Just Go With It

My new philosophy on life: whether it is ordering white wine and getting red, or ordering something that I don't exactly know what it is, or going on random adventures with my host family.

Usually I am not one for just going with whatever; I am a planner and like to know when and where I need to be at all times. In Buenos Aires I'm learning that I lead a stressful life in the United States by always running on a schedule.

Here, Marta tells me we are going to Gowland, a quinta for the day. "Whats a quinta?" I ask. She responds by saying she doesn't really know. "Alright, sounds great Marta!" Next thing I know we are on a 2 hour drive to rural Argentina. The contrast between the city and the suburbs/rural part is crazy. Everything is so lively all the time in the city: lots of horns, people shouting, people walking, etc. In the suburbs/rural part, its rare to see another person. We arrive at this retreat center I guess you would call it, where I think Ariel and Marta own/rent a house. Literally it is a place just to go and get fresh air and relax. Luckily there was a swimming pool, so Christa and I went swimming and tanned some. Then we went on a little walk to take pictures, which was followed by some reading and talking, and snacks with Marta and Ariel.

On the two hour ride back, I was able to think about my first 10 days here. Here were my conclusions/observations:

-Life can take you by surprise when you don't know what to expect
-There are aspects of the Spanish language that I find interesting: In Spanish if you want to say "I like ____" you say "Me gusta_____" which translates to "____ is pleasing to me" which takes the emphasis off of the subject and puts it on the object. I find this interesting because so frequently I start sentences with "I ____" Why does the emphasis always have to be on me?
-Argentines are very passionate people and very caring people. They are affectionate toward each other in ways that are uncommon in the U.S. (for example, men are unashamed to greet each other with a kiss on the cheek or to hug for long periods of time in public). They also have great passion in their beliefs (protests every day on 9 de Julio).
-People also are all about having face to face conversations (not texting or facebook) with friends and family for hours on end (last night Christa and I were like the porteños in this way because we spent about 3 hours just talking in a cafe, and the other groups there stayed for the same amount of time or longer). This is also true with meals. The people here eat so fast, but then spend time after the meal just talking.
-Planning out every step of life is not essential to happiness. Letting others lead can lead to the unexpected.
-I need to learn Spanish to understand anything Ariel says!

Thank you all for helping me process my life here in Argentina. Whether you read everyday or not, blogging is helping me process and reflect on my life here.

-Bot