Where we need to be

I think you could say that This is Me.. or Us.

My husband, Pup and I, set out on this Adventure with open minds and excitement and enthusiasm ..

Well, Pup and my husband did, I was more cautious in some ways of thinking ..

You know ... What If ?

What if they don't like us,

What if we can't find our way in English/non-Spanish,

What if there is nowhere to live,

What if it is just too hard .. etc.

So we landed on this "planet" .. believe me , the first weeks here, it was more than a different city, more than a different country, it was a different planet.

One that we quickly and easily fell in love with.

Pup knew right away that it was good.

Even in the United States, he had not met this many people who wanted to kiss him.

He wasn't sure what they were talking about when they called him Mi Amor but he got the hang of that pretty fast.

These past 4 years of his life, his last years, were good.

He had not only our love , but he had the love of everyone he met.

He had huge parks to play in every day, he was welcomed , petted and well, we won't talk about how many people from all over the world have photos of our Pup.

He soon learned to stand still so they could take the picture.

The people we met from the beginning were kind and helpful and above all, had a great sense of humor.

This country has been through some really hard times and not that long ago !

But everyone we meet is open, friendly and kind.

This is one of those places where if you have trouble understanding the plumber, he calls his friend in Connecticut who speaks English to tell you why he has to remove the tile in the bathroom floor to get to that pipe.

This is the place where a neighbor will call the Immigrations Office,

( formerly known as H E L L to us ) and sit on the phone with the answering machine and then get a human to ask, when can we come get our final stamp already ??

This is the place where I run into people , who before only waved and petted Pup, who now share a small sweet sympathetic hug.

Our housekeeper asked me to print photos of him for her to have at home, she called him mi amor and wiped tears from her face when she asked.

We talk about moving back to the United States.

But then we both get this rush of Love for this place and wonder, what will life be like somewhere else, even where Home used to be ?

Will life be as much of an adventure when you can speak the language ?

I sometimes wonder, I love it that I can't understand the news .

I love it that I don't get local US news, the World News is enough for me, thank you very much.

I kinda love it that I don't see Regis Philbin or Dr Whatshername and all those shows on our television .. we get more BBC and World News and PBS shows.

I am fine with that.

If I want "news" , the internet is here with the New York Times and BBC and all that.

Funny though, we get HouseHunters International and Canada's, Property Virgins and we are hooked !

We are also watching Downton Abbey .. oh my am I loving that !

We see Nurse Jackie and Dexter too, just in case you think I am not at all bloodthirsty .

I am .. I am.

If we went back to the US, we would live in the countryside.

Not a city. Or so we think now.

I get this picture in my minds eye, Eddie Arnold and Eva Gabor .. Green Acres.

Will that be us ? me ?

Will you soon be seeing photos of me on a tractor ? wearing my high heels and pearls ?

Nah, relax, that will never happen.

But then here, I will be going to a ranch out in the countryside, seeing Gauchos and horses and estancias.

Will I just decide to live a thoroughly Argentine life and move out there ?

Nope, probably not, they speak even less English out there and odds are, I will never be That proficient in Spanish to live in the countryside. . although just the husband , me and a couple of horses has a nice ring to it .. and maybe a few dogs ? and a cat ... chickens ?

I can see my husband now, falling over laughing at the idea.

I can see my husband now, starting to think it doesn't sound so bad..

We certainly did not plan to come to Argentina one day.

Paris was always dreamt of, London was spoken of , but Buenos Aires, never.

And here we are ... stranger things have happened.

Strangers things can still happen.

But for now, we are where we need to be.