My mom is very good at nagging from overseas.

(talking about my camera)
Be careful brandonl. I bet it was stolen and you don't even know it. They are very sneaky and good at it. My cousin told me at some places, down there (like Peru) thats how lots of people make a living, by stealing from tourists. They work in groups. One will distract you while the other steals. BE CAREFUL.
mom

(random email that came out of nowhere)
Brandon, stop eating so much meat and eat more fruits and grains! All I read about is you guys eating meat this and meat that. You guys better eat healthy so you don't get sick! Stay out of dangerous situations too! Be careful!
mom

Anyway, today we had a really chill day. Got up at 11, got ready, then headed out to the far end of the city. We took the metro down to the very last stop and walked around. We found a ton of stores that made me want to come to Argentina just to shop. Nikes are actually CHEAPER here which is crazy because they're three times as expensive in Brazil. Also, I bought a pair of jeans for 72 pesos ($19) because I didn't bring a pair and it's been pretty cold lately. We also looked for scarves since Peru will be as cold as 2 degrees celsius on some nights (Peru is our next stop). We really had no idea where we were going, so we just circled around, looked at the neighborhood, and then decided to eat. We found this regional food restaurant, but we couldn't find any chairs or tables. The owner gave us menus, though, and we ordered some filet thing that sounded good and potato tortillas. When the food was ready, the owner made us follow him into the kitchen, where there was a wooden plank and some chairs. We sat down about 5 feet from the stove and ate our food. The fried fish (filet thing) was great, and it came with delicious fries that were extra crispy. The potato tortilla thing was actually kind of like an omelette thing with lots of potatoes in it. It was also very tasty. We finished all our food and were really stuffed, so we took the metro back towards the hostel, sleeping along the way. Once we got off the metro, we stopped by a street with a lot of vendors and looked at more scarves, but didn't actually buy anything.

Once we were back at the hostel, Yoontae went on the computer and figured some stuff out and talked to his family while I watched random things on TV for 2 hours, basically whatever was in English. When we got hungry we walked down the street for some pizza and meat empanadas with Coca Cola. It was delicious. After eating, we went with our new friends from Manchester, Jemma and Stacy, to this little restaurant/cafe/bar with live music. The first performer was amazing on the guitar but the second guy was really loud and not that amazing. There was this really old guy in the audience who kept dancing and waving his arms though. He was really awesome and fun to watch.

Basically, we just wandered aimlessly around the city and had a relaxing day. Also, this morning Yoontae found out that his grandfather passed away, so he was considering cutting the trip short and heading back home this weekend (that's why he was on the computer so long at the hostel). I started thinking that I would have to start traveling alone earlier than I expected, and we began to look up early flights and email the companies to try to cancel flights we had already booked. In the end, after talking with his family for a very long time, he decided to finish up traveling according to plan.

Just yesterday, I was writing about how having the right attitude can help have a more amazing life, but today I've seen that there are some things that you can never fully prepare for. Even with an adventurous, positive attitude, death hits us hard. Please keep his family in your prayers.