Christina

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I won't go into my details now...that will be after I set up this blog. I am working on getting a lot of argentinian experiences first. Then I would like to go into a time machine and publish the past travels of a couple years ago...specifically california & Jamaica...but that is on the back burner. Please send me your input and let me know you are reading this. There is nothing better than getting emails from friends when there are no familiar faces for thousands of miles. Chao!


Some people call me a nomad. Others call me a biologist. I like to think of myself as part writer. The words travel is a part of my dna sequence. I might be just trying to find a place I would like to call home. But I think my home is where my heart is and its always traveling around in my upper body cavity. I can hear it beat when I get really excited or have to run for long distances. I like to make homes in all the places I travel. No matter where you are you feel the beauty of life some days and the hints of loneliness other days. I like to feel these when driving and walking around new places. I am from Florida, where the sun shines most of the year, except when there are afternoon thunderstorms in the summer and hurricanes. I lived in Boston for University…and have been throughout the Northeast. I learned snowflakes are shaped like snowflakes. I realized that I don’t like to wait for buses while wearing 5 layers of clothes and can still feel the frigid wind on my skin. I have driven ¾ of the way around the perimeter of the USA. My schooling has included studying marine biology in the Northeast USA, Jamaica, and Catalina Island California. I have lived in Jamaica for ½ of 365 days. Once I moved back home to florida for 1 ½ years and escaped during that time to Europe and my other home, Jamaica. I did get to snorkel with manatees. After exploring the areas confined within the borders of a peninsula I decided to go to California for the summer. I worked hiking and camping in the sierra nevadas looking for an endangered frog. I did find some. I slept on floors in Sacramento and Los Angeles. I found a home in Black Rock City, NV for one week a year…you can find me from now on at 230 & E or within 50 blocks before the man burns, if I‘m not there my pod will be. Here I picked up a desire to sport ilanio wear while being covered in playa dust. After the summer was over and remembered I didn’t want to live in winter… I jumped on a plane to fullfill my life’s goal of being out of the country for at least 1 month per year. I flew over the equator to Argentina for a month and encountered spring greens and the excitement of summer. My ticket had a return date for one month later. Now I am staying for three. I am trying to learn Spanish and build a house/life from fallen trees. I eat meat here after being a vegetarian for 10 years. This is where the story ends. The outline for post-February is going back to my wonderful friends and then to finish my drive around the perimeter of the United States. Hugging my family and then start a real job again. The new destination is starting my job in St. Thomas (US Virgin Islands). There I will start saving for my new goal (one year of consecutive travel and then grad school) , spend lots of time breathing under water, and eating conch fritters. The outline may get revised. I have learned I have the best friends the world can offer, I like to talk to strangers, and I get frustrated because I am only uno-lingual…and I have to change that.



NOTE: For those who are viewing my travel blog I warn you I am not paying attention to grammar. I hope to go back and edit the entries and make them fall more into proper sentence structure, but that isn't my main point of creating this blog. During the times of trying to place all my travel experiences onto a computer screen my brain moves a lot faster than my fingers can press letters. Therefore, i have to forget some specifics. I hope to have time to cut, paste, and edit the excess letters and confines of structure. Until then I hope you can understand my free thoughts. Cheers.



Travel Blog Posts


Feliz Fiestas

Published: January 3rd 2007South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires
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January 2nd 2007

Navidad Christmas outside of the USA...a good time! i love christmas outside of the usa. there isn't the overzealous christmas music blaring from speakers. i don't have to rush around feeling guilty that i didn't find the right gifts. i get to make instantaneous friends. but i did have a slight homesickness that stuck with me the weeks leading up to christmas. I avoided the capitalist Christmas this year. I missed the advertisement after advertisement of last minute sells. I didn't have to hear jingle bells and other christmas carols over and over again...until my head couldn't take it any more...I think i heard one christmas song the whole holiday season. The city doesn't line up with crowds of angry people all trying to get the last barbie doll. It is quite enjoyable to have only ... read more



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January 2nd 2007

I fell in love with Buenos Aires, but it will be time to go shortly. I must move on before I don't leave. Each week gets better and better...especially after finally settling in. My feet are walking on the sidewalk and jumping onto the collectivos with ease now. The accomplishments of ordering and asking questions are not as nerve racking and I can understand about 50% of words that come out of people's mouths. I do not feel so nervous or out of place now. I am finally walking into the beat of the city. I feel a little above tourist and far below native. So, it has been almost 100% increase in settling in after a month of time. During the two months of travel I have learned more about myself and the trials and ... read more



Buenos Aires

Published: December 12th 2006South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires
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December 12th 2006

Another entry I hope to elaborate soon. Just trying to get my life in order while I have a room. Here are some pictures of the city! Advice that I have...If you are planning to go to a country that speaks spanish...start taking classes now!! It helps for enhancing the experience. Now, I am attending classes and trying to figure out the language...ah, so many words.... read more



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December 4th 2006

Trapped inside a skeleton key house....I am writing about the beauty of Colonia, Uruguay. Another change of plans. That is a reoccuring them when traveling. Living life on a day to day basis. Swift, free, sometimes confusing. The weather in Buenos Aires was rainy and dark. A dismal day in Argentina. "Early" in the morning i was setting out for another passport stamp (I definately need it since my old passport somehow disappeared). Another glimpse of the world. i was meeting four strangers for the days event. A friend of a friend. The amorphous nature of friendships while traveling is splendid. After travelling on the subte, getting turned around during my first steps of the road (I get disoriented when i don't know where the ocean lies), dodging traffic on a thickly auto packed road filled ... read more



NUOVOMONDO

Published: December 2nd 2006South America » Argentina » Buenos Aires
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December 2nd 2006

An Italian Movie Premier in Argentina NUOVOMONDO (The new world in Italian...a must see) This evening was quite spectacular. My first movie premiere ever and it was in the seats of a Buenos Aires theater with a German lady I met in Puerto Iquazu. The director and many of the actors were present. It was an Italian movie with Castellano (Argentinian spanish) subtitles. There were some bits of english scattered throughout the movie. I was excited that I could understand most of the dialogue...and able to follow the plot of the movie. The evening started by us, two foreign girls, rushing to get to the theater on time. After stumbling out of a taxi and rushing to the theater we were confronted by long lines. Which one was ours? After scrambling through the crowds of people ... read more



Punta Tombo

Published: December 12th 2006South America » Argentina » Chubut » Puerto Madryn
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November 25th 2006

The story of getting to Punta Tombo is quite a humorous adventure and I haven't had the time to write it down yet. Everyday is an adventure. Punta Tombo had thousands of penguins. It was absolutely amazing. It felt like I was hanging around thousands of creatures that would just give me the wing/fin whenever they felt like it. They were curious about who we were, but wouldn't give us the time of day, or would just ignore us. They are very loud creatures. It didn't smell to bad either. I will publish more when I get the chance. I just want to get the pictures up for my penguin lover friends to see.... read more



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November 21st 2006

On the other side of loving the ocean In marine biologist heaven Puerto Madryn is 18-20 hour busride. To some people this would seem like and endless journey...a waste of time. Yet, my endless carbon dioxide afternoons have prepared me for endless hours of staring out a pane of glass. I have been prepared by driving up and down the Florida coast like it was my hobby...(Ft. Lauderdale. Everglades. West Palm Beach. Homassasa Springs. Jacksonville. Ft. Lauderdale. Orlando. Lake Placid.etc.etc.repeat.repeat). After I left the peninsula I jetted across the state for California...that was only 50 + hours in four days...(Florida.Georgia.Alabama. Lousiana. Texas. Texas.Texas.Texas.Arizona.New Mexico.California). Then there were endless trips up and down California and to Black Rock City. (LA.Sacramento.LA.Sacramento.San Francisco. Sacramento. Sierras... read more



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November 13th 2006

My trip in argentina is going quite well. I arrived in buenos aires and stayed a week. Here I realized that my spanish is about a second grade level, and it immediately hides in my brain when the words are suppossed to flow out of my mouth. Its amazing how words can disappear into thin air. I think a tutor is needed to get an accurate feel for the language and to have more than a please and thank you conversation. In Buenos Aires I was toured around the city and went to amazing locations and saw buildings of all sorts. I usually walk around the streets of Buenos Aires in an air of simplicity, because I am immune to the advertising and the people speaking is more like background noise. While in the city I ... read more






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