It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new.
But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful.
There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.
Alan Cohen
"Outside of a dog, a book is a man's best friend.
Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
Groucho Marx
The doors we open and close each day decide the lives we live.

Sunday, March 21, 2010

I miss my Car

Every now and then, a slightly bitter, more jaded  perhaps,  person will make a comment like "you are still in the first throes of love", when it comes to my affection for Buenos Aires.
This is OK... I get that I am prone to gushing and going on about how much I enjoy certain aspects of living here.
There are no hurricanes, the people are a delight and it is muy affordable for us.
But yeah, there are things that I don't exactly love about living here.


I miss my car. I loved that car and so did Pup. I know he misses riding around town, head out the window, ears flapping in the wind... Go Faster, Mama, Go Faster !


I miss just walking out the door, getting into the car and running my errands , then having lunch with girlfriends. Giggling and time flying while gossiping with your friends is , in my opinion, a God-given right and I am missing out on that these days.


I do have friends here, we have friends. And friends visit from other countries which is always a treat.... but there are certain things that are just different and while I relish the difference most of the time, some days a person just longs for the Same Old People and the Same Old Things..


We used to toss our things in an overnight bag and we would all take a long weekend in the mountains or out to the beaches.
Now - here , it would require dog sitters ( I have yet to find one) and a car ( we can rent, I suppose) and the knowledge of the area ( lacking) and the knowledge of the roads and drivers ( vague idea and not impressed)  not to mention, it takes FOREVER to get there.
This place is huge.


From my home in the US  to the mountains, was anywhere from 2 to 5 hours, depending on traffic. Here, it is measured more in days... and then there are the usual anxieties that I have ... What about reading the signs, in Spanish ?? What about the speeding buses and trucks, how fast do we have to go ?? What if we get lost?? and have to find someone to ask directions... in Spanish?


Then there is always the Pup issue... in the States, there were hotels, some very nice, that welcomed Pup and even gave him his own little Hotel Welcome package, a dish, some treats etc.
Here, they just don't want to know about a Dog in a Hotel. For some reason, there are people who think that only people should be in hotels. This is obviously a sign of a person who grew up deprived.
If not deprived then they are first cousins to a man named Scrooge or Grinch.


Well, OK , my husband had no pets growing up and our first ( his first ever) dog was a Russian Wolfhound, we  named her Maya.
She was the most beautiful dog I have ever had. She had these great brown eyes that would melt your heart, she was extremely feminine and could run like the wind.


Then I had our baby boy and who had time to walk a small pony err, dog and take care of a newborn and the insane wild child that was my 4 year old daughter?
So Maya went to live with a farmer in New Jersey. I refuse to consider any other idea than that Maya ran and played and was loved all the days of her life.
Just not by us.


Now I have traveled and I have been in fine hotels in other countries and I appreciate people not wanting dogs barking or making a mess or worse, bringing their fleas with them.
But Pup is not one of those dogs.
He is part Person. People should recognise this and welcome him .... or so I rant to my husband when we cannot find a pet friendly hotel in Argentina.


So here we are ... lucky that we live in a beautiful apartment in a nice neighborhood in a huge city full of lovely people who like dogs.


I just wish that I could hop in a car and take a little run around town without flagging down the car .



2 comments:

  1. I am so envious:) I cannot wait to read more about your life abroad:). How did you happen to find me? Thanks for your comments:)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, I know this feeling! I had a car in Canada but here it is so expensive, not to mention the fact that they drive on the other side of the road, there are so many more people here and the roads are twice as narrow. So I don't drive and am reliant on my beloved to take me on road trips when we can manage to have time off on the same day.

    I miss road trips so much, and I know if I drove I would hop in the car and head out to the hills more often. But alas, for now it is not to be.

    But I feel for you. I really, really do.

    ReplyDelete

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