Salt Flats and Finals

It feels to me that just yesterday I was anticipating this trip. I was organizing my clothes and assessing my financial situation. I was dreaming about the completely different world I was about to find myself in. I said in one of my early posts that I was afraid of how fast time would fly, and of course that's exactly what happened. I am down to having a little over a month left with this amazing city, and I'm determined to make the most of it.

Here's what I've been up to lately:
I went up to Northern Argentina for a couple days and experienced a whole new environment of amazing landscapes. Mountains and Salt Flats might not seem like that big of a deal, but it was the absolute contrast to the city that astonished me. When we got out of the bus to admire the beautiful rock formations, it was as if we were the only people left in the world. There were few cars that passed us; the buzzing of traffic and swarms of people were replaced by a soft silence and a lot of self-awareness. I could have sat up on the mountain, with the rays of warm sunshine and fresh air all day just enjoying the lack of movement and desperate hurry of the city. The pictures don't do it justice but I think you can get an idea of what I experienced.

I am finished with classes, which in the United States would mean that I would have a week of finals coming up and then school would be finished for the summertime. Argentinians do it a bit differently here, as with most things. My four exams, two of which are simply written papers that need to be turned in, are scattered through the month of July: 2nd, 10th, 14th, and 21st, and then my flight is scheduled to make it's way back to the motherland on July 29th. It makes it a little bit more stressful for me because I am terrible at managing my time here. It feels like I have a lifetime before having to take finals, which only exacerbates my incredible procrastination habits.

As quickly as four months flew by, my friends and I are trying to see as much more as we can in what little time we have left. Museums, restaurants, bars, neighborhoods, parks, everything. Last night we went to Puerto Madero to visit an art museum, "Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat" which housed original works by Andy Warhol and Salvador Dali. We also drank mate while walking along the Ecological Reserve (another nice little break from the city) with a stop to enjoy some delicious and much needed Choripan. 

Puerto Madero at nighttime is absolutely breathtaking, and it made me stop a think about a lot of things. I contemplated how sure a person can be of which direction they want their lives to take. Before this trip, I was convinced I was a small-town girl for life. I've grown up in towns that range from 200 people to 10,000 people and those places are where I feel most at home. I hated going to Chicago, and I would stress out about driving in cities like Peoria, Illinois. I considered that if I never would have left my comfort zone, I never would have fallen in love with the city. How a short walk or a bus ride can take you from one world and place you into another. How you could live here your whole life and still not experience everything the city has to offer. There has been times where I have felt lonely and out of place here, but having interactions with the Porteños reassures me that one can never truly be alone here. Yesterday, for example, this lady walks up behind me while waiting at the bus stop, and says (in Spanish) something about how there were a lot of people waiting in line for bus 128, in which I responded (in Spanish) or bus 127 because it's the same stop. I exuded happiness from my pores simply by making small talk to this stranger in a language that was not my own. 

For the first few months of living here, I would always get a little offended when an Argentine would ask me where I'm from seconds after opening my mouth to speak Spanish. Obviously I have a accent, but I've come to realize that isn't a bad thing, and have embraced the opportunity for carrying on conversations with the locals.

She of course asked me where I was from after my first response, and I proudly told her, "Soy de los estados unidos." And just like that, I was talking about the differences between Argentine Spanish and speaking Spanish at home without being self-conscious or worried about saying things incorrectly. She even complimented me on how well I was speaking with her. I can't even count on my hands how many times that has happened lately (especially with the trip to Salta) and every single time the kindness and curiosity of the people here surprises and captivates me. 

Friends and family keep asking if I'm ready to come home, and a lot of people are even surprised that I'm enjoying myself here. I am worried my lack of eagerness to return offends people because obviously I miss those I love. I just feel so incredibly lucky to have had this opportunity, and I'm not ready to give it up just yet. We never know what life will bring, and while I've gotten a taste of the travel bug and want to see absolutely everything, frequent world exploration may end up not being my reality. It's true that this semester has brought anxiety, stress, homesickness, worry, and other negative feelings, but it has also been the best time I've ever had in my life. There is a list a mile long of reasons why I miss the US and everyone who is there, but the fact is that in 34 days, I will inevitably be back there, so for now, I'm going to aprovechar as much as I can <3