Greetings and welcome back to the Adventures of Captain Red Beard. Since the last time we spoke, quite a bit has changed. My time in Buenos Aires came to a pleasant but abrupt end. I had planned to spend a little more time there but after I came down with the travel flu I realized that I had to take advantage of this incredible opportunity I had been given and see a little more of South America. I contacted Paloma Faizibiaoff, who many of you know as a former exchange student at Millbrook High School a few years back. She told me that I should come for Carnaval and that is something I could not turn down. So after about a month and a half in Buenos Aires, my lasting impression will be that it is a grand city that will not escape my memory any time soon. A truely international metropolis with plenty of things to see and do along with some excellent barbecue.

A smooth sidestep around the hurdle of waiting for two weeks to get my Brasilian visa in B.A. took me to Puerto Iguazu, home to the breathtaking Iguazu Falls, which many say surpasses Niagara. I for one do not know because I never went. At that point I was set on arriving on time for Carnaval and had just been to Niagara Falls, so I did not find the visit necessary. However it is a great place to get a visa overnght. Once in Sao Paulo, where Paloma lives, we set of for the Island, Ilhabela, which literally means beautiful Island, which is a few hours from Sao Paolo. Carnaval was just as great as everyone says. Just one big party with lots of music, parades and dancing. While there, we hung out with a bunch of Paloma's friends. most of them spoke English but there was a few guys who really didn't speak any English and of course I didn't speak any Portuguess. The incredible thing was that during carnaval, we seemed to communicate perfectly. We were laughing, telling jokes, sharing chilhood memories while making new ones of our own. The whole weekend was incredibly fun with parades, new food and friends and of course a few cocktails here and there. After carnaval we went back to Sao Paulo for less beers and more sightseeing. The next weekend rolled around and we went to the birthday celebration of one of my new best friends from Carnaval. When we got to the party, I tried to talk to these gentlemen and ask how they've been since carnaval or tell them what I've done, and I realized that we couldn't communicate at all. There was no common language and without the social lubrication of alcohol, there was absolutely nothing for us to talk about. After some grunting and pointing, we got back on the booze and smoothed the whole thing over. A few beers deep and the language barrier was broken, our bond was reformed, and we began laughing and singing again in our common toungue.

But don't worry Mom, I did plenty besides drink while in Brasil. I even went to two college classes. That's right, I went with Paloma to her college a few nights and decided to attend some of the lessons. I didn't want to go to too many, just enough to see how it compared to the U.S. and it was surprisingly similar. They were marketing classes, one in English and one in Portugues. The whole settup of the campus was almost the same. The only real difference is that students don't live on campus in Brasil like they do in the U.S.

The city of Sao Paulo is a nice and gigantic city. It is one of the largest in the world and bigger than New York city. Of course with a city that size it has plenty of things to do and there is always something interesting going on. Paloma has some great friends and everyone was extremely friendly and very happy to welcome the Gringo to their city. Paloma and her family live in a very nice neighborhood on the outside of the city. Her house is in a quiet community and it was very secure. The community where she lived was pretty cool with a few ponds and even a small section of Jungle.

So after some time with Paloma in Sao Paulo, I decided it was time to move on to my next stop in Rio de Janiero, the River of January. Here I am stayed with Ammi Brandao. He has also graced the halls of Millbrook High School as an exchange student in Millbrook and actually spent some time living in the humble abode of the Meyers family. Ammi is lucky enough to live at the base of Corcovado Mountain, the home of the world famous Christ the Redeemer Statue. I even got to ride up the mountain on a bike with Ammi's dad. Although it was great excersice and a nice ride, I wasn't even able to go to the bottom of the statue. The reason being that midway up the mountain is a parking lot and from there, visitors take a bus the rest of the way up. Well when we got to the top, they said that in order to enter the area where the statue is, that you need to buy the tickets at the parking lot and take the bus up, I know it makes a lot of sense.

For anyone who has not been to Rio de Janeiro, I would more than recommend it. It is one of the nicest cities I have every visited. It is an almost perfect combination of a big city and nature. Everyone knows about the wonderful beaches but there is so much more. Just the other day I went with some friends for a hike in the mountains in the middle of the city. With just a few minutes in the car, we got to a huge mountain that was host to a hangliding launch site. The view there was incredible and we were able to see the city, the beach, and plenty of jungle with the huge JC statue hanging majestically above it all. Along with the hangliding, hiking, and all the beautiful women, it doesn't seem like there was much more that a person could want from a city.

Unfortunately my time here in Brazil must come to an end. It has been a marvelous experience getting to know this amazing country and the wonderful people who live here. However, I recently had the realization that I need to do something more than just travel and enjoy myself. As great as it has been reconnecting with old friends and making new ones, it is time that I did something more important. I managed to find a volunteer program in Pisco, Peru that I am going to give four weeks of my time to. The program is called Pisco Sin Fronteras, which means Pisco without borders. This program is helping to rebuild the city of Pisco which was almost completely leveled by an earthquake a few years ago. So the Brasilian leg of my journey is now at an end and I am excited to move on to the next chapter. I will never forget the wild world of Brazil. Now on to my new adventure on the west coast. Wish me luck!!

Welcome to Buenos Aires

Hello all and welcome back to the Adventures of Captain Red Beard. I know that I was a little bit delayed about writing and for this I apologize. I have spent the last few weeks acclimating myself to my new temporary home of Buenos Aires. For those of you who don't know, I decided to spend the next few months in the sprawling metropolis of Buenos Aires, Argentina. How did I come to this conclusion? Well, during my excellent adventure in Spain, I met a beautiful Spanish woman named Diana. We hit it off and even continued our relationship after I left. She came to visit in the U.S. and we actually planned that I would go and live with her in Espana. Pretty wild stuff I know. Things got complicate yadada and plans fell through. Now I know that seems like a little TMI but the point is that I was planning on going for an extended vaca in Europe. Since that didn't work out, there was no sense in staying in Millbrook. I figured I should go some place that speaks Spanish, and since going to Spain might be a little awkward for the aforementioned reason, South America was the next obvious choice. But where in Southe America. The beautiful beaches of Chile, the lush jungles of Ecuador, or a port city on the east coast. Some may know of a mysterious man by the name of Michael Rizzo. Mr. Rizzo is a household name in Buenos Aires and a neighbor to the Meyers family back in the great town of Millbrook. I figured if I was just gonna wing it and go anywhere, it might be better to know someone where I am going. And that is how I chose to come to Buenos Aires. As far as plans, I have none. Just to learn more Spanish and try to survive until June 2 when a plane will carry back to the land where the States are United

I was lucky enough to have landed myself a job in a hostel before I even got down here thanks to the great craigslist. I am currently working the night shift at Circus Hostel in the San Telmo neighborhood. It´s actually a pretty good gig. I split it with a guy named AytunÇ who comes from Turkey. We switch on and off and work either 3 or 4 nights in a row. Its really easy cuz not much goes on between midnight and 8 am and the breakfast is free. Also we get a sweet discount at the restaurant here which is pretty decent. The only negative is that I have to work from midnight to 8 am. Its tough to get used to and I miss a lot of daylight. I have found the best schedule is to work and then stay up after work and enjoy the day and then sleep in the afternoon. This way I get the most sunlight possible. As opposed to sleeping until 4 pm and then only having a few hours before the sun goes down around 8.

Speaking of sun, it is summer here, and yes it is hot. And of course I got burned. Although there is a surplus of heat I cannot complain because I love the sun and I hear it is extra cold back home. Another benefit of working at the hostel is that our apartement on the top floor comes equiped with a huge balcony that gets plenty of sun. Furthermore, there is a pool on the ground floor that is also really nice.

As far as the city of Buenos Aires goes, it is huge and I have not even come close to seeing all of it. Along with all the nice tourist sites, there is also an ecological reserve just outside of the city which is only a fifteen minute walk from my house. It´s pretty nice and it is good to have close by to get away from the noise and pollution of the city. It is important to note that very close to the Ecological Reserve there is a Casino. I went the other night with some other employees from the hostel and ended up winning 400 pesos, it was quite nice.

Of course everyone already knows that the food in Argentina is excellent. Plenty of steaks and other meats cooked on the bbq. Yet another advantage of the hostel is that every Saturday a bbq or Asado is held. This is always delicious with a number of different meats and sausage along with a salad and a beer and of course a nice discount for the staff.

Now I am heading out to see the museum of modern art here is Buenos Aires. We will see how that goes. Hopefully my next post will be a little more lively. Peace out