So after waiting months for the results of my spanish exam, I was able to check the results this week. I passed! According to some institute in Spain, I am officially ¨apt¨ in basic spanish. Feels pretty validating given my time here.

Caio Viejo

Mmmmmm.....Sil Pancho and Simba

Can you ever look normal in a picture?

That pool is actually very cold.

Aaron says ¨look serious.¨

One of the birds has left the gringo nest. Take care of yourself brother. It has been ¨fun¨ I suppose. Well it was enjoyable when we were living it up in Santa Cruz. Waiting for trains, sleeping on hard beds, throwing food from the apartment, complaining about the city, eating empanadas, drinking simba, and well you know (I plead the fifth here). Who would have thought it would have gone on so long?

Moving On Up

Costel Branco

So this is my new place. Yes it is more expensive than the old flat, but it is much much nicer. I have a bath tub for one thing. And a pool. Place is right across from work, which is a big plus. And of course the pool on top of the building. But don´t let this condo of affluence make you think I am living it up. Oh no, still barely scrappin by, Bolivian Gringo Style.

Ticket to Ride

Well over the weekend I had to make my way down to Yacuiba to renew my visa. I almost looked foward to this trip, given that we had been moving all weekend. I thought a nice trip into the beautiful country side could do me some good. Maybe give that town a second chance. The trip started off well. Had a nice double decker buscama, which is just a chair/bed. They even showed the Rundown, which is a great movie in any language. Figured The Rock was cooking me up a nice trip. But when I arrived there, troubles came my way. First was that the weather was terrible. It was cold and raining. My Santa Cruz clothes did me no good. Then I made my way to the immigracion, which is a room about the size of my old dorm room. After I gave them my passport, I had real trouble. It seems that I hadn´t gotten a stamp on the Argentinian border as I should have in December. And since each day was 10 bolivianos, I owed about 900 b´s, well over a hundred dollars. So what did I do? I bribed the guys there. They asked what me for what I had, like 20 dollars, and I gave to them. When in Bolivia ya know. Afterwards I went to the Argentinian border, got my stamps there and made my way back to Bolivia. On the ride back they had a wonderful selection of dubbed classics. The first was Black Clack, some Chinese film from the 80´s, which just had some girl killing people over and over again. I wonder what the kids on the bus thought? Then to balance out the equation, they showed Homeward Bound: The Legendary Journey. The camba guy beside me was in tears at the end of the movie, which I thought was special. Musically, we enjoyed the sounds of cumbia, which i like the music Selena created back in the day, but utilizes the same beat in every song. But needless to say I am back in Santa Cruz, where I am like 80% safe, and my apartment is awesome. Have pics of it soon. What did you all do over the weekend?