ends and beginnings

I think it was Tolkien who wrote, "It´s dangerous business, going out your door. You step into the road, and if you don´t keep your feet, there´s no knowing where you might be swept off to..."

well, i´m in some serious danger.*

buen día to all of you, my family and friends, from the end of the world. ushuaia is a curious place, a small argentinian town nestled between snow capped andean mountains where time rolls by with the coming and going of ships, travelers, and the tide. as the world´s southernmost city, it seems to become the beginning or the end of many journeys. aner has sold all of his possessions, left his life in iran, and bought a plane ticket to ushuaia: the starting point of his plans to hitch hike and gamble his way around the globe. philip has come from germany to ride his bike across south america, from tip to tip. and here i find myself, dropped off by a ship sailing from the antarctic peninsula and left slightly disoriented, reintroduced into civilization, and scrambling to collect my thoughts.

it is the beginning of 2008, my time as a south american wanderer, and all that is to come.

it is the end of my trip to antarctica (the things i get college credit for), english contact for the next two months (other than y'all), and a long-time absence of meat in my stomach (yes, i tasted argentine beef).

traveling to antarctica was like hopping on a boat and sailing to another world. as we left the beagle channel and entered the open waters of the drake passage, south america was left behind for wandering albatrosses, icebergs, and boat rocking waves. it would be impossible to catch all of my thoughts, sensations, and memories in an entire book, much less a single blog post, so instead i will un-methodically document this and that over the next few weeks.

i will say that visions of waddling penguins, napping seals, and bright blue ice will not be leaving my mind any time soon. i´ll do my best to send them all your way.

paz y amor,
alana.

*for grandfather clarification, the danger i am in is nothing more than figurative. please refrain from buying a plane ticket to south america to come rescue me. i repeat, i am in NO need of rescue.