The Blink idea

Music, the ultimate pick-me-up: I’ve been feeling depressed lately. After four months of traveling solo, I think I need a little help from a stranger. So when I met Maxy in Hotel Gonce in Comodoro and heard that he’s a DJ in town, I asked him to put me in a good mood. For a drawing, he played me half an hour of happy songs. I don’t know whether it worked, but it sure was better than sitting in my room by myself. Even though traveling solo can get lonely, I will still recommend it. It is the best way to meet other people and it’s good to spend time by yourself.

I met Ricardo in the hostel in San Telmo. He’s from Gautamala and one of the friendliest people I’ve ever met. We shared a bunk bed - he slept on top. Ricardo offered to make me a cup of Mate for a cheque. The thing about drinking Mate is that it’s more than a cup of traditional Argentinian tea. It’s about sharing. It’s about conversations. You often make one cup for two or more people. You keep on adding hot water and pass it around. Part of our conversation was about what Ricardo though had happened to the Mayan civilization. Well first of all they did not disappear. Ricardo is half Spanish and half Mayan. He’s know as a mestizo (Spanish for mix). He thinks a big part of the Mayan civilization didn’t disappear. They were murdered by the Spanish. The Mayans that survived did so because The Spanish realized killing all these innocent people wasn't very Christian-like. So instead if killing them, they converted them to Catholicism. Other theories include a meteorite strike and alien invasion / abduction. The cheque that he wanted was of a homeless man I saw sitting on a pavement looking at a window decal of Messi. Ricardo is a big football fan and that’s why he wanted that specific one.

I met Felix in Starbucks. The first thing he said to me was to be careful to leave my bag and iPad unattended. I left it on the chair while I went to order a drink. Felix is also in advertising. He works for McCann and heads up the digital side of the GM business. He is married and plans to move to Spain in the near future - he has Argentinian and Spanish citizenship. While we were chatting I mentioned to him how confusing it is to constantly figure out whether I’m paying too much for something. This is because I change currencies every few weeks and Argentina is the 8th country I’ve visited in 4 months. Felix then gave me advice on how to sort this problem out. The real problem is I wasn't listening and now I can’t remember what he said exactly. The drawing he wanted for the advice is of an old man with a built up shoe I saw standing in a street corner waiting for the bus.

Balance it out- Blink cheque 74071000300 ended up being just as helpful as the rest. Cafe Lumio, Buenos Aires

The exchange that never came to be- She loves knitting. That’s all I know about Maria. Oh, and she’s from Barcelona. I met her yesterday while she was watching TV and knitting. Later that night a few of us were having wine. Again she was sitting there knitting. I wanted to buy a piece of her knitwear with a Blink cheque, but we were on our way to watch Circuis de Soleil. I briefly told her about the project and she said that she had knitted her ankle warmers and that she was going to a hot place (meaning that she didn't need them). She agreed to swap them for a drawing, but there wasn't time to do the swap seeing as we had to leave. I told her that we can do it in the morning. I saw her this morning, but she said that we can do it later and that she was only leaving this evening. I got the idea that she wasn't interested anymore. So instead of waiting around, I left and had a burger at El Federel. She’s not the first person who said yes, but then backed down. There was the girl at the hostel in Bogota. And there were one or two others. But I can’t remember their names. The photo was taken while she went to the kitchen.

A Blink cheque for discount on a new wallet. My wallet was falling apart. So when I walked past Luciana’s leather wallets I had to stop. I made a sketch of her sitting behind the table and swapped it for a 40% discount on the wallet. Before I explained Blink project to her, she was only willing to give me a 5% discount. Luciana is from Buenos Aires and she sells leather wallets in different parts of Buenos Aires. I was just lucky enouh to catch her yesterday.

Octavio is a designer working at a boutique design agency in Peru. He used up all his savings to sort out a medical problem. He also believes that the only thing that can save Venezuela from the political turmoil it’s in, is a meteorite.

I swapped this Blink cheque for free accommodation at another backpackers residence in Peru. The drawing is of a young graffiti artist late at night in Bogota.

Duck tape has a thousand uses- Remember the duck tape I exchanged for a drawing at the Spanish school in Nicaragua with Lisa from Canada? Last night it came in handy in my hostel room in Buenos Aires.

Kinky time- This brand of condoms is available everywhere in Colombia. Piel means ‘skin’ in Spanish.

Success comes to those who persevere- A Blink cheque for lunch at De Una. So I eventually met Stijn, the owner of De Una. The lunch that I exchanged for the drawing was delicious - soup as starter and a lasagna with a side salad. Stijn joined me for lunch. He’s originally from Holland and is dating a Peruvian chef. He studied migration and it was interesting chatting about migration issues. I hope to meet up with his girlfriend who is currently in Peru- would love to do a swap with her. I’m flying to Lima late this afternoon.

A swap that never happened. I came to De Una two days ago with Fernando from Argentina and Pedro from Peru. We had a coffee here after visiting the art museum. I gave Andrea, the waitress, one if my stickers and told her about the project. She said that I should come back in the evening as she’s sure her boss would like to trade something. I took a cab last night to De Una with the hope of catching her boss. I didn’t want to stay too long as the area where De Una is, is dangerous at night. The roads are dark and I had to bring my iPad along to take photos of the exchange. The first problem was the taxi ride. The taxi driver didn’t know where Calla 11 is, so I eventually just got out and started walking in the direction I believed De Una to be. When I eventually found it, it was closed. I caught the first cab back to the hostel. Today I came to De Una again. Andrea wasn't working today and her boss wasn't here either.

Keep them teeth clean- A Blink cheque for batteries for my electric toothbrush. Paula is a young and beautiful Colombian woman who works at the hostel. I’m happy my toothbrush is working again seeing as I’ve developed gum disease- brushing with an electric toothbrush is the best way to clean your teeth and gums. I used to work as a dental nurse so I know a bit about dental heath.

Food for thought- A blink cheque for cooking skills. Remember the food the couple from Argentina / Chile gave me? I’m not a great cook so I offered a drawing in exchange for help with preparing my dinner. 

Self-portrait: A Blink cheque for a drawing of myself and a Colombian beer. Owen is from Taiwan. He said that he’ll draw me in exchange for a drawing of him studying Spanish. The second guy also made a drawing of me. I still owe him a cheque.

A Blink cheque for a beer in the future in Portugal. Jose wanted to buy me a beer for a drawing, but I was too tired last night to join him in the bar, so I did a drawing of him this morning. Jose is from Portugal, but he works in logitics in Panama City. He says that he’s one of the most normal people I’ll ever meet and calls himself boring. I’ve always wanted to go to Portugal and look forward to meeting up with him soon.

I made this drawing of a man who was sitting next to me on the flight from Panama City to Bogota. He was playing a card game on his tablet. When I finished the drawing I showed it to him, but he couldn’t understand any English and he didn’t look interested. I said ‘un imagen de ti’ (an image of you). He just said ‘Oh’ and carried on working. I’ve had a few people who weren’t interested in exchanging anything for a drawing, but I guess that’s also part of the whole project and the experience that goes along with it.