For all you visual learners

Carla:
Finally figured out how to link you all (particularly those of you don't avidly stalk us on Facebook) to some pictures of our trip so far. (Mom, in case this is confusing, click on the word "pictures" to follow the link :)

Some amusing things that have happened:

1. Quique's family has a young woman, Viviana, who comes by the house every weekday to clean. We met her the other day when we were still living at their place. Naturally, we rolled out of bed at 1:00 or so, said hello and a few words to her in the kitchen, then chatted with Javi over lunch. Normal enough, right? So we find out later that after leaving their house, she heads over to work at Quique's law firm. Quique told us about their interaction, which apparently went something like this:

V: So, I was at the house this morning and there were these two American girls in the kitchen.
Q: Oh yeah, I know. They're friends of the family who are staying with us for a while.
V: Yeah...man, they don't understand anything! I mean, maybe with Javi a little bit, but just a little bit.

"They don't understand anything" ??? Great. Just go ahead and disregard whatever I said about feeling cool being able to speak Spanish.

2. Viviana apparently has a knack for misinterpreting names. She calls Quique "Ique", the sister "Candelaria" has become "Candela", and apparently she just calls Javi "the guy". We introduced ourselves and later found out from Quique that she decided Audra's name was "Olga". The family found this hilarious because apparently there are some pretty unflattering cultural associations with that particular name...naturally, it has stuck around as a new nickname. Maybe we should rename the blog address...Carlga.blogspot.com? Olgar?

3. Some friends of mine from work have also been traveling in South America in the last couple of weeks. We had been in touch by email and planned to meet up at some point but it's amazing how much more difficult everything seems without regular cell phone contact. Anyways, Olga and I were strolling around the Recoleta Cemetary the other day, and were just on our way out when guess who walks in? None other than Rob, Amanda, and Jess. Somehow I wasn't that fazed by this chance encounter, but in retrospect it is actually amazing. We are in a city of more than 3 million people, had been wandering around all day and happened to be leaving at the exact moment they were coming in. Granted, the cemetary is a major tourist destination, but for any of you who've been there, it's also basically a MAZE. Five minutes one way or the other and we probably would have missed them altogether. How I love coincidences.

Other than that, we have been really living it up here. Out till 4, in bed till 12, watching movies, eating delicious steak dinners, and strolling the local markets. We sort of hit the wall last night though, and both ended up with sore throats this morning. You need to be in top physical condition for this kind of vacationing.

Two and a half more days in Buenos Aires, then we're in for a 31 hour bus trip to Sao Paulo. Here's hoping we don't end up with the Jackie Chan movie marathon...