Life Is Too Short Not To Live It

Posted on January 14, 2012 by OuOu

I’m so excited to be selected as one of the top 20 finalists in G Adventures ‘You’ll Never Forget It’ contest. This is a screen test made for the contest, in support of G Adventures 20/20 Vision Centre in Moung Russey, Cambodia.
I had my vision corrected in 2009. I can’t tell you how appreciative I am to be able to see the world without the trouble of glasses or contact lenses. (See my LASIK video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KT2xw2B9XeY)

Coming from a conservative Asian background, I was never encouraged to travel much. But I have dreams, and dreams must be fulfilled.

Before each trip, I can’t help but feeling anxious and nervous about it; with butterflies going nuts in my stomach. But I don’t stop, I go for it. I am currently traveling solo in Argentina, and I don’t speak Spanish. ^_^

I feel free and complete.

Life is too short to not to live it. We are all passerbys on this beautiful planet earth. Live it or leave it? I choose to live it to the fullest. How about you? 🙂

Do you have a dream place? Go see it. Now. That’s the spirit of G Adventures.

Good luck on your journey.

Ciao!

My First Bachata Dance Lesson in Buenos Aires

Posted on January 13, 2012 by OuOu

I am in love with Bachata music. I listen to it every morning during breakfast time. Angel, the assistant property manager at Conventillo de Lujo was kind enough to give me a short lesson on Bachata. By the way, Angel is a beautiful dancer in tango too. 🙂

Video: My FIRST Bachata lesson.

Learned some basic Bachata moves. It was great fun! 🙂

Thanks to Amy for the recording.

Bachata:
Bachata is a style of dance that originated in the Dominican Republic. It is danced widely all over the world but not identically.
The basics to the dance are three-step with a Cuban hip motion, followed by a hip tap on the 4th beat. The knees should be slightly bent so the performer can sway the hips easier. The movement of the hips is very important because it’s a part of the soul of the dance. Generally, most of the dancer’s movement is in the lower body up to the hips, and the upper body moves much less.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bachata_(dance)

Dancing Bliss

Posted on January 12, 2012 by OuOu

Excellent performance at Villa Malcom last night. In Buenos Aires, there’s no shortage of milonga every night. I have been learning and dancing on a daily basis. Planning on extending my trip …

Villa Malcom Milonga

Tango Map Guide is a free guide that has milonga listing for every day.

Milonga Schedule in Buenos Aires

For example, here’s the schedule for Wednesday. Check out the hora (time). Most milongas don’t start before 10pm, and usually end late around 3am. When I left at 2am last night (Wednesday) at Villa Malcom, its dance floor was still jam-packed! I wondered … is Thursday not a work day?

Changing Money in Argentina

Posted on January 8, 2012 by OuOu

Many Argentineans are desperate for dollars.

I didn’t know this until a friend a mine (non-Argentinean) told me her frustrating story on exchanging pesos to dollars. Her landlord requested rental payment in dollars only. She had to withdraw pesos from the ATM (ATM fee) and then exchange them to dollars (lost some money due to the exchange rate) at the bank. Bank has asked for her legal documents, the reason she needed the money, etc. It was a huge hassle.

So, I checked with my host regarding the money changing situation in Argentina. She told me that since October 2011, government has imposed currency control and has restricted its residents to buy dollars. ATM has daily withdrawal limit as well. I don’t know the real reason for this currency control and I don’t how how long it would last.

I brought enough dollars with me that would last the whole trip. Paying in dollars at hostels was welcomed.

Since dollars are desirable, you can get better rate if you buy pesos from the locals. I would assume they would later sell the dollars in the black market.

The exchange rate that I get was 4.30 which was just about the official rate. I didn’t really negotiate. I thought it was fair. I heard in the black market you can get 5.0+ rate.

I have been careful not to exchange too much since I don’t want to end up with lots of pesos at the end of my trip. I’m not sure how easy it is for tourists to change the pesos back to dollars. We might have to show receipt at the bank? When you buy your pesos from the locals, perhaps you can pre-negotiate with them so that you can exchange the extra pesos back to dollars later.

Be aware of fake Argentinean bills floating around.

Happy travels.

Mario & Laura

Posted on January 8, 2012 by OuOu

Went to Mario & Laura’s tango class today. It was hardwork!

We did two hours of walking, sequences, embellishments, ochos; practice, practice and practice more!

Mario and Laura were amazing partners and dancers. Laura spoke perfect English and she was extraordinary in many ways. She was so patient (and lightning fast) when translating Spanish to English for me. GREAT job.

Someone brought dessert and mate for the class. Yum!

I would highly recommend this class. Fun. High energy. Excellent teaching.

Class Schedule:
Tuesday & Saturday
7pm – 9pm

Location:
2696 B. Matienzo Ave.
Buenos Aires

30 pesos for 2 hours. It was well worth it.

The after class hanging out at the ice cream place was icing on the cake. I had my first Dulce de Leche ice cream and it was out of this world. No wonder Argentineans consider Dulce de Leche as their national dessert. And please, don’t describe Dulce de Leche as caramel because that will offend Argentineans. 🙂

Here are some photos after class (using self-timer, five consecutive shots). We are a crazy bunch. 🙂