ANCHORMAN

Well, I'm embarrassed, I made a little bit of an oopsie in the last post...oops. My mind was somewhere else! I won't point it out and it's been rightfully fixed.

I spent the better half of my night in the hospital. Reason? I lost partial hearing in my right ear last and today I completely lost it. I know why it happened but I won't go into that for everyone's sanity. As unpleasant as my experience was on that operating table, I can hear clearer now, the water and etc is gone...it's going to be a great, earful weekend. Corny, I know.

I was sitting in the waiting room with my friend joking about writing a post about things to do in a Czech emergency room while you wait and wait and wait. I swear, for producing some of the best doctors in the world, their 'customer service' aspect is quite horrible. Anyways, here is what we came up with:
1. Play flipcup with your cheap, hospital coffee cup
2. Fold up your waiting ticket in different animals and shapes
3. Make paper airplanes with your waiting ticket
4. Stare at your feet and make weird noises
5. Play with your fingers
6. Play telephone with your cheap, hospital coffee cup
7. Talk to yourself
8. Daydream
10. Stare at the walls so you look like a psychopath
11. Make random farting noises
12. Stare at something until your eyes burn
13. Walk up and down the aisles then do cartwheels
14. Crawl on the floor and pretend to be a toddler
15. Fall asleep with your neck in a weird position since the chairs are horrible
16. Sit in the bathroom and do nothing
17. Talk like Shakespeare...to yourself, or the wall...whichever you prefer
18. Just laugh and laugh till you get rock hard abs
19. Do squats or push-ups in an open area
20. Do nothing, nothing at all.

Once you do a majority of these, or maybe even all, you will be called and helped...or maybe you will just have to wait even longer. Who knows now-a-days!

Right now, I'm getting educated on the world of journalism and TV broadcasting from Anchorman, a classic that I have not yet seen. Tomorrow I will begin the New Zealand post and have it for you all!

My days of doing absolutely nothing and relaxing are no more, it's back to the hustle and grind of work tomorrow then the last few weeks of university. Plus, some meetings with a travel magazine (had to reschedule) and InStyle Magazine. Fun stuff!

Travel on wanderlusters!

P.S. For those you wanderlusters mainly concerned with safety when traveling (like myself in some cases) this article and map will help you out! http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/countries-safe-danger-travel-140344866.html --I was happy to see all the countries I have so far lived in to be considered the world's safest and the country I will soon be temporarily moving to (Uruguay) to be on the list, as well.

CONGO

Congo, or should I say, the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Over the last century, Congo has been on what some could call a roller coaster, with different names and leaderships. If we jump to present day Democratic Republic of the Congo, a country of about 75.5 million, the capital is Kinshasa with French being the nationally spoken language. Some other languages spoken throughout the country are Lingala, Kikongo, Swahili and Tshiluba. 

Some of the country's main tourist attractions include:

1. Lake Tanganyika

2. Mount Nyiragongo

3. Virunga National Park

4. Lake Kivu

5. Garamba National Park

6. Okapi Wildlife Reserve

7. Salonga National Park

8. Idjwi (an island in Lake Kivu)

9. Kahuzi-Biéga National Park

10. Maiko National Park

11. Lukaya River

12. Zongo Falls

13. Lola ya Bonobo

14. Ma Vallee

15. Musee National de Kinshasa (the National Museum of Kinshasa)

16. Mercato delle Stoffee Africane

17. Congoloisirs

Now, according to Lonely Planet, three things they list you absolutely must do when visiting this country is: 

1. Visit the Kinkole Fish Market- you can be paddled down the Congo River.

2. Chutes de Lukia- natural lakes to swim in and a chimp orphanage.

3. Kisanto Botanical Gardens- trees that are over 100 years old and rivers you can swim in.

When it comes to accommodation you can stay in a regular old hotel or you can try a B&B. Some of the best hotels in this country include: Hotel Royal, Grand Karavia Hotel and Fleuve Congo Hotel. For the B&Bs, try: Bougain Villa, Le Voyageur or Havre de Paix. For the travel foodies out there: Limoncello, Le Cafe Conc, Chez Gaby, Al'Dar, Patisserie Nouvelle (for the Europeans out there), Chez Maman Colonel, Le Palais Restaurant and O'Poeta all have high reviews from tourists. Just so you know, all of these are in the country's capital. Back to the food, the main dishes in Congo generally consist of fish from the rivers, fish, plantains, chicken in peanut sauce, a variety of vegetables and goat meat. 

I didn't want to get into the depressing stuff regarding that country because hey, who wants to read (or write) about such devastating things? Not me and I would hope not you! That stuff is for the news, this is for the fun and interesting stuff! In a few years once things have settled down a little bit there, I would love to visit the country and especially the more rural areas, i.g., the villages and mountains. 

Tomorrow's post will be on the beautiful New Zealand!

P.S. Some friends and I are looking into visiting St. Petersburg, Russia for our fall break this year! Have any of you wanderlusters been? What do you recommend doing there?

Travel on wanderlusters and have a wonderful Wednesday!

ARGENTINA

Argeeeeentinaaaaa, the land of beautiful mountains, nature, steak, leather, tango dancing and well, just about everything great! This South American country's capital is Buenos Aires...wow, I sound like I'm trying to sell you guys Argentina, sorry! Too much excitement for this place. Patagonia is one of my favorite backgrounds on my computer, so to be doing a post on the country Patagonia is shared with (it is also shared with Chile), is exciting! 

Anywho, Spanish is the main spoken language (obviously) and there are almost 41 million people living in this country. With Argentina being at the very end of South America, it neighbours with Chile, Antarctica, Uruguay (where I will be living in a year from now) and Paraguay. 

1. Buenos Aires
2. El Calafate & The Perito Moreno Glacier
3. Iguazu Falls (one of the new Seven Natural Wonders of the World)
4. Valdez Peninsula
5. Bariloche & The Seven Lakes Region
6. Quebrada de Humahuaca
7. Valle de la Luna & Talampaya
8. El Chaltén
9. Ushuaia & Beagle Canal
10. Antarctica

According to www.argentinastravel.com, these are the top 10 places to go when visiting Argentina. Buenos Aires is considered to be one of the world's largest cities and South America deems Argentina to have the best quality of life. Hmmm, sounds like a pretty good deal to me, it's kind of hard not to think that instantly when you see those awesome photos. Buenos Aires boasts European styled architecture, fantastic culture and a mass amount of theatres. Vivaa la noche, viva la vida loca en Buenos Aires!

The website TimeOut.com helped with me with the top 20 things to do when in Buenos Aires, I cringed a little at number 2 on the list though:  
1. Become a Boca fan
2. Eat intestines and even more glands
3. Frolic in a love hotel
4. Tour the eye of the Tigre 
5. Witness the social coming of Christ
6. Get lost among the dead
7. Dine in style
8. Mind your toes at a milonga
9. Snack on coffee and medialuna
10. Drink until the early hours (but that's everywhere else in the world too...)
11. Have a picnic and go bird watching
12. Visit Malba: Colección Costantini
13. D is for dulce de leche (YUMMM)
14. Pay homage to Evita
15. Go relic hunting in San Telmo (I do this in Sims 3 World Adventures...I'm guilty, I'm guilty, ok?)
16. Pick up classic souvenirs
17. See a polo match in Palermo (Olivia Palermo is my favorite style icon! No connection, I know)
18. TANGO
19. Groove to South America's best DJs
20. Turn fashion conscious at Palermo Viejo (hmm, maybe this is where Olivia Palermo really got it from...)

Now, let's talk about Patagonia...yay! This place is beyond beautiful, at least from the pictures I have seen because I have not been there yet. I am hoping though that in the next year I can say I have visited. Skiing, trekking, glacier trekking, fishing and whale watching are just some of the activities to do there...sounds like the perfect combination!

Now, I'm not necessarily a big fan of snow and cold but I would conquer the coldness to do these things in Patagonia. I'll definitely be putting on my big girl pants on when the time comes to visit Patagonia.

Patagonia and Buenos Aires are considered to be the most expensive part of Argentina, but you could most definitely find cheap accommodation throughout Buenos Aires and near Patagonia. If you know the travel guides/books and website Lonely Planet, you already know the excellent travel advice they give. I got some fantastic information from their Argentina page, including an upcoming festival in May: Día de Virgen de Luján on May 8th- a day where believers set foot on a 65 km pilgrimage to Luján to honor the Virgin Mary. Are any of you wanderlusters going to this festival or have ever taken part in this festival? The best time to visit is in their spring months, which is September to November, Buenos Aires that is. The best time to visit Patagonia for the non-cold lovers, like myself, is during their summer months, December through February. Sheesh, if only they knew what December-April was like in Eastern Europe!

Have yourself a lovely Easter Monday (for those who celebrate) or otherwise a lovely start of the week and of course, travel on wanderlusters!

The next post will be on: Democratic Republic of the Congo in Western Africa.

P.S. I came across this today, pretty interesting/cool. Who would've thunk it?! http://www.cracktwo.com/2011/04/25-abandoned-soviet-monuments-that-look.html