My Last Days in BA

I'm a crier. If there's one truth that has been proven time after time, goodbye after goodbye, year after year, it's that. I'm totally fine with it. To be devastatingly sad to leave a place means that whatever chapter I'm closing, whatever I'm leaving behind was worth it. It means that that experience meant something.

There are many things I'll miss about my life in Buenos Aires. I'll miss the ice cream, the empanadas, eating dulce de leche with a spoon, countless mates shared among friends, living in castellano, riding my yellow bike around this city, the parks, the graffiti, the countless possibilities of things to do at any given moment, fernet con coca, cat calls from toothless old men, steak and red wine, eliciting giggles any time I swear in Spanish. The list is endless.

More than anything though, I'll miss the people that have been such a big part of this experience. This week I've been slowly ripping off the bandaid. Drinks with this friend, dinner with this group, a final few days to spend with the people who have made my life in BA amazing. I just really realized on Thursday, my first day back to unemployment, that I'm really leaving. That realization is always followed by either a big stupid grin of excitement and happiness or a quivering lower lip and tears. It's just how I roll.

Even though I didn't realize it while it was happening, I've changed here. I've become a little more laid back. I learned to focus less on the future and more in the moment. That's one of my biggest goals in life. I learned how to speak Spanish fluently in some respect. Pati tells me living in Buenos Aires has also made me prettier, which makes me laugh. Come to Buenos Aires and you'll be prettier.

Just like any life experience, not every moment in the last 9.5 months was filled with rainbows and butterflies. There were struggles and tears and tough days. Putting yourself into another culture and trying to really live as a local is not easy. As much as now I can speak the language, and understand what's going on around me, there are still things I don't understand. But I put myself out there. I endured some pretty uncomfortable moments in the name of learning Spanish. I also lived some of the best moments of my life. With the good and the bad, I would not change one single moment of my time in Buenos Aires.

I still can't really believe that I'm going to get on a bus tomorrow and leave for the foreseeable future. This, like New York, has become my home. My life and the people I have met here will forever hold a piece of my heart. With that said, a few shout-outs...

To Diego and Mana, who let me live with them for the last 8 months, correcting my Spanish and teaching me swear words. They have not only been my roommates, but have become two of my good friends. To our conversations about the differences in our cultures and the great things about each, to the constant flow of music and art in that house. I learned more about Argentina and it's culture inside that apartment than anywhere else. Thank you for opening my mind. To Andrea who was an instant friend after we met in Rio, and encouraged me to stay in BA at the beginning. For our countless nights outside El Unico sipping Fernet and chatting about life.  To Luna, Logan, Robin and Will who helped me keep my sanity in a few touch and go situations. To Lizbeth and Silvina, my Spanish teachers. Without the two of you I would have been a lot more lost. Thank you for teaching me your language and culture in an interesting yet challenging way. And more importantly, I'm so thankful to call you guys my friends. To Selva, who taught me about design, and Hernan who helped me fall in love with rock climbing. To Salome who made my time at work all the more enjoyable each day. To Nells, Derek, and Libbs, my yanqui/australian crew. To all my expat friends I met along the way. I will never forget any of you. To Pati. One of the most remarkable women I've had the pleasure to know in my 30 years. I will miss her story-telling, McDonalds cheeseburgers, and our late night ice cream and Law & Order dates in her king size bed. But I know that as she is my family now, she is always with me in my heart.

Even though goodbyes are difficult, there's no other moment like it. When you look at that person or those people you're leaving or who is walking away, and your whole relationship flashes before your eyes. And you can feel in that moment, in that hug, and see in their eyes that you meant as much to them as they did to you. That is a damn powerful thing that human connection.

One thing I never want to forget about this city, this culture, and my life here, is the idea that there are more important things than climbing the ladder and my 401K. I hope I remember what it's like to stress less about work, and live more of the life I want. That while jobs are necessary and important, they can´t replace our need for human interaction and spending time with our family and friends pasandolo bien. I hope I take that with me to whatever is next.