Sunny Skies, Mountains, and My Son!

The streets are clean. I can put toilet paper in the commode. And the man driving into the intersection as I cross apologizes. Plus the sushi is pricey at lunch!

No, I am no longer in South America. This is the U.S. I am in Denver. And when traveling again I am so aware of my surroundings. I am thinking about the pluses and the minuses of being home in the north. You may be wondering "so where is her home anyway?" And as I spoke with Shaun over sushi yesterday that old saying "home is where the heart is" rang true. What that means for me is that geographically I am not restrained and will likely be taking my heart around the world and touching down in places that intrigue me for as long as my body will cooperate.

Denver is high energy and the people with weathered skin are the outdoors kind. I like it here, and as I walk along the Platte River I think that less ten days ago I was walking along the Rio de La Plata in Buenos Aires. My neighborhood is expanding and though it may take me a bit of time to get from one favorite restaurant to the next it is so possible.

Welcome home, maam...she says.

Yes, I walked through customs and entered the line for U.S. citizens. And when I heard those words I actually felt happy. It was tough to say good-bye but I made the transition on the plane. Seated next to a New York plastic surgeon who was born in Argentina and home visiting family we compared notes on the sushi in Buenos Aires versus New York. Though Argentine by birth he is convinced that none of the food can compare to New York. I am thinking about my upcoming trips to Denver, Chicago, etc. and future meals I will eat in other metropolitan areas. But for tonight it will probably be pizza at Silver Beach and the oportunity to gaze at that beautiful lake that is right in my front yard.

I must add that I no longer feel naked. You may remember that I had a new passport this journey. Now my passport is adorned with a few entry and exit stamps from Argentina, plus a pair from Bolivia, and a pair from Uruguay. It was a productive shopping spree.

The Count Down...

Yes time is nearing to say farewell for now. I open my email to queries of availability for last good-byes.

Patricia, the Uruguayan who sells Herbalife says "you must be busy...I broke up with my boyfriend, sad but...please stay in touch."

Facundo, my spinning instructor, asks for my email address and says "why do you have to leave?"

Marcela, an Argentine, with her four year old daughter Paloma, meet me in Palermo Viejo on Friday night for wine, sushi, and the latest stories. She asks how I feel about leaving...I say sad. She says "you seem so comfortable here."

Carlos, the Argentine pilot with Areolineas Argentina from the bus, asks for time before my departure. "I leave for Mexico Monday", (the schedule of a pilot) he says, "so maybe we could have dinner this weekend." I say, "sure...Saturday night would be good."

Then Ermes, the woman from Paraguay says, "my husband is out of town for the weekend on business, do you want to go dancing on Saturday night?" I say "well maybe I could meet you at midnight after dinner with the pilot. Can I send you a text message later tonight to let you know?"

Then Gabriela, my Argentine Spanish instructor, calls to schedule time...dinner for sure on Monday night before D-day (departure day) and maybe we can fit in a movie on Sunday night.

Then Brigitte from Colorado writes with last minute questions and a come back soon message.

I am doing my best to spend time with all those who have enriched my life here. And I am doing what I usually do when the intensity of the emotion requires time and space to let the dust settle. I get the hell out of dodge. So Monday, the day before D-Day I will be on the buquebus to Colonia, Uruguay. By the fast boat it is just and hour across the river. I will be traveling with the Argentines who are also leaving town for ferriado (the holiday). Monday is the day they remember the Malvinas war, not a pleasant memory. So we may all be a bit solemn.....

Brigette

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...

Mis Gloriosos Hermanos...

Now I am over the top... watching a French Canadian movie with Spanish subtitles and understanding it! If it is available in the U.S. see it...My Glorious Brothers... It won several Canadian awards and is a beautiful movie. I told you I would squeeze in a couple more movies and why not challenge my language ability.

Selling Herbalife to Succeed or Just Survive...

I remember in the 80's people wearing buttons that read "Ask me about Herbalife." Maybe you remember, depending on your age, and it may still be big in the states. I haven't noticed. But it is growing here. And Patricia, from Uruguay, in her thirties, is a distributor and just signed her first downline she tells me. The story is a familiar one. She is the mother of two and divorved. The father barely pays support and rarely sees the children. There are no laws here that enforce support. So women are often on their own to support themselves and their children. Three years ago Patricia decided she no longer wanted to be an employee. There was no future for her. She wanted to be in business for herself. Then Herbalife came along and she hustles. She sees this as her way up and out. I am told that at 35 you are considered old in the workforce and that once retired later in life one lives in poverty. It is not a pretty picture economically.

Ermes, from Paraguay, echoes the sentiments of Patricia, though she is in a better position. She is married to whom it seems is a good guy and between the two of them they are more secure. Lars, a german man, living here for three years and in the real estate business tells me his observations are that the women work very hard and that is not what he sees of the men. Now he does admit this is a generalization but more true than not, he says. I connected him with another German looking for an apartment and he tells me if it works I get a commission...that is the way it is done here. I am not really looking for another gig but...

Guefilte Fish Festival

Tacha los ingredientes que no corresponden a la Receta de Guefilte Fish... It is a contest, "cross out the ingredients that are not in gefilte fish" and submit your entry to YOK judaismo tu manera...judaism your way! I am wandering the streets of Palermo after my usual Sunday morning walk and happen upon a festival. I see signs for kosher this, kosher that, and my eyes are drawn to kosher wine! Yes, there is a jewish community in Buenos Aires but I have yet to see them out in force. Then it dawns on me that Passover starts in eight days and these are preliminary festivities.

Though a relatively quiet weekend, as I prepare for my departure I have made it a point to hang out with the people and in the places that I want to hold most vivid in my mind. Palermo is one of my favorite barrios. If I were to choose another location to live instead of Recoleta it would be Palermo. It is quiet and lovely plus filled with the most avant garde restaurants. It is the up and coming area. I have my favorite cappuccino haunt there... Mama Racha....and my favorite seat outside looking at the park. Today after my cappuccino and in memory of my trip north I stopped for a light lunch at La Paila-cocina del norte argentino, in Palermo Viejo. It was humita en chala and empanada con albahaca, tomate y queso. The humita is mashed corn with cheese, red pepper and spices served in a husk. The empanada is a baked dough, in this case, filled with cheese, basil and tomatoes. I hate to think that the end of these easily accessible meals is in sight. So I choose to pull a Scarlet O'hara... I will think about it tomorrow!

And tomorrow I will tell you of coffees shared this week at different times with Ermes, Patricia, and Lars. There stories paint a picture of the struggle here for the Argentine as well as for the ex-pat. But that is for tomorrow....