12:34 am PST: Since I have nothing to do until the battery on my computer runs out, I figured I might as well keep on posting. For anyone wondering why I’m in Charlotte, it’s because I was headed to DC for a work conference, but was diverted here. When we landed, a U.S. Airways spokesperson got on the PA system and told everyone: “You’ll be staying here tonight. Get a hotel discount voucher as you leave from the desk. You’re on your own.” Well, f*&k you too, U.S. Airways.

Anyway, right after we landed I arranged a flight for tomorrow morning to DC. Next, I called the number provided by U.S. Airways that supposed to provide ‘discount’ hotel stays. Riiiight. $55 at the Holiday Inn 14 miles from the airport is a real steal. I was able to get through to several hotels on my own (all booked), but couldn’t get through to a lot more because the phones were tied up. So, I spent about 45 minutes and $60 in cab fare with a taxi driver who only wanted to talk about his internet girlfriend, Texas hold ‘em poker, and whether I thought there would be snow for his trip to Atlantic City this weekend. And couldn’t find a room. And now I’m back at the airport.

12:44 am PST: The floor waxer from hell has just arrived to make our lives as uncomfortably noisy as possible. And the guy sleeping next to me on the floor is definitely a sleep talker.

Let me start this post off by saying I know nothing about Atlanta. I don’t know anyone from here, and this is my first time past the airport terminal. My first impression is that it’s pretty cold, because people are bundled up like it -20 degrees. No joke. Parkas and earflap hats are in full effect. But it’s like 40.

I’m pretty impressed with Atlanta’s subway system, called MARTA. Sound familiar? That’s probably because you’ve seen videos like of wacky people on the train, just like this one:

Click to enlarge

I didn’t have the good luck of seeing a nut like that one, but I did see a guy with a bunch of $1 bills hanging out of his baby’s stroller, which also doubled as his mobile phone dj booth while on the train. When a passenger point out the $1 bills that seemed to be ready to fall out of the stroller (over his music), the father shrugged it off, saying “Nah man, it’s her birthday. I pinned ‘em on there.” Sure enough, they were clipped onto her sleeve. Here’s a picture:

Look closely under her arm. You’ll see.

Also, I was impressed with the number of abandoned strip malls and overall blight that existed between the airport and my hotel in downtown Atlanta, which is across the street from a Hooters and Hard Rock Cafe.

I’ll leave you with this. I’m out to find Stroker’s nightclub.

Ive been in Buenos Aires for a week, and Argentina in general for a few. I havent been taking any pictures for  the same reason that I havent  been blogging, I´m lazy and on vacation.

Anyway, some  highlights from Buenos Aires.

There was a massive gay pride parade here last weekend. It was insanity. Transvestites dancing in the streets, lots of leather and rainbow flags, indecent sexual propositions, etc.

I also went to a soccer match between Boca Juniors and Colón. We went with a tour group from the hostel and stood in the cheap section. They gave us a song list and information flyer before the match. the flyer warned us never to cheer when the other team scored, ´it´s a matter of life and death´. Also some of the songs roughly translated to:

I love Boca,
I want to kill a River fan (another team),
Please win a championship,
I will kill and die for it

No, seriously.

Another thing about Buenos Aires is the protests. All the time. The subway worked have been on strike twice since ive been here, completely shutting down the subway system. Im all for worker´s rights but it really is inconvenient.

What else.

I partied with some Israelis the other night. They had all just gotten out of the army and come to Buenos Aires to do a lot of drugs. Apparently there is a whole Israeli network here and we got into clubs for free and got free drinks. Also, if you are from Israel you almost never pay the same price as other tourists. Hostel stays, soccer tickets, etc. I learned two words in Hebrew and have been using them nonstop to try to get free stuff.

I fly to Lima tomorrow, but I have a 7 HOUR LAYOVER in Santiago that I didnt notice when I booked the flight. It wouldnt be all bad except U.S. citizens have to pay $140 to fly into Chile, so I have to stay inside passport control or pay the fee. I hope my bag is checked all the way through otherwise its goona be a $140 trip to baggage claim.

Anyway I stay in Lima for 2 days and fly home on the 17th, hopefully arriving in Seattle around 12:30 in the afternoon. But i dont actually have a flight out yet, I have to book it at the airport in Lima…. so we´ll see.

- I’ve seen the sun come up every morning I’ve been in Cordoba and my body hates me
- Went out with 2 guys from North Carolina last night. One of them woke up in a ditch with no shoes or wallet
- I have not stopped sweating since I got here
- There’s a dirty older guy staying at my hostel who creeps all the girls out and loves to give me tips on how to be a good lover
- Went up to the terrace at my hostel last night (this morning) and 2 people were passed out completly naked
- For halloween I’m goona wrap myself in toilet paper and be a mummy
- We tried to go see some waterfalls and a huge lake an hour outside of the city the other day but they are completly dry because it hasn’t rained in a long time. It looked really strange. Hard to explain…
- I’m bummed out I’m not home for Halloween but Happy Halloween

But people are still wearing pants.

Im here for the next 4 days and then to somewhere else–haven’t figured it out yet. Likely Buenos Aries.

Santiago is actually a really nice city. Except for the river that run through the middle of it. It smells like sewage-trash-death and is a really nasty shade of brown.

For the past few weeks I have just been living in a hostel. I had to change hostels last night but I have been hangin out with a lot of randoms from the hostel, mostly watching football, going on day trips or going out to party at night. Also, I feel like I am getting older because my body hates me for putting so much alcohol and rich food into it. Hangovers are way worse in the southern hemisphere. Also, I have a new favorite dish. It´s called a ´parrillada´and is just a huge plate of meat including chicken, steak, blood sausage, pork, etc. photo

I started a Spanish course last week which has been really useful because it´s easy to just hang around the hostel and speak English. I can now understand a good amount of what people say (or at least the general gist of the conversation) and can get around with no problems. I also fully understand simple movies like Harry Potter and Deathrace (thanks to seeing it 3+ times on the bus).

I changed my return date because I want to spend some time in Buenos Aries (for Halloween) before I head back, so my new return date is November 17th. But I´m still flying out through Lima because there is a stupid awesome market there called Polvos Azules (Blue Dust Market) that you can buy ANYTHING in. If you have any specific gift requests (including pirated DVDs in Russian, t-shirts that will fall apart after one washing, or any of the original Nintendo games) make them ASAP.

Also, I have been doing my best to help people understand American culture because *some travelers have a somewhat negative view of Americans (drunk Brits don´t seem to understand each individual American does not make foreign policy decisions). I like to explain what chicken fried steak is, turn on country music, do the ´shower dance´ and crip walk in clubs, and explain the finer points of American football. I am a true ambassador.

Anyway I´m already tired of writing. If you have Skype then go ahead and add me: alex.stone2