Estoy Aprendiendo Español

Yup! Signed me up for private instruction. 10 classes. Starting next Tuesday. Expect Argentine slang to pepper my speech shortly thereafter.

Super pumped.

Bringing you up to speed

Well, hmm. Been a while, eh? Turns out it's tougher than I anticipated to generate content about a trip that was still months away. Also, I got kind of distracted. The good news is, with very minimal lobbying required I convinced the distraction (let's call her N, henceforth) to join me for a month, mid-trip. Which is lucky for me, because otherwise I'd have curtailed my trip: eleven straight weeks of intercontinental separation was not an option I was willing to consider. Booked N's ticket just last week, so it's official and everything. That's one development I wanted to share.

The second development is that the itinerary I outlined in my last post is more or less the Official Plan, now. The Adventure will for sure include, in order of appearance:

• Santiago
• Valparaiso
• The Atacama and around, very probably including Uyuni in Bolivia
• Salta and around
• Buenos Aires and around [N joins me here]
• Peninsula Valdez
• Ushuaia
• Torres Del Paine
• El Calafate
• El Chalten
• Bariloche [N leaves me here]
• A couple of weeks for spontaneous last-minute decision-making (options include the Carretera Austral in Chile; Chiloe, Chile; or continuing up through Argentina to Mendoza)
• Easter Island

The third and final development is more of a non-development, really: I have not taken a single step to improve my Spanish since March. Booooo, you say. I agree! Thus on Monday I will be signing up for a private tutor. Expect great strides to be made between now and October. Or Octubre. See? I'm a natural.  Of course, I assume I will still be utterly bewildered by Chileno, but I reckon no amount of instruction could adequately prepare me on that front.