The end has come.

Things I will not miss about Buenos Aires:

1. Adding salt to all of my food because for some reason they don’t believe in seasoning and spice. And also just because I’m a Lietuvaite and it’s in my nature.

2. Getting stuck in a situation without minutes on my cell phone and no place to buy more credit.

3. Forgetting that the doors open out and hitting the glass yet another time (I thought I’d learned, but apparently not really.)

4. Being shushed by other people while riding the subway or bus, because apparently I have volume control issues…who knew?

5. The lack of meal variety after several months, aka ham and cheese sandwiches. I cannot eat another ham and cheese sandwich for at least year.

6. Being stared at for my outlandish red hair.

7. Getting only one Nature Valley granola bar per pack as opposed to two in the US. Who does that?

8. The weird wax paper napkins at restaurants, because regular paper napkins don’t exist.

9. Paying to use the bathroom in bus stations…?

10. The ridiculously slow service at places like ticket counters and stores.

11. The trash bags and random boxes that often clutter many street corners.

12. The weird heavy, ceramic blinds on windows that are so heavy that they can cause you to pull a muscle as you try to open them and give you a major rope burn as you release the fabric cord to close them.

13. The air pollution.

14. Walking around the city clutching my purse like a paranoid freak, thinking that somebody is constantly plotting to steal all of my things and sprint away.

15. Having to pay for water in a bottle or settling for lukewarm tap water instead of getting it for free with tons of ice in any American restaurant.

16. Feeling awkward for wearing a dress in 85 degree weather while everybody else still wears jeans and sweaters. Because apparently I am the weirdo in this situation.

17. My tango professor, Marcelo, who should have his teaching license revoked.

Things I will miss about Buenos Aires:

1. Tango music on the radio.

2. Kioscos, saving my life daily with either cell phone minutes or a large Cadbury chocolate bar.

3. Florist stands on every block that make the streets smell lovely.

4. Coming home at 7am after a great night out with friends.

5. Cheap cab rides.

6. Cheap beer.

7. Cheap, incredible steak.

8. Cheap…everything?

9. Being able to walk down the street with an open bottle of wine in hand.

10. Being a regular at the Café Martinez around the corner from school.

11. Walking around the city on a beautiful Sunday afternoon.

12. Chivalrous men. They will always, without fail, hold doors for you, let you step into/out of an elevator first. American boys should take notes.

13. Alfajores and medialunas.

14. Dulce de leche. On everything.

15. Empanadas.

16. Being able to watch American football at The Alamo bar on a Saturday in Argentina.

17. Jesus singing Argentine songs while making dinner.

18. Just Jesus, the wonderful diva that she is.

19. Going to a soccer game and joining in on everybody’s sick obsession with fútbol.

20. The kindness of the people in Argentina that can be seen daily.

21. 3 day school weeks.

22. 5 day weekends.

23. Basically not having a real life.

And now the big ones:

1. Traveling an obscene amount. Seeing everything from tropical forests and waterfalls to glaciers, all in the same country.

2. Living in a place that is sunny and gorgeous about 96% of the time.

3. Being able to practice my Spanish on a regular basis, making it hard not to improve.

4. Having the opportunity to meet new people and get to know current friends better.

5. Not planning out each day down to the minute. Instead, having the freedom to do and see whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

6. Feeling completely stress-free for an extended period of time for the first time since, to be completely honest, 8^th grade.

7. The comfortable and familiar feeling of walking around the streets of Buenos Aires.

8. Having the opportunity to immerse myself into another culture, something that I may not have otherwise ever been able to experience.

As much as I got to see and experience in Argentina, there is much left. Not to mention the rest of South America to explore.


So, chau chau for now, Argentina. It's been real. I'll be back soon.