6/2
I have put writing some sort of closure to my entire trip for quite some time now. I don't think I can summarize my four month trip into one post, but overall I could not have asked for a better experience. From the cafes to kioscos, high tea in Recoleta to getting ripped off by taxis, Teatro Colon to toe infections, the stark contrasts of the city of Buenos Aires have opened my eyes in more ways than I could have imagined.
I am so thankful I was given the opportunity to witness a country who genuinely despises and mistrusts their government, where women walk around in fur coats in 50 degree weather, where at any hour of the night the city is alive and the party goes on, where I could pick up an international package and witness a riot all in the same block, and where five star hotels mask the slated tin shacks of the slums of the city.
The juxtapositions of life between the metropolitan city life and the Latin American villas is what made living in Buenos Aires so fascinating. I don't think I will ever be in or find a place like it again- there is a pace, culture, and vibrancy to the city that I truly came to appreciate. It is weird to think that I found comfort in such a huge city, but beneficial that I don't have this fear of being out on my own in the real world post-college/graduation.
Being in the comfort of my home has been nice, albeit weird. When friends asked how the entire experience was, I often found myself simply listing all my complaints- whether it was my host family, the food, or the dangers of living in a big city. I reread some of my blog posts and realized that I couldn't be negative over something that was such a fantastic and wonderful experience for me. I didn't really let myself think about it all, simply because in a weird way I still felt like I would have to be going back. Like this was some weird vacation where I'll have to be flying back into Ezeiza in a couple weeks.
Now that a month has passed by, I am more comfortable with knowing that it is over, and I have allowed myself to look back and reminisce about everything that has happened. I made some wonderful friends and discovered an independence for myself that I don't think I could have found anywhere else. It's no secret I have anxiety over logistics and traveling, and this trip has instilled a confidence in me for planning and venturing places by myself. I went from my first posts of looking forward to boliches every weekend to spending my final days on architecture walks and park hunts, from pride in walking home alone to pride in planning an entire spring break, from anxiety over the subway to street smarts in the big city.
I am so grateful for everything I have learned from this experience- from the people, the culture, the language, and Buenos Aires/Argentina itself. Some quick lows would be the housing family crisis (see http://saludosdesouthamerica.blogspot.com/2012/03/mi-vida-es-una-telenovela-en-serio.html) and the initial culture shock, but my highs (and there are many more) consisted of hiking through patagonia, trekking on a glacier, tasting the Iguazu waterfalls, biting into Argentine steak, and living confidently on my own in a foreign city.
Gracias y chau, Buenos Aires. You've done me well.
