Wow… the last few weeks have been nothing short of exhausting, exhilarating, and extreme. I got to Cordoba about 4 weeks ago and in less than 2 weeks I’m returning to Houston (July 4th) – time has went by unbelievably fast! This post will be separated in 3 parts:
I. Buenos Aires II. Salta/Jujuy III. General Cordoba I. Buenos Aires (June 8-10) This city is absolutely amazing and I never realized it in the past. First off, it’s one of the largest cities in the world with roughly 15 million people (some estimates are higher, others are lower). Second, it has a very interesting history because it was a rich colonial town dating back to the 16th century. In the late 19th/early 20th centuries the city was so rich that it invested tons into the infrastructure of the city – this is one of the main reasons the city today can facilitate so many people and also explains why there are so many beautiful cities that date back over a century. One of the first places we visited was the Zoo… yes, I’m still a kid, leave me alone! So I never thought I would laugh and want to throw up all at the same time: observe this elephant taking the largest piss I’ve ever seen anything take… must have had too many beers this morning… 
Now, meet Dumbo… if you can’t tell what’s going on let me explain: After elephant #1 decided to take a piss and then steamy (yes, I saw the steam) dump, Dumbo decides he wants to eat the poooo… Dumbo is dumB. 
Meet the King… 
Meet the Monkey…
I, like you, never thought I would want to visit a cemetery but one cannot go to Buenos Aires and not visit Cementerio de la Recoleta (Recoleta Cemetery)… it is absolutely amazing! People are buried in above ground mini-chambers – some people have extravagant rooms with humungous headstones above their rooms as other people have tiny chambers… nonetheless, this is where the “who’s who” of Buenos Aires have been buried for over a century.
I thought it would be rude to smile next to Evita’s grave – she has an amazing history, look her up! 
The Recoleta Church is also amazing and old…  Like all the gold? 
One of my favorite stops was this tree – it extended out about 70-1-0 feet… it grew so far horizontal that 30ft all around the tree there are supports in place so the branches don’t just fall to the ground… 
Oh ya, say hello to the late John Paul II – he has a nice view onto the city. 
There are random beautiful places in the city:
Plaza de San Martin 
Pueto Madero – my favorite part of the city: it is a planned community between the port and the ocean and it’s the most upscale community I have ever seen. Sara and I went into a unfinished high-rise and they thought we were a couple that actually has the interest (and money) to purchase a million dollar high rise condo – the place was called Chateau… here is one of the bridges that separates the mainland city from Puerto Madero. 
Oh ya, I went to Hooter's with Sara in BA - how cool is that? I will get that pic later and post it!
Can’t forget about the random flower that blossoms every morning and decides to close at down… it is enormous in person! 
I also attended a Boca football (soccer) match – it was ridiculously insane. It makes UT football games seem passive. These people are insane. The Economist ranked watching a Boca match (versus their rival) one of the top 10 things one must experience before they die… I will explain this one in person because it is too hard with words. Random thoughts on BA: 1. Meeting up with Michelle and Angela from UT was awesome… going out until 8 in the morning definitely did help the following day’s tourism, but whatever, it’s all good times. 2. Good time roaming the city with Sara – must find that café later in life for the exact same bottle of wine! 3. I went to lunch one day at HOOTERS, yes… even in BA men love their wings (and a great ambience doesn’t hurt either, haha, jk)! 4. I realize that at some point in my life I want to get into high-end international real estate development – anyone with me? II. Salta & Jujuy, Argentina (June 14-17) I really expected very little from this trip… it ended up being arguably the best weekend of my life! A few highlights: mountain climbing, outdoor biking, bungee jumping, horseback riding, duecing (a few of yall understand), amazing food, and a host of other things that will make this weekend very memorable. Let’s begin… Randomly the city of Salta has numerous pieces of architecture and art that were influenced by French, Spanish, and Italian immigrants… 
Some of the Church’s were simply amazing – if you are interested I have video I can show you personally. It will show you in more detail the exquisite nature of these churches… 
I loved Salta so much, I tried entering a convent … at this particular convent, once a woman enters, she never leaves, not even once; I would be a star attraction if I got in! 
Even a Shiju (actually I go by Tòmas while in Sud America) needs to ponder life on occasion… 
Soon Tòmas’ brain hurts and he does stupid things like climbing Canyons… 
Eventually, Tòmas conquers the world… 
(not shown… Shiju nearly falling to his death only moments after these photos were taken!) My jeans have never in my life been so filthy (I did not know what was in store for me in the following day)… Later for lunch we had… llama! These badboys are TASTY! :)
By the way, BBQ (asada) is the most popular food in Argentina… being a vegetarian is very challenging here. This was my first of 4 plates at a 400 year old ranch (family dates back to the King of Spain during the 15th century) I went to the next day. You can tell that I’m happy! 
On another excursion we visited a tribal area that just felt as if there were magical powers all around us… 
All the above events were fantastic but two events really took the cake this past weekend. The first was horseback riding (after an 1 ½ hours of biking the rough terrain). I’m sad that I did not get a picture of me on my horse but its okay. His name was “diablito” which means ‘little devil.’ So the funny story about this incident was that the students were suppose to go out with gauchos (cowboys – puts Texas cowboys to shame) just in case something went wrong since these were ‘real’ wild horses… that never happened for me. I got on my horse and he sped away … I thought I was going to die! Diablito kept running right under branches of trees (like you see in movies) and I was so close to dying numerous times. To add insult to injury, I was going to fall off numerous times because Diablito was going so fast I could barely stay on him… nonetheless, eventually I learned how to steer him and from that point on we had a great trot through the country. He was amazing and I am a new fan of horseback riding… it is everything I’ve heard about it in the past and so much more. Here is a picture of some of the horses that were part of the herd… (this was at the 400 yr old ranch) 
And finally… Bungee Jumping. I had no idea I would end up doing this but it was one of the most extreme things I’ve ever done. Freefalling to the ground is an experience that makes rollercoasters feel like a merry-go-round! I was confident the entire time UNTIL I was fully strapped and looking down at my demise… lo’ and behold I jumped. The next few seconds felt like the most extreme moments of nausea, euphoria, and fear… not to mention the pain of flopping around like a fish upside down with my veins ready to pop of excess blow flow! I have video that I will share with the few souls willing to watch, but for now, you can gaze at the still photos… 
(I know, I need a haircut… I get it) Notice in my weakest moment, my hands still proudly form the sign of the Longhorns!
[Only a few of yall will understand this part] With all the traveling, of course there was lots of bus time… what does that mean? “Deuce all day, deuce all night… this is the life of a, the life of a… Big Deuca, Big Deuca…” Yes, I introduced deuce to the bus and soon numerous games of deuce were being played in Salta and Jujuy, Argentina… keepin’ it real! These were some of my initial deucers (left to right: Zach, Steven, Sunjay, Sara, and yours truly)! 
My body has such unbelievable pain right now, I will not even try to explain… III. Cordoba I’m sure you all are either bored or lack the time to read much more of my random stories so I will leave you with the token “Shiju appreciates having a good time” picture… this is me and a good friend (Steven) trucking through 5 liters of amazing Sangria and a liter of beer over a conversation about God and problems the world faces in the 21st century… 
I leave you all with a few random comments: 1. I have had really sad moments while here – particularly when I think about not living in Texas anymore. I love Houston and Austin; I am a Texas boy at heart and it’s sad to leave the best friends/family a person could ask for… but I’ll always be around! 2. Longhorn for life. Everyday I realize more and more how much being a Longhorn has changed my life for the better – I bleed ORANGE – Hook em’ Horns! 3. July 4th – if you are free, come to my place in Houston for BBQ – just let me know ahead of time so I can get a head count. That is the only day I’ll be in Texas for the foreseeable future. Hope my fun adventures gave you a moment of entertainment rather than 10 minutes of boredom – with love, Tòmas (Shiju) | 
