Predictably, this last 11 months have been the best of my life. In reality, who would go and live on the other side of the world and come back saying otherwise? It is true though. Everyone always tells you that this will be the case, but you're too worried to accept this gleam of positivity in the mist of the worrying and over-thinking. The prospects of being kidnapped by a cartel or of not being able to get 3G on your phone are far more realistic than actually having a good time.Low and behold I actually have had a rather good time, bar the odd barbarity or bump in the road, and I am glad that I decided to type it all out on this blog. Even a quick glance back at some articles triggers the recollection of some small peculiarities that I had already forgotten. Whilst I never wrote this for views, so not to raise my hopes, the feedback has been unreal. I set a very broad target of 10,000 views back in August, and as we now sit on over 11,000 it is safe to say this has been a nice success. A big thank you to everyone and anyone that's ever read or shared the page!
It's not about the blog though. It's time to honour those who made this year what it's been. Whether a thing, a moment or a person, they deserve to be commended for affecting my life in the best/worst/most bonkers way possible. This is what it's all been leading up to (you just haven't known it until now).... welcome to the YAftas*.
The Most Brit Abroad Moment
Winner - The Toilet Floor Morning
The winner has to be the fateful morning in Rio de Janeiro when I awoke on the floor of my tiny ensuite, without any clothes on and with the worst hangover I've ever been slapped in the face by. A night out drinking caipirinhas on the streets of RJ seemed like child's play but was actually a near death experience. To make matters more British I woke up with a new tattoo on my back; fortunately that was before the drinking had started.
Honourable Mention - Sleeping In The Laundry Room Of A Hostel In Buenos Aires, Spending Hours In The RJ Sea Talking Football With My Best Mates Before Retreating With Sunburn, Wearing Ever Piece of Brazilian Flag Merchandise Ever Created At Carnival.
The Best Bucket List Moment
Winner - Carnival
The whole reason I decided to go to Brazil was seeing this crazy event on a video showed to me by my Portuguese teacher in November 2015. It was the messiest, most surreal, fun five days of my life. At the time you're in such a whirlwind of constant drinking, partying and fancy dress that you don't realise the extent of what's going; but on reflection it was the just the best. If anyone ever gets the chance to experience Carnival... DO IT!
Honourable Mention - Wake-Boarding On The Parana River, Riding A Quad-Bike Along The Beach In Argentina, Witnessing The All-Blacks Perform the Haka, Playing Football On Copacabana Beach, Horse-Riding at the End of the World in Ushuaia
The Best 'Sorry Mum I Nearly Died' Moment
Winner - Gunshots in Carnival
During Carnival, me and a group of mates were walking between two street parties when we heard some bangs and a load of commotion. We looked behind us and saw a load of people sprinting towards us, screaming, and realised that Rio de Janeiro had shown it's metallic teeth once more. Some guys had tried to break into a building on that street, using guns, but fortunately we were just out of the firing line.
Honourable Mention - Infamous 20-on-1 Gang Fight On Copacabana Beach, São Paulo FC Mosh Pit, Getting Lost On Buenos Aires Bus Network (Being Told I Might Die), Walking Up To Christ The Redeemer In 40C Heat, Frequent Risk Of Alcohol Poisoning And Chronic Hangovers
The Michelin Award for Best Cuisine and Beverage
Winner - Argentinean Asado & Fernet
When it comes to food, the Argentineans certainly walk the walk; so much so you question whether they can talk the talk to match. In reality, they certainly can. Their meat grills are famous worldwide, and with good reason. Even in the most hungover of states - thanks to the Italian originating spirit Fernet - the Argentinean meat cuts were heaven. 'Fernet y coca' (aka Fernet and Coke) was my drink of choice and consumed far too much of my liver's defence.
Honorable Mention - Caipirinhas, Catuaba (<3), Dulce de Leche, Mate/Tereré (<3)
The YA-ammy for Best Song
Winner - Andes En Mi Cabeza - Chino & Nacho (feat. Daddy Yankee)
The music over here is undoubtedly different to back at home. Whether it be Reggaeton, Funky, Cumbia or Samba, I often found myself dancing to stuff that I wouldn't be seen dead listening to back in the UK. This song is an absolute uplifting banger, and despite it's cheesy lyrics, I think anyway, it was a part of some of my best times in Argentina and has been a solid favourite on my Spotify playlist ever since.
Honorable Mention - Duele El Corazon (Enrique Iglesias), Bailando (Enrique Iglesias), Despacito (Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee), Deu Onda (MC G15), Hasta el Amanecer (Nicky Jam)
The Best Sporting Moment
Winner - Watching A Seleção in Brazil (Brazil 3-0 Paraguay)
As a bit of a football nut, the opportunity to watch the Brazilian National Team play in their own back-yard was always going to be a dream. Fortunately Neymar, Marcelo and co. came to São Paulo in March and I went to see them strut their stuff in a 3-0 win over Paraguay. The passion for the sport in this country is unbelievable and witnessing it live is something I'll never forget.
Honourable Mention - Seeing Boca Juniors Play At La Bombonera, Learning To Play Volleyball, Scoring A Bicycle Kick On Copacabana, The Haka, Seeing Corinthians Beat Palmeiras With A Last Minute Goal.
The Best Live Act
Winner - Ed Sheeran @ Allianz Parque
As I recently wrote about, this performance blew me away completely. I was in no state to enjoy a load of luvvy duvvy tunes, it was my first concert going to on my own and I'd over-played Sheeran's music. He basically saw all of those factors and said f**k off, with one of the best concerts I've seen - what a legend.
Honourable Mention - The Weeknd @ Lollapalooza, Hardwell @ Electric Zoo, Paolo Nutini @ Audio SP, Me @ Every Possible Karaoke Event
The Most Embarrassing Moment
Winner - Karaoke In Front of 500 people
In light of the best live act, this cannot be ignored. One night in Argentina, I was told that I would be going to a 'small pub' for a karaoke night. Chilled, right? Wrong. I turn up to a bar packed full of at least 500 people, and the DJ welcoming me as 'El Ingles' meaning there was no escape. What was worse was that I didn't know any of the songs I was given to sing. I was popular though and got some free beer; perspective.
Honourable Mention - More Karaoke At Every Social Occasion, Having to Slut-Drop Onto A Bottle At Every Brazilian Party, Leaving Party Speech
The 'Am I Brazilian or Argentinean Yet' Award
Winner - Making the Caipirinhas at Brazilian House Party
Me and this devilish Brazilian cocktail (made from cachaça and limes) have had a very love/hate relationship, to say the least. However when me and my fellow Brit Tom were the ones making the caipis for the Brazilians, to great approval, the thought of changing my name to João popped into mind. If there's one tip for people moving abroad, use alcohol to your advantage and to make friends.
Honourable Mention - Drinking A Flask Of Mate, Helping Prepare And Cook An Asado, 'Dancing' Samba During Carnival, Being Late Sometimes
The Moment of Fame Award
Winner - Interview With Gualeguay News
I really would not have expected this to be an award, but enough weird stuff has happened that it is warranted. The strangest of this was a five minute interview that I did with a local news channel in Gualeguay back in August. It was like the most public oral exam ever but it went well and i quite enjoyed the attention (who wouldn't). We spoke culture, football and a plug about LINK English institute where I was working at the time.
Honourable Mention - Interview With Boca Juniors Fan Radio, Being Asked For Photos In Argentinean Nightclubs, Being Asked For My Autograph After Camp, Instagram Boom, Writing About Juventus de Mooca And The Article Receiving Over 800 Views + 100 shares
The 'What Am I Doing With My Life' Award
Winner - Teaching Kids Improvised Dances to Lion King Songs
There's no doubt that working as a camp counsellor was was one of the most unique experiences of my life. It was brilliant, frustrating and life-questioning. This was no more so than my first camp, in which I had the task of teaching four groups of kids four improvised dance routines to Lion King songs. Not just any routines; a hip-hop one, an opera one, a romantic one and punk rock one. To add to this it was pissing it down and we were in a tarpaulin tent with the sides flaring up, and a disease ridden dog (aka 'Dead Dog') scaring the kids. What a life.
Honourable Mention - Pretty Much Every Camp/Waking Kids Up To Ask For Their Toothpaste At 1am, Teaching 13 Year Olds And Being Asked About Drugs And Sex, Wandering Buenos Aires Streets With My Polish Friend Drinking A Bottle Of Plum Vodka, Falling Out Of A Hammock Drinking Post-Night Out In Carnival
The Best Place In The World Award
Winner - Iguazu Falls, Brazil/Argentina
There's absolutely no doubt in my mind that this massive waterfalls network is my favourite place on Earth. I spent two full days walking around the Brazilian and Argentinean sides of the falls, and that still wasn't enough. The variation in scenery is immense; some sights offering more aesthetically pleasing perspectives whilst others taking you away with the power of the water's dynamism. The headline act 'Garganta del Diablo' lets you look down the highest waterfall into a cloud of white vapour. Absolutely incredible place... GO!
Honourable Mention - Tierra del Fuego National Park (Argentina), Perito Moreno Glacier (Argentina), Ipanema Beach (Brazil), Ushuaia/El Fin del Mundo (Argentina), La Bombonera Stadium (Argentina), The Borough... If You Know You Know (Argentina)
The Boludo Award
Winner - Air Canada Baggage Staff
Just because this was the very first moment of the trip, don't think you fools have gotten away with it. They left my luggage in Toronto on my trip to Buenos Aires and ensured that my first 4/5 days in Argentina was spent in one outfit, scrounging for supplies from people I barely knew. I would appreciate it if we don't have a repeat of this on the way home.
Honourable Mention - Argentinean Bus Drivers (W*****s), Most Kids I Encountered At Camp, My Mate Dan For Getting a Black Eye Within 5 Minutes of Surfing
The MVP Award
Winner - The Rodriguez Family, The Martinez Family, Teresa Mena
The three families/people that welcomed me into their homes throughout my time in Argentina and Brazil. Without them, my experience would have been completely different and I will never be able to thank them enough for what they did for me. Whether it was taking me trips, cooking me food or just teaching me about their cultures, every second had value to it and I'm honoured to say that I now have three extra families here in South America. Thank you all!
Honourable Mention - Alex Daniel, Thomas Samuel, Darcio Zarpellon, Denise Esined, Global Translations Workmates, Everyone from Teach Argentina (PANDI), The Uber Driver That Brought Me My Phone, Everyone at Rio&Learn, Austin School Staff (Carolina Bases especially!)
I 100% know that these awards haven't even scratched the surface of the experience, but a year is a long time (no s**t Sherlock) and it's hard to remember every little detail or moment. Either way, i think this is a decent way to review the whole thing, for what might very well be the last ever blog on this page. I mean, if we know me, and I think I do, I'll probably find a way to resurrect it again soon and will be back to spam your Facebook timelines once more.
For now, peace out. (and thanks for reading)
*The Year Abroad Failed Teacher/Translator Awards
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