What I'm Going to Miss...

I’m sitting at the airport waiting for my flight to Panama. For the first time in a long time I don’t feel like I am doing what I should. My wanting to stay in Buenos Aires is competing with my excitement of traveling Central America. Looking back it has been a monumental life experience and for that I am very grateful. Even though my Spanish isn’t as good as I had hoped after living in Argentina for four months and classes were a joke, I learned a lot this semester.

I’ve had a difficult time writing about Buenos Aires because everything always felt normal. Even with weekend vacations to Iguazu, Mendoza and Chile, places I never dreamt of going, I always knew I would be coming back to my apartment in Recolta. As it comes to an end these are the things from my day to day norm I’m going to miss:

I’m going to miss how everyday is something new. Even if it’s something small it makes the day seem more like an adventure rather than the same monotonous routines I get sucked into in the States.

I’m going to miss all of the students from ISA who came into my life for what was a brief but beautiful lesson.

I’m going to miss how when you walk down the street there are doormen and dog walkers on every corner. This added touch always made Buenos Aires seem like it was out of a movie. I am also going to miss my doorman Alfonzo who was probably the nicest porteño I met.

I’m going to miss people watching. I love seeing all of the crazy rat-tail and dreadlock combos that the men rock in this country. I also love seeing all of the older women dressed in their finest fur coats now that it’s winter. It’s reminiscent of an older time when Buenos Aires was the rich city it still pretends to be.

Afro/Double Dreadlock Combo on San Telmo

I’m going to miss drinking mate with Nati and the entire culture that surrounds it. Mate is the pastime in Argentina and the best pick me up in the morning. It took me a while to catch on, but now I love it.

I’m going to miss my gym, Megatlon. When I first joined I had to see the in-house doctor and get an EKG. This made me laugh. The classes were my favorite way of learning Spanish. The instructors spoke so clearly and I could actually match the words to the actions.

As much as I constantly got lost and dreaded hoarding monedas, I’m going to miss the colectivos. Not to mention their spontaneous whistle that always caught me off guard. Between the train, bus, and subway system you can get anywhere in Buenos Aires. Not having a car is so much easier than in the States. It seems so strange that I have traveled all around Southeast Asia, Argentina, Uruguay, and Chile without a car, yet it’s an event even to go to the grocery store in Arizona.

 152, My Second Favorite Bus

I’m going to miss my madre screaming “Ladies” in her thick Argentine accent to call Nati and me down for dinner. She was a great host mom and our dinners were always an interesting event of trying to decipher what story she was trying to tell us. She talks more than most people I know, but this meant there was never a dull moment.

And finally dulce de leche... I am going to miss dulce de leche and dulce de leche ice cream from Volta. Luckily there are about 10 lbs being shipped back to the States in my luggage so hopefully this is a reality I won’t have to face for awhile.

Last Ice Cream Cone from Volta