travel writing – unorganized.

i stopped in an international bookstore on my walk home cause i thought i might find “eat, pray, love” by gilbert. instead i nestled into a deep chair with “100(0?) places to visit before you die.” i was looking over the south american locations. i could write a book like that. they included some of the most fascinating stops i made on my trip down south, but certainly not all of them. i sort of like how the book is. another book that was there (and almost identical to another about women traveling) was this “100 places a woman must see.” in contrast to the places-before-death book this one was … novel-y. it read like a magazine “hot picks” article. eh. generic.
i want to write about my travels because they are such wonderful memories (and i love lists, maps and planning.) i learned so much about myself. it was constantly challenging. i don’t want to give anyone the impression that i masterfully handled each situation. i could be a mess. ask andrea.
one thing that was beautiful that i don’t think i ever wrote about was one day after chirstmas in Buenos Aires. andrea and i were shopping for our white outfits to wear on the Copacabana beach for new years eve.. from every tall building that lined every busy street there was torn paper floating down like snow. fluttering like butterflies tossed by the breeze. we were confounded. in the end we deduced that the portenos have a tradition of tearing up their calendars from the year and throwing them to the streets. magical and celebratory. the new year felt full of potential. and we were headed to Brazil.

feliz ano novo !