The Closing

Official announcement: I’ll be back stateside April 7th. This means I’ve arrived a new part of my expat experience: the closing. I can feel myself quietly shutting down my little life here. Internally I’ve got an interesting mix of nostalgia, excitement and dread happening inside my busy little head.

It’s making me slightly apathetic. Since people always come and go in expat-land I’ve been on a crusade to make new friends for the last year and a half. Now that I’m the one leaving? I’m not trying anymore. No more obligatory social events. I haven’t had much luck dating in this country, so I’m giving that up too. No more disaster dates. And you know what? I don’t really feel like staying up until 7am anymore. I did that plenty of times. I don’t have to keep participating unless I’m inspired. It’s a liberating moment: I’m just doing my thing.

Of course, the closing is a moment on my journey and I’ll have to revive efforts and build a new life in the US come April. But until then, I want to enjoy the people I love here and savor these last little moments. I’ll definitely miss my life here in Buenos Aires. The return is wonderful, but the closing is sad.