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!