Sunday, July 21, 2013

Couch Surfing (Events of first three days)

So I am now in my third day here in Buenos Aires, which seems odd because it still feels like I arrived this morning. Anyway, the first day I think I was basically just recuperating from my flight and seeing things so I stayed in with my couch surfing host. The second day I went on a long walk and saw a few touristy things and just walked, and walked, and walked. I left my place at 12:15 and got back at 8, only stopping more than 5 minutes once. Today I did the same thing, only in the opposite direction and I decided to turn around sooner, good thing that I did too because I was starting to pull the muscle in my left calf. They were both hurting the night before, but i didn´t really think anything of it. I started walking an immediately recognized that it would be slightly painful to walk on all day and so I stretched really well before leaving and started at a slow pace. 

(The salteñas were better than the ones i had from a bolivianwoman in goshen, but it wasnt quite the same)



I am now about 5 minutes away from my Couch Surfing (CS) host´s house at an internet cafe called a locutorio (Parlor). For the longest time I couldn´t figure out what they called internet cafe´s here in Bs As but, I did. At first I thought there were just way less of them around this far more developed city because Santa Cruz, Bolivia had way more locations and I just wasn´t seeing them here in Bs As. Anyway this blog is supposed to be dedicated to my CS experience thus far. 

 For those of you who are unfamiliar with Couch Surfing(CS), it is a website and/or an action. It is a website that connects travelers together. So when I travel, I stay in other CS´ers homes, then in turn when they travel, they have a place to stay. For the Mennonite following its like a secular Mennonite your way. I am staying with a 30 year-old woman named Carolina Saraví. She is easy going and sociable but, it has been slightly different couch surfing experience than I was expecting. For starters she was sick getting dizzy and even passed out once (I was napping at the time recovering from the long days walk). She initially wanted to take me out to a club, which sounds like what she does most often. All in all she gave me weird vibes because she was obviously well off, but still seemed tight about money, causing me to suspect she was either, just really spoiled or slightly crazy. She talked about not having enough money for a surgery she will need because she has a tumor, so she talks about the people she has been asking for money, but at the same time she is ALWAYS looking at new clothes to buy online, even stores from the US that would have to then be mailed and face import costs. She also insisted on paying for a lot of things and refused to split the costs of even the meals we bought together. So she needs money in a bad way, but spends money in a bad way. I am currently still looking and talking to other possible hosts, but most of my contacts already have full couches (they picked up other CS´ers to host). So while my host is very kind welcoming even pays for some of my food, we can´t go out together because she has been sick, and is not exactly the type of friend who I eventually want to find here in Bs As, to much of a party/club go-er for me(No mom, I´m not just saying that to make you feel better).

4 comments:

  1. But she does feel better, bunion and all.

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  2. Also if your calf feels worse and gets red or warm think blood clots.

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  3. You made your mom smile! And you gave your dad info. Yay. Good job.

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  4. Hi there. Glad you made to Buenos Aires safely. Yeah, trust your instincts. Sounds like something isn't quite "right" with the current "landlady."

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