Life is a Journey...

"Life is a journey, Not a destination. There are no mistakes, Just chances we’ve taken. Lay down your regrets cause all we have is now ..."

Reflections....As I sit in my LAST hostel in my last days in Argentina, I think about how these past 5 weeks have been physically, emotionally, mentally, and financially draining. LOL. Riding solo has allowed me much time to sit back and observe life pass by and be ok with it doing so. In these observations, I have been able to develop more clarity in my life and as some would say, I found myself.

Amongst my travels, I have been blessed to have had the opportunity to meet some interesting people. With each person, they provided a new perspective on life as a result of their individual journeys/travels they had taken. There are those individuals who have been traveling for 12 and 14 months - seriously, WTF; do you not miss your family, do you seriously enjoy not having a home and wearing the same clothes for a year?!? And then there are those who tell me they are traveling until their money runs out - again, WTF; what do you do when it runs out?!? Generally speaking, these people are not from the states, but from other countries where these travels are normal. Although these travels are normal for them, I found myself wondering why would they want to travel for so long? I think that five weeks is a little excessive, or maybe it is because I have been traveling solo for five weeks. I conjured up my own reasons as to why they leave home, but they are the only ones who know their true reason. Personally, I do not know if I had a clear reason for coming on my trip, but I think I got out of it a whole bunch more than I expected.

LIVING FULL OUT...I asked myself have I really been LIVING FULL OUT?? HELL YEAH, I have. This trip more than ever has shown me that I have, not only on this trip but in my life in general. My whole life I have realized I have done things outside of the norms. Gone against the grain, per se. Being a swimmer and lacrosse player - seriously, a black swimmer and black lacrosse player; EXACTLY. Dressed however I wanted to, because I liked it - and I must say I dress pretty damn well; well not right now actually, I look pretty beat up - nappy hair, random facial hair growing, stained clothing. Went to DUKE - those from MD know you just do not do that. Became a ChiropracTOR, when everyone else I knew was becoming a medical doctor. Moved cross country not knowing a soul and being so far away from my family and friends. Traveled around world with the sole intent of providing more light into peoples life through the chiropractic adjustment. Taking risks in love, life and friendships, because I followed my heart instead of what other people possibly thought or said. Seriously, the list could go on, but those are somethings that showed ME that I have been LIVING FULL OUT. Although, some may think that this is not LIVING FULL OUT, but to ME it is and that is all that matters.

Additionally, on this 5 week journey it solidified for me that I LOVE MY LIFE. There have been times on this trip I wanted to pack up my stuff and be like f*ck it, I am coming home. Not necessarily because I really did not like where I was at the time, it is because I missed some of the most important things and people in my life. Traveling is great alone, but it would be a whole lot better if next time I travel with people I love. These past 25 years has blessed me with a wonderful family - YOU ALL HAVE GIVEN ME SOOOO MUCH and I LOVE YOU, a great profession - I can not wait to get back and start practicing, unbelievable friends - words cannot describe what you all mean to me, and had the best big brother the world could have given me - III ::tear::tear::. I would not change not one thing...well I would want my brother back but other than that I would not change one thing. The path has been perfect for me and I can not wait to see what else life has in store for me and to share it with the most important people in my life.

So in summary, I have been LIVING FULL OUT!

Feliz de Dia de San Patricio

URUGUAY SUCKS - Or maybe I´m just ready to come back to the states. Well as for Uruguay, thus far (Colonia and Montevideo) SUCKS and if it weren´t for St. Patrick´s Day to redeem it I might have just left that evening. As you maybe wondering, Uruguayians celebrate St. Patrick´s Day?!? I can re-assure you they do, but they don´t really know why they are drinking Promotional Guiness and Jameson Whisky, wearing green, and partying on a random Tuesday Night. Some locals say they need any chance to go out and party; ENOUGH SAID...URUGUAY INDEED SUCKS - The locals even believe it.

Initially, it seemed as no one was going to be participating in St. Patrick´s Day here in Montevideo, until I reminded people of this glorious day of drinking - especially when there was an Irish bar within walking distance. So a group of people, of diverse backgrounds, decide to go out and celebrate. To our surprise, the street is filled with people and you couldn´t reach the Irish Bars - given there were only two, that says alot though. Apparently, in Montevideo, you are allowed to buy alcohol at the store and walk around with it on the streets. So that is what we did instead of going into the bars. For a while, that satisfied our desires for St. Patrick´s Day, but others wanted more - THEY WANTED TO DANCE! You all know me, give me a little alcohol and the body rolls come shortly behind. But on this occasion, the Irish bar was playing house music. SERIOUSLY, I DON´T GET DOWN WITH HOUSE MUSIC. But I regressed and I made the best of the situation.

Really though, did I leave the states and develop a serious case of ¨white people dancing¨syndrome. I felt so awkward and rhythmless dancing to this music. I just couldn´t find the beat and I wouldn´t allow myself to throw my arms around and my body and look crazy. I understand why now people do drugs to dance to this music, yet I tried other things such as Doubles of Jameson - seriously they were like 4 dollars. Yet, after about an hour of this craziness I couldn´t take it anymore, I decided I had to leave and that ended my St. Patrick´s Day.

I grow weary and anticipate coming home, moving on to the beautiful beaches of Punte Del Este.

LIVING FULL OUT (the best that I can in Uruguay)...

I AM NOT MY HAIR!

¿Hola? This is all I hear as I sit and people watch. With blank stares, children and adults alike approach me and say ¿Hola? This is not foreign to me for I feel like people have been amazed to see a Black person in Argentina and they don´t know what to do; so they stare.

Not adverse to the attention at first, I become slightly paranoid and think everyone is looking at me. On some occasions, I get treated like a celebrity. I receive nice looks, smiles, waves, and then get asked to take pictures with people on the streets and half naked women who are performing in street parades :-). Yet, on this given occasion while touring through Salta and the surrounding areas, I was sitting outside with some new found friends from Germany and Holland drinking a beer, and once again I receive the blank stares and ¿Holas? from the local children. Yet, they stare so intently, like they are about to do something or afraid to do something. All of a sudden a hands attack my face, thinking they were going to hit me or something but they reach for my hair. Next thing you know I have several hands touching my hair and smiling with amazement. WTF?? Do they do this to everyone; apparently NOT as the locals are laughing at me and so are my German friends who candidly take pictures of my embarassment. They slowly move down from my hair and touch my face and arm. "MORENO" they say...yes I am black. It is very weird to me that they never seen a black person before but I allow them to continue on their first encounter with a black person. If all could be so priviledged. ;-)

I wonder, is that what everyone else wanted to do to me as they stared prior?? If so, what happened to our childlike inquisitiveness (I think I just made up a word...anyways)?

Once they finished groping me, they asked if I was a wrestler and wanted to see my muscles and then compared muscles to my German friends. It was quite comical actually. Then they should us theirs; then challenged us to arm wrestling. To entertain the children I went back and forth with them, acting weak then going strong. Then to try to overcome our strength several children ganged up on us. After about several matches, I grew tired and told them I didn´t want to play anymore.

Soon, they pieced together that I spoke English and this one especially inquisitive child decides he was going to try and learn how to speak English from me. I tried to teach him how to say "Hello" and "How do you say..." It turned out to be quite a difficult thing for they couldn´t get the right pronunciation. Yet, I enjoyed myself working with him.

Hopefully after their encounter with me, they realize I am more than just my hair.

LIVING FULL OUT AND MORE THAN JUST MY HAIR...

Desperate and Lonely...

I´M ALLLLLLLLL BYYYYY MYSEEEELLLFF::singing::

After another week in Buenos Aires, I found myself stagnant and ready to leave. I still had numerous places still to see and had about 2 weeks to do it in; WHERE´S MY TRAVEL AGENT??? As a result, I booked a nine day retreat to visit Iguazu Falls (200+ waterfalls in Argentina and Brazil) and Salta (Western Argentina). During my stay in Argentina, I acquired a large entourage of acquaintances who I did most of my sight seeing with who made my days go by quite fast and enjoyable. But now, that I am leaving, I will no longer have a buddy to go touring with or having meals with; IT WILL BE JUST ME.

Thinking my spanish was improving, I thought venturing out on my own to other parts would be easier than when I began my excursion three weeks ago - also because the further you area way from Buenos Aires the less English they speak. Over the course of my trips, I´ve developed a knack for almost missing all my busses, but making it one minute before the leave - like the driver is on the bus about to back out the space and the luggage compartment is closed. 18 hours of solititude on a ridiculous nice bus - WINE, CHAMPAGNE, DESSERT, BED, MOVIES, HOT FOOD!

Although, I´ve noticed that whenever I´m by myself and looking around at my surroundings, I find myself missing my family and my friends; especially my big brother. **sidenote** I realize more and more as I travel that there was so much that my brother did not get to see and experience as a result of his untimely passing, and I wish he was here so he could take part in this adventure with me. ::sigh::

As I approach Iguazu, I get excited for the natural wonder. Really, how does the world produce 200+ waterfalls...AMAZING. I am just hoping that the weather holds up so I can see a rainbow or two and take some pictures - it is supposed to be Thunderstorms the whole time I´m there.

SUNSHINE...that is all I see when I arrive in Iguazu, therefore perfect opportunity to take some pictures and visit the falls. On this afternoon, I have a guided tour of the Brazilian side of the falls - there are two sides; an Argentinian and Brazilian side. The Brazilian side is shorter and easier to tackle in one afternoon for it only gives you like a panoramic view of the Falls. Since I know no one and it seems as if I am the only American on this tour, I become a mute. Everyone speaks much too quickly for me to understand, so that´s my best route. I´ll just be that picture taking tourist.

To my delight, it is a special time of the month when the Falls allows you to go at night to do a Full Moon Excursion; I´M IN. Seriously, FULL MOON and WATERFALLS - weather don´t mess with me tonight! During this nighttime excursion I see this stunning woman traveling with this elderly woman - I try not to stare, but I get caught at times. The younger woman approaches me and asks me something in another language...womp womp - didn´t understand jack squat. I continue to take pictures but realize that my camera couldn´t focus on anything - too dark and I don´t have a steady enough hand. NEXT PURCHASE TRIPOD! Yet by the end of the trip I made a makeshift tripod and caught a pic or two that seems worthy enough to keep.

745am rapidly approaches...it is time for me to go on the Argentinian side, yet it is cloudy and overcast...BOOOOOOOOOO! But I see glimpses of sunlight in the horizon, I am determined to make this a good day. Hoping to run into that beautiful girl again on the bus, I anxiously wait to see who we pick up. As we pass her hotel and not stop I thought I would never see her again. As we tour, there is so much to see and marvel at. SIMPLY AMAZING!! And as I take pictures, who do I see?!?! She is there again...woohoo, EYECANDY! (NO I didn´t take any pictures of her...I´m not a stalker).

We break for lunch, and I have no one to dine with...so I will eat alone. That is one of the downfalls of this trip, I´m basically a mute for the entire time unless people have patience for me and my lack luster spanish. So I did what I do best; people watch. Guess who sits at a table next to me??? The girl and her grandmother (foreshadowing...how did I know it was her grandmother). I must have looked desperate and lonely, the next thing I know the girl says something to me rapidly in Spanish and the older women says " Would you like to join us??" They say that I shouldn´t have to eat by myself. That was nice of them. It was interesting interactions, because they spoke some English and I spoke some Spanish, so we helped each other. I found out that the grandmother brought her to Iguazu as a reward for her graduating high school with good marks - 18 isn´t too young for a wife is it?!?! We talked for almost an hour, they told me of places to visit and see while in Argentina for the remainder of my trip. They explained to me why they carry American money when they travel instead of Argentinian pesos - It´s because for their savings, they convert all their money to the dollar as an investment so when they travel they have more money that way...smart cause the dollar was rising by the day and it is supposed to catch up with the Euro by the end of the year. Not wanting lunch to end, I get beckoned by my tour guide. The girl asks me where I was off to next in my adventure and what I was doing tomorrow..unfortunately I was leaving to go to Salta. Parting is such sweet sorrow ::tear::tear::...

I guess being desperate and lonely isn´t all that bad...LIVING FULL OUT - Desperate and Lonely!

WWWD?!?!

When letting my friends know about my trip to Argentina, some inquired as to as if black people backpack? Well I never knew of any taking time to go out and travel. Knowing my friends, some even ventured to say only white people do that - even those that weren´t black. So one of my last night´s in the states, I was hanging out with some friends and he told me that when he (anonymous black friend) went backpacking through Europe, he always was like WWWD - WHAT WOULD WHITE(PEOPLE) DO??? At first I thought this wasn´t sound advice, but then again as I traveled throughout this trip, it actually has proven to be excellent advice - besides sitting out in the sun and getting sunburned. (BTW, I am now peeling. This shit is not cool!)

After my adventures with trying to get to Mendoza, I thought that my stint in Mendoza was going to be just as adventurous with Hannah; AND IT WAS! I had thought that once I got to Mendoza, I would stay in a nice hostel similar to that of the one I was staying in Palermo - apparently I had yet to fully experience a HOSTEL. Well, you ask and you shall receive. 14 PERSON DORMITORY! The hostel was yet deceptive on the website, they show you the main house, not this shithole of a place that rested behind the main house which housed 14 people. But then again, white people were doing it, so it is going along with the theme of my trip.

So in addition to traveling with Hannah, we were also traveling with one of her housemates that was also volunteering in Cordoba. I thought we were just going to enjoy and take in all that is the Wine Festival and the free activities that the city was having - NOPE! They had other plans for me - Rafting, Ziplining, and WINES AND BIKES - Tour of the Wineries by Bicycles. All sounded cool and different, so I was game.

OH WINES AND BIKES! Sounds like a great idea doesn´t it. Bicycling through wine country stopping at different vineyards, touring, having wine and taking in the scenery. That´s the exact picture that the agency painted, yet they failed to mention the 12 km bike ride and the blazing heat we were in. THIS AIN´T CALIFORNIA WINE COUNTRY - where I am used to driving in my air conditioning and enjoying the wine. Through recommendations by another hosteller it was said that it was better to trek the 12 km to the end of the tour and taste on the return back - trying to bike drunk might be nasty. So that is what we did. I thought I could tackle 12 km easily, but again you were not told of the shitty bikes with flat tires and crappy seats that would leave your butt bruised for days! Getting to the end of the route was a struggle, but the wineries were awesome! Learned soo much at the first bodega (winery) - Carinae. We had this cute Argentinian tour guide and typical me, I flashed a smile and began to flirt. In the end I made her very nervous and she said she had a boyfriend for 3 months - she hinted at if I had come 3 months earlier, magic could of happened. To be honest I was just trying to get my tastings for free. She explained to us the difference in grapes and even got to taste them off the vines - DELICIOUS! Differences in grapes is truly noticeable, especially between the Malbec and Cabernet. But you only can tell the difference in grapes by the leaves not the grapes - informational tidbit of the day. Once the tour ended, we dreading mounting the bikes on our trek back 12 km to visit the olive oil factory, other bodegas, and the liquors and chocolate factory. Amongst all the sweat, tears, butt bruises and drunkeness it was a great time had by all - OH THE MEMORIES.

Exhausted from our excursion in Maipu (wine country), our night life in Mendoza suffered as we were too tired to even go out, especially when you plan on going rafting at 9 am the next morning and things in Argentina don´t jump off until about 2 am.

RAFTING! I was slightly scared yet excited for this. Never had I done this before but I have heard people rave about it. I thought to myself people will not believe I did this - as most know, I´m not the outdoorsy type of person. BUT WWWD??? - WHITE WATER RAFTING IN ARGENTINA; EXACTLY.

You want to talk about gorgeous scenery. I swear that was the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen - but I did not break out my camera, how dumb was that. Snow capped mountains, smaller mountain ranges, and blue skies = RIDICULOUS!

After 2 hours, we arrive to filling out waivers, not holding the travel agency liable for death or injury - standard protocol yet the nerves began to mount. We get ushered into this barn to put on wet suits, windbreakers, life jackets, and helmets - I COULDN´T BREATH! These uniforms sucked in all my fat and made me slightly uncomfortable, but then again it was to protect me from those frigid waters we were about to face.

12 KM....12 KM of pure, unadulterated FUN! That was the most exciting thing ever! The thought of getting tossed out of the boat, standing up on the edges, paddling through rapids, and getting drenched by the waves = ADRENALINE RUSH! I guess I am becoming more of an outdoorsy person, cause I wanted to do that again. I was getting excited for our ziplining.

While eating lunch, this group of like 20 people overheard us talking English and inquired as to where were from. To our disbelief 3 of the girls were from the DC-MD Area (1 goes to Howard - yup another black girl ;-) and the other 2 go to UMCP). RANDOM, right?!? But they made me feel real old when they told me they graduated from HIGH SCHOOL IN 2007.

ZIPLINING awaits us...but to much disappointment as we thought we were going to be ziplining multiple times across mountain tops, we were only ziplining across a the rapids we were rafting down and only ziplining once. WHAT A RIPOFF! But still fun none the less.

We return to the hostel that evening to try and extend our stay for one more night, Hannah and I were going to continue our adventure while Stefanie was going to head back to Cordoba. To our dismay there were no rooms available in the hostel for the next night - WE´RE HOMELESS! And let the searching begin...

LOVING AND LIVING FULL OUT - HOMELESS

*P.S. THIS IS NOT INTENDED TO OFFEND ANY PEOPLE OF ANY RACE, GENDER, OR CREED.

Don´t Worry - It´s An Adventure

After a highly eventful Carnaval, I was faced with a tough decision - whether to allow the debauchery to continue with my buddies in Rio or head back to Argentina to head to Cordoba and Mendoza with a high school acquantance, Hannah, who I haven´t seen in 7 years. After much guilt and persuasion, I was like what the heck, RIO IT IS! But then my plans got shattered by the fact that my ticket was non-refundable and non-transferable. Well that made my plans that much easier, well i guess it is Argentina then. Getting there might have been another story with having the last bloco begin at 1030pm on Tuesday and my flight left at 345am on Wednesday.

Through all the beers that were consumed, masses of Aussies at the bloco, my bad Spanish and even worse Portugues I was able to hail a taxi and make it the airport. What makes this trip back to Argentina that much more exciting is that my friend Hannah has provided me with little to no direction about my trip to meet up with her.

Getting back to Argentina, it was to be a struggle to get everything together. I had forgotten amongst all the chaos that the bus ticket I had bought was not for the right city, it was for a city an hour outside of Cordoba, where she lived. In addition, I would get in after she would have had to go volunteer, so she would not be there to greet me. With all that, I had not a cell phone to contact her so I was going to be basically stranded with my luggage in a foreign place; FUN TIMES.

Upon arrival to the bus station in Buenos Aires, I had to man up and use my best Spanish to communicate that I needed to go to Cordoba instead of Carlos Paz. Once again I surprise myself with my Spanish and the guy understood my dilemma and he said he would drop my off in Cordoba instead. One problem down and onto the next. Hannah tells me if my plans change to call her in the morning, to my dismay she gives me a local number without a country and city code - so how am I supposed to call her?!?!? Once I arrive in Cordoba, I rush into a taxi and try and make it to her house before she has to go volunteer. Communicating with the taxi was not as easy as the bus driver, I end up in the slums. I´m like is this where she lives??? There were no houses or anything in site looking remotely liveable, but the taxi insisted this is where I told him to take me. I knock on the door with the number in which Hannah gave me and look who opens the door, HANNAH!! Woohoo...MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! We were very surprised that I was able to find her.

I accompany Hannah on her last day of volunteering with these kids in the rural areas of Cordoba. It was a lot of fun and a lot of pictures were taken. I got to work on my spanish, help the kids with some english, provide them activities to keep them off the streets. After it was all said and done time to pack and get ready for Mendoza; WINE FESTIVAL!

While I was at Carnaval, Hannah booked a hostel and bus ticket for me to make sure we would all have the same travel arrangements. But I thought, don´t you need my passport number to travel on the bus. I ask her and she tells me she made one up for me. MADE ONE UP?!?! I hope that isn´t a problem, if it is it will be an ADVENTURE she says. When I came to Cordoba they didn´t check my passport so I thought it would be cool. Famous last words.

It was time to go and she looks over her confirmation, only to see her own and not mine. I was like did you book my ticket, she swore she did yet had no evidence to suggest that she did. So we rush to the bus station to try and fix the problem. We ask the ticket office if we don´t have a confirmation what do we need to do - OH JUST SHOW THEM YOUR PASSPORT. FUCK! Clearly my passport number doesn´t match the one she gave them - we´re screwed. I tried to get away with showing them my driver´s license, no such luck. I pull out my passport and they look and see the numbers don´t match. We get ushered to the bus ticket terminal and they go back and forth about my passport and I tell them it had to be a glitch in their computer cause we typed in the right passport number. I showed them several identification suggesting it was indeed me. Ultimately they let me on the bus...yeah that bullet was dodged, but I wonder if this was going to be indicative of my travels with Miss Hannah! It already has been interesting up to now, could it get any more interesting?!?! I´ll just have to wait and see.

IT´S GOING TO BE AN ADVENTURE - LIVING FULL OUT!

FACT or FICTION?? Black people don't get sunburns???

FICTION! MELANIN FAIL! SUNBLOCK FAIL!

So in all my years of being in the sun - swim team, lifeguarding, tennis practice, lacrosse, wearing baby oil in Cancun - never have I burned before. What would make Brazil any different??!?! Who knows but after 2 hours on a boat headed to some island beach, I find myself red - apparently you can see the redness in my skin - and having this burning sensation covering my chest, arms, legs, and face. I have a new found understanding for white people and their suffers to look like me; DARK. Needless to say, white people this is not worth it. Wear sunglasses. Wear hats. Wear t-shirts. Use an umbrella at the beach. Wear sunblock, not just any sunblock, sunblock with like SPF 70!

What sucks for me is that I didn't bring any sunblock. ::womp::womp::

Still going strong, LIVING FULL OUT, but underneath an umbrella :-(

The Princess gave us PROTECTION?!?!?

BEM-VENIDO Salvador!!!! CARNAVAL awaits me. Drunken nights, beach ridden days, exploration and excitement around every corner. My first Gregory-BeVier travel extravaganza. There is alot of hype to live up too here; and boy did it!

Who would of thought that in all of Carnaval we would be chosen? You all may be wondering chosen for what?? I always knew my face was meant for the big screen. Let me set the scene. Four Americans wondering the streets of historic downtown Salvador just trying to find some food amongst all the excitement. Amongst all the craziness we were stopped and asked if we would like to participate in a safety for tourist going to Carnaval - but that is not the best part; it was with the Princess of the Carnaval - gorgeous model chic from Brazil!!. How does it get any better than this?? We meet the princess and she gives us all condoms; CONDOMS?!?! What kind of safety video are we participating in??!? I guess that is normal because everyone was handing out condoms left and right during Carnaval.

Having no formal acting training I was weary that I would underperform for this stint in front of the camera, but I was all about letting my personality shine through. They set us up to begin, I manage to get my spot right next to the Princess; but wait, they ask me to move. WTF?!?! Apparently I look to much like a Brazilian to be in the spotlight, so my more "American" looking friends steal my shine! Plus appararently I had some food still left on my face which my friends failed to mention was there. Not much dialogue was needed to be had, we just smiled and looked natural while pointing at things. But we did manage to talk quite a bit to the Princess as she gave us the inside scoop on all the blocos we were attending and what we should be eating and drinking instead of hamburgers and beer. We ended up chatting with her for quite a bit of time, exchanged numbers - yes, exchanged numbers!! - and we may have convinced her to hang out with us later on. Although she would not be able to go see Jammil (the first bloco) we were going to, cause of her princess duties, she told us that she was going to be at some sunrise party that began at 2 am. We weren't sure if we would make that cause our day of drinking began at noon and we had planned to go to some beach at like 730 the next morning, but we were going to anxiously await and email or phone call. Let the waiting begin....


Until then, I'll be LIVING FULL OUT - CARNAVAL STYLE!

Landmines, Transvestites, CouchSurfing, and Chiropractic?!?!

Weird combo, right?!?! Well following my 5k/6 hour excursion around Buenos Aires, that evening I was invited by Ara to go on a midnight photo excursion and picnic with the CouchSurfing group from Argentina to some special places. Knowing few people in the hostel, I thought why not. Many may not know who Ara is, let me introduce you. I met Ara while on my mission trip to Fortaleza, Brazil last September. If I am correct he has been traveling around the world for like the last 7 years (or atleast that is the last time he has been back to his home country of Australia). He is this uber knowledgeable and worldy Aussie-Armenian Chiropractor, who essentially CouchSurfs and barters Chiropractic Adjustments for things he needs - neat right! Atleast, I think so - although I am not at that point in my life where I am comfortable enough to do so.

Apprehensive about venturing out at midnight with my Digital SLR, I threw my apprehensions and thought when else would I have an opportunity to do this. While I waited for the time to leave, the hostel was putting on a game night - I thought that was pretty lame, but since I had to wait for time to pass anyways, it was an opportunity for me to meet some new people. UNO was the name, winning was my game! In retrospect I am happy I did cause I met some really interesting people - although they were all younger than me; this was a first. ::tear::tear:: I´m getting OLD! As much as I did not want to leave this captivating game of UNO, the streets and my camera were calling my name.

1145 comes and I am outside in this dodgy neighborhood, standing behind the gates of my hostel waiting for Ara to fetch me. No Ara, go figure - as of recently he has a history of being late. So I get bold and walk out to see if I will run into him at the meeting point for everyone. With caution I walk the streets, being very aware of my surroundings. FLOP, FLOP, FLOP - I see hair flopping in the wind; IT´S ARA racing to get to my hostel. He thought I wouldn´t be able to recognize him and that I would be scared but then again, I´m the one who can blend in with the shadows so I thought he would be scared of me.

Waiting on a corner we meet up with 4 other individuals from the Couchsurfing community - apparently the community in Buenos Aires is one of the most active and biggest, which would be reason why they have an activity every night of the week. The coordinator of this event was running late in typical Argentinian fashion (everyone runs of CP time!) for she was getting food for the picnic. Casual conversations are being had and introductions are being made. It was brought to people´s attention that I was not a Couchsurfer and wanted to know how I knew Ara - boy did that open up a can of worms. As a result of me telling them I met Ara in Fortaleza doing Chiropractic, a discussion broke out about Chiropractic. Adjustments were given (woohoo, Jungle adjusting - mine was not as refined as Ara´s but I did what I could) and a brief Chiropractic Health talk was given by Ara. Next thing you know, Ara is getting appointments to give adjustments to people´s friends and family. Chiropractic just tends to follow me everywhere.

LIGHTS....CAMERA....ACTION. Time to take some photos. We embark upon this journey to Plaza de Palermo, which is one of the many parks in Palermo. As we walked we had to avoid the massive landmines that were on the sidewalk. LANDMINES = DOGSHIT. A brief history lesson ensued about the history of the park and how it was designed. As I said in the previous blog, Buenos Aires tries its best to mimic European countries by having lanterns and buildings imported to the city to make it not so South American. We come upon this beautiful lake under this starlite sky and magic happens out of my camera (well not really, cause I´m still working on learning how to use my camera). With some assistance of everyone there who was more experienced photographers I captured some pretty good photos. Although, I had expected for this excursion to take us to some remote locations or some "special places", not just a park at night; it was still fun.

TIME to eat. Umm it is 2 o´clock, I am not eating anything...just have a little bit of wine and soda (no high fructose corn syrup!). There you hear a mixture of English and Spanish talk about history, politics, current events, and how this park used to be filled with naked transvestite prostitutes. NAKED TRANSVESTITE PROSTITUTES! Apparently as a result of the community becoming more family oriented they got run out of the park and distrubted amongst the city by the government. Seriously...THE GOVERNMENT! Yawns are being dispersed amongst the crowd, I think it may be time to catch some sleep. Walking back, my eyes were seriously wandering trying to possibly see one of these streetwalkers, but to avoid being accosted I zig-zaged the street to my hostel. Coming soon....CARNIVAL!!! Can't wait!!

Simon [Lonely Planet] says....

RIGHT....LEFT.....RIGHT....LEFT....STOP...Look Left....Look Right...and take a picture. In order to show myself I am capable of following a map, I took a 5k (6 hour) tour of Central Buenos Aires with the assistance of the oh so handy Lonely Planet guide. Literally, it was idiot proof - well not really, I had to take some guesses on some turns and managed to be wrong quite a few times, but I managed. The only drawback of this tour was that Buenos Aires is experiencing a heat wave and I was sweating like it was my job.

From where I was staying [Palermo], it didn´t have me begin at point 1, but I managed to navigate to it via the subte and walking. The trek begins in Retiro - one of the ritziest barrios in Buenos Aires - at the Plaza de San Martin, which was designed by a French landscape artist Carlos Thays. Apparently all of Buenos Aires has european flare, imported architecture and such - one of the only South American Cities without a real South American feel. Historically, this Plaza played host for slave trade, a military fort and even a bull ring, now it is a gorgeous park. (Sidenote: Tourist trap number 1 - random worker approaches me and helps me out by taking my picture and giving me good tidbits of places to go and where good photo opportunities. Nice jesture, NOPE. And I was swiddled for some money - 10 pesos; apparently nothing in life is free).

Next, I move onto the pedestrian walkway of Florida, Gorgeous! This is the home of the beautiful Galerias Pacifico, one of the capital´s most beautiful malls. The ceilings are lined with beautiful murals and the halls are full of designer shops - ALL WITH SALE SIGNS! The recession is worldwide, but I had restraint and detered my urge to splurge (i.e. I stayed for like 5 minutes and ran out in a frenzy preventing myself from looking at anything and have money depart from my pockets)





Av 9 de Julio was next. Natives are especially excited about this Avenue, they actually pride there city for having it. It is like 14 lanes wide, or something ridiculous like that. It was quite interesting trying to cross and take pictures. Something was destined to fail, but I managed. After crossing that dangerous stretch of Avenue, I made way to Teatro Cervantes on my right. This theater dates back to 1921 and holds a historical theater with a grand tiled lobby and plush red-velvet chairs. On my left was the notable Templo de la Congregacion Israelita - Argentina´s largest synagogue. Apparently, you are not supposed to take pictures of anything Jewish here as you get your camera taken away, but I got a quick pic anyways. Let the touristy adventures continue!! I made way to one of Buenos Aires´ most impressive building - Teatro Colon. This teatro is a major landmark and gorgeous world-class facility for opera, ballet, and classical music. In retrospect, I don´t think I saw this. Or maybe what I thought it was, it was not - it was hot and I was probably hallucinating slightly. Moving on..hold up, am I really hallucinating or is that the Washington Monument I see, NOPE - the Obelesco. Apparently it was only built in a month and during any huge sport win, natives flock to this location. To do what, I´m not sure.

As a result of the heat and my minute breakfast (corn flakes and a banana), I make way to a recommended restaurant - Cafe Richmond. I stand in front of the restaurant and stare at the menu, what do I see, a bunch of jibberish. I barely recognize anything, but these other Americans were in front of me and said anything they would want is in there, so I am gun ho; good enough for them good enough for me. I look over the menu and order something easy - a hamburger, a beer, and a cafe con leche. After I order, the other Americans I sat by asked if they had a menu in English. FAIL! - they had a menu translated in English. Damnit to hell, all that struggle and I could´ve ordered something new if I would´ve just asked. After I sat in the air conditioning for a while, I venture out into the heat to get greeted by an immediate stream of sweat from my brow - NOT SEXY. (On a sidenote: Argentinians/Argentines are beautiful! I mean men, women, old, young, fat, skinny - ok maybe not fat. But they are absolutely gorgeous. Maybe I´m a sucker for Olive skin, light eyes, and dark hair. I thought I had a complex before, I definitely decided I need to do some more pushups on my mobile perfect pushup machine and some more crunches if I were to live here!) I continue to head south towards Plaza de Mayo where you will also find Casa Rosada and the city´s main Cathedral. Plaza de Mayo is where the native hold there most vehement protests. For all that don´t know Casa Rosada is the infamous house, where Eva Peron (Evita aka Madonna in the movie) gave her speeches from the balcony. It took my all not to scream out - DON´T CRY FOR ME ARGENTINA! After resisting the urge, I continued on my trek of people watching and picture taking. Next stop was the Cafe Tortoni, the most famous and touristy cafe in BA, known for their Tango Shows. The end was in sight of this tour, I was getting tired and my clothes were becoming transparent by way of my ridiculous amount of sweating. Onward, Palacio de Congreso, modeled after the one and only nation´s capital in Washington D.C. There is a little bit of home everywhere I go. I hear all this ruckus, apparently there are always protest going on by the Congress. I went to go see what it was all about, but yet again, couldn´t understand a thing. Now the end of the tour and the most exciting part, Argentina is known for their Ice Cream and I stopped at by far the best ice cream place EVER - Heladeria Cadore. I was in heaven! Two scoops of Vanilla and Strawberry Ice Cream in a waffle cone - YEAH TO BEING A FATBOY!! Well worth the 5 km and 6 hours. Homeward bound to get a steak and some wine and an exciting evening with some couch surfers and a nightime photo excursion.

WHAT NOT TO DO...

So...in the past few days, I´ve learned from either someone or a personal experience as to what not to do while traveling.

Mistake number 1 on day 1 - Bomba and Bar Crawl.

DO NOT drink alcohol without eating something first - you would think one would know that by now, NOPE.

7 o´clock on the dot, I´m in my drop top cruising the streets....well not really. More like 7 o´clock on the dot, I´m in the Subte (subway) sweating from my head to my feet. BOMBA here we come! Accompanied by several cute Norwegian girls - who wanted nothing to do with the rest of the group, this older british gentleman - Simon, i think he was my savior, a fellow hostel member - Daniel, and the tour guides - Stefanie and Julio, we were on our way and late apparently. At first it was a casual walk, then a power walk, then an all out sprint. I notice that there is this line that is rounding a corner, then another corner, and then another corner. You can´t be serious, I´m not waiting in that line in this heat - womp womp! But like in America, Argentinians knew me very well - VIP baby or better yet the tour guides new someone at the door so we got to skip the lines - That´s how I roll. Lucky for us; but unfortunate for others, the show was only going to allow only approximately 1/3 of the amount they usually let in cause it had been raining earlier.

Let the partying commence - BIG ASS BEERS (Stella Artois) for like 15 pesos. In true English/British fashion, Simon bought the first round thinking that there were going to be multiple rounds to be had. Honestly, I was trying to pace myself, but that didn´t work like I intended.

BOOM!!! BOOOM!!! BOOOOOM!!! The beats of the drums sounded the start of BOMBA! The masses headed to the stage. The music filled the air as people were dancing to the beats of the drums, jumping around like it was a rage, drinking to their hearts desire, and smoking marijuana - the signs said no smoking, but apparently that didn´t stop anyone. Heat filled this outdoor venue and in order to quench my thirst, beer was flowing in my favor to keep me hydrated - I knew better, but I thought I am on vacation.

Two hours and a sweat drenched shirt later, the concert was over, on to the Pub Crawl. I figured this would be my opportunity to eat, they were serving free Pizza and Empanadas. I thought it was going to be a large group from my hostel - Nope, just Simon and I. I had a bad feeling about this, especially cause the Crawl was all the way cross town and I had no idea where I was or where I was going; let alone how I was going to get back. The guides who came with us told me the bus number to take to get back to the Hostel, but after some thought - how does that help me if I don´t know where to catch the bus?? There´s always a Taxi! On to the PUB CRAWL. From what I was told we went to three pubs and a disco - although I remember 1 pub and no disco. That´s what I get for buying a bottle of wine and barely sharing it. I did meet some interesting people from Britian and the States. Somehow my bad british accent came out and no one believed that I was from the States. But what I can´t fathom is that they called me spoiled just by looking at me and I told them that I lived in California, yet I had no jewelry on or anything. DAMN CALIFORNIA STEREOTYPES! It is unfortunate that I portray spoiled wherever I go...hmm gotta work on that. How I made it home, I don´t know - I´m thinking Simon and a Taxi. I swear I have a guardian angel. Believe me I learned from that and the hangover I had the next day.

Mistake 2 on day 2 - Hangover

BOOOOM!!! BOOOOM!! BOOOOOM!! Was that the drums of the Bomba??? NOPE - That was the throbbing my head was experiencing as the result of last night. I tried to get myself together at like 930, but that wasn´t happening. As I open my eyes no one is in the room except another black guy. WHAT ANOTHER BLACK GUY?!?? He helped fill in some of the blanks from my adventures in the room that night when I got home. How I managed to get to the top bunk still was a mystery for the both of us. It sucked that he was leaving to go to Uruguay or he said we would of kicked it - I would be the one person to find another black guy and want to kick it with him. After a brief conversation, it was time for him to leave and I guess it was time for me to pay a homage to the porcelain gods. NO DETAILS necessary, I´ll let your mind fill in the blank. Now it is about 230pm and I figured I should try to eat something. McDonalds it is - something safe and familiar. I thought it would make me feel better, nope. In retrospect this is not what I meant by living full out.

Mistake 3 on day 2 - Not knowing how to read a map.

SWEAT IT OUT! I decided to explore my surroundings in this heat. PALERMO. PALERMO VIEJO. PALERMO SOHO. PALERMO HOLLYWOOD. Palermo is supposed to be this uber chic, super trendy district of Buenos Aires where the majority of the middle class resides. Cuisine ranging from all over, vintage clothing shops, boutiques, bars and clubs - not like I want anything to do with alcohol. I go on my quest, but to my dismay I get lost AGAIN. WTF?!?! I hate maps! I used to think I had a good sense of direction, apparently not. So I wonder, no boutiques, no cute vintage clothing stores, nothing but train tracks and trees. About an hour or so later I was able to find my way. I had wanted to go to the Japanese Gardens, Botanical Gardens, Planetarium and the Zoo. First stop the zoo, I think that was a mistake. HEAT + Animal smells/shit = nausea. So..I continued to wander and look at all these animals, uneventful - I kind of regretted that decision. But hey, you live and you learn. I check my email on my phone to see if my friend Ara had contacted me (woohoo free WIFI in the city) and he had. I had approximately an hour before I was to meet up with him and his girlfriend in Palermo. At this point in time, I was feeling slightly better but this headache was still lingering.

Mistake 4 on day 2 - Keep all your shit on you

Where the hell is my map and my Buenos Aires lonely planet guide. DID I LEAVE IT AT McDONALDS?!?!? FUCK! Well then, that sucks. I am stuck using this sucky map that I have to meet up with Ara at this place called Plaza Serrano - where that is, who knows; let´s hope I don´t get lost again. As I walk there, I NOW notice all the little cute boutiques, bars, clubs, and chic places. This is where I was supposed to be all along! I end up in this nice square where there were kids playing, people eating on the sidewalks, and people walking around - where´s my camera when I need it. I look around and I see this group spray painting a mural on a wall - Heather would be proud, grafitti is ART, right?!?. It was all very interesting. I arrived early for our 730 meeting. 730 comes, No Ara. 745 comes, No Ara. I worry that did I not go to the right place. I search for a telephone, don´t know how to use it. So I continue to wait and walk around. 800, Ara finally arrives. I see him wave, but not at me but at this beautiful girl in front of me. You can´t be serious, that´s his girlfriend! Lucky Bastard! He finally sees me, and in typical Ara fashion, he runs over to me in a huge embrace. Hours go by as we chat and he warns me of scams and all other things be wary of while visiting. Basically the low down on how to be safe and not get taken advantage of - I am a little niave American. Thank you Ara. This was an opportunity to work on my spanish, I realize I know very little especially if people speak fast. Learning curve is going to be huge. Next thing we know, it 10 oclock and we part ways. I decide to go to sleep early, so I can be prepared for the following days adventures. Mind you...I´ve only been up since 230. Was day 2 a waste...no I would think it was a learning experience.

In summary,
DAY 2 = recovery from LIVING FULL OUT!

Bienvenidos a Nuevo York?!?!?

I said it right, Bienvenidos a Nuevo York! I heard that Buenos Aires was thought to be the equivalent to like New York in South America and boy is it living up to those sentiments - unfortunately I think I could survive better in New York. My apprehensions about not being proficient in Spanish were well validated as I pass through customs - where I am stopped - to only be greeted by rapid paced Spanish. True to fashion as a foreigner, I shook my head and answered in one word responses. As i stood, I hoped that I understood what they said and me them.

I step through the gates anxiously awaiting to embark on my journey, I struggle to find the ¨meeting point¨as to where I was supposed to get picked up by this free shuttle which was to take me to my destination - atleast that is what I thought. And the anxiety builds cause I don´t see any sign with my name or a transport with the hostel´s name on it. Cell phone , No. Spanish, No. Looking completely out of place and confused, check! Thus far, I was seriously doubting my decision to travel by myself. So I wait, and wait, and WAIT, hoping I would stumble across someone who spoke English or I could possibly over hear someone else´s conversation and hope that someone else was in the same predicament. HALLELUJAH - I saw someone with the same travel reservations as me, yet there weren´t speaking Spanish nor English; DAMNIT! Not as gutsy as another gentlemen who asked them in English as to where they were from, they responded of all places Israel - shout outs to Ari for reminding me most Israeli´s speak English. They so nicely informed me that the shuttle was running late. I can finally breathe! Yet I spoke too soon. The driver arrives and confirms all the passengers, but then I noticed that the driver was wet - WTF, it´s raining! As I think back, what did my mom ask me before I left - ¨Bryant, did you bring a jacket?¨ NOPE - Oh well, gotta keep it moving. Next dilemma, the driver only spoke spanish and apparently the shuttle doesn´t take me to my final destination - I have to take public transportation - the subway; WELCOME TO NEW YORK CITY - unfortunately I don´t speak the language too well nor have a map of the transit system. Now I allow the craziness to commence.

As I step off the shuttle, I wonder where the hell is the SUBWAY let alone where the hell am I going? People walking everywhere and there I stand - in the rain, CLUELESS! So I do what any confused person would do, follow the masses. I found myself at the hostel where the others were staying and proceeded to play twenty questions - yet if I had to rely on my spanish it would be more like one or two questions. Luckily, they spoke English at the hostel and I was directed to the Subway with map in hand. Ticket purchased - only like 30 cents I might add for one direction; woohoo great exchange rates! I was well on my way, I tried my best to find line going to Palermo. Then it happened, I began to sweat. Not a regular sweat, but I full out torrential down pour on my face. Frazzled, I head to a convenience store to buy water to cool me down. Only while I was purchasing the water, a train pulled off - Damnit was that my train! Aight time to get ballsy, I broke out the español and to my disbelief the police understood what I asked and confirmed I was in the right spot, train heading in the right direction and I did not miss the train and that it was coming next. I thought it was easy going from here cause the hostel was like two blocks from the subway stop; NOPE, try again- That would be too easy now woudn´t it be.

As the train pulls up, I look inside and it is crowded like none other- yup, New York City! I get on with my bags in tow and hope that I don´t get robbed on this train cause I scream TOURIST! I try to gain my composure, put on my best don´t mess with me face and I try to figure out how many stops it is until I need to get off. To my delight it was like 5 stops, so I relax and wait - observing my surroundings and absorbing it all. I step off the train and walk up the steps out of the subway, woohoo the final stretch - I´ve reached Palermo.

TWO BLOCKS...that is all I had to go. One hour and several blocks later, I was LOST! How in the hell do you get lost only having to go two blocks. Well leave it up to me and no street signs! Afraid to ask anyone for help, I wandered and I wandered. Walking in circles. Staying where I see people and following the crowds. Remind you it is still raining. Finally, I fall upon a street sign, yet couldn´t find it on the map in the district of Palermo - maybe I wasn´t in Palermo anymore, SERIOUSLY!?!? To my disbelief, I spent the last hour walking in the opposite direction of where I needed to go!

I go on this journey to aid me in my evolution and help find myself, yet what happens the only thing that I find myself is LOST. I hope this does not dictate the pace of this trip. I finally get to the hostel; nice place, lot of events - Pub Crawl and Bomba Night tonight, walking tour and futbol game tomorrow; looks like I got my days cut out for me - let´s hope I wake up in time tomorrow morning to do it all.

Until next time, know that I am living full out...

Ready....Set.....No!!!

5 Weeks!! 5 weeks of not knowing. 5 weeks of being by myself. 5 weeks of being confined to a suitcase. 5 weeks of being away from my bed. 5 weeks of foreign food. But then again, it is also - 5 weeks of adventure. 5 weeks of self exploration. 5 weeks of reinvention. 5 weeks of living life to the fullest. 5 weeks of not caring. Most importantly 5 weeks of no regrets.

Literally, the thought of being away from my friends, family, and everything that I am accustomed to is a tad bit stressful. The idea of sleeping in a hostel - people keep on refering to the movie when I tell them this; NOT COMFORTING, not speaking the language, getting around - safely, eating who knows what, not knowing and not being able to trust most, and attempting to befriend complete and utter strangers. To say the least I am not sure I am ready to leave yet, but at the same time I am.

So in approximately 5 days, I'll be putting my life into a backpack - seriously, how am I going to fit 5 weeks of stuff/more importantly clothing into ONE damn backpack, and venturing to a serious unknown. Going day to day without a set itinerary, let alone hour to hour without a clue as to what my travels will have in store. That in itself stresses me out because I don't know what to bring - although it should be simple, currently in Argentina it is summer/fall and the next couple of days in Buenos Aires are to be in upper 80's to low 90's. I hope TOM is able to keep up - cause as well all know I sweat something special. But the predicament lies in that I will be traveling all over Argentina and even to Brazil - Carnival here I come! Climates apparently change. So to try and alleviate my stress I looked to the knowledge of Rick Steves (apparently a backpacker who provides tips on what to bring while traveling) to aid me in my quest to pack the essentials - mind you what I consider and he considers essential may pose to be a quite the problem. So let's give it a try - this is what he suggests to bring:

What to Pack

Shirts. Bring up to five short-sleeved or long-sleeved shirts in a cotton/polyester blend. Arrange mix according to season.
Sweater or Lightweight Fleece. Warm and dark is best — for layering and dressing up. Dark colors don't show wrinkles or stains.
Pants. Bring two pairs: one lightweight cotton and another super-lightweight for hot and muggy big cities and churches with modest dress codes. Jeans can be too hot for summer travel. Linen is great. Many like lightweight pants/shorts with zip-off legs. Button-down wallet pockets are safest (though still not as thief-proof as a money belt, described below).
Shorts. Take a pair with pockets — doubles as a swimsuit for men.
Swimsuit. Especially for women.
Underwear and socks. Bring five sets (lighter dries quicker).
One pair of shoes. Take a well-used, light, and cool pair, with Vibram-type soles and good traction. My wife and I like shoes by Ecco. Sturdy, low-profile tennis shoes with a good tread are fine, too. (Some people bring along an extra pair of sandals in case the shoes get wet.) For winter travel, bring heavy shoes (for warmth and to stay dry).
Jacket. Bring a light and water-resistant windbreaker that has a hood. Gore-Tex is good if you expect rain. For summer travel, I wing it without rain gear — but always pack for rain in Britain and Ireland.
Tie or scarf. For instant respectability, bring anything lightweight that can break the monotony and make you look snazzy.
*Money belt. It's essential for the peace of mind it brings. You could lose everything except your money belt, and the trip could still go on. Lightweight and low-profile beige is best.
Money. Bring your preferred mix of a credit card, debit card, an emergency stash of hard cash, and a couple of personal checks. I rely on a debit card for ATM withdrawals, a credit card, and $400 in cash as a backup.
Documents and photocopies. Bring your passport, airline ticket, railpass or car-rental voucher, driver's license, student ID, hostel card, and so on. Photocopies and a couple of passport-type photos can help you get replacements more quickly if the originals are lost or stolen. Carry photocopies separately in your luggage and keep the originals in your money belt. In your luggage, you'll also want to pack a careful record of all reservations (bring the hotels' written confirmations), along with a trip calendar page to keep things up-to-date as your trip evolves.
*Small daypack. This is great for carrying your sweater, camera, literature, and picnic goodies while you leave your large bag at the hotel or train station. Fanny packs (small bags with thief-friendly zippers on a belt) are a popular alternative, but are magnets for pickpockets and should never be used as money belts.
Camera. A digital camera and a high-capacity memory card mean no more bulky bags of film. A mini-tripod allows you to take crisp shots in low light with no flash.
Water bottle. The plastic half-liter mineral water bottles sold throughout Europe are reusable and work great. If you bring one from home, make sure it's empty before you go through airport security.
Wristwatch. A built-in alarm is handy. Otherwise, pack a small *travel alarm clock. Cheap-hotel wake-up calls are particularly unreliable.
Earplugs. If night noises bother you, you'll love a good set of expandable foam plugs.
First-aid kit.
Medicine and vitamins. Keep medicine in original containers, if possible, with legible prescriptions.
Extra eyeglasses, contact lenses, and prescriptions. Contact solutions are widely available in Europe. Because of dust and smog, many travelers find their contacts aren't as comfortable in Europe. Bring your glasses just in case.
Sunscreen and sunglasses. Depending on the season and your destination.
*Toiletries kit. Sinks in cheap hotels come with meager countertop space and anonymous hairs. If you have a nylon toiletries kit that can hang on a hook or a towel bar, this is no problem. Put all squeeze bottles in sealable plastic baggies, since pressure changes in flight can cause even good bottles to leak. (If you plan to carry on your bag, all liquids, gels, and aerosols must be in three-ounce or smaller containers, and all of these items must fit within a single, quart-size sealable plastic baggie.) Consider a vacation from cosmetics. Bring a little toilet paper or tissue packets (sold at all newsstands in Europe). Fingernail clippers and tweezers (for retrieving lost bank cards) are also handy. My Sonicare electric toothbrush holds a charge from home for 30 one-minute brushes.
Sealable plastic baggies. Get a variety of sizes. In addition to holding your carry-on liquids, they're ideal for packing leftover picnic food, containing wetness, and bagging potential leaks before they happen. The two-gallon jumbo size is handy for packing clothing. Bring extras for the flight home, as they can be hard to find in Europe.
*Soap. Not all hotels provide soap. A plastic squeeze bottle of concentrated, multipurpose, biodegradable liquid soap is handy for laundry and more. In the interest of traveling friendlier to our environment, I never use the hotel bathroom "itsy-bitsies," preferring my own bar of soap or bottle of shampoo.
*Clothesline. Hang it up in your hotel room to dry your clothes. The handy twisted-rubber type needs no clothespins.
*Small towel. You'll find bath towels at all fancy and moderately priced hotels, and most cheap ones. Although $50-a-day travelers will often need to bring their own towel, $100-a-day folks won't. I bring a thin hand towel for the occasional need. Washcloths are rare in Europe. While I don't use them, many travelers recommend *quick-drying synthetic towels.
Sewing kit. Clothes age rapidly while traveling. Take along a few safety pins and buttons.
*Travel information. Rip out appropriate chapters from guidebooks and staple them together. When you're done, give them away.
*Map. Get a map best suited to your trip's overall needs, then pick up maps for specific local areas as you go.
Address list. A list of email and mailing addresses will help you keep in touch. You can send mass emails as you go (bring a shrunk-down print-out of your email address book in case you can't access it online). Or if you prefer to send postcards, consider printing your mail list onto a sheet of adhesive address labels before you leave. You'll know exactly who you've written to, and the labels will be perfectly legible.
Postcards from home and photos of your family. A small collection of show-and-tell pictures is always a great conversation piece with Europeans you meet.
Small notepad and pen. A tiny notepad in your back pocket is a great organizer, reminder, and communication aid (for sale in European stationery stores).
*Journal. An empty book to be filled with the experiences of your trip will be your most treasured souvenir. Attach a photocopied calendar page of your itinerary. Use a hardbound type designed to last a lifetime, rather than a spiral notebook. The rugged, black, and simple Moleskine notebooks have a cult following among travel writers.

Please take note of those things marked in red. SERIOUSLY, one pair of shoes, one pair of pants, one pair of shorts which can double as swim trunks, up to five t-shirts, pants with zip-off legs! Who is this guy, some of these other things may have to go to make room for a slightly better wardrobe - I know I am not going to be on the catwalk or anything but I can't be looking completely homeless! But I guess on this trip it will teach me what truly is a necessity, right?!?! It will be a surprise for all of us to see what I can fit into that backpack, on to decisions :-/

But between now and then, I'll be LIVING FULL OUT!!