Argentinean illnesses

Just great. I'm ill again. Not just ill but it turns out I have the flu, an ear infection AND pink eye. Can you believe it?? Nope, neither could I. The good news is that my flu is now just a cold but I have the biggest lump in my throat that is killing me. But don't worry guys, I'm okay. I went to the doctor this morning, 2 actually, and now I have a bunch of drugs that I've been told will get me well.

I'm pretty impressed with the medical system here. Healthcare is free for Argentinos and cheap for everyone else and I had no problems finding and seeing the docs. Each doctor was very nice and efficient and I was in and out pretty quickly. I was told that the doctors all spoke English, which is a total lie. I couldn't find anyone who spoke any English but luckily I've been taking Spanish classes and I was able to get my symptoms across. I saw a general physician first for my ear and then I saw an eye doctor for my pink eye (pretty gross btw but I won't get into the disgusting details of pink eye here). Now, I'm back at home and my eye is already looking less swollen and pink.

But due to my illnesses, I've had to take a couple of days of work and classes and I'm starting to go a little stir crazy here. I'll be back to classes at the very least tomorrow but I should probably keep my contagious diseases away from the children though I think they are the ones who are making me ill constantly. Comes with the territory!

I really need to get well soon since I plan on heading out to Patagonia next week! I've been planning this trip for a little while and basically I'm going to 3 places in about 3 weeks. Its weird -- before taking this trip, a week or 2 seemed like a long vacation but now I feel like I'm rushing it with only 3 weeks.

My basic itinerary is to stay a week in the Parque National de los Glaciares in Argentina to see the Moreno and Fitz Roy Glaciers, do a 5-day hike around the Torres del Paine in Chile and then spend the last week hanging around Tierra del Fuego and Ushuaia, literally at the end of the world. Its summer here but its close to Antarctica so hopefully I will be warm enough. I can't believe that I'm going to be seeing glaciers, hiking the Andes and sailing on the Magellan Strait!

As excited as I am, that means that my time is drawing to a close here in Buenos Aires. Well, I should say stage 1 of Buenos Aires. I've decided to come back in January and spend a few more months working at Fundamind and also traveling around South America. But still, I can't believe that I've spent so much time here already. I love it here with the culture, the atmosphere and the language. Two months here is infinitely better than just visiting for a couple of days but also its frustrating. Two months is enough to get a taste of what it would be like to live here but its frustrating because I still don't know this city at all. I want to come away feeling like I'm a part of this city but I still feel like an outsider. Maybe I didn't do enough? Meet enough people? Go to enough places? I know, 2 months isn't enough time to get a real feel for a place. I mean, I lived in LA for 1 year and I just was starting to feel comfortable by the time I left. Sigh. At least I'll have some more time when I get back after the holidays to get more integrated.

Well, I have to get back to planning my trip. I still need to deal with my RTW ticket and figure out when and where I'm going not to mention my Patagonia trip and Argentina Round 2! The next post will probably be an overview of what my Patagonia trip will be so you guys can follow along. I'll try to be as detailed as possible. As I've been researching my trip, I found that other travel blogs were really helpful. You get a "real" perspective and review of areas, hostels, things to do, etc. So if anyone hoping to travel around stumbles onto this blog, I hope this helps!

One last note: Happy Birthday, Mom! I hope you do something nice today and I'm sorry I'm not there to celebrate with you. I love you!