*OLD* September 8th, 2005- Phillies in September (not too good)

I am a wanderer.

I decided this when I spent more nights sleeping in buses than in beds last week. I decided this when I started plotting new travels while still travelling. I decided this when I saw the condition of my lonely planet and when I caught myself doodling maps of argentina, paraguay, chile, and uruguay with highways and approximate travel times during class. I decided this when I dreamt of hiking from DC to Atlanta after graduation. I decided this when I started watching movies in Russian with spanish subtitles about a boy who walked from Moscow to Koktebel (1000km).
Last week I pushed the southerly limits of my life and got to 40 degrees south latitude, Bahia Blanca. I climbed the almost highest mountain in Buenos Aires province at Sierra de la Ventana, walked down country roads to a town with only dirt roads that from the air form an armadillo (Villa Ventana), played volleyball with Patagonians, saw the sunrise at Mar del Plata, and started classes.
Classes are fine ranging from watching Argentine movies and talking about them to analyzing documents from 1806-1820 in an attempt to understand the beginnings of Argentine political thought. Oh yeah, all my classes are three hours long. of lecture and without breaks. Like today I had a class from 9am to 1pm, another from 2pm to 5pm, and capped it off with a rousing 645pm to 915pm session. I lament the fact that this email lacks any substance or deep thoughts, but if you notice the time and read the last sentence, maybe you`ll forgive me.
Until you do, here`s a thought. Travelling alone is like a twinkie. The yellow cake is like the places you visit, the sweet filling is the traveller himself, and the act of eating is the act of being alone while travelling. Here`s why. When you look at a twinkie what you see is the yellow cake. When you travel, the places you visit are what you see. The sweet filling is the traveller himself because it, like the traveller, is surrounded by yellow cake/places you visit. The clincher, however, is that when you travel alone, it makes you question the whole reality of the trip. You have no proof that your travels are not merely a figment of your imagination or a dream. Just like right after you eat a twinkie, you have no proof that there`s a twinkie except the lingering memory of it.
I guess what I`m trying to say is that it`s four am, I`ve been up since 8am and spent way too many hours in SPANISH SPEAKING courses explaining how the US is to blame for every wrong in Latin America. I don`t expect much response to this email.
Josh Bull (this email doesn´t even deserve a nickname)

ps If you want to question the existence of reason and/or the entire universe, watch Bjork`s new video `Who is it?` and ring a bell.