a common ground

Since returning back to SLO, I can't help but feel saddened. My first week back in the states I visited my parents and we went to Lake Tahoe. There, we rode jet skis, went to the beach, rode bikes, ate delicious food, and drank wine. We had a great time, basically making up for the last two months that I was gone; however, now that I am no longer on vacation with my parents or living in another country, I feel like I am missing out on life. I've been in SLO for two days and already its back to my normal routine, which now, in retrospect, seems so insignificant and void of meaning. What used to be my favorite place, the so called happiest place to live, doesn't seem so awesome anymore. True, my last few days of my trip to South America, I was homesick and ready to return home, but now that I am here, I am not sure as to why I was ever in any rush to get back. Why is it that we always seem to want what we can't have? As the end of my trip approached, I yearned for hot yoga, my family, my friends, warm weather, my schedule, my comfort. I longed for my life that was all too familiar, and now that I have had my fix, I am satisfied and want to go back. For me, I feel like that is a recurring theme in my life. I always want that instant gratification, and sometimes I fail to see what is going to give me a lasting feeling of fulfillment and joy. I wish I had spent those last few days of my trip more freely instead of thinking about how exciting it was going to be to return home. Now that I reflect on it, it seems crazy that thoughts like that even passed through my mind. I will always have America and my family to return to, so I should enjoy the time I have in another country, especially one that I may never return to. It seems ungrateful of me to say that after my trip to South America, I am not satisfied; however, I am only unsatisfied in the sense that now I have an even stronger desire to travel than before. After having such a wonderful time abroad and sharing in new and interesting experiences, I want to explore the world. I found that in every country there is something unique and wonderful about their culture, and there is always at least one beautiful thing worth seeing in a city. I met a number of interesting people, and after talking with people from all over the world, I learned that we are all alike. Although we may dress differently, speak different languages, or even have different political views, we all just want to enjoy life: live, love, eat, drink, and see the wonders of the world.

Argentina

I just paid twenty bucks for the worst sandwich, but I’m happy I at least ordered a glass of chocolate milk to make up for it. I have five more hours until my flight and the only thing Buenos Aires Airport has is this crappy Tango Bar. Great.

Buenos Aires is one hell of a city. In retrospect, it sounds like America: the people here are very proud, love meat, and love to party. I thought Americans loved to drink, until I came to Argentina. In Buenos Aires, they don’t go out to the clubs until 2 in the morning and then they dance until the sun comes up. Personally, I couldn’t keep up. I’m not really sure how anyone functions the next day or goes to work. Chad nearly missed his flight today because we were so hungover and slept until an hour before his flight. Maybe that’s why Argentina is still considered a developing nation; everyone is too god damn hungover to work the next day, so they simply don’t.

Aside from this crappy sandwich I just ordered, the food in Buenos Aires has been fantastic. I don’t even like meat, but in Buenos Aires I do. Last night, Chad and I went to the best buffet. Buffets here are not like American buffets, which are cheap and full of people overweight. No this was much more gourmet. Imagine: a limitless amount of tender steaks cooked right on the grill in front of you, sausages, papas fritas, salad, grilled vegetables, and ice cream. Better yet, each person gets their own bottle of wine or pitcher of beer. I can’t even explain how amazing this place was, and unlike the states, it was filled with classy couples. The upper class, with their fake boobs and gucci purses (yes, they love designer brands here, which I was surprised about as well). This buffet was not filled by large food loving savages, but rather by fine diners, who stopped by in their suits after a long day of work.

For a country that mocks everything Americans do and secretly admires them, I have never felt so unwelcomed as an American myself. In conversation, people were always shocked that I was from America. “But you’re not fat” or “You are way too beautiful to be American, I thought you were Brazilian” is what they would say to me. Every now and then, I would get, “Of course not, you’re American. You wouldn’t know that”. Well that’s just fantastic, the rest of the world not only thinks we are proud assholes, but we are fat and ugly as well. It’s unfortunate, our reputation. I can understand why people may think Americans are ignorant. As a generalization, we kind of are. The German kid knew more about Barack Obama and his policies than I did, and sadly enough, I didn’t know England was an island either. Brazil owes Gisele Bundech a hell of lot; thanks to her, the world thinks all Brazilians are drop dead gorgeous and look great in a bikini. And thanks to George Bush, everyone thinks Americans are ugly idiots.

Probecho

While the food in South America has been good, I am certainly happy to return back to the states. I don’t know if it’s because my dad and my grandparents have spoiled me with food all my life, but I feel like nothing compares to American food. I’m not even sure what American food is, but I do know that is a lot better than eating chicken and rice everyday. In the past two months, I have maybe ate vegetables a total of ten times. I am excited to return home to a fresh dinner of salmon with a green salad and of course, sushi. Albeit japanese, I feel like it has become enough of a fad to be considered American.

But I don’t want to completely knock Peruvian food; like I said, the food in South America is good, it just lacks a little bit of variety. One of my favorite things about food in South America is that you can find whatever you want on the street: popcorn, pineapple, almonds, empanadas, chocolate, really, whatever you want!

Every morning began with pan, or bread. When we were lucky, our host mom would serve us yogurt or eggs. For lunch it was, surprise!, some sort of variation of chicken, rice, and potatoes. I never knew there were so many ways to prepare chicken and rice! There were so many different types of sauces, most of which were made with a milk and cheese base.

Although the first couple of days we didn’t eat dinner, after about a week or so we started having left overs for dinner, many of times which I skipped out on. I skipped out on dinner not only because I was so full from lunch, but also because I was so tired of eating chicken and rice, especially if I already knew what it was going to taste like. After dinner, came dessert, which was my favorite. Dessert in Peru is slightly different and consists of a cup of tea and galletas con dulce de leche (crackers with carmel spreading).

The strangest thing I tried in Peru was cuye. Cuye is the furry friend we all had when we were in third grade, also known as guinea pig. Surprisingly enough, I actually enjoyed it. Apart from the fish like miniature bones and lack of meat, it had a lot of flavor. They prepare cuye only on special occasions, similar to our thanksgiving, stuffing it with cilantro and basil.

Chile, on the other hand, is known for its fish, since the whole country practically is a coast. My first day in Chile I had fish and papas fritas for lunch for a total of $3, and it was delicious! While I was in chile I also tried ceviche, which is much different than our American version of ceviche. Ceviche in chile has cooked fish and is almost like a soup. While I enjoyed the ceviche in Chile, I think I prefer American ceviche.

And now, I am in Argentina, and think I have tried the best food yet (apart from their Italian food, which is terrible). Our first night here, we went to a steak place and it was so delicious! I don’t usually even like steak, but this steak was covered in mushrooms and so tender that I couldn’t resist. There are also tons of parillas on the streets, or meat restaurants. Chad and I went to one today and got sausage sandwiches, which were the most delicious things I have ever tasted.

Since being in South America, I have definitely eaten my share of bread and meat. As I see it, I am making up for past years when I passed on the bread and meat, and while it has been fun to indulge, I am definitely ready for my healthy organic california style of eating, just as much as my waist line is. In spanish, after every good meal they say probecho as a way to say 'thanks for the food, i enjoyed eating it.' So "probecho" Latin America, but I'm ready for California.