la despedida

i wish that i could summarize how i feel. i was skeptical about everything at first. afraid of being so independent (with regards to my complete lack of a sense of direction worsened by a complete lack of familiarity with my surroundings), afraid of not knowing anyone (although this fear was more than alleviated shortly), afraid i would search for a comfort zone (a thought i am surprised and proud to say i abandoned). i'm realizing now that i've begun to learn so much about myself. i know it sounds strange to say i'm beginning to do so, but all i want to do is understand what i experienced while i was here, in a city of 14 million people that force fed me dulce de leche, cut my hair, questioned my ideas, challenged my nationality, and warmed me to a world i know i will miss more and more. i know i've complained about a lot about things, inconveniences, differences, obstacles, but all in all i think i'm starting to understand that being comfortable is only one way of knowing who you are, and redefining what makes you comfortable is one of the best ways to grow into something bigger than a student, a citizen, a traveler, a conversationalist.

chau, argentina. suerte.

las ultimas fiestas...

argentina, what am i going to do without you.

this is a picture of me falling in love with my host family. i went bowling with alicia and clari, and shocking to all, i actually won. i'm beginning to realize as things wind down that i may never see these people again. alicia, with her larger than life laugh, luli, with her silly boyfriend, clari, who's sat in bed with me watching american movies in spanish, and agus, who took my friends and me into his group and showed us that buenos aires is every bit as good as the advertisements. it's so surreal to consider the idea of this family never meeting mi familia estadounidense, but 7,000 miles can do that to you. in a couple of days i'll say good-bye to all of them: an act i can't even imagine.

chinatown

why is it that it seems ludicrous to me to try to speak spanish to someone with a chinese accent? isn't it the same amount of ridiculousness in trying to speak english to someone with a chinese accent?

la flor

a waste of valuable public funds, which could have been better spent on education, reform, etc.

but holy jesus, look how big that metal, solar-powered flower is!

un boliche

i whole-heartedly enjoy the chaos that is the argentine nightlife. as in with every piece of my heart. like when i hear it beating, it only serves to remind me that in a better situation, all i would be able to hear is, "si supieras cuanto yo a ti te amooooooooo..."

went to puerto madero, a very hip part of town on the water which has colorful boats, expensive housing, and a myriad of tourists. obviously any part of any country that is modernizing itself needs a hooters, and that's exactly what we found. oh america, if only you knew how other people see us.