Back on the chain gang

I have not posted in awhile. It has been over a month since getting off the plane in the "Valley of the Sun."Alot has been going on and yet all is the same. We are living in suburban Phoenix. It reminds me of times of the Coen brothers film "Raising Arizona." All the wildness, trucks, desert, and characters of people.

I am trying to transition back into American life. I find this action quite daunting. We went to the doctor who greeted us with a handshake. In Argentina, we were always met with a kiss on the cheek. Phoenix is spread out whereas Buenos Aires is densely populated. There are so many differences.

In the USA, people are so busy especially with their careers. I often hear people are just too busy to schedule a coffee until the weekend! I cannot imagine this happening in Argentina. La Dulce Vida! In Argentina, Merienda or tea time is a set aside time during the day. I digress. I am onto the brain twisting job of putting a CV or resume together. I have not begun to tackle my jobs in Buenos Aires, which were running my own businesses. I find putting together a resume, contacting references and figuring out what to do for dinero is really a job. Its definately not as glamorous as sitting in San Telmo eating medialunas (Argentine croissant) and drinking cafe con leche.
Chau until next time.

Welcome back to the USA

Welcome back to the USA! It was quite an adventure living in Buenos Aires and then getting word my husband could return to the USA. We flew out of Ezeiza airport with little drama into Miami International Airport. We were both so nervous on the flight we could not sleep.

We got into MIA (nice acronym) at 6:30 am and went to immigration. I was excited and nervous. We went right through to a room where a Customs, Border Protection agent went over my husband's documents. She was surpised at the amount of paperwork and commented that she though she was processing 3 family members. The whole process took about half-hour. We were advised his green card would be mailed in 1-8 months. He would need to get a social security card, etc.

We left immigration and then with little fanfare got our luggage, left the airport and were on to our next adventure, living in the USA.

Chau Argentina

We are winding down our time in Argentina. We have airline tickets and are packing up our gear. However, it does not feel real yet. When will it feel real? I suppose it feels surreal as I am not sure what to expect. I am happy my husband and I can live together in the USA as we always planned. I am sad about saying goodbye to the friends I have made here.

I have become accustomed to being an "expat" neither a resident of either country I am inhabiting. Its not that I like living in limbo because I now crave some routine and knowing that I am no longer in a temporary living situation. Many people tell me its exciting to live in Argentina and why bother returning? I actually enjoy living in the USA with all its contradictions. On the other hand, Argentina is also a place of contradiction but I am still an outsider.

New Year's Eve Blackout

The year ended with a blackout. It was a hot and soupy night with air conditioner blasting, cooling off our dog guest Nico. When, bam, the elcetricity went out. Its not an unusal thing here, the power goes out from time to time. It was 10:00 pm and it was time to get out of the house. The traffic lights were out, as were other buildings.

We hailed a cab and zipped over to Recoleta to a friend's house. For midnight, we were on the roof of my friends building with a spectacular panormaic view of the city. Fireworks were going off from all parts of the city, in Puerto Madero, centro, and Palermo. As everything is in Buenos Aires, midnight was still early and people were just starting out.

We arrived into 2008 with light in our apartment, the cold air whipping out of the air-con.

Thanksgiving Argentine style

Thanksgiving in Buenos Aires, whats an expat supposed to do? Host the meal at my home in Las Canitas. My friend, Katie called in for reinforcements, her dad, Wayne came in from San Diego to prepare the turkey. My friend Terry ordered one from his restaurant (www.club647.com ).
Its not so easy to find the staples in Buenos Aires needed to prepare such a feast. However, we made do and it was probably one of the best Thanksgiving dinners I have ever been to.

My friends all brought a dish, candied yams, mashed potatoes, salad, a green veggie, apple pies and ice cream. My friend Chris (americanlifeba.blogspot.com) made an amazing fruit salad from our local produce. We started the event off with empanadas and picada plates, we are in Argentina after all! I made cupcakes in horor of Katie and her dad's respective birthdays this week. We all sang Happy Birthday and Feliz Cumpleanos respectively.

It was not an exclusively American affair either. There were the spouses and partners of friends who are all Argentine. There were guests from New York and San Diego. The sun was bright for that day and the party lasted well into the evening and there were even some leftovers. We did not have the requisite football games to watch but no matter, it was a festive event. I will certainly miss my friends here in Buenos Aires when I return to the USA .