The Expat Community...

Tuesday for lunch at the Empire Thai restaurant in barrio retiro I order my stir fry veggies and fish picante (spicy). The taste is excellent. A man appears at my table and queries "sufficiente picante?" (spicy enough), "Si, perfecto". We talk a bit in castellano and then he poses the question "De donde sos?" You guessed it. He's from the states and he tells me in English he is from "New Joysee". Kevin, the owner of this wonderful restaurant, came here 16 years ago when he was working as an accountant for a bank. Yes, an accountant. His bank was bought out by another bank, he lost his job and didn't want to leave Buenos Aires. Five years ago he bought into this restaurant. It is now his and if you don't have a reservation for lunch at 1:30, forget it, you are dining elsewhere.

Then Tuesday dinner I am in barrio San Telmo at Laurie's apartment. She bought two apartments a few years ago on Chacabuco in San Telmo. She tore down walls and constructed this incredible place. The dinner party was the four of us, Laurie and Bergitte from Denver Colorado and Beauty, from Georgia. The three have their stories to tell and have varying degrees of comfort with calling this place home. One is in the process of establishing residency with the next step being dual citizenship. We laugh, talk and share stories of aventures throughout the world.

On the bus home I think about this eclectic community I am claiming as my own...