Whirlwind California Return Home...and New Blog Colors

Hi everyone, yes I made it back to the States safely and yes this is the same blog, I just tweaked it for my next journey. I hope you like it.
Whew, I have a very quick 4 days in California before my flight out to the UK and boy was it a whirlwind trip! I got in Saturday morning to LAX where my lovely boyfriend Nick picked me up and whisked me away to Palm Springs for the day/evening. It was wonderful, so hot and sunny, I was really missing warmth, summer is my favorite season and I never understand why I go to the other hemisphere during Summer here. Nick and I had a wonderful Saturday drinking out by the pool at Hotel Zoso, which was more like a Vegas pool party than the relaxing resort we were hoping for, but when in Rome! We spent the early evening playing 9 holes of golf, well Nick golfed and I drank the "free" beer, well I say "free" because we payed $20 for the golf, the golf cart and they gave us 4 Budweisers on top of it. I don't know how they make any money and it made for very bad golf on my end. After dinner we spent the evening entertaining the lobby band by practicing our Tango moves.
Sunday we cheered on Argentina on our drive to San Diego, Vamos Argentina, they listened in their victory over Mexico. We had our relaxing afternoon at Nick;s parents in San Diego, topped off with a fantastic BBQ and the delicious Familia Tommaso Reserve Malbec brought home from Argentina. Monday, I got up and surfed with Nick's roommate, who got laid off 2 months ago, yay friends without jobs, then spent the rest of the day doing laundry and re-packing for the UK, exciting, I know. I did manage to sneak in a run on the beach and balcony yoga, so proud. Since I have been craving sushi for the past 3 months, Nick took me to Buddha's on Lido Peninsula to get my fill. Tuesday, I had the luxury of driving up the 5 home to the Bay Area, and I also got my In-N-Out Burger fix. Perfect, I am now ready for bad English food (note: I got my Mexican food fix for dinner Tuesday night courtesy of my mom's wonderful cooking).
A rant:  I am however concerned on the state of farming in the San Joaquin Valley, and all the poor farmers who are now out of work and farms left to turn into dust bowls due to our declining California budget and water shortages. People, California is a dry state, 80% of the rain comes from the north and 80% of the use is in Southern California, hello, So Cal is a natural desert, so get rid of the lawns and please stop watering your sidewalks to clean them, you are hurting the farmers and shorting our water supply and thus our food supply, and less water for farmers equals less food for us and higher prices, which is disastrous! So please, please, please California, STOP wasting water. Okay, I am sorry for the rant, but we are in a water crisis here, and people need to be more aware. Mono Lake website has a great article on how and why to conserve water, Water Conservation.
I am off to England now and hope to keep you all updated on my new travels, adventures, thoughts, and soul seeking moments that entertain but, hopefully also help me pick out my passions and find a career path.

Saying Goodbye to Buenos Aires

As I sit in the airport, I ponder my time in Buenos Aires. It has been an exciting three months. I was told I am the model international intern for Connect 123, I came to Argentina with limited Spanish, and leave with a proficiency that let me live for three months in a Spanish speaking house, have meaningful conversations with my roommates, and the confidence to ask questions and give answers in Spanish. I leave with the understanding that I have become “really good” at Spanish, as my professors, roommates, Brazilian friends and random Argentines have told me. Exciting. I also added value to my Spanish School through my marketing skills and I leave knowing that they have a 10% student increase for this winter (our summer) due to my hard work. And I made the most of my nights and weekends. I learned to eat medalunas and cake for breakfast with coffee, enjoy maté (and share), eat lunch when I got hungry, and have dinner at 10pm. I made valuable friendships with foreigners and locals, made it a priority to enjoy my evenings, had the discipline to practice yoga, alone in my room 4 days a week and make it to Spanish class every day at 9am after being out till 3am every evening. I even walked about every square inch of this city and can give restaurant and sightseeing recommendations. Heck, I even somewhat figured out the Guia-T (or Buenos Aires bus guide), a major feat, mind you. Yes, I leave Buenos Aires feeling good and fulfilled and a little more sure about myself and my wants and needs from life.

Now after three months there are some things I have decided I won’t miss and more that I will; first, I won’t miss the pollution; broken sidewalks and the dog poop; waiting 30 minutes in line to buy my groceries; walking in circles to find the thread store, only to be told they don’t have black and having to walk 15 blocks to find another store (I know have a greater appreciation for the Target’s and Wal-mart’s of the world, I like one stop shopping for things like thread, b-day cards, toiletries, etc), I didn’t like walking all over town to find the sock store or to buy medialunas; hanging all my laundry to dry and the musty smell when it rains while your clothes are air drying (although clothes last longer air dryad, I miss the softness of dried clothes); and the medialunas or cake or alfajores for breakfast, well maybe just a little, but my hips won’t miss the extra fat and carbs.

Some things I will miss; speaking Spanish, world cup fever, my new friends, the beef – it’s the best in the world and so cheap, alfajores – even though they are so fattening, coffee and the cookies that come with it for free, agua con gas without all the added salt – just plain water and bubbles, empanadas, the exchange rate, my street parilla that sold the best steak sandwich in town, the fact that I can wear anything I want and it’s fashionable because I’m  a tourist, Liter beer at a restaurant, gancia baitida (not fernet and coke though), facturas – again bad on the waistline, walking, public transportation….oh man, that’s a lot to miss.

It’s hard not to fall in love with Buenos Aires; however, I am ready to go, it’s time; I’m looking forward to dryer dried clothes, warm weather, the beach, sun, fresh fruits and veggies, oh wait, I am off to England and these things won’t exist for me their either, ah the horrible life I lead, guess I will be another month for these things, I guess I can wait, but I am getting my Sushi and spicy food fix in before I head out, and a bit of sun, I can’t be the whitest person in England! This is the end of my journey in Argentina, but I have decided to keep writing, so look forward to reading about my adventures in the UK! (I am going to change the title page too, so don’t get worried)