Rosario, Argentina: Its already December, and as they say, time flies! I can remember getting in the plane with my grandma, to Mexico City, wondering where i´ll be for Christmas. It think its clear now i´ll be in Buenos Aires, Argentina. 15 days til Christmas, if you´re keeping track at home! Still the most wonderful time of the year, in my opinion.



But its a bit different out here. For one, its summer time, and that means heat! Think about how weird it would be if December averaged 90 degrees! We´d freak out! But that´s how it is out here. It´s one of the reasons I had to leave Santiago, Chile a little early.



I left off (the blog, that is) in Viña del Mar, a beautiful coastal town in Chile. From there I headed back to the capital, Santiago, with plans to stay a week. Turns out I lasted two days. The primary reason was the heat. I couldnt take it! About 90 degrees during the day, and the sun does not set until about 9pm. Its hot until about then. Unbearable, at least it was for me. So I took the next bus to Mendoza, Argentina. But, Santiago was nice, very nice. I loved it, and as always, you can see pictures on Facebook. So far, maybe the nicest capital city. A little bit of NYC, a little bit of L.A., and even some SF. Really nice city. And the people, great!



But just couldnt take the heat, so off to Argentina I went.

I spent 5 days in Mendoza, and I loved every minute of it. I was not as excited as some travelers to visit Argentina. I had heard too much hype. A lot like Europe, the Argentinians consider themselves more European than Latin, and on and on. But I found none of it to be true. At least not in Mendoza. Not that there is anything wrong with Europe, but if you´re in Latin America, you should consider yourself Latin American. And they do! And they have great steaks, and great wine, and yes, the women here are absolutely gorgeous. Just had to throw that out there. Of course, they dont compare to California girls, but thats neither here nor there.

My first night in Mendoza I was sick. A horrible sore throat; I sounded like Froggy from the little Rascals. It was a friday night. So I slept all day hoping I would get better. And I did, eventually. Well enough to go rafting, horseback riding, and on a really cool wine tour in the next few days. Not to mention the zoo, which was fascinating and scary at the same time. I swear the animals could have escaped at any time. And im talking about bears, and tigers, and lions. But we were able to get so close, it was cool. And I was well enough to enjoy the food in Mendoza. The meat is amazing. I attended a few BBQ´s or Asada´s. All you can eat; I was in heaven!

The town was great, but I had to move on, so I headed to Rosario. Its a town near the river, and about 4 hours north of Buenos Aires. Also the birthplace of Che, and also home to most of the models in Argentina. At least that´s what some old man in Mendoza told me. But that´s not why im here. At least not the only reason...lol.

So far the town is ok. You need to take a bus from the city center to get to the river, which they call a beach. And, yes, it appears that most of the models in Argentina are from here.

Im currently at a hostel, and though ive mentioned that i dont prefer hostels, I think its hostels from here on out. In other countries I had the choice to get my own room at a hotel. In Chile and Argentina, prices wont allow me to do so. But so far ive enyoyed the experience. Yes, there are lots of foreigners, but you also meet lots of locals, because Chileans, and Argentineans travel more often, then say Peruvians, or Bolivians. So, for instance, there were lots of Chilean girls at my hostel in Mendoza because they had a four day weekend. So, even though I was at a hostel, I was able to hang out with ¨locals¨. Though I also met other folk who i really enjoyed spending time with.

But one Chilean girl made it clear that I had a long way to go with my spanish. She kept making fun of my pronunciation, and I kept reminding her that even if I was fluent in spanish I wouldnt speak like her because im not Chilean or Argentinean. In L.A. we speak Mexican spanish! She still continued to mock me! But i´m working on my spanish, and I think its getting pretty good. I´ll let you be the judge when I get back.

Times are good. Im deep into a book about Sudan. What is the What? is the name of it. By Dave Eggers. I recommend it to anyone interested in a good historical autobiography. The situation in Sudan is still on going, by the way. Also currently getting through Corinthians. Just finished the first part, will start the second after I log off.

I hope everyone is having a great December. If you have not yet gone out and bought a tree, do so! The longer you have it up, the better!

Love you mom, great chatting with you today!

Love you family,

Love you friends.

Michael.