South America

Big up Fawad, travel B

Time has been absolutely flying for me, so not much time to blog all the juicy details of my recent travelling lifestyle.

That said, I did meet up with Fawad who hails from the big shoulders city of Chicago back in Cusco, Peru. This man did the 4 day Inca HAUL, making it breathlessly to Machu Picchu after days suffering in the mountains and the altitude. Big him up.

Also, he might have been the tallest individual in Peru at the time, which makes bus seats and doors of entry quite a challenge. Well done anyway, Fawad!

Que Viva DragonballYee

Just a check in on my ultimate homepiece, who hath lent me the CyberU. And...with this camera... I shall take clandestine photos... in COLOMBIA!

Jeff Shain, a stand up guy.

What makes this video even funnier than the fact that Jeff Shain is doing stand up in Staten Island, is the color commentary from girls in the background.

Terri Schiavo jokes? NO YOU DIDDNT!

Nice special appearance by "Chè" Siegel.

Seriously, this is pretty good. Nice work Jeff!

Also, here is Hassan. He is damn good. Obviously, someone has been practicing.

I FOLD! American products have imperialized me

A certain man named "Nick" from Chicago, who is currently eating McNuggets in Rome, Italy, just smiled ear to ear.

I give up. It has been 7 solid months, and I have eaten naught a US chain product in South America. No McD´s, KFC, Subway, Pizza the Hut, or any of the like the entire time. For the most part, I stick to Almuerzo´s and local specialties - preferring to hobnob with the locals rather than suck down burgers with the elite (yes, the rich eat fast food here, it´s like Bizarro hemisphere).

Today, however, I finally couldn´t take it anymore. Maybe it was the cow intestine soup I was fed two days ago, or the cow hoof specialty that followed it (which was luckily slammed down in front of Liz, but she didn´t touch it).

Maybe it is just 7 solid months of South America taking its toll. Maybe it is the strange rash, which could be bed bug bites, that medical professionals tell me is mosquito bites that is wearing me down. Maybe I´m just exhausted. Maybe getting up at 3am with 2 hours sleep, and getting to the airport just to turn around and have to do the same tomorrow was just too much... but that was when I saw it.

Like a dessert mirage, it was there before my eyes. Was it real? Could I touch it?

I reached out my hand, with a lot of foreign currency in it, and made my deal with the devil -

Dunkin Donuts.

... and it was so good. I ordered by the number. I got the number "2". I was asked no further questions, and my coffee and eclair arrived immediately, ushed to my hand by two people. It was fast. It was competent. It was stark, and hygenic. It was all we love about America, and I must admit - I do miss it just a little bit.

As I ate my delicious creme-filled pastry in the airport, I wondered if it had flown in that morning from Miami. Was it possible that South America could put together such an item, in such a setting, on its own? I looked around, at McDonalds, Papa Johns, and the other delicious processed food-products of home, and took solace.

Everyone has their breaking point, and now that I have hit mine - It is time to go back and finish up this trip strong, and with a positive outlook.

But first, a big Papa John´s pizza and the NBA playoffs...

NABBED - old neigbborhood scourge

GOTCHA!

Thanks to DragonballYee for the link, looks like they finally caught the perp who raped all those women last year in the streets surrounding my (your?) house in Chicago.

Good to see the po po´s getting something done right, even if it is a whole year later on...

go learn spanish

Seems as though Mayor Bloomberg is learning Spanish, just like me. How about that?

Get to Work, America of the North!

A view of your new office, from your old office. Does it get any better than that?

A quick check in on my homies back in Chicago (shot by Niko of the corner at Madison and Dearborn), preparing to do the universe´s most costly office move, ever. Suerte, amigos!!!!!

How to be an American Backpacker in South America

Dear South American Blog Writer Sir,

I am an American (like, from the USA), and want to backpack, or live and study, in South America. What next?

A great question. It´s one I asked myself, and google, many times before I left for my trip, but never got a clear answer. The answer is - money. Well, click ahead, and I´ll offer my wisdom-

Travel to Cuba?!?!

Travel to Cuba is possible for Americans? Could it be?

Just so you and the US government understand this clearly, I am not going to Cuba.

Anyway, here´s the story I was told by a fellow traveller-

Happy Birthday Jordan and Julian

Happy birthday today to señores Julian and Jordan.

Ya tienen diez y nueve (19) años. Oldies.