This week I passed the six month mark of my trip. It seemed worth noting with an entry looking back on some of the stuff I've learned thus far. First, though, a quick rundown of what the trip has entailed to this point, including, for the first time, a very poor map showing my wanderings to date. They vaguely resemble a "Family Circus" cartoon. I apologize if it is difficult to see the map.
View the big map

Countries covered: 5
Total money spent: $5300
Miles covered: A lot
Languages learned: 0
Languages attempted: 2
Stuff lost: Towel, pocketwatch, laundry washing kit, long-sleeved shirt, alarm clock, flashlight, most sanity
Greatest pleasures: Baked goods, cold beer, solitude, companionship, news of any sort, a clean, fresh towel

I travelled for a while with a San Franciscan surfer named Dave who liked to keep track of his lessons learned. I thought I´d give it a shot here, so I´m sorry for putting up a terrible list of stuff, but it´s my blog. In honor of Surfer Dave, I´ll start with a lesson he taught me:

-Sheets make acceptable towels
-You don´t need as much as you think
-Don´t eat too much fruit
-Poop stains will come out of underwear, but this discovery is best kept to oneself after washing your clothes in someone else´s kitchen sink
-If you don´t shower, your eyebrows will produce dandruff
-German backpackers talk better English than me
-Wear a watch in Brazil. This way women can ask you what time it is clearly indicating thier desire to have sex with you. (This was told me by a lady at a tourist information booth who I suspected of wanting to ask me the time)
-Jean-Claude Van Damme is a national hero in Bolivia
-If you don´t know what you´re eating, it´s probably best to leave it that way
-Doing laundry is difficult when your only clean clothes are a pair of gloves and a stocking cap
-"Excuse me, is that The Economist you´re reading" is a terrible pick-up line
-Sometimes terrible pick-up lines work...but not when they are, "Excuse me, is that The Economist you´re reading"
-Latin American bus + long distance trip = Horrid movie
-US culture is highly infectious
-Bad music is universal, but it is elevated to an art form in Bolivia
-There´s always more space
-Talking, laughing, and asinging to yourself are prefectly acceptable...at least this is what I randomly shriek at the floor during long bus rides
-You don´t need to know the language to travel, but it sure helps
-You don´t need a home to be homesick
-I never thought I´d miss peanut butter
-Andean people have no impulse control
-Travelling under a pseudonym is fun because you never feel like anything is your fault
-Spanish speakers have trouble pronouncing "Lord Hafflerbabble Nipplestein"
-Why is the empanada not popular in the US? It´s like a deep-fat fried beef stew nugget (or baked for health nuts). We´re talking McEmpanada heaven here.
-North Americans make some of the worst tourists
-Argentinian women are the most attractive, but gorgeous Brazilians are far more abundant