Pax Hostel http://www.paxhostel.com/blog Pax hostel's blog! Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:08:38 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 Thank you Martín http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=202 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=202#comments Tue, 22 Jun 2010 23:08:38 +0000 Ariel http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=202

Thank you Martín.

Fuente: http://www.lacapital.com.ar/contenidos/2010/06/22/noticia_0045.html

]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=202 0 Introducing our staff: David http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=200 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=200#comments Mon, 03 May 2010 22:32:02 +0000 Ariel http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=200

Full name: David Bazz
Birthdate: March 17th
Age: 25
Where are you from?: Perú
Studies: music, cinematography, and lots of unfinished things.
A sport: running to get the bus.
A soccer team: sky blue (don´t like soccer, so i prefer some color).
A hobbies: now? Writing and visiting PAX when i’m not working.
A drink: Fernet Cola.
A place to go on vacation: Cusco, in new year’s eve.
An animal: me.
A perfume: my natural smell.
A book: i have no favorites yet, but i’ve got into the venus in furs.
A song: just one? No way, it changes every week. Now, for example, i’m back to ‘Crazyworld’ by Ladyhawke.
A band: just one? Led Zeppelin.
A movie: just one? Dancer in the dark.
Favourite music: everything but reggaeton.
Favourite TV show: just one? ALF.
Favourite place: any good bar.
Favourite food: I miss home food.
Favourite season of the year: spring in winter times, autumn in summer times
Your idols: Bowie.
What do you do in Pax Hostel?: Recepcionist, night shift.
Anythign else to add?: actually, i really don’t have any favorite color.
]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=200 0 Introducing our staff: Fausto http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=198 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=198#comments Mon, 26 Apr 2010 22:38:25 +0000 Ariel http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=198 Fausto

  • Full name: Fausto Sebastian Gimenez
  • Birthdate: 15/02/1985
  • Age: 25
  • Where are you from?: Argentina
  • Studies: Lic Econonomia
  • A sport: Futbol
  • A soccer team: Independiente
  • A hobbies: Jugar al Futbol
  • A drink: Agua Ser!!!
  • A place to go on vacation: Playa
  • An animal: Perro
  • A perfume: -
  • A book: -
  • A song: Yellow (Coldplay)
  • A band: Los Redondos
  • A movie: Big Fish
  • Favourite music: Rock
  • Favourite TV show: Los Simpsons
  • Favourite place: Mi Casa
  • Favourite food: Hamburguesa Burger King
  • Favourite season of the year: Primavera
  • Your idols: -
  • What do you do in Pax Hostel?: Administracion
]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=198 0 Presenting our staff: Nicolas http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=195 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=195#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 21:30:51 +0000 Ariel http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=195 Nicolas

Full name: Nicolas Arbeletche
Birthdate: 21st of April (I luv presents)
Age: 26 (soon 27)
Where are you from?: San Nicolas
Studies: Bachelor in Hotel Management and Tourism
A sport: Many, but probably football (futbol)
A soccer team: Last Year’s champ, BANFIELD (nickname: “El taladro”) For the record, If you are coming to PAX, get ready to come to a game with me….
A hobbies: Many as well, travelling, video games, reading (when i have time), play football with friends
A drink: Fernet con Coca / Coopers Pale Ale / Koenig Pilsener
A place to go on vacation: Tayrona National Park in Colombia or Parque Nacional Mochima sailing with my friend Paul
An animal: I use to dislike animals….today i really love my aussie dog, “my little girl” as i call her….
A perfume: Hugo Boss (despite i don’t have it I always liked it hehehe)
A book: There is a booked that i bought once for 5 pesos, and was great…but i can’t remember the name…great story though
A song: ufffffff, many as well….Bitter Sweet Symphony by the Verve, Destiny by Zero 7, Bedshaped by Keane, Teardrop by Massive Attack, and heaps more…
A band: Zero 7 / Keane / U2 / The Verve and probably missing heaps more
A movie: ufffff, I hate answearing this questions as i could possible write entire lists of this…I would say Seven (Morgan Freeman and Brad Pitt), Meet Joe Black (Anthony H / Brad Pitt), Nueve Reinas (Argie Movie), Voces Inocentes (great movie)…
Favourite TV show: Don’t watch tv regularly but from the last things that I’ve seen on the box, I would say” Dr. House”
Favourite place: Wherever I can relax
Favourite food: The “gutbomb” (schnitzel with ham, cheese and two fried eggs on top. Don’t forget the fried chips as garnish). Many people recall that it’s not healthy, but….they know nothing hehehe
Favourite season of the year: summer….Since a Japanesse friend enlightened me with the importance of the sun in the human body…I love the sun…
Your idols: My Dad…
What do you do in Pax Hostel?: I go breaking everbody’s balls by telling them what to do and what not to do. Good thing is that lately I haven’t being doing that often and that’s a great sign but on the other hand….Am I about to lose my job ????
Anythign else to add?: Peace, Love, Health….and please….spend your very last penny in travelling because it will be always the most enriching experience ever..
]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=195 0 Pax Memories http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=187 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=187#comments Mon, 08 Mar 2010 03:35:13 +0000 staff http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=187 Ok, so I have finally come to terms with me, myself and my other self. I know I’m minutes away from leaving Pax, and though this would have been relieving any other day -going home after a hard day’s work- today I feel nostalgic and even want to work extra hours! That’s they way human beings are, I guess, contradictory. However, I’d love to be transparent right now, as I write this, and have guests ask somebody else all their constant brain-damaging questions (don’t get me wrong, deep inside I like them…)

Ok,  so I told Kaylee and the blond Snowbie that there was gonna be a surprise in the blog after they came back, possibly tomorrow Monday. Well, it’s not an extraordinary present, just a recollection of the things I will remember from now onwards.

- Maria asking: ”Hay alguien en la 4 C?” (Just then, I’d check in the system if this bed was occupied – it should be empty – but somebody has slept there without letting reception know, and just then Maria would frown, slightly or strongly, who knows…)

- Nico telling a guest- who innocently asked how to get to La Boca at 6 pm- ”yo te digo, te van a violar, asi no mas”. Yes, Nico, you can be very straightforward sometimes. But I’ll also miss the fact that you could suddenly hear him speaking any language very fluently: German, Portuguese, English…

- Fausto, the day he opened the door to someone we didn’t know, and later explained to me: ”El loquito se creia que esto era la clinica”…

- Snowbie asking on the phone: ”Es posible traer por favor un cajon de cerveza?” (A beautiful translation from English ‘is it possible to…?)

- Kaylee’s usual phrases: ”Cheers, no probs!” and ordering on the phone: ”Papas al jorno” [sic]. I will also miss listening to her innocent sweet girly voice repeating phrases in Spanish: ”Que mala leche!” (I bet all my income she learnt this from N.A)

- Maxi saying ”Pone algo de Rodrigo, o reggaeton”, with his usual football shirt. And the way he called Kaylee’s name ”Kaili”

- Emilia explaining her day in detail: ”Esuchame una cosa, le tenes que cobrar a…” with shiny elegant details in her fingers and wrists.

- Pablo impatiently saying ”Caro, las llaves tienen que estar siempre aca, si?

- Manuel’s crazy hair and his  incomprehensible Portunol, and the fact he always sais ”Depois” (”later”). ‘Manuel, me ayudas con esto? ”Depois” Manuel! ”Depois”. Jajaja.

- Ruda asking: ”Voce pode trocar $100”?

- I’ll also miss the nightime invisible Irish Leprechaun who messed with the Backpack system and the files, so that the following afternoon Kaylee would find so many incoherences and spend hours figuring out what on Earth had happened… No, I don’t do drugs.

- Chris Bogin, the day he left his hotmail account open, so that I could learn many things from his secret private life…his mother Barbara, his best friend psico-analyzing him through distant mails…yeah, sorry Chris, I guess you were right after all, I’m an ARSE… and vengeance is a sweet dessert.

By: Carolina Rs

]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=187 0 ‘Castellano’ in Argentina http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=166 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=166#comments Sun, 28 Feb 2010 00:08:41 +0000 staff http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=166 Being surrounded by a variety of ‘internationals’ (‘foreigners’ sounds a bit pejorative for some reason), I am more aware now of my own Argentinian lexicon and general characteristics.

For instance, we tend to start sentences in a negative form. If somebody says ‘gracias’, we say ‘no’ instead of  ‘de nada’ (you’re welcome).

Upon being asked something, we might unexpectedly answer ‘nada’ and then provide a very long story which is, paradoxically, well contrary to being nothing (nada).

If something is really awesome we might exclaim ‘tremendo’ or ‘mortal’, these two originally more negative than positive.  Maybe now old fashioned, the young may have exclaimed ‘Que flash!’ (this is weird cause  specially in American English if a girl flashes you, it means she pulls up her shirt…literally!).

Someone too good at something might receive the ‘compliment’ of being un hijo de puta (’son of a bitch’)

When saying Hello and being asked on our general wellbeing, we might answer ‘todo bien’. Again, this is contradictory as we might be far away from good, but this is the best way to greet somebody briefly and continue with our daily tasks without seeming unfriendly.  Unless you want to be truly honest, in which case you may choose to say ‘estoy bien, o queres que te cuente?’ (I’m ok, or do you want me to tell you about it?)

I’ve also noticed how much non-Spanish guests seem to be taken aback when their own foreign-like Spanish is slightly incomprehensible for the impatient porteño. This is in part due to the absolute inability most of them have to mark the ‘R’ in pronunciation, as when they attempt to say Palermo, which sounds like ‘Paleumo’ to us, or ‘Pueuto Madeuro’, ‘Plaza Dourregou’ [sic]. I must confess, though, that they must also have a hard time listening to my Argentinian English (as when I say ‘Sory’ – weirdly enough we have replaced  our Spanish ‘Perdon’ with ‘Sorry’ and dropped an R) but their good manners would keep them from ever correcting me – don’t get me wrong, I love languages, and could devote my whole time to listening to all kind of foreign speakers and stand corrected as many times as I deserve it.

By: Carolina Rs

]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=166 0 Christmas in a hostel http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=165 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=165#comments Sun, 10 Jan 2010 00:03:57 +0000 staff http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=165 So Christmas and New Year in BA: was it AMAZING? My friends back in England have been asking me; was it really different?
Well I don’t want to sound grumpy at all, but….. it wasn’t quite Christmas. All the little PAX elves were working hard – busy days in the hostel, and not much relaxing or enjoying to be done when there’s 45 people to check in, check out, give directions to, feed a banquet, clear up after… you know…. so satisfying to see your guests having a good time, but, no, not really Christmas. I’m suddenly filled with equal parts of respect and admiration and sympathy for all the professions for whom working over the holidays is a regular given: health workers, hospitality, the emergency services. I salute you all, but this alone is almost enough to put me off choosing one of these wholesome and worthwhile careers for myself.
Christmas didn’t start to show itself until early December here – a far cry from the mid-October capitalist rush to cash in on the season of us so-called ‘developed’ nations. And it started slow: a few big shops with a banner or two, and Christmas music (White Christmas? Really? It’s 30 degrees outside!!), then big ‘Christmas Tree’ style light installations along one of the main avenues (guarded against vandalism 24 hours a day of course), and gradually the food in the shops and the decorations and promotions on websites (it being hot, chocolate was widely and disappointingly dismissed in favour of nougat and this yummy peanutty candy called mantecol). But it was all just rather lacklustre. Accuse me if you will of being part of the Disney generation, but this is the capital of Argentina! The Paris of South America! Come on!
Apparently the government does usually make more of an effort – the word ‘recession’ seems to be cited whenever I choose to complain to a local about Christmas, or the lack of variety of food in the supermarkets, or whatever.
We felt much better once we had ‘Christmassed’ the hostel: tree up, tinsel round anything that didn’t move, fairy lights round the bar, and a whole little troop of santas little helpers set to work making paper snowflakes, paper crowns and cotton wool snowmen and snowballs.
But it still wasn’t quite right.
Yes admittedly the weather is too hot, but chatting with Ozzie passengers, they reckoned it didn’t feel right either. It wasn’t the weather.
It was only long after the asado and pudding had been cleared away, and we were sitting around a bottle of wine getting all misty-eyed and reminiscent, that we realised that what we missed most about Christmas at home wasn’t even the Barbie on the beach (Australians), the spicy dried fruits the pervade every dish (the British, of course), crackers (everywhere, except, it seems, Argentina) or filling shoes with sweets on xmas eve (Germans – don’t ask). No, it’s not the national habits or religious rites that seem to make Christmas Christmas, it’s the little things.
Its what time you open your presents, who plays Santa, those family members you only see once a year, falling asleep in front of the queen’s speech, the exact dish you always cook for the family meal, the in-jokes….whatever: it’s the little family rituals that we miss – and that’s why Christmas anywhere else in the world will never be the same.
The endless repeats on TV, the warring in-laws and too many pairs of novelty socks? Sorry, that’s Christmas too….

]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=165 0 A cultural moment http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=158 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=158#comments Sat, 12 Dec 2009 17:12:37 +0000 staff http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=158 This hostel is well known for it’s coolness, like those popular football players from a teen movie. No, actually, it’s a coolness like no other teen movie ever created, like… The ultimate teen movie… Anyway, what not many know is that this hostel is very intellectual too. This is such and erudite hostel, that having one library wasn’t enough. We needed two. We are probably the only hostel in the world with two libraries. You know what they say, the more the better… kind of stuff. The book collection is in one of our rooms, and it’s full with mind blowing medical books. You never know when you will need a medical book. Imagine that suddenly someone suffers from a strong attack of “Hula-hoop Intestine”. How the hell would you cure that? The medical books could be handy. And 911.

Our other library has exchangeable books. Like exchange students, but made out of paper. You give us your book, we give you ours. You could totally rip us off with that. Like, picture the situation that you got the crappiest Danielle Steele novel. It’s called “The story of a poor hot girl who falls in love with the physic culturist sailor nice tough guy with long hair. Part V: Evil step-mother returns”. Well, you could change that brain-melting book for any of our literature classics (without counting the guide books; those are sacred), like for example, “The Da Vinci Code”, “The other hand” (it’s the continuation from “The Hand”), “African Psycho” and many many many other Nobel prize winning books.

So, yes, that`s pretty much it. You know what they say, two libraries think better than one.

]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=158 0 New Receptionist http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=149 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=149#comments Tue, 01 Dec 2009 12:59:41 +0000 staff http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=149

So, I’m the new guy here doing new guy’s stuff. Like, learning stuff, and doing stuff and eating stuff. And telling people this is not a clinic. That kind of stuff. But, seriously, working here is no easy stuff. Woah, I’m saying “stuff” too many times. What the hell: stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff, stuff.

Stuff.

Stuff. Stuff.

Stuff. Stuff. Stuff.

Ok, anyway. There’s one thing from this hostel that I’m not sure if I’ll be able to handle: the Awesomeness. It’s just too much. Really. It’s like a gigantic Awesomeness beast with big strong fists of coolness that punch you in the face. This place is just too awesome for my little weak uncool heart. I’m doing my best, really, but the Awesomeness here is just too awesome. I don’t even know how I got this job in the first place. I just woke up one day and I was here. Maybe I was kidnapped and brainwashed. Those kind of things happen all the time. If you wake up one day doing something and you are not really sure why you are doing it in the first place, then I’m sorry but you’ve been probably kidnapped and brainwashed. Seriously.

Actually, I remember going to a job interview. There was another hairy dude who wanted the job. The job interviewer looked at the both of us. In a certain moment she asked me why did I think that I deserved the job, so I answered: “Well. First, because I’m not a monkey”. The hairy guy couldn’t say the same. He truly was a monkey. With a long a tail. I don’t want to sound racist or anything, but I told the job interviewer that I was sure that I could be a much better receptionist than a monkey could ever be. I gotta admit, though, that it was pretty impressive for a monkey to get into a job interview. And not in just any place. It’s not like he went to IBM or something. It was fucking PAX HOSTEL! The capital of awesomeness. The monkey had some talents though. A pretty impressive control of his tail, I must say. He knew how to use the bathroom too. Yeah, he was one hell of a monkey. And, besides, just picture yourself going to Latin America, to PAX HOSTEL!!! (fuck yeah) and there’s a monkey at the reception. It would be totally badass. I always wanted to have my own personal army of monkeys because you can’t kill them. They are just too cute.

Anyway, all I really wanted to say is that I got the job and I’m happy and I just hope that I can survive the unbelievable awesomeness from this place.

I wish you a good day and a talking rock.

Pancho

]]> http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?feed=rss2&p=149 0 The promised land http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=145 http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=145#comments Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:03:18 +0000 staff http://www.paxhostel.com/blog/?p=145 The promised land

Abandon all hope ye that enter here. No, this is not the mouth to Dantes hell. This is Buenos Aires. Let me back up a bit. I was led here to BA under false pretenses.As an avid traveller i obviously heard about argentina and buenos aires in particular from the returned diaspora and soaked up their news and views on what seemed like a truly exceptional and rich culture. Being a full-blooded alpha-heterosexual i was especially interested in the women and how they perceived the europeans, of irish descent. “Did they mock us for our pasty white skin, blonde-ish hair and blue eyes?”, I wondered. Did they laugh at our vain attempts to communicate with them in castellano and / or broken spanglish? No! Hell no i was told. In fact all of these things would only add to ones charm, sophistication and exoticness and the argentinean women will flock to your side with absolutely no effort on your behalf……or so the promise went. So with gandhi in one hand and the mouse in the other i booked my flight to the promised land with the sweet sound of ´women are easy in buenos aires´ ringing in my ears.

I feel a kindred spirit with the Nazi´s who came to buenos aireas pre and post war. They also came to buenos aires under false pretenses. They saw the name of this city and saw the name of its inhabitants. The buenos aireans (buenos aryans…come on… its a stretch i know) and thought the city was named after all the ´good white supremicists´ that must have named it. They must have been shocked on getting here. Anyway my vain sexually influenced reason for coming here also turned out to be false and here ends my affinity with the nazi´s. When i got here i found to my horror that the women here do not flock to my side in their masses each one wanting more than the previous. No. Hell no. It turns out its just like home. I can drunkenly walk up to any number of argentinean women in a night club and i will get the same convulsive, horrified half-wretching-in-my-face look as i see in the faces of women at home. My sickly pasty white skin, blue eyes and blond-ish hair doesn´t have a magic influence on the beauties (or the fat trollops now that i mention it). I was lied to. I was deceived. I came here under false pretenses. Abandon all hope ye that enter here. This is no promised land of nympho´s. These argentinea women are smart, intelligent, beautiful and above all else will not fall for your arrogant ´ i´m foreigner so love me´ shit. The dream is almost dead.

I say almost dead as in my travels i have recently heard about the women in Colombia. Their supposed to go crazy for the foreign white skinned, blue eyed blonde-ish hair types. Gandhi in hand and the mouse in the other……i´m booking my ticket to colombia.

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