fin.

I write my final travel post from the desk of Leah's room overlooking a peaceful backstreet of Berkeley. A cool breeze is coming in the window, though thanks to the wonderful clear day it's not too chilly. I was aprehensive about entering the northern hempishere's winter, however California is treating me well.

I left Buenos Aires at midday on Wednesday. I awoke naturally early, headed down and tried to swallow some breakfast. A brazilian dude saw me with my two packs and asked if I was headed to the airport. We subsequently shared a cab together. He was pretty nice, our mix of spanglish was impressive for the both of us. On our way out of Buenos Aires there was a 'manifestacion' (strike) on the highway. People were standing on the road, sleeping on the road. I couldn't gather what it was about. The taxi driver shared a brief conversation with a nearby policeman- he seemed pretty bemused about it all. Good old Argentine police! Nothing is to be taken seriously. Reminds me of the time that a guy staying in my room in the hostel got-supposedly- 1000 euros stolen out of his pack. The police came in and questioned us, took some notes, but everyone knew nothing would come of it.

I found myself airside with $50 pesos remaining. With a bit of time before boarding, I ordered a 'fernet'- a typical argentine liquor typically served with coke. It's really strong, tastes like medicine, but at the end of my stay there I came to like it. However this was fernet only, served with ice, which filled up a whole glass. Ach!!! I tried a few sips but couldn't handle it. I bought some coke and tried to mix it up. Eventually I forced it down and at 11am I was ready, drunkenly, for the flight. 9 hours to mexico city, then another two to LA where I stayed for the night.

I had researched my stay on sleepinginairports.com and luckily for me LAX had won the 'Worst Airport' award. I hoped it wasn't a global competition.

However the airport was undergoing renovations and I was able to access a relatively clean and new area. Luckily as I was trying to sleep on an uncomfortable chair a nice airport woman told me about a better place where 'many other people are sleeping'. I found my posse and luckily there was a small couch available for the taking. Throughout the night I got stared at by an Irish woman, kicked in the head a few times, and experienced severe coldness, HOWEVER!!! it was a pretty positive first time sleepinginairports experience. Thank you LA! I awoke at 5 and couldn't sleep again so after reading for a little while I went to check in to go to San Fransisco.

I will mention here how funny it is to be in America, or any developed country, after being in Argentina. Soap in the bathrooms! Paper towels! Toilet paper! The abillity to speak in English! Asian food stores! Good coffee! Fruit! All of these things are appreciated again. Slowly and surely I am experiencing new tastes again. I had my first grape. My first pomegranate. Leah cooked me a delicious vegetarian mix with soba noodles and eggplant and soy and chilli. Yogurt. Berries. It is lucky.

Berkeley, again, is wonderful. This trip feels pretty complete coming back here. Catching up with a few of the same people, experiencing the same fresh, wonderful, exciting and energetic feel of the place. I still feel a little strange about going back to Aus, but it feels a bit more smooth-edged now.

It's wonderful being with Leah and everyone being wonderful. It is mixed with sadness though, as people say to her 'have a nice life'. She's packing around me and constantly offering me her clothes to take back in my pack. We're headed to yoga at 4.30, before grabbing some din dins. My flight's at 10 to 11. I'll be seeing you all on the flipside!

Lots and lots of love,
Georgia