Argentina: A Love Letter

  Today, I will have been in Argentina for three months. I cannot believe that a third of my exchange is complete. I literally cannot believe it. I don't think I'll ever really believe this year is real. Not now, not when I go back home, not ever. It's simply too fantastical to think that I up and left everything behind for a year. Not just physical things either, like my family and home and friends, but conventions, expectations, the predetermined path has been my "plan" since I was born. It's crazy that certain kids can just shed their story and baggage for a year and plunge into a year-long adventure that will forever alter the course of their life. It's just too crazy to wrap my head around. The world is not as big as I once thought, but getting to and from places is expensive, time-consuming, and overall an incredibly cumbersome process. The world is wonderful, but it is also indifferent to human emotions. I have forged relationships with people from here and from all over the world whom I will never forget, and whom I will most likely never see again because of the difficulty of travel and the unpredictability of life. Going a day without some of my closest friends down here is hell. I can't imagine an entire lifetime. Yes, I am already three months in, but I am also only three months in. There is a long way to go on this journey, yet I already feel nostalgic for things that have not even happened. It's a strange feeling to know that only amazing things lie ahead, but to be certain of nothing but the fact that they will be over all too quickly. Everyone told me, "Gaby, this will be the best year of your LIFE". I believed them then, I believe them now, and I will tell future exchangers the same thing. I am currently living the best year of my LIFE. This. This is IT. There is no way to replicate this experience, not in college, not backpacking on a whim, not even another exchange program. Those would all be quality experiences, which I hope to have as well, but this year...this is the climax. I am living it, and I never want it to be over. I have fallen hopelessly in love. I have fallen in love with the city, the smells, the people, the siestas, the yerba mate, the clothes, the spray-on deodorants, the late dinner hour, the nightlife, the stray dogs, the homeless woman whom I chat with on my way to ballet, the way an entire bus full of people bless themselves in unison when driving past a church, the free education, the school uniforms, the "dos besos", the intimacy of interaction, the fact that old people and babies stay out past 7 PM, the fact that instead of saying "7PM" they say "19:00", the list goes on. When I arrived here, I didn't notice much of a difference at all from the States. In fact, I was slightly disappointed that I wouldn't be experiencing enough of a culture shock. Here I am, three months later, and I can't say enough how glad I am that I was wrong. I have never been a part of a community or a culture that has felt so loving and robust, bursting with life and an attitude of tranquilidad, peace. I loved my life in the States, but between school, two jobs, homework, extra curriculars, and daily teen struggles, I barely found enough time to eat or sleep or stay healthy. I forfeited all of my time for myself and poured it into other endeavors that I thought were serving me, but were really only detracting from my overall well-being. Here, I truly feel an inner peace as though I have struck a balance within and I never want to let go of this feeling. So, for now at least, I won't, for I still have a long ways to go.