Saying Goodbye and Starting Over

This was a sad week. Two of my girlfriends left, and my best friend, Natalie is leaving next week. So my recent activities included moping and good-bye parties. Top that with some male rejection and I’m left feeling a bit blue.

I suppose that it’s just the life of a foreigner, but this is the third time I’m “starting over” with friends. The problem is we are all transient: we’ll all leave eventually; even me. The Argentines know that! They don’t want to get too attached to us either.

Here’s the rainbow, though: I’m getting better at making new friends. That’s never been a personal strong point but this year has definitely forced me to be proactive about cultivating relationships, especially with other females. It’s amazing how effective a smile and a couple text messages can be. The people I’ve met here in Buenos Aires are all so interesting: everyone arrives with a story and a sparkle to them. The average escaping American I meet here is much higher caliber than the average person I meet in the US. While I’m lamenting the fact that my friends are leaving, I feel lucky to have met them, since they’ve each enriched my life in so many ways.

Someday I do have a desire to settle into a city and simply stay. Develop a network of close friends that I can keep for years. True intimacy doesn’t happen overnight, and I deeply miss the people who are close to my heart. For the time being, though, I’m planning to direct my energy into meeting more permanent friends… foreigners and Argentines… and maybe “starting over” won’t be so bad. I’m sure each person will contribute their own personal magic for a journey of discovery and hopefully a little adventure too!