It's hard to admit it, but i'm white

Have you met come teachers in your time? I'll bet you have, here's my favorite one.

Teaches of Peaches



Made it back, all is going to plan. Plan? There's a plan ?

Leaving las vegas, very nice song carefully penned by Cheryl Crowe, does a similar one need to be written about Bogotá or Quito, there's probably a million of them.

Well what have i learnt, hmmm. Well it would be easier to tell you about what i've forgotten, and whats that, Spanish. Oh yeah, thats what i came here for in the first place. Stay away from Gringos and learn Spanish, well on the upside, i did have a good time and thats important, isn't it?

Start at the start, well i wont but I'll take you back in time to a place i call, last week where many brain cells were fried, and since they fry everyting in Columbia, i think it's a fitting time and location to start the story or what i can remember if it.

I came back from Villa de Ayera, met up with Alli from Queens (Hi Alli, i met another girl from Queens, i could be very well heading your way in a month and then on to San Frnacisco, thank you very much)

Well i can truly say I've been to Colombia, partied on a bit in Bogota, didn't see too much of the city during the day, didn't have to wander too far at night either thanks to the local 'We like electronic music and then house parties if we can find a light bulb' and those ones are the best ones i can tell you, especially if you have a local that doesn't speak any English reciting Spanish to you, don't knock it till you try it.

A repeat effort was attempted, Alli bought a kids Spanish book and she was going to recite it to everyone around 2am, sadly she forgot it and i have nothing more to report on that particular experience, time to dry your eyes and move on.

Hung out with a local Columbian in Bogota Eder (Hi Eder, your government should make you an ambassador for Columbia, Cheers)
Managed to bring nearly everything from the 2 Sue hostels to one of the local House music parties in the bar run by the French girl. Good one, or as Borat would say 'Great success'

Went out with Jenny and Eder and crew later, good night, some club up 5 flights with a perfume shop at the bottom, you need a guide to find these places and i had the best.

Back in Quito now, where are the Cafe Tintos, experssos to you non Spanish speakers. One of the best experiences about Columbia is sitting around and drinking Tintos.
I only started drinking Tintos in Columbia, and now i miss it, a lot.
Did some shopping too, bought heaps of movies, tried to get rid of some books, ended up with more books that i really want and cant say no, 'No, i cant say no, there coming with me, and thats that'

The girls around the corner had a party on Saturday night, i was off to Blues for some Electronic music, the kind you don't really get in Cork, what a blast !!
Got up yesterday afternoon and there was some good electronic musing playing with the sun shining, so i didn't move all day, what bliss.
Funny thing is, if i did it, they would have been running out like their hair was on Fire, '.....a rose by other name' comes to mind, and i don't, not now anyway

Now here we go kids, one thing I've said I'd do for a long time and now we are here
I've been telling people about this movie clip for months, possibly years, possibly light years.

It's Dark side of the moon over Wizard of Oz, seeing is believing, take a break from the world and watch it

I'm off for 'Hornado', roast pork and potato cakes for a $1.50, it's nice, i like, and it's not Sunday either, you can have it any day you like, what a country.

K

Where have all the toilet seats gone ?

Probably the most photographed dog in Columbia, his permanent residence is top of the road from Sue Hostel


Didnt think i´d be writing so much in Columbia, but there you go, just goes to show that a lot of things are happening here, not that´s what the English or US government would like you to hear.

I was reading recently, US citizens were advised not to go to Columbia, but in fact Columbia is a lot safer than Washington, a lot. So what does this amazing fact mean you ask, not a lot really, unless your French.

The French have recently signed an agreement with the Guirelas here in Columbia in which no French people will be kidnapped, so in case you are kidnapped, act snooty, chain smoke, demand coffee and crossants and go on about how your cheeses are the best and everything is ´Fuckin shet´, case closed.

I´m in Villa de Ayera today and they are shooting a movie in the square, they shot the first season of Zorro here (No bullets were used, tempting to put some reference to 50 Cents here, but not today)

Tour start´s:
Founded in 1572, Villa de Leyva was declared a national monument in 1954.
A colonial town par excellence, it has been preserved in its entirety -
the impressive Plaza Mayor is lined with whitewashed colonial houses and churches.
Villa enjoys a dry, mild climate and is within easy reach of the capital,
making it a popular weekend getaway for Bogotános.

The Zorro filiming went on for 6 months, from what i know of the ledgened, the Zorro character
is based on an Irish guy in Mexico and if you dont believe me, click here

Tour over:
Other signifant events this week
Signed up with facebook, now i can be part of the ´Buzz´ along with all the Americans (an the people that should have been born in America..... and drafted to fight for democracy)

Saw American Splendor, good movie, one good quote from it was ´Life is about enjoying the ride´and truth be told, been having quite a ride this year and i think it will continue in this manner too for another year anyway, well maybe a year and a half, why stop there, go for 2 years more ok so, i think i will, and it was done.

Fred (Fuckin Fred from France) departed this morning, headed North, bye bye Fred, i´m going South. He was telling me we have been hanging out for 3 weeks, no wonder my Spanish has gone down the toilet, if Spanish was on my School report card the comment would be ´Needs more work, has a tendency to be lazy´

True enough, i´m not argueing with you there love, but as long as i´m having fun, thats the main thing.

Heading back to Bogota tomorrow, will only have 8 days to get back to Quito, should be able to do it comfortably, want to see the church on the steep hill on the border, flying is out of the question.

So what did i do in the Nations Capital the last time i passed through, drinking, partying, meeting crazy people witnessing crazy people, wrote about crazy people, forgot the Spanish i learned and drank coffee.

What will i do if i go back, the same as above, but this time i have a sneaky plan, if i stay 1 night theres no way i can do all of the above, Kieran saves the day yet again.

Been eating lots of healthy food too in the last few weeks, i´ve never been happier to eat salad and it´s all credit to my foot. What happened you ask ? Well i´ll tell you.

In San Cipriani i hurt my foot, i moved on to Salento and not being able to walk far i was able to hobble across the road and buy lots of fruit and vegetables and fried chicken around the corner
Now i´m like a junky for salad, i´ve also accuired lots of new Vegeterian recepies which is a welcome relief from discussing ´Whitch Burning´s´ at social occcasions if and when they do arise.

Switched hostel from `Death Hostel´, why ? They had electric showers, and thats a good thing, or so you would think. The water was pissing out the back of the shower head on to the ´LIVE´ electric cables.
I pointed this out to Fred, Fred pointed this out in his best Spanish to the receptionist well anyway, she thought we were crazy and the first to complain about the fear of electrocution ´I am a westerner´, indeed i am. In europe the owner wold be charged with attempted murder, in South America, they think your over reacting.

Bought new shoes for $11, not bad, they feel like i´ve been wearing them for years and this is day 2, maybe if i was living on Jupeter with them they would be years old (God knows, sometimes i think i am there)
The daze of doing without Cafe tinto are numbered so i´m off for some Tintos (Expressos to you)

The whole country feels like it´s ´Student month´ and this years competetion between Colleges is to steal all the feckin toilet seats, not a very smart thing to do. These people shouldnt be in colleges if you ask me, they should be digging holes in a field, 20kms from any toilet and where the only harm they can do is to themselves.

Packing your backpack for Columbia ?
Along with things you might consider packing in your backpack, would be a toilet seat. Business men looking for a good idea, a toilet seat you can strap on to a backpack, Or if your a cheapskate and like squatting on toilets do that. But i cant see the Queen doing that and i cant see many of her loyal subjects doing that either, can you ?

Kieran

P.s.
A big hello to all my friends on Jupiter

Am i still in Feckin' Quito

A normally conservative Canadian goes wild on a big night in Quito



So I'm thinking, will i write something, wont i, will i, wont i, will i, wont i, alright so i will and so it begins, because as all people know, if you want to do something anything, you first have to start, and so it begins, and thats where we are right now, the start, and we're off.

Well whats happened, had a bit of a dinner party around the corner at the girls place and in disgust i came back to get some real music when tragedy struck.
Someone let in the thieving gypsies in and guess what they done did to me ? Still guessing, well move your eyes to the next line.

Ready ? I'll tell you what they did, the went and stoled my mp3 player, no big deal i hear you say, i don't like good electronic and house music anyway, but i do, thats my point.

It bad enough they stole my mp3 player, they have music no one else in the world has. What a deal, for the thieving gypsies, that is. I don't get anything, no deal for me, just tough luck, and plenty of it, oh would you like a bit more tough luck there Kieran "No no, I've had enough really, i just couldn't have even a little bit more" Tough luck, will 2 bags be enough ?

I hope so.

Well not to get all philosophical, but it could be covered by insurance, and all the music is backed up, yep all.
I helped fix an Australian chicks i pod, job done, gave her some good music, left mine charging, i didn't have to. Hung out with the girls, went to the party, came back, asked everyone, oh bollocks, it's gone, on holidays maybe, maybe I'll never know.

I couldn't be bothered going to the cops, i got my moneys worth out of it anyway, i can get all the music again, no big deal.

Got some good books, no one steals books, Fu$%in illiterate bastards, that will teach them, I'll outsmart them with book reading.

Speaking out outsmarting people. i found my wallet, in the bottom of my bag, as it turns out, i must of came home to the ship and put it in my bag, why you say. It must of seemed like a good idea at the time.

I promised Julie i would stay one extra day in Quito, and I'm glad i was able to keep that promise.
I also promised her i would go and volunteer for a day, well a half a day, but since my alarm clock was on Galapagos time, it was a promise i could not keep.

Bridget did not believe i even made the effort to go, but as it turned out, i left a banana skin on her window. But if she did not believe i even made their effort to go it couldn't have been me ? Now could it ? Nope, defiantly not me. Not my banana, you'll have to remove it yourself missus.

Columbia to morrow, I'm making that promise to myself, no excuses. I've got nothing to lose, no camera, no iriver, no innocence, nothing, I'm off.

Time to stop writing and maybe it's time for you to stop reading this, your only encouraging me. I'm off for an ice cream.