Jane of the Jungle

Since being back in Buenos Aires, this past week has consisted of new faces and planning my South American summer travels. Although I am sad that Brazil did not work out, I have to remember that I am in South America and there is a great deal to take advantage of.

On my flight back from the United States to Buenos Aires, I met a guy my age by the name of Adam. He has previously lived in Peru and Honduras and was heading to Argentina to meet up with a travel companion to explore Argentina for three weeks. Well, I love this part of being a traveler…helping out other travelers. When we landed, Adam and I waited for his friend Grant and then I proceeded to show them to what I believe to be the best area of Buenos Aires….San Telmo. That same day we went to my favorite “hole in the wall” restaurant so they could get a local feel. As I skipped off to sleep through a little jet-lag and then meet with another “friend”, Adam and Grant ran into a girl Grant had met in Uruguay a few months back. It’s amazing how small this world is sometimes. Devorah from the UK, is this girls name, and she is one interesting lady. At the age of 34, her travels have just begun and she has already been everywhere. The next thing I know (and this is my first day back), I am spending time with two new travelers and another cool girl that lives right down the street from me. As the day went on, we made our way to Devorah’s house, which is right on the famous and beautiful Plaza Darrego. If you have not caught this name yet, everyone should know that this Plaza is one of my favorite places for reasons that are to long to explain. We go up to Devorahs roof with a blanket, bottle of Argentine red wine, and an amazing sunset view of Buenos Aires. By the end of the night, it was Devorah, Adam ,Grant, my friend Jody, and I. All exchanging conversation and of course travel and culture talk.

Since then, I have passed my time with the new and old faces and planning my travels. Tomorrow I will be taking off to the Bolivian Rainforest. It is a thirty hour bus ride from Buenos Aires and I am doing it alone. Eeeek. I will then take another 10 hour bus-ride to the part of the Rainforest I am working in. I am volunteering with an organization for two weeks and then traveling around Bolivia a little more. Mid-February, I will be back in Buenos Aires to start interviewing for teaching positions come March ( the start of the school year)

This is the organization that I will be volunteering with. Take a look:

http://www.fundacion-delpia.org/index.php?file=inicio

I am a little nervous for this journey of the unknown but the Amazon Rainforest has been calling my name for quite some time now….to work against deforestation with an indigenous tribe…..what’s there to think about? VAMOS!!

See you all in February.

Ashley