So, here's what I did throughout the rest of July. I had moved into the home stay, which turned me into a vegetable because massive meals were served nightly (like huge Thanksgiving dinners, no kidding) and I sat around and read books in the living room couches all day and surfed the internet without getting much work done. Most evenings I would go back to the Clan hostel and hang out with my old friends (like Nav and Dan) and new friends (everybody else) and partied way too hard - drinking, smoking (joints, spliffs, and cigarettes) and doing other stuff I probably shouldn't write down (hey, come on, it's Argentina, everything's cheap). I'd feel wrecked during the day and do the same thing all over again.

I gave up trying to learn more Spanish because the Argentine accent was throwing me off and I didn't want to relearn what I already knew - plus I was being a lazy bastard to say the least.

The roommates were pretty cool, they really were - but we just didn't have a whole lot in common. Britney wanted to study all the time and hang with her school friends. Nikki is awesome but she was usually working and too broke to go out. And the other roommates I really didn't converse with to be honest. Everybody, including my home stay parents, were nice and friendly, but there really wasn't a whole lot for me to do - the hostel would have been the better option (but not for my sanity).

I checked in with the mechanic weekly to see how he was doing with my bike. I made the mistake of telling Javier (the mechanic) that I'd be around for two months and to take his time so he didn't end up getting to the core of the problem with my bike for a while.

I'd had enough of the partying, boredom, being unhealthy and decided to get a ticket back to the States to chill out for a bit while my motorcycle was being fixed. This caused a bit of a problem with my home stay parents because I had told them I'd be there for 2 months, and they make their money on the rooms for rent, so I felt quite bad about that. I said goodbye to all my friends at the hostel although Dan will be there when I get back (maybe). Javier (mechanic) told me which parts to order for the bike and send back because they will be much more inexpensive in the States. So, when I get back, I'll have a working motorcycle (hopefully). I left August 7 and arrived in Denver the morning of August 8.

Below Inserted September 6th, 2008

I've cleaned up my act since I've been back home in Parker, Colorado (mostly because there's not a whole lot of partying to be had here and I only have one friend left here, which is quite sad). I'm just working on my website design business and getting ready for the Australia/Asia/Middle East/Euro motorcycle trip that I'll be undertaking with Wayne and Bob - shipping our bikes from California in mid-November. I also bought a new bike, a F650GS Dakar - the bike I'll be taking.

I fly back to Buenos Aires October 1st and will continue on down to Ushuaia then ride back north to sell the bike either in Argentina or Paraguay (whichever is easier). I'll be back in the States by the end of October so I have sufficient time to get ready for the next trip on the Dakar.