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News: I've posted my pictures from Rio de Janeiro up to the last dance in D.C. To view them go to http://brentmeier.multiply.com and continue balk vicariously.

Also, catch up with my sister while she gets ripped off backpacking in Europe at: www.monisue.blogspot.com

We'll always have Paris

Okay, to begin I apologize for my dwindling habit of blogging. Don't be surprised-- have you not met me? So, last you knew I was in New Paltz, NY. Well, old pal EJ arrived for a divine art student reunion of canoeing and catching up over Blue Moons. The next morning Laura and I drove down to Brooklyn (traffic?). I would've helped, but I haven't driven in eight months and wasn't about to reintroduce myself on the B-Q Expressway. We got there after two mix-ups and eight phone calls. Other old pal Melinda received us warmly and promptly we went to a diner. Later we met with her man John before the two larks went to a Meat Puppets concert. Postscript they're doing really well. Laura and I night hiked down Battery Park along the Lower West Side to catch the midnight ferry to Staten Island. She's curious of the scene as many students at her SUNY are trust-funders from there. We hopped off and entered bar number one of said scene. It was karaoke night for the twenty regulars. What the hell, we said and she did a moving rendition of Midnight Train to Georgia and I am no Pip, sorry. But I did rouse a few drunks in my stunningly powerful lyrical delivery of Tupac and Dre's California Love. So we left soon after. Because of normal subway bs we got to John and Melinda's place at four in the morning. The next day we managed an 11:00 subway to Coney Island to catch that heat in it's nostalgic last summer. We hit Central Park for a bit and ran through the MOMA, then topped off our visit with deliciously sloppy soul food next to the Manhattan Bridge. The drive back was smooth and the next morning sad because I had to leave Laura to her new chapter and close out mine. That meant train to Grand Central and immediately after bus to D.C. to chill with Stef. She's a yuppie from Lincoln with whom I share some of my funnest memories. And still knows a good time, we hopped three tight bars. That sounds athletic, but it's actually slang for 'we went to three good bars that were good.' So next day I passed through the Hirschorn Art Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Freer Art Gallery before the West African restaurant and the three-person Cee-lo dance party with Stef and co-worker Lucy. Stef brought me to DCA the next rough morning and I flew to Omaha. I was bundle of nerves from having been gone a record 8 months plus not knowing what to do once I arrived. But I'm fine and thanks for reading. I'll say this: take whatever chance you get to travel. There's nothing like seeing landscapes. Not only geographical ones, but historical and social ones. I've met a bevy of individuals from nearly every region in South America, not to mention people from Europe, Africa, Russia and China; everything from hippie to businessman. My sincere thanks to the Hospitables along the way (I've crashed countless couches, partaken plenty plates) and I invite you keep in touch or better yet do what I've done. Listen to your mossy feet, scrape your hands on foreign turf and squint your eyes at every horizon.

Bueno, para empezar lo siento por no haber escrito tanto. Pero no seas sorprendido--no me conoces? Entonces, de ultima sabias que yo estaba en New Paltz, Nueva York. Pues, mi amigo EJ llego para una reunion divino y una charla sobre cerveza Blue Moon. La proxima manana Laura y yo conducimos hasta Brooklyn (que trancon). Yo le hubiera ayudado pero yo llevo ocho meses sin conducir y no quise reintroducirme por el Expressway de Brooklyn-Queens. Llegamos despues de dos errores y ocho llamadas. Otra amiga amable Melinda nos recibio y de una fuimos a un restaurante. Luego nos encontramos con su novio John antes de que salieron a un concierto de los Meat Puppets. P.T. estan muy felices. Laura y yo andamos por noche tras el Parque Battery para tomar el ferry hasta la Isla Staten. Ella es curiosa de la escena alla porque hay hartos estudiantes consentidos de Staten en su universidad. Bajamos del ferry y entramos el primer bar que vimos. Era karaoke night y dijimos 'porque no?' y ella canto una rendicion onda de 'Midnight Train to Georgia' y yo no soy un Pip para nada. Pero yo si anime unos borrachos en la presentacion poderosa de Tupac y Dre's 'California Love.' Salimos en seguida. Por el jodimiento normal del tren, llegamos al apartamento de Melinda y John a las cuatro de la manana. El dia siguiente tomamos el subway a Coney Island para verla en su ultimo verano porque van a destruirla y construir hoteles. Andamos por Central Park un poquito antes de correr tras el Museo de Arte Moderno con John y Melinda. Cerramos nuestro viaje con comida del sur deliciosa en un restaurante chevere junto al puente de Manhattan. El viaje a New Paltz fue bien y la proxima manana triste porque tuve que despedir a Laura y dejarla en su nuevo capitulo y cerrar el mio. Eso significo otro viaje a Grand Central en Manhattan y en seguida el bus a Washington D.C. para visitar a mi amiga Stef. Ella es una joven muy de negocios y profesional con quien comparto las memorias de Lincoln mas graciosas. Y todavia sabe como divertirse, paramos en tres bares bacanos. El dia siguiente yo pase por el Museo Hirschorn de arte, el Museo de la Historia Natural y la Galeria Freer de arte antes de comer en un restaurante de comida Africana y la rumba de tres personas: Stef, su companera de trabajo y yo. Stef me llevo al aeropuerto la proxima manana de guayaba y vole a Omaha. Yo estaba muy nervioso por haber salido del estado ocho meses, mas no sabia que iba a hacer cuando llegara. Pero estoy muy bien y muchisimas gracias por leer. Te digo esto: toma cualquier oportunidad de viajar que tengas. No hay nada como la vista, pero mas que geografica, la vista historica y la vista social. He conocido un monton de personas de casi cada region de suramerica, mas individuos de Europa, Africa, Rusia y China; todo entre hipie y profesional. Saludos y todo el carino a los Hospitalarios de todo el paseo (durmi en mil sofas y comi mil platos) y te invito a escribirme o mejor dicho, haz que yo hice. Eschucha tus pies ansiosos, rasca las manos por la tierra desconocida y escudrinar cada horizonte.

Homeland Security

Did you know I am afraid of flying? I just don't tell anyone. I was a little jumpy on the plane from BA to Atlanta. It's nothing liquid- or nail clipper-related, just take off, turbulence and landing. I just lucidly realize I'm hurtling through the stratosphere at 518 mph in an enormous metal thing. So, we touched down in New York Monday morning, I wandered around the Grand Central Station area for awhile. I took the train north an hour to Poughkeepsie where my friend Laura is starting grad school. Her first day was actually that day. Well, we spent three hours in the train station not catching up but sitting on different sides and not knowing the other was there. Once that stupid bit was over we went to her country apartment that she rents from some burn-out dance teacher who used to hang with Warhol and Basquiat. She's alright. Tuesday Laura and I visited the lovely Vanderbilt Mansion outside of Highland, then she had class so I poked around the campus a bit. I have campusitis, if grad school happens, it'll be in a while. I already knew that, but the decision solidified in my visiting the grounds. I usually learn more reading slate.com than I did in a classroom. So now Laura has class all day and the neighbor is gone...I was gonna ask him if he wanted to go canoeing. But last night I remembered Evan Green lives in Albany, so I messaged him and he's driving down right now! Gonna go into Manhattan tomorrow to see some art and two other friends.

Supiste que tengo miedo de volar? Nunca lo digo. Estaba un poquito asustado en el vuelo desde BA a Atlanta. Ya te lo traduzco, Laura acaba de llegar y me tengo que ir...

I wanna be a part of BA

Buenos Aires, Big Apple. Well readers, my apologies for not having blogged at all this week. Time has flown and the crowd here stays out really late and I'm forgetful. I pulled in from the overnight bus that left from Porto Alegre, Brasil on Monday. My friend Anders hooked me up with a place to stay so I immediately called but no one was home. I only waited an hour or two before getting through then it was off to Cata's apartment. Nice work on befriending only Colombians, Anders. I feel really at home here (Everyone knows Colombians are cooler than porteños) (Porteños are people from BA and they have stiff upper lips). So at once Cata and I went out to Puerto Madero for a lovely walk that lasted until la Calle Florida which is a pedestrian shopping zone full of leather and tango. Later we met with other Cata, Monica and Tati--two more colombianas and a brasilera. Everyone was laughing because they hadn´t met a gringo who speaks Colombian sayings. Points for me. The following day was more miles of walking, this time in la Boca (tango´s birthplace, kind-of) (Carlos Gardel was Uruguayan if you want to argue) and later in Palermo and historic San Telmo. We went that night to the despedida (farewell party) of an Italian girl who had been studying here and had an incredible apartment in hip Palermo. The following day was more walking mixed with shopping. Cata advised me of a student´s travel agency and essentially saved me a bundle. How much? About six hundo. Seriously, I almost bought a 1200-dollar ticket online out of desperation and deception. So that night we went to Juan´s apartment, yet another colombiano. This one was a musician with an aparment full of instruments and equipment but devoid of much talent. Sorry, I said it. It´s a tough industry, okay? We are now on Friday. Friday was more walking except this time I was lost. Cata and I were going to meet another colombiana (imaginete) but I got separated. I just took a cab to the meeting point. Said point was the Papeleria, a fantastic hipster-run place that sells homemade paper products like sketchbooks and prints. Later I met up with other colombians (duh) while Cata was in class. Like any normal colombians we go out every night so we circuited some bars and I drank my fill of Quilmes cerveza. Saturday Cata and I walked along the paved coast of some river that seemed like ocean it was so big. We finally met up with the colombians and went to a few more places. Now it´s Sunday and time to get out of bed becuase 2 pm seems late and I usually get up at 1. Sidenote, I´m taking the overnight jet to New York! It hasn't hit me yet. One, that I´ll be in New York tomorrow, two, that this marks the end of the South American experience. I have been in this damn continent for eight months. I´m ready for the dollar.

Bueno, amigos, que pena por no haberles escrito. El tiempo aqui ha volado y la gente se acuesta tarde y yo soy distraido. Llegue el lunes desde Porto Alegre, Brasil. Mi amigo Anders arreglo donde quedarme--el estudio aqui hace un año. Llamé pero nadia estaba pero despues de esperar una hora ya llego Cata y me fui de una a su apartamento. Bien hecho, Anders, por solo tener amigas colombianas. Me siento en mi casa (todos saben que colombianos son mas bacanos que porteños). Allá fuimos a Puerto Madero para una caminata linda que duró hasta la calle Florida, una peatonal de shopping llena de tango y cuero. Luego encontramos con la otra Cata, Monica y Tati--dos mas colombianas y una garota. Todas estaban cagando de risa porque nunca habian conocido a un gringo que habla dichos colombianos. El dia siguiente fue mas kilometros de caminando, esta vez en la Boca donde nacio el tango (Gardel era uruguayo si quieres discutir) y despues a Palermo y el historico San Telmo. Aquella noche fuimos a la despedida de una italiana que habia estudiando aqui y quien tuvo un apartamento bacano en Palermo en la parte como ´hip´y artistica. El dia siguiente era de mas caminata mezclada con shopping. Cata me consejo de una agencia de viajes para estudiantes y esencialmente me ahorro seis cientos dolares. Imaginense, casi compre por internet el pasaje de ida en mil docientos dolares por desesperacion y decepcion. Entonces aquella noche fuimos al apartamento de Juan, otro colombiano. Este era musico con el apartamento lleno de instrumentos y equipos pero vacio de talento. Que pena por decirla, pero es una industria dura. Ahora estamos en el viernes. Era de mas caminata aunque me perdi. Cata y yo ibamos a encontrar con otra colombiana pero me separe de ellas. Igual tome taxi al lugar donde ibamos a llegar que era la Papeleria, un almacen bacanisimo de hipsters y artistas quien hacen papel y cuadernos y serigraphes. Luego me encontre con mas colombianos (aparecen en todas partes, no?) mientras Cata estaba en clase. Como colombianos normales, salimos cada noche y fuimos a bares y yo tome mucha cerveza Quilmes. El sabado Cata y yo caminamos por la costa de un rio que se parece el mar es tan grande. Finalmente nos encontramos con los colombianos para ir a otros bares. Ahora es el domingo y ya tengo que amanecer porque son las 2 y estoy acostumbrado de despertarme a la una. Otra cosa, yo volo a Nueva York esta noche!! No lo puedo creer. No puedo creer que estare en Nueva York y tampoco puedo creer que ya se acabo la experiencia suramericana. Ya llevo ocho meses en ese maldito continente. Estoy listo para el dolar.

Hurrying

Well, final days in Rio went well. Actually, they were in Nitaroi which is a separate city. I went on a nice walk with Maria Helena and her boyfriend Ovi. The Niemeyer museum was closed for exhibition change. That´s probably the fourth time something like that has happened to me. Anyway, Saturday we went to a ´hood that looked like Italy (from movies, I guess). We had some great shrimp. I had to go to the airport, so that ate up the afternoon, but then I bought groceries and cooked some supper. The family had a wedding to attend, so I was home alone and watched the Rolling Stones Rock n Roll Circus DVD. Those loons. Anyway, I´m in Porto Alegre now about to take a bus to Buenos Aires, finally!! But internet time is almost up. sorry, update later

Pues, los ultimos dias en Rio pasaronn bien. Actualmente, estaba en Nitaroi que es otra ciudad. Fui caminando con Maria Helena y su novio, Ovi. El museo diseñado por Niemeyer era cerrado por el cambio de exhibicion. Esto me ha pasado como cuatro veces. El sabado fuimos a un barrio que vio como fuese Italia, pues segun las peliculas. Comimos camarones buenisimos. Fui al aeropuerto para un boleto a Porto Alegre.

River of January

Well, last night I went to Vinicius Piano Bar for a spectacular bossa nova show. The opener guy was a beast on guitar and sang some classics, including a bossa version of Stevie´s I Just Called to Say I Love You, which seems wankery but it was actually pretty good and not annoyingly repetitive like it´s original. Act Two was Maria something and her band. She was a hair gimmicky in her set, but all of them were really talented (she has sung with Jobim!!) Side note, this venue is on the same corner where Vinicius do Moraes and Jobim co-wrote Girl from Ipanema. Having come because of bossa, I´m fulfilled. Met a Chilean guy at the venue who was a music nut and had some good bossa history for me. Plus it was good to speak Spanish to Spanish instead of Spanish to Portuguese (they´re close, but it´s pretty hard because of the pronunciation). This morning I took the bus then the boat over the bay to Nitaroi where my friend Maria Helena lives, the lady I met in Cuzco. She was working so her two daughters welcomed me, albeit awkwardly because they´re 15 and 13. But the former brought out her keyboard and Grandpa´s old guitar so I was set for the afternoon. Tomorrow I´m gonna go to the Museo do Arte Contemporaneo, the new Niemeyer building on the rocky coast facing Rio.

Anoche fui a Vinicius Piano Bar para ver un show de bossa nova espectacular. El cantante que empezo era un duro de guitarra y toco clasicas, incluyendo una version de I Just Called to Say I Love You por Stevie Wonder. Se parecia bovo, pero era buena y no tan repetitiva como el original. La segunda presentacion era un conjunto con cantante Maria algo cuya performancia era un poco ´showy´pero igual todos son talentosos (ella ha cantado con Jobim!!) Otra cosa, este lugar esta hubicada en la esquina donde Vinicius do Moraes y Jobim componaron La Chica de Ipanema. De haber venido por la bossa, ya estoy satisfecho. Conoci a un chileno quien es fanatico y el me conto historias interesantes. Tambien fue bien hablar Español a Español en vez de Español a Portugues (son parecidas, pero es dificil por la pronunciacion). Esta mañana tome el bus y la lancha tras la bahia hasta Nitaroi donde vive mi amiga Maria Helena, la señora que conoci en Cusco. Ella estaba trabajando entonces sus dos hijas me llevaron, incomodas un poquito porque tienen 15 y 13 años. Pero despues de que la mayor saco sus teclas y la guitarra vieja de su abuelo, paso la tarde bien. Mañana ire al Museo do Arte Contemporaneo, el nuevo edeficio de Niemeyer que queda en la costa en frente de Rio.

the rio deal

Left from Sao Paolo yesterday after missing the 1.20 bus because I was at the wrong platform. Got into Rio de Janeiro last night at about 9 or 10 and the cabbie convinced me of a different hostel in a safer neighborhood. I went with it, and of course it's one of those with an Addams Family architectural layout and is like the British Backpacker's Embassy. At least no one snored last night. Before bed, I had some caipirinhas at a cheap restaurant full of drunkards passing around a guitar to the two old prostitutes' delight. Don't worry, it was well lit. Today I went to Corcovado to see Christ the Redeemer. More impressive is Rio's landscape. And the thought that I swear that was Dame Judi Dench's sister in line in front of me. The landscape anyway is the north region and the south region, both bordered either by forest-covered mountains or the Atlantic. My hostel's in Copacabana, next to Ipanema. I've heard of a girl from there. I'm pretty sure I'm here because of Joao Gilberto and Stan Getz. Everytime I step outside, I start humming that song. Or singing the Sinatra Cheese version with his New York accent. Gonna check the da Vinci exhibit at the museum tomorrow, then shoot across the bay to the Nitaroi 'hood where my friend lives.

Sali de Sao Paolo ayer despues de perder el bus de 1.20 por estar en la plataforma equivocada. Llegue anoche a las 9 o 10 y fui a otro hostal segun el consejo del taxista. Por supuesto es un edificio con pisos como fuera la familia los Addams. Tambien es otro Embajada Britannica. A lo bien, nadie ronco anoche. Antes de acostarme, tome unas caipirinhas en un restaurante barato lleno de borrachos tocando y pasando la guitarra a la felicidad de las prostitutas viejas. No te preocupes, estaba con mucha luz. Hoy fui a ver Cristo el Redimador. Mas impresionante es la vista de Rio y de hecho lo juro que vi a la hermana de Dama Judi Dench. Pero la vista es las regiones norte y sur de Rio, completamente rodeada por montanas y el Atlantico. El hostal esta en Copacabana, el barrio al lado de Ipanema. He oido algo sobre una garota de aqui. Lo juro estoy aqui por Joao Gilberto y Stan Getz. Cada vez que salgo para afuera, empiezo a cantar la cancion esa o la version por Frank Sinatra con su acento nueva yorkeno. Vere la exhibicion de da Vinci manana y irme tras la bahia al barrio Nitaroi donde vive mi amiga.