Absentee Blogism

Yeah, yeah. I know. Something about BsAs (Beez Ayz) makes time disappear and leaves you with, what I like to call, the "South American Shrug." What can you do?

No change at the supermarket, so you have to wait 20 minutes until enough customers buy enough things and they can give you your 10 pesos ($3) change. South American Shrug. I tested in level 4 at the University of Buenos Aires Foreign languages department, but put on my best porteña accent to talk my way into Literatura Argentina (level 6). "¿has leído nunca un libro en español?" "No, nunca. Pero, no problema, peudo hacerlo." South American Shrug, and I was in.

So you see, I shrug a little bit at my lack of blogging.

You have to shrug it off here, or else things will get to you, like they are starting to get to me. I am working 23 hours a week teaching English and I have 26 students, who I love and adore. I make roughly 193 US dollars per week, and spend most days rushing from one class to the next through the smog-filled streets of BsAs. One dinner can blow half a days work, a night out - an entire day. The idea, the goal, of coming here was to work in order to prolong my travel. Earning a little plata would allow me to stay a bit longer in this quasi-reality of traveler's bliss. But, alas, as I'm only earning enough to just get by, and my savings are quickly disappearing, I have decided to move on. I was open to falling in love with BsAs, open to staying longer, possibly living. But as boyfriends go, BsAs is a lot of fun, but often a son of a bitch. He'll keep you out until 8 a.m. dancing and drinking, but he'll also steal your wallet and leave you feeling like you are a little too old for his shenanigans.

I have to remind myself, the goal was never to stay, it was always to travel. So, I shrug and I move on.

The beautiful thing about a timeframe, about an end-date, is you take full advantage of your time left. I will start moving northwards in a month and a half, and so I have 6 weeks to enjoy the food, the culture and my Spanish classes!

And so, I leave with a promise...I will write more, and in fact, already have something ready for you. Please stay tuned for glimpses into BsAs...mi casa, trabajo y el castellano.

¡hasta pronto!