i'm back

It feels like just yesterday I was sitting in my mom's guest bedroom in North Carolina with my skinny little cats getting ready to say goodbye to leave for several months. But it wasn't yesterday, it was almost a year ago. Now I'm back, sitting in that same bedroom with my now plump cats and thinking "what a fucking year." It has been a hell of a year. I don't think it's totally hit me yet, but it's coming.

For now I'm still happy as a clam despite the unplanned/unknown/slightly terrifying future that I haven't come up with yet for 2012.

So, in honor of my scrambled mind, here are a series of videos I recorded in Argentina that I haven't uploaded here thus far. In the meantime I'll try to process the past year and get back to you...

My best friends in BA, making fun of an infomercial from the 80s for erection pills that was dubbed in Spanish:



An awesome display I saw at Tecnópolis, a technological fair in Buenos Aires. Turn your computer down before you watch it though, because it starts off at a seizure-inducing noise level:

Me and Mexico

..might be in love. What a beautiful & interesting country, with beautiful and interesting people! There's so much to tell. Luckily I brought a little notebook with me in my purse to write down all the random thoughts I had or things I saw. I would love to share that with you now so that you may better know the highlights of my trip to Mexico...:) I give you part one...

Day 1: Travel / Acapulco

- sat next to a man with an authentic Jamaican accent on the plane, was in heaven, took this as a good omen

- flight attendant looked like Anthony from Designing Women, also took this as a good omen

- my friend Belen who lives in Mexico picked me up from the airport! *wipes brow*

- ate some delicious seafood from a place called Treinador

- Belen took me to "La Quedabra" which is a place where the famous cliff divers of Acapulco do their stuff. I was completely aw-struck. Men of all ages that could fit in your pocket climb rocks and then plunge gracefully several stories into rocky water.


- amazed by the beautiful lights on the mountains around Acapulco driving home, also amazed at how incredibly nice Belen is

Day 2: Acapulco

- went to breakfast at "La Granja" a mexican tradition

- ate some delicious oatmeal-type stuff from a traditional handmade basin, also drank interesting papaya juice

- it's called "La Granja" which means Zoo because there is a little zoo behind the restaurant. here live some of the saddest animals i have ever seen, including a little raccoon that i wanted to carry out in my bag were it not for the risk of him mauling me embarrassingly


- went to a lovely beach, rode a 4 wheeler around for a half an hour, felt like a bad ass

- watched a gorgeous sunset with Belen


- later at home, Belen and I gussy up for a night on the town, realized how frumpy I am as she emerged from the bathroom like some ancient Mayan goddess, more on that later

- on the way out of the house to go out we met a couple in Belen's neighborhood who could not get into their daughter's apartment, Belen spent almost 2 hours trying to help them break the lock with everything she could find in her midst. heart. of. GOLD.

- we didn't go out this night as it was very late after we finished with the couple, but we did go out to have a lovely glass of wine at a nice restaurant at the local mall

Day 3: Acapulco

- had a picnic in the backyard of ham & cheese sandwiches

- we to La Capilla de la Paz (Chapel of Peace) to see Acapulco from the top of a huge mountain, amazing view ensues


- went onto a naval ship and walked around deck, heard "Uptown Girl" playing

- went to the oldtown part of Acapulco and took a boat around the peninsula

- ate at Zorritos, a place my old boss suggested to go to for awesome authentic Mexican food, she was totally right

- while there I was enchanted by the servers who were all older men. there was a cute little girl of like 3 or 4 running around to each one and they scooped her up and hugged her each time she came and then let her down to run back to her mom


- went home to find what Belen described as little "takatakas" because they make that takataka sound when they run. turns out the takatakas are little white lizards with black eyes. we found one near my computer cord. i'm proud to say i didn't scream when i saw it, but i did stay frighteningly conscious of it's whereabouts when it scampered away.


- las hormigas - ants!! they're everywhere, houses, walls, sidewalks, everywhere!

- went out to "Paradise" a nice little nightclub on a touristy strip, met 3 European guys from a country i didn't know when they first told me (maybe i had a few daquiris, maybe i didn't, turns out much later it was Slovenia!). they stuck out just as much as I did. white. we made friends with them and belen even offered to take them home to the copa cabana where they were staying (of course). one was especially drunk and kept singing a song he knew in English (mcdonald's, KFC, pizza hut, repeat). he kept referring to American music and other American things and saying to me, YOU know what i'm talking about. yes, i do know kurt cobain. we got home around 4 or 5.

all of this in 3 days! more soon...

email to Indonesia

Here's an email I sent to my buddies John & Mattie in Indonesia. I feel like more and more of my friends are in other parts of the world. Pretty soon I just may have to join them.


I'd like to find out more about that site that John was making arrangements with. Once you find out what the cost includes we can think about whether or not it's a good idea. I talked to my friend from Sao Paulo and it turns out she's going to be in Spain during the time we'll be in S. America! :( So we don't need to stay in Sao Paulo if you're not interested. Not a ton to see there and it's a bit sketchy from what I've heard.

I've been thinking [less so about this than about our trip] about moving to S. America for a couple of months to practice my Spanish, etc. I may try to make some connections with people through this website I found (Expatriates Argentina) while we're down there.

I have also lowered one (of many) of my student loans which will help me save money. Hell, I'm going to pay for this shit for the rest of my life anyway, and I'd never take back my education so fuck 'em! Interest doesn't scare me! :)
I also should start teaching for CASA again soon, we have a meeting tomorrow night. How has teaching been for you guys? I'm sure at this point you know a lot more than me, but teaching has taught me how little I know about the English language, lol!

This email is all over the place, I am chock full of caffeine and am completely without direction right now. I've had a ton on my mind lately, but who doesn't have that problem?

We've talked to Jamie via gchat & email and she seems to be doing great! She's had some of the pangs of homesickness but she's holding strong so far, I'm super proud of her!

My dear soon-to-be New Yorker, Jeffcott, leaves on Friday. A Columbia law student with a goatee, can you imagine? He's about as excited as he can get about anything in his life. We've got a place to stay in NY now! :)

Well I'm winding down and trying to get the [beep] out of this place and sit on the metro for an hour. Can't wait for my move to Bethesda, I'm looking at about 2 weeks now. I hope Pearl & Bea Arthur handle the transition well, I'm sure it's nothing my lovely new roommate can't handle. :)

I cannot WAIT for you guys to get back, it will be here so soon, i know it!

And - oh YES! We got your package you sent back in April!!! Dusty loved, loved, loved the blow-dart-contraption. We've got holes all over our dining room wall. I love my wrap and Meagan's excited about her scarf. Haven't gotten Katya hers yet, but not to worry, I will see her soon. The skin-whitening ad was particularly disheartening but comical. Thank you soooo much! It could not have come at a more perfect time.

I will talk to you soon. Give Mangly my love!
-Jenna

I think I'll move

I thought for most of the day about moving to Argentina to teach English. The more I think about it the more I want it.
What is there to hold me back, really? Family, friends, a familiar culture, yes. But that will all be waiting for me when I come back.
As much as it excites me it equally scares me to think about dropping everything and going. I think I'll go back to Buenos Aires in the fall again and test the waters. If I get the same feeling I got when I was there before I'll do it. If not, there's always something else to explore, or somewhere else. :)