In Closing, A Letter To The Reader: Things I've Learned Or Reiterated in Buenos Aires

Dear Friends,

With less than 2 full days left in Buenos Aires, I’ve finally allowed myself to both enjoy and look forward to the prospect of going home. While I am excited for all of the usual reasons (friends, family, a stable central banking system, currency that doesn't wilt in my hand), there are two other reasons I am excited and those are:

 a) No more uttering phrases dripping in sexual harassment/borderline verbal abuse at me on the street ("No, I don't have time to go somewhere and have your babies right.now.sir") and

 b) I won’t have to wear pants anymore.

However, pants-hating and feminism reasons aside, so many good things have happened these last months, and Buenos Aires has been a good city to me. I have been doing a lot of thinking about my time here and what it has meant for me, and I’ve come up with a quasi-sharable, only semi-embarrassing list. (I mean, with everything else I've shared with you, I...think we're gonna be fine.)  The things one, including myself, would usually construe as cheesy though,  I really really mean them- it's really not lip service or fluff. You’ll see what I mean. Most importantly, I really feel different about my outlook and am ready to come home and tackle the next phase.   So, here it goes, in no particular order:

-Spanish. Duh. 

-What I want to do next in my career. 

-How to cook some typical Argentine dishes

-How to host an Argentine asado

-How to stand in unending lines and not tap my foot or sigh once

-How to be uncomfortable (going to a party where you don't understand or know anyone/HELLO, Buenos Aires SUBTE!)

-How to hike for 4 days and 3 nights without a shower

-How to adjust to altitude changes

-How to horseback ride!

-How to go to a place not knowing anyone and make some great life long friends
-About the economy in Ecuador, the Incans and Spirtuality in Peruvian culture, Cooking Chilean Delights & Argentine city and gaucho culture

-Traveling by oneself can be very rewarding

-Patience

-How to flirt (I mean, um, kind of, I’m still pretty ridiculous. Also I'm not sure if my newfound 'skills' are transferrable to, say, NYC orrr the Northern Hemisphere in general.)

-How to be more open

-How to schedule 30 minutes into my day to go to the ATM

-How to be more flexible

-How to not die while trying to surf.

-How to make a mean ceviche and pastel de choclo

-How it’s ok that not everything gets done completely on time

-There's not much that's super easy that is also worth doing ('cept ordering a 10 pc KFC bucket and watching horror movies/MadMen...GLORIA)

-What Histeria Masulina is and still be confused

-How to continually have a sense of adventure, whether it’s at your home or somewhere else

-That it takes time to get used to things and that’s ok...I’d say, minimum 8 months to a year in a new place before calling it a day and moving on

-It’s ok to not be doing something all the time

-Being alone without books, movies, the internet, friends, etc is ok and healthy and most importantly, NEEDED. 

-That I really enjoy writing, especially about travel and on my blog

-That my friends and family are truly the greatest. Truly.

-It’s ok and healthy to want to be happy and not worry about that latest stressful TPS report for the rest of your life.

-You have to do new things all the time to build your confidence. 

-You need to step outside your comfort zone to truly grow. I was feeling stuck and stunted. Now I'm good. And if/when that feeling crops up again, most importantly, I will know what to do with it.

-You can have a work environment that’s not like reenacting a modern day version of The Crucible.

-If you want things to change, you have to make moves yourself. Ain’t nobody gonna do them for you. 

-That cars WILL mow you down in BA from 2 blocks away if you’re remotely thinking of crossing the street when the light is green for them.

-Change is hard, fo shizzle, but the sooner you embrace it, the less time you spend wallowing. (This is especially true for me, as I was wont to wallow in times of change in the past.)

-You can be your own biggest obstacle. 

-You should try everything (within reason) at least once, except maybe the GMAT. And duck testicles. Take it from me: you can cross that off the list.

-Just say yes.

-Give people a chance, even if they’re a male doll collector. 

-That I want to see the entire world, every single freaking inch of it.  Except the DMZ. Did you know there are tourist trips right up to the line and you can see the soldiers staring each other down and everything? #Nuts

-That I love photography and want unlimited money to buy lenses, classes, post-production software and trips to take said pictures.

-That I can (but won’t) live without meat

-That ceviche is the greatest thing in the world

-What constitutes good coffee, even if I still don't like it

-What constitutes good wine, even if I drink laudable/worrying quantities of it, depending on who you are (swayz)

-That garbage can pile up on the streets for literally weeks on end in 100 degree heat in the summer and no one is phased by it.

And there you have it, friends. 7 months summed up in 40-something lines. I'm truly grateful for this opportunity and have been very excited to share much of it along the way with you via blog, Facebook, email, Skype, telepathic messaging, skywriting, Prodigy, etc. Thanks for joining me. Thanks for your emails and comments. Thanks for your support and interest. Thanks for being my pals.  Can't wait to see you all soon.

Hearts,

J