Here’s another shot of your humble narrator in New York

Damn I love that place!

This was a girl asleep in transit at Sao Paulo Airport from my sketchpad.
Measures about 1m wide

(Photo taken with a phone camera, so the colours are somewhat washed out. The real colours are vivid pomegranate reds and golden yellows)

Buenos Aires is certainly a beautiful city,
with its rich culture and amazing french architecture, but the reason I loved it so much was because it was the first place in South America that I could easily make friends. Everywhere else was almost entirely spanish speaking - even in the hostels - so by the time I got to BsAs, I was desperate to have a *real* conversation with someone!

Luckily for me, I met some really fantastic people there and shared some fantastic moments.

I think meeting so many great people has definitely helped me grow a bit.

In a conversation about how people are more receptive to making connections when travelling, I offered them the metaphor of waves:

We think we’re individual waves roaming about.. but we forget we’re all connected.
We’re all part of one spiritual ocean:

…and every person you make a connection with leaves a little bit of themselves with you (in terms of wisdom, inspiration, and attitudes to life), just as you do with them. (An idea I extended from a great book I read recently)

Even with a broken arm I couldn’t be unhappy for long… the day after the accident, everyone snuck into my room while i slept and wrote on my plaster cast!

(Sit in an airport for 16 solid hours and you WILL be able to hear Brian Eno everywhere.)

I did have more sketches, but my scanner did a crap job catching the light pencil work.

(ps, that last sketch is of random people sleeping at Sao Paulo Airport… Am I creepy or what?!)

Oh I might have forgotten to mention, I had a bit of an accident in South America, which has given me an unexpected souvenir:

I almost didn’t make it to Carnaval, but the inspiration and support of some newly found friends encouraged me to continue on… and I’m so glad I did!

How many guys can say they’ve been done one handed cartwheels and spinning kicks in the middle of a capoeira roda during carnaval with a broken arm!?

(Dear Family: I hadn’t posted this earlier because I didn’t want you worrying about me while I was still travelling through S’America. I’m safe n sound in Newb Zealand with friends now, so there’s no need to fret! :)

Just a quick post from an airport internet cafe:

Leaving Olinda (Brazil) now.

Carnaval was absolutely crazy… inescapably massive, and very very messy. And I’ve certainly found some of the challenges I’d been traveling for. On the whole, I think I handled them pretty well. :)

As I will be in transit for almost an eternity, so I’ll try to post something more interesting from another internet station before I get to Los Angeles.

As my camera was stolen a whole back, I am now depending on friends to email me shared travelling pics… so I’ll be posting them up as I get them.

I’ve got some great new NYC ones, but don’t have enough cash on me to stay on this terminal.