Well, it finally happened! After four careful months of watching my back and never leaving my belongings out of my sight, my bag finally was nicked in probably the safest area I have been in yet. On the same day of my last blog entry, as I sat gassing on the phone in a very respectable looking internet cafe surrounded by suits, some fiend managed to manoeuvre it right out from under my leg. That horrible sick feeling came over me when I looked down and slowly realised that it was gone.

Luckily, I had gotten into a habit in Peru and Bolivia of never carrying more than one card with me and usually very little money. So, on this occasion, there was only my Mastercard and about the equivalent of US$3. Unfortunately, by the time I got to cancel the card it had been used in a department store, but thankfully not for a huge amount. Here in Chile, when you offer a credit card as payment you are required to show some form of photo ID, so that probably meant that the thief had trouble racking up sales on it.

There was little in the bag that cannot be replaced. What I am the most upset about is the fact that my camera was in there. Usually, I never have my camera around Santiago (mainly because I live here now and have just stopped taking photos) but this particular day I brought it with me to download the photos from the memory card. Anyway, the camera is covered by insurance, but I have lost all my photos from the last few weeks. Those, i can never get back. So, the thief got almost nothing from taking my bag, while I lost all my personal belongings (he/she will no doubt just toss those somewhere without a care).

Surprisingly, I wasnt as upset as I thought I might be in such a situation. Its more of a bother than anything else, havng to go and make a police report, source receipts for insurance claims, etc. Pain in the ass.

Ian, the owner of my hostel, very kindly came with me to the police station downtown to file a report. We were met with a boorish sullen looking tub of a guard who had ZERO sympathy for me or my loss. He looked like he positively loathed his job and sat hammering away on his keyboard, pissed at all of humanity. Ian and I beamed at him continually and in the end, he cracked a smile of sorts as we were leaving. Off we went to drown my sorrows in fits laughing at the state of him.

Today, I am back at said internet cafe with my bag welded to the chair beside me, killing time before my English teacher training begins at 3:30pm. I have 2 hours of training before I hve to give a demonstration class. I am NERVOUS! Wish me luck!