What is Foreign?

I have a habit of only writing about exciting things. As a sensationalist and junkie of all things new and exciting and fan of over the top action movies and epic stories, of course I would shape my writing to reflect my sensibilities. When I set out to write a novel about college, it quickly morphed into a political thriller set in a college atmosphere with typical college scenes placed on its frame.

My blog posts have for the most part reflected this mentality with the emphasis placed on my weekend adventures. But this does a huge disservice to you my readers and this city that I’m in.

I’m in the downhill part now, less time left than time I’ve been here, and my mentality reflects it. I’ve settled into an insane amount of comfort (for being in a city on the other side of the world), I know my way around numerous neighborhoods, I have favorite places to go all over the city, I have people that I can call to see, I’m beginning to settle into a comfortable routine here. A normal life.

It’s funny, you would think to yourself that traveling to the other side of the world would ensure a life full of constant excitement but then you forget, millions of people are living a comfortable routine life in that city. This city isn’t exciting or exotic to the people who live here. Frequently I’m asked seriously by Argentines why on earth would I want to spend this much time in Buenos Aires.

Of course the flip side is that down here, I’m exotic. My accent is something interesting, my grasp of Spanish amusing, and the stories I have to tell truly foreign. Sharing stories about college life with four Argentines at a late night bar leaves them enraptured. Just like we travel to other places to see if they’re just like the movies, so do they want to travel to the States and see if it’s just like the movies.

It is a truly difficult concept to grasp that my descriptions of Boston and Amherst are equivalent to a native of Bangkok describing their daily life.

To make sure that this city doesn’t dwindle down into familiarity, at this point I have begun to push myself harder, to seize every moment down here greater. I have a list of 54 cafes in all parts of the city compiled by the city of Buenos Aires as notable and I am trying to move through the list before I leave. It takes me to street corners and alleys in the city that I would have never seen otherwise. It keeps the spirit of discovery persistent.

To be fair to whomever is still keeping up with the blog; I am going to try to make my new entries reflect this new appreciation of daily Porteno life. Just like how they find our daily life exotic, I know that the details I have to supply about daily life down here, the otherwise normal, should prove to be interesting.

So, sorry for the hiatus, and more will be coming out soon. And maybe I’ll still have a few stories of adventure.