Collin Cates – Ccube311 – USA 0

Sunday December 30 2007

Seven days from now I will find myself on a airplane headed to Argentina, and I will have packed everything I’ll need for twomonths of travel. Hopefully.

Last night I tried out my tent in the backyard. It’s a one-man version that’s pretty roomy and of a sleek design. It’s big enough to put my backpack in and even has a small covered outdoor area where I can keep my shoes dry. As I pulled the cords tight around the opening of my sleeping bag, I could hear a far off train whistle as it hauled goods down the line. There are no trains in Patagonia.

Sometime in the night, my dog Maggie came sniffing around the unidentifiable structure that had somehow erected itself next to herfavorite tennis ball. After realizing that the green, pod-like structure was harmless and non-edible, she went off into other corners ofthe yard to find something of interest. I lay awake thinking of ways to smuggle a dog through airport security. Maybe if Ifound a Seeing Eye Dog cloak for her to wear. Would she be smart enough to play the part past the guards? She’d make a great hikingdog.

Buenos Aires sounds like an awesome city and I can’t wait to step off the plane into summer when it’s getting so cold here. One of thethings I’m looking most forward to is the food. From what I’ve heard Argentina has awesome beef and delicious ice cream. I like beefand ice cream and cool cities. The hostel I’ve just booked is in an area called Palermo Soho, which is a pretty bustly part of town withmany young people around. Buenos Aires is the heart of the Tango so I might have to break my fear of dancing while I’m there.

I’ve lined out a pretty ambitious trip in terms of ground to cover and I’ll be spending many an hour on buses. I’d like to sit next tosomeone interesting and practice my Spanish. They speak Spanish in Argentina with a few differences than here. For one, any timeyou’d use the “LL”, it’s like using a “ZH”. For instance, “Me llamo Collin” is “meh zhamo Collin”. Also, I hear they speak with an Italianintonation. Lots of gusto.

That’s enough writing to kick off this travel blog. For now, I’ll listen to Beck and daydream about the next two months of my life. Chances are I’ll be daydreaming then, too.

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posted Sunday December 2007

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