well, it is getting colder the farther south i go, and the accent more and more difficult to understand. i am in a place called Bahia Blanca, they call it the gateway to patagonia. i will be here tonight and will probably head west en la manana. the bus ride down here was really long, about ten hours mas o menos. but let me tell you, the busses are some of the nicest i have ever seen. they have recliners for seats as well as coffee and juice. the only problem is that they travel really slow. the ride was really boring because we had to travel through las pampas, which is pretty much the equivelent of Oklahoma with really green grass. there are cows everywhere here in las pampas, so as you can imagine the steak is really good. last night i went to the parrilla (grill) for a bite to eat. it was owned by five sisters, they were really sweet and made sure that i wasnt hungry when i left. the place i am staying is really neat, it is an old colonial mansion with fifteen foot cielings and tile floors. it only cost about ten bucks a night (seems a little high, but i guess anything will seem high after bangladesh). on this side of Argentina there arent many tourist, which is nice but there isnt much to do besides just relax. i have a feeling that the andes are going to be quite a bit different, from what i have been told there are quite a few more tourist/backpackers over there. thats okay though, there will just be more people to meet.
it is funny because the only thing that separates me from the argentines is my height and my mexican spanish. it feels wierd not to be stared at in a foriegn country, this place is diametrically opposite from bangladesh. which, believe me is a nice change of pace. but to be honest i dont think that i will ever experience anything quite like bangladesh again, everything seems so tame now and everyone is so mellow.
well anyways, i will update the blog again when i get to the andes.
adios
jack