JAPAN tokyo
a few days ago, i was able to meet up with carver ( a friend from university) which was really cool. i didn’t know he was in japan, but he sent me a message a minute after i updated my status on facebook…and we happened to be at the same train stop! it was cool to hear his stories since he studied here last year, and he also showed me around a shopping mall called 109, which has NINE floors of women’s stores. the fashion here is crazy. the girls dress up like they are straight off the runway, and all look like dolls…kinda like gwen stefani’s “harajuku girls” but even more outrageous.
i have been laying pretty low compared to south america, but the times i have gone out have been off the hook! the party scene here is incredible, and i have found a new favorite drink. it is currently plum wine with fresh grapefruit….yum! i don’t know how i worked 6 years at the restaurant without tasting it…
salta y mendoza
i finally made it across the bol-arg border and hung out in a town called salta, which was a nice change from the bolivian towns i got used to. i had a salad and did laundry for the first time in like a month as well, which was awesome.
from there i made my way to mendoza, where i had plans to meet with liz. can not describe the feeling of happiness when i saw her at the hostel! we went horse back riding the other day and it was nice and relaxing… yesterday, i did the wineandbike , where you hire bikes and then visit wineries for tastings. it is 39· here and my friends and i got lost before we even started drinking, so we all were sweating and pedaling really slow…we must have looked so funny to all the cars passing by. there are no sidewalks either and it was really scary since the semi´s come really close…i swear some cars wanted to run us off the road.
since my knowledge of wines is carlo rossi burgandy, i felt i must have been enlightened sometime during one of the tastings cuz liz said the bottle i bought and brought back to our hostel was really good. go malbec!
JAPAN tokyo
i started my japan trip in tokyo, where i met up with my dad. since i was on sushi withdrawal, we went out for sushi, and i really think it was the best sushi ever. period. since then, i have been eating like 20 times a day and loving every bite! i also tried to stalk evo morales(the president of bolivia) with the news crew at our hotel, but was unsuccessful….i wish i had a good story.
the subway system is pretty self-explanatory since half of it is in english (next to the kanaji characters) and there is always someone i can ask for help. so i have been able to get around and go sight seeing without much hassle. i also spent $48 on a 10min cab ride so i guess this encouraged me a little as well. haha…i was so used to 30min rides that cost $2, so i didn’t even look at the cab fare when i entered the cab. lame.