Obtaining money has little idiosyncrasies in every part of the world. In the Caribbean for example, it's easy to obtain money in US dollars, but hard to get anyone to break any of the bills the ATM machines give out. When I was in Costa Rica, we had issues because many bank machines only allowed 4-digit pins, while some banks in Canada (notably Royal Bank at the time), used five digit pins. So we had to drive nearly 60 minutes out of town to find a bank machine that would take five digits. Buenos Aires is no different, although the situation is slightly better. I commented on another post how ...

Here are a few photos from the little apartment I'm renting in Palermo Soho. It's located near the corners of Paraguay and Gurruchaga if anyone is interested. There are a few more on Flickr. In terms of location, the apartment is about a 5 block walk to the area of Palermo Soho with all the fancier restaurants and pubs (although, there are lots of little ones all over the place). About three or four blocks north of here is one of the main subway lines in the city, which will be nice (as soon as I start to use it). The only real downside is they are doing renovations on the apartment downstairs, ...

I landed in Buenos Aires yesterday (it seems like a lot longer based on how much I've done since then), but so far it is shaping up to be an amazing experience. The flight from Houston was fairly uneventful. I popped a few anti-anxiety pills and then did my best to sleep for as much of the flight as I could. We hit a fairly long bit of turbulence right as we were passing the equator (not sure if that's the reason), so that kept me from sleeping for a while. But after that was done, the rest of the flight was fairly smooth. Once we were on the ground, I slowly made my way to the customs area. ...

Things are moving quickly now. My apartment is about 90% packed at this point, and I'm currently cleaning like a mad man so that I can get most of my damage deposit back. I've already moved in with my parents for the month of December, after which I'll be heading to Vancouver Airport and catching a plane to Buenos Aires. Everyone keeps asking me if I'm excited. Truthfully, not yet. I know I will be, but packing and moving are both a bit stressful, and I haven't had too much time to fantasize about my first beer in Argentina yet. I'm hoping once December rolls around and I no longer have the keys ...

Well, according to my little Excel spreadsheet, my trip begins in 96 days now. Depending on whether or not you’re a glass is half full or half empty kind of person, that will seem like a lot of time or not very much. It doesn’t seem like very much time to me, considering how much I need to still do before taking off. First, I gave notice on my apartment the other day. My landlord confirmed it today, which basically means the clock is ticking on this place. I’ve been waiting for October to officially arrive before starting the mad craigslist dash to sell pretty much everything that isn’t ...

This morning I put a deposit down on a nice apartment right in the heart of the trendy area in Buenos Aires, Palermo Soho. Soho, of course, is a reference to a hip, upbeat area in New York City. Given that I'm only staying for three months, I thought I would spend my time in the cool part of the city. Palmero Soho is extremely green, with lots of parks and trees. In addition, it's also full of great restaurants, pubs, patios, and shopping. In Buenos Aires it's next to impossible to get a super cheap apartment unless you have a local guarantor. That said, the place I'm renting is a pretty good ...

This morning I put a deposit down on a nice apartment right in the heart of the trendy area in Buenos Aires, Palermo Soho. Soho, of course, is a reference to a hip, upbeat area in New York City. Given that I'm only staying for three months, I thought I would spend my time in the cool part of the city. Palmero Soho is extremely green, with lots of parks and trees. In addition, it's also full of great restaurants, pubs, patios, and shopping. In Buenos Aires it's next to impossible to get a super cheap apartment unless you have a local guarantor. That said, the place I'm renting is a pretty good ...

Well, according to my little Excel spreadsheet, my trip begins in 96 days now. Depending on whether or not you're a glass is half full or half empty kind of person, that will seem like a lot of time or not very much. It doesn't seem like very much time to me, considering how much I need to still do before taking off. First, I gave notice on my apartment the other day. My landlord confirmed it today, which basically means the clock is ticking on this place. I've been waiting for October to officially arrive before starting the mad craigslist dash to sell pretty much everything that isn't bolted ...