Chau! por ahora

View from my apartment. One last Time.I asked to extend this final entry to this week because I still had about a month left until I leave Buenos Aires and return home. I'm still having a hard time truly reflecting on my experiences because I'm still experiencing as I still have two weeks left. I'm not sure I will be able to have any true final thoughts on my time here until I'm back home, away from Buenos Aires, and am left alone with my thoughts without any bias. Returning back home is nothing short of a bittersweet sentiment for me. I've felt incredibly homesick for family, friends and loved ones and the feeling of being so far away from a world where you have responsibilities and obligations is so fantastic, yet worrisome when you know you have to return home to confront them. I wonder, though, if I've been able to spend my time in Buenos Aires wisely. Just a couple of days ago, I literally ventured 2-3 blocks from my house and discovered things that I had no idea was there. Had I known that there was a supermarket, a tea connection and a blockbuster so close to my house, I would have looked at my neighborhood in such a different manner. I still haven't done things that are so basic to visiting Buenos Aires: shopping at the San Telmo fair, visiting MALBA, the planetarium, etc. I think back to those drunken nights and hangover-filled mornings that, in retrospect, seem so unnecessary. Riding home today after visiting the San Telmo fair, I kept my eyes glued to the windows of the collectivo, falling in love with Buenos Aires all over again. Knowing that I only have 12 days left to enjoy Buenos Aires until I have to return to the real world and quit playing expat, has me feeling increasingly anxious. Gone are the days that I can make fall promises to visit that fabulous exhibition or listen to independent bands at the obilesco. My only regret, is having not traveled more of Argentina. I seriously can't wait to come back.

I never thought, in a million years, that I would be able to say that Argentina has made me find myself. But boy, have I. When you're out of your comfort zone and familiar surroundings and have a bunch of opportunities laid before you, both negative and positive, you learn about where your values are or where they aren't. My opinions have changed on many things, my opinions have been validated by many experiences and I'm loving every minute of learning about myself. My travels here have caused me to reflect on who I am and what kind of person I'm working to be and where I hope to go. On a less serious note, I've found new music interests, bought some fabulous books and have made new friends. This semester has been such a chaotic one, but it's been mine.