Backdated from Tuesday, April 19, 2005 11:45pm-ish (mined from paper journal.)

Pamela F's place, San Salvador de Jujuy, Argentina.

Just took a series of pics of Jairo (the adopted little brother)
watching TV in the corrugated-metal-roofed two-room house the three
siblings share. Pamela has apparently gone to the hospital to see her
sister – who is giving birth. She was gone when I got back from the
internet café on the corner.

Rewind (1pm-ish): It was a great surprise to have someone meet me at
the bus station – I really wasn't expecting it, and had sorta been
hoping to freshen myself up pre-contact, but when I saw a short-ish
(i.e., my height), young-ish (i.e., a few years my junior) girl,
looking around expectantly, my hopes that she was my Hospitality Club
host perked up and I met her unsure gaze. We cabbed it back here,
where I was introduced to the puppies and welcomed to the humble
amenities (i.e., the outdoor sink and non-auto-flush toilet housed in
a separate brick structure) and told the story of she and her two
siblings' randomly getting kicked out of the more posh house on the
property a few weeks back so that their dad, who is saving up money to
move in with his new wife and her family, could rent it out to his
boss as office space.

Needless to say, this abode is far less developed or 3rd world, so to
speak, than any other I've seen so far in this country, including
those we passed during our walk around the town (oops – city ;) I
keep slipping up on that, after being used to the bigger cities of
Buenos Aires and Rosario) this afternoon, post-siesta (another
novelty, typical of this region). The day heat is pretty impressive
here and I think, even from my limited sun-light exposure (all
post-4pm), my scalp is burned.

Anyways, I've made plans to head to Tilcara tomorrow night to go on an
excursion early Thursday morning with Andres S., another Hospitality
Clubber, who also happens to be a tour guide. He said he can't offer
me a free place to say, but can find me cheap accommodations, which
around here, according to Paula's regional tourism advice, should be
affordable enough.

There are interesting elements to being here, like the bombas de papa
(potato bombs, which are breaded, deep-fried sliced potatoes filled
with cheese and garden-fresh parsley) I got fed for lunch, along with
lemon and a salad, after I found out Pamela hadn't gotten or read the
P.D. in my last e-mail, noting my vegetarianism – and other cultural
observations, etc. – but I think that geographically/energetically I
am ready to move on. Oh yeah, there are also some really good bread
shops (I know, all I need after weeks of near carb overdose, right?)
and apparently decent crafts like wool (llama) and jewellery and clay
(which I won't let myself buy for fear of breakage) around, but I feel
nature calling – not in terms of needing a baño, but wanting to
reconnect.