I LOVE Olympics and I’m usually glued to the idiot box every 2 years for a month(winter and summer, duh) to watch the games but this year I’m boycotting because I don’t support China’s oppressive policy over Tibet and corruption behind the games(I don’t know why it hasn’t become a big issue in the U.S.A. because it was all over Korean news)
but anyways,
GAH I MISS GAWKING AT HOT ATHLETES! (swimmers= best bodies ever)
damn it.
I’m interested in going to Brazil for a few months after Chile & Argentina, around the Carnaval week(21-25th of February) my friends from NY might join me and we all speak Spanish to a certain extent(and not a word of Portuguese)
I just looked up hostels and they are ridiculously expensives, ranging from $70-100 dollars a night! Any idea where we might stay for cheap or even couchsurf? I’ve been wanting to couchsurf for the longest time but I’ve been a bit um, “scared.” haha
For those of you who don’t feel like reading the long version, here’s a brief version:
1. Many foreigners work on tourist visa(90days) if they are staying for less than a year and usually don’t run into trouble. ( I don’t recommend or condone this though)
2. Anything above 4,000 pesos per hour is considered good, averaging 5,000-5,500 pesos per hour. I however was offered 7,000 and up per hour at the main institute I work at and another for 6,000 for another. see number 3 for why. *make sure this is per HOUR not per CLASS* (also ask their paying method, including whether they take out %10 for fees)
3. Ask your hostel/hotel/school about possible teaching positions before you go to institutes to drop off a resume! you’ll probably end up with a lower wage if you do the latter before they come looking.
4. It’s relatively easy to find English-teaching job in Santiago and therefore it’s not necessary to arrange a job prior to your entry to the country-you will have to sign a contract that binds you exclusively to one institute and will get lower wage.
5. Many classes take place during office hours(especially lunch hours-1to 4 pm) at downtown office: dress well and be prompt, well just like any job. For guys, a dress shirt/pants and a tie ensemble is recommended.
(more…)
I know I’ve only done music for the FATM posts but I promise I’ll do other fields as well soon! I’m just still recovering from the series of thefts and fever which I’ve had for past 3 days.
anyways,
back in 2003,
back when I was “trapped” in ungodly place (aka Philly)
back when people were still using Friendster (but not the extent of the Facebook or Myspace nowadays) and xanga/livejournal haha,
most of the searching for “new music” was done by recommendations or just going to random gigs(don’t you miss going to random gigs and ~discovering~ fab new bands?)
Spending hours on um, message boards (remember them?),
I was so enamored with then seemingly charming New York culture
especially with its re-blooming music scene, and was eager to find more ~New York bands~ haha.
I came across (then-New Yorker) Devendra Banhart through Adam Green’s message board early 2003 and was intrigued by his strange yet alluring voice. (at first I assumed it was girl, ha!)
After reading more about his music and artistic background, I found out that he had an art book out which was available only in the UK at the time(I think).
so I posted on his record label’s Message board(haha), asking if anyone knew about where I could get the book.
Much to my surprise, Devendra himself replied and offered to send me a copy free of charge.
Weeks went by,
and one usual depressing day,
I came home to find a personalized envelope with a personalized book inside.
(which obviously made my day and had me bragging to my unimpressed friends for about a week)
It’s really lovely,
maybe I can post a picture of it when I make it back to the USA(whenever that might be)
anyways,
I dig his new song Carmensita (in Spanish!) and the video made me all nostalgic about India:
I got my backpack stolen.
Gone are my beloved Canon 550 Flash and 50 mm f1/4 lens, my contacts that had needed a replacement anyways, my beloved clothes including 3 dresses, 2 of my favorite shirts(ugh MC5 shirt), white framed “maricon gafas,” all my chargers etc etc etc…
The most valuable ones were obviously my camera equipment worth about 500-700 dollars but since I’m not in a serious use for it (wait until I see a band live, I’ll be moaning all day all night) What affects me more is the more useful daily stuff such as my clothes(esp. since I need to work on Monday), chargers(for cameras and mp3player) and contacts…oh and my Charro boton earrings from Salamanca. I need something to put in my ears so they dont get filled up again.
sigh.
major shopping to do today and tomorrow….I hate shopping.
more so than monetary value since it can be replaced, I hate what it does to be mentally. I can’t trust people and I just look at everyone as thieves now.
oh and
I discovered some mfer stole cheese from me when I got back “home” around 9 pm after being starved during the 27 hr bus ride..(more on the “service” of the Pullman Fichter bus later)
stealing someone else’s food is the most primordial and one of the lowest crime you can commit especially when you have more money than me.
lol I’m so bitter and my mum laughed at the fact that I was fussing so much over food.
Woman, starve for a while and see how you would react.
::edit Sat 6:46pm:: Apparently someone stole my US $100 and about $100 worth of Argentine/Uruguayan pesos from my locker. GREAT. I’m now seriously down to $300 US dollars on my account. and I need to buy clothes. just amazing.
hello all
Im writing from La Tirana where a huge festival is taking place in honor of Virgen del Carmen. It took me nearly 26 hrs to get here via uncomfortable dirty buses(for South American standards because long-distance buses here tend to be really nice), first 24 hrs to Iquique, a coastal city and then about another 2 hrs to La Tirana which is a small town in the middle of a desert.
Despite of it being a huge festival here(about 400,000 visitors each year) there is almost no information available online for English-speakers.(for Spanish-speakers, go here to read about it-Ill translate it when I get back home) So I just got here, followed a group of young backpackers and arrived at this small place off the road where the resident of the place offered me an individual tent and a mattress for me to sleep in(the other backpackers had carried their own tents with them). The family has been super nice to me, making sure to keep me fed and well. I dont think it is even a proper campsite! Im going to leave on either Tomorrow or Friday night to Iquique where Ill spend a day sightseeing….I dont know what to give to the family because as I said, Im not sure if its even a proper campsite and they havent asked me for anything and I dont want to insult their hospitality by offering money…..Im thinking of bringing back some fruits for the family when I go back tonight(the festival goes on until midnight) but still, any suggestions?
As always, my life has taken an unpredictable turn
and I’ve vowed myself to never again mope about having less money than I desire because
it was of my choice and is something I can change if I choose to.
I’m not really a type of person who regrets anything.
I just take in every experience (and trust me I’ve had awful ones).
As someone once said,
today’s me is the result of yesterday’s me,
so I will take responsibility for my state.
Having said that, nothing truly awful has happened;
something perhaps very minute,
something that perhaps I would laugh over a glass of wine a few years from now
(although any kind of alcohol tends to have that effect on my zero-tolerant body)
anyways,
I’ve made a few adjustments to my plan in Latin America and now I’ll be staying in Santiago Chile for 5-6 months,
until late December or late January.
As for leaving the entire continent…
who knows when that will happen.
The only thing I can confirm at this point is that I won’t be in the USA for long,
I’ll probably stay around a week or two,
as soon as I take care of legal stuff,
I’ll be off to London for a few years.
oh and,
I’m probably one of very few people who gets angry at the fact that she has earned a degree unbeknownst to her and gets drunk in front of an ambassador.
hey,
he insisted.
*to be fair,
he’s an old family friend-who apparently went on a few dates with my madre(scandalous!)….
it was our first encounter though.
I may have lost faith in humankind a long, long time ago but thankfully music hasn’t failed me(the “scene” has)
and when I’m in less-than-stellar mood like today, I can still enjoy life by listening to some fantastic tunes by the Belgian French-speaking singer-songwriter Jacques Brel, whose highly emotional tear-evoking music surprisingly cheers me up:
one of his most famous tunes complete with (ungodly haha) English translated subtitles:
such a magnificent singer….
David Bowie has covered his songs and this one(My Death) is from the movie Ziggy Stardust the motion picture:
so good……good enough to prevent me from crying myself to sleep because that’s just embarrassing.
Since getting here about 2 Sundays ago,
I haven’t done anything so I can’t tell you anything about Santiago Chile.
I’m going to be here for a few months so I’m taking it easy,
although I can foresee myself cramming 2 wks worth of sightseeing into my last 2 days.
shame.
I took subway to get to my school on Monday during the rush hour.
well, first I had to somehow push myself into the seemingly impossible train…
Mind you, I’ve lived in Korea(taking line 2 in Seoul) and in Tokyo, (taking Yamanote sen in Shinjuku)…..
so I’m used to seeing trains fully packed, impossible to move a limb.
but I’ve never been on a train that was already full before I got on….
it always filled up AFTER I got on, hence being squeezed to death in the midst of middle-aged businessmen who decided to od on cheap cologne and forego deodorant.
I got to the Republica station on L1, and just stared at the train as the doors opened to reveal butts popping out everywhere….somehow Chileans saw this as an opportunity to fit in 3-4 more people in as I just stood there.
After letting 4 trains to pass by, I was determined to get in, this time with a help from this short lady who dragged me in by my arm.
what a nice lady I thought….
Coming from NY and my personal historic background, I have trust issues but this day I was out of it.
I have this leather shoulder bag/purse from my mum with a drawstring interior and metal clasp.
Before getting in, I tied the strings together into a bow to avoid a possible theft.
Well so I got on, felt people’s limbs pushing against my stomach, arms, everywhere basically.
Unable to move, I felt someone’s arm moving against my stomach(where my purse was), suspicious but I thought the person was just trying to free their limb as I was at the time.
so the lady gets off after only 2 stops, and I became suspicious and when I looked down,
my bag was open,
so I got off the train,
digging through my purse(so I don’t become the crazy screaming guiri accusing an innocent local)
while searching for the lady in the crowd(futile attempt).
Gone was she with my wallet.
I only had 11,000 pesos(about US $22) in my wallet with my creditcard-I normally don’t carry cards in my wallet but I had to pay school that day.
It’s worth about my weekly grocery money so I’m not in that big of a jeopardy (but I’ve been starving myself as a form of punishment for my carelessness HAHA) and I have my debit/credit card with me which is more important to me than the stolen one.
so all is good but damn, was I impressed with her skills. lol
This is my first time getting pick-pocketed (or being robbed, knowingly) and bravo lady, you got me.
People freaked out when they heard the story from the deliriously amazed idiot(i.e. moi) while I was still amused…
and also quite amazed at the fact that it happened in Santiago while I never had any problem while living in Buenos Aires, esp. considering I was living in San Telmo(aka the 2nd most “hood” of BsAs), only a block away from La Boca(aka THE “hood”)
the bottom line is,
I’m unharmed,
not financially jeopardized..
it’s not like I’m spending much money here either because I get free room & breakfast in exchange for 18 hrs of work per week at a hostel.
Throw in wifi and an access to free bike and free dinners on Tuesday and Wednesday and occassional baked goods, not a bad deal. nope
I was referred to several English teaching jobs (paying US $10-14/hr) which I hope to start next week…
I’ll post more info about my living situation if all goes well, as I plan on staying here for 2-3 months.
my current plan is to save up US $2000-3000 in 2-3 months…..I think it’s possible..we’ll see.
Hopefully I’ll get out and have some interesting stories to write about in Santiago…
oh and in gigging news, The Hives are coming to Santiago on Sept 10th, which means I’ll probably hang around until then.
p.s. can you believe it’s already my 6th country to live in? talk about home instability HAHA
( I need a more creative title for this but I only slept 2 hrs last night, that’s my excuse)
Ok, so besides (never-occurring) updates on where I am, I’ve decided to add things I love at the moment, anything from a product, a book, sights etc.
One album I’ve been listening to almost obsessively for a month is White T-Shirt by Australian (now living in Paris) singer/songwriter Micky Green.
I’m quite bad at categorizing music objectively but I would describe her music as being sexy without being sleazy. Wikipedia description of her music isn’t far off: colorful, rhythmic vocal pop.
On her myspace you can download 2 songs for free,
but I would highly recommend getting the whole album.
oh and did I mention she was a model?
Finally a model who can strut AND sing!
