Vivieron felices, Comieron perdices

Vivieron felices, Comieron perdicesBuenos Aires, Fall 2011

Posted by Misa Mascovich on 12/08/11 • Comment (1)

Oh, America, how I have missed you.

My time in Buenos Aires ended two weeks ago and after spending a week more traveling around in Argentina I am now back in the states. I have yet to encounter reverse culture shock, but there are a few aspects of Argentine life that I wish I could take back with me here in the states.

I miss…

Dulce de leche (the nectar of the Gods)
My host mom
Getting pizza with my volleyball team after games
The constant noise of the city
Taking the bus to school everyday
Argentina’s super relaxed copyright/download laws
Speaking Spanish in my everyday life

I wish…

U.S. change operated as it does in Argentina. I have so many nickels, dimes, and pennies that I don’t know what to do with.
Waitresses and salesclerks would ignore me like they did in Buenos Aires and leave me in peace
Alfajores were as common as other candy bars here
Public transportation didn’t cost ten times as much as it did in Buenos Aires

I will…

Continue to take Spanish. I don’t want to lose this language
Never take spicy food for granted again
Talk about Buenos Aires to anyone willing to listen
Go back someday.

The feeling is a little bittersweet as I loved my past five months and abroad experience, but if there is ever a time to enjoy the United States, it is in the days leading up to Christmas. I came back to the states at the height of the consumer explosion that is the final weeks before Christmas. I went from summer to winter; school to break; an entire different culture to one that I am completely comfortable in. The states may be my home, but now my heart has a special spot reserved for a little street in the Recoleta neighborhood in Buenos Aires, situated between a park and the National Library where birds sing at 4:00 am and the women in the café chatter at 2:00 pm. If home is where the heart is, then my heart is internationally occupied.

And like all great stories of childhood and journeys, I end this blog and my time in Buenos Aires with a “Happily Ever After.” Or, as they say in Argentina, “Vivieron felices, comieron perdices” (they lived happily, they ate partridges).

Ciao all my readers; ciao IES; I am home.

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