The Realities of Living Abroad

The idea of living abroad always sounds very glamorous. It is amazing. I wouldn't be here if it weren't true, but many times I think it almost gets glamorized. As I sit in my apartment with a map of Buenos Aires and a Lonely Planet trying to plan out my weekend and what sights I want to see in La Boca this weekend, I feel compelled to tell everyone about my less interesting plans this weekend. Don't get me wrong. Taking pictures of brightly colored houses, visiting markets and watching people tango on the street is going to be amazing. I cannot wait to report back, but the best part of living abroad is living. Noticing the differences between what my reality is and the what a porteño views as reality. That's the main reason I'm here. So, without stalling anymore here is a list of things I plan on doing this weekend. They are monotonous and typical, but necessary all the same.


1. Organize my room
I have yet to lose anything, but that doesn't mean much. I have a strong tendency to be rather disorganized. My space is extremely limited and I need to at least know where things are "supposed" to be. If everything has a place that it should be it will be easier to help me discover where I might have left MIA objects.

2. Locate a large plastic bag
Water an electricity in South America are very expensive. Therefore, dish washers, washing machines and dryers are an extreme luxury. Obviously my cute college student roommates don't have either. Washing dishes by hand really doesn't bother me. I rarely use more than three dishes when I eat and it takes zero to no effort to wash my mess with soap, rinse and leave it on the frying rack. Occasionally I take my turn putting up dishes on the drying rack.

What gets different and more complicated is washing my clothes. I believe I have walked by the stereotypical laundromat, but those are few and far between. What is much more plentiful and common for porteños is a lavandería. A lavandería is basically a laundromat, but instead I just drop off my clothes, pay and come back later for them. From what I hear it costs little more than Ar $15 ($4 USD). Pretty much the same as a laundromat, but much less work. I cannot wait. Just need to get my hands on something to assist in the transport.

3. Find a cute café to frequent
Coffee shops in the US are a pale comparison to an Argentine café. The coffee is normal sized and actually comes in a mug. Not some cheap plastic thing that is going to be thrown away, not recycled, and pollute the planet. They also sell cute,cheap sandwiches, empanadas and cakes. I love sitting around in one, watching people go by and just relax. No time constraints. No care about how long my food is taking to get to me. Just enjoy the moment.

By locating a café to frequent I actually have two ulterior motives. The first is that I will gain more experience talking to people. After a while the employees will recognize me and carry conversations with me. It will be nice to have a ¨place¨ in BA. Secondly, I am obsessed with empanadas. They are these amazing stuffed pastries that come filled with cheese, chicken, beef, ham or various vegetables. It is my goal to be able to bake these before I leave. I have seen the the supermarket pre-made dough, so how hard could it be after. I just need to eat a few to investigate the flavors and shapes of the empanadas to see what I like best.

4. Study Spanish vocabulary
I will be the first to admit I only study for tests. Therefore, the number of words I have available at my disposal are limited. It's time I grow up and finally start memorizing the vocab. I chose to live here after all. Might as well act like I care about the language.


So, there you go. There are lots of unglamorous things that happen along with all of the fun and interesting Argentine discoveries. I'm sure everyone wants to believe that I am always out and about living a touristic kind of life, but that just is not reality. I still have to take time to do laundry and clean my room. There are even times when I just sit around and watch TV. Like now for instance. The Corpse Bride is on TNT right now. Yes, for some reason I have TNT here. No worries though. Everything is either in Spanish or has Spanish subtitles. I better go. It's a lot harder to watch my movie in Spanish. More likely to miss something they said.

¡Besos!
La porteña Emilia