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Date:         Wed, 12 Feb 1997 14:25:55 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         mholser@Adobe.COM (Malcolm Holser)
Subject:      Re: Tierra del Fuego

"cosmopolitan" means that the city (polis) is universal (cosmos). I have no doubt that poeple from all over the world end up stuck at the tip of South America. Near me, Merced California is one of the most ethnically diverse towns in the country. Not exactly where I want to party for New Year's though.

Cosmopolitan has connotations of "culture" and "class" in common speech that might or might not be warranted in this case. But I'd bet most towns in Argentina are a bit wilder than places I frequent.

Often words translate badly -- particularly words that are basically identical. "Sympathy" in English is not the same as "sympatico" in Spanish, even if the Greek roots are identical. Most European languages have the non-English version of "sympathy".

A Uraguayan co-worker was horrified that we would contemplate such a trip. He feels there are too many places to cross that are downright dangerous for Americans in busses. Like Columbia. He wouldn't consider doing this even though he's a Sudamericano -- places like Central American jungles worry him too much. I guess he doesn't like guerillas up-close-n-personal.

He thought it would be better to go to Brasil, buy a VW bus there and stay in relatively safer haunts like Brazil, Uraguay and Argentina.

Of course if any of the crazy Europeans try the Cape-to-Cape thing, they got African, Middle-eastern and East European places to traverse that make Columbia and Peru look like bastions of American-flag-waving-democracies.

malcolm


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