Vacationing where I live

home sweet home I'm kind of in love with everything that de Botton wrote in his paper. I enjoyed most his contrasting ideas between our mindset at home and our mindset when traveling. When traveling to a new place, I have the tendency of being enamored with absolutely everything. I find myself in a very euphoric state when looking at my surrounding when in a new place, and I feel very guilty if I find fault or want to be critical of anything. I subconsciously humble myself in new surroundings and tend to try and overcompensate for my intrusion. I wanted to appreciate everything and everyone I came in contact with. I enjoyed riding taxis and just staring outside the window watching Argentine lovers display their affection for one another so openly. For the 2, 3 weeks that I've been here I took pictures of everything: random buildings, parks, crappy graffiti. But since I'm actually living in Buenos Aires, and not for only let's say a week, the mystique of the city slowly began to wear off. The reason being is getting myself stuck into a routine. Much like de Botton says about how we view home, I became settled in my expectations. Things became familiar to me, and I even caught myself in a couple of instances of chuckling at that not-so-subtle tourist with their fanny pack, sunglasses and large camera snapping away at a cafe with a tango illustration on the window.

In my hometown of Miami, thanks to the fabulous seasons of warm, hot and hell, we get year-round tourists. Despite me seeing Miami as home and not really finding it necessary to snap pictures of the Art Deco architecture in the city, I can completely understand why someone would want to visit. Overlooking the tackiness of the city, Miami has some of the warmest people you will encounter, we have great food a great night life if you're into drinking and clubbing and our beaches are beautiful. After studying abroad in Spain last summer and returning back to Miami I had my mind set on traveling around the city and doing the "touristy" things in Miami, and there was literally nothing to do that I hadn't done (boat rides on Bayside, the zoo, the Everglades or the aquarium) or for doing things that were so ridiculous that I couldn't see ANYONE wanting to do it (scavenger hunts on the beach) so I gave up and went about my normal life.