Monday, December 31, 2012
Sunday, December 30, 2012
There Is No Place Like Home
My Interview on the Ex-Pat Blogs
In case you want to read how things began
When I read various publications regarding "ex-pats", I still see the word and imagine wonderful Other Places.
Faraway places with strange sounding names.
Where one magically knows their way around and speaks the language within days.
Just like the movies .
In Real Life, it was a bit different but in many ways, it was just like the movies.
We came to Buenos Aires on a holiday, vaguely looking for a place to move to and call Home.
We considered Paris and London but finances have a pesky way of interfering in some daydreams.
After reading countless articles and seeing beautiful photos of Buenos Aires in the New York Times and Conde Nast Traveler, we decided to spend an anniversary in Argentina... see what it is like ... would we really like to live there ??
We were here for 10 days , fell in love with the city , I think, on the second day and the Love part has lasted right up to now.
In fact, I think having gotten to know the people and how great they are, I love BA even more .
I was interviewed by the Ex-Pat Blog people and I was happy to answer the questions.
What was really pleasant was the memories that came back, the pictures in my minds eye of people stopping us everywhere we went to pet Tate (Pup) and talk to us about him. ( They don't have Standard Poodles in Buenos Aires.)
The way everyone helped us if we needed directions, phone numbers, a leaky pipe fixed until the plumber could come ( that happened often).. making phone calls for us when it was beyond our abilities.. giving Pup a ride in a shiny new car , the vet coming to the house every day to be sure Pup was managing.. mostly happy memories, some very sad.
The endless trips to various Government buildings with papers awaiting their Stamp.
The fingerprinting and signing of forms.
The sitting for hours in dreary old buildings waiting for someone to call our number.
It took quite a long time but the day we became Permanent Residents was a pretty good day.
Tate was happy too. (No more waiting at home while mom and dad got up too early and came home grumpy after a long day of waiting in lines)
Tate was always happy.
He was not so thrilled with the trip here and I promised him, crossed my heart, that he would not have to do that again.
He came off that plane yodelling and frantic to pee.
How many dogs do you know who take a flight from Portland, Oregon to Texas to Argentina and Hold It ?
Thank God there was a patch of grass outside the airport doors.
We went to parks and walked the city streets and looked at apartments and met lovely people and moved in to the apartment that most fit into my dream home requirements.
100 years old, French style, 2 apartments to a floor with a totally private walled in garden in the back. A big tree outside my bedroom window with doves cooing and little tiny birds tweeting all day.
Our neighbours accepted us as if we were long lost family.
No one has been unkind, everyone has been sweet and helpful.
Why can't they come back to the US with us ???
But time goes by, changes happen and while some of them are heart breaking , some of them are
so exciting and so wonderful that it is not that hard to decide to Go Home.
Go back and start another adventure in another place that will be familiar but not.
Instead of a city, we will live in the country.
Instead of a beautiful apartment with trees and other old buildings out the windows, there will be trees and gardens and hopefully a bit more peace and quiet.
Instead of a 2 bedroom apartment, there will be an old house with rooms galore.
Enough for family and friends and anyone new that comes along.
And a new dog.
Maybe not a Standard Poodle, maybe something else. We will know when we see it.
We will be Ex-pats in our new home.
We have not been there in 6 years.
We still speak the language. That will help.
We will drive a car again. I will get to sit in the front seat again.
If we want to , we can make all the noise we want in our house.
We will explore and visit friends and family and have big gatherings at our home.
We will be Home again.
So while I recommend that everyone try to do something like we did ... I still agree with Dorothy,
There is No Place Like Home ...
In case you want to read how things began
When I read various publications regarding "ex-pats", I still see the word and imagine wonderful Other Places.
Faraway places with strange sounding names.
Where one magically knows their way around and speaks the language within days.
Just like the movies .
In Real Life, it was a bit different but in many ways, it was just like the movies.
We came to Buenos Aires on a holiday, vaguely looking for a place to move to and call Home.
We considered Paris and London but finances have a pesky way of interfering in some daydreams.
After reading countless articles and seeing beautiful photos of Buenos Aires in the New York Times and Conde Nast Traveler, we decided to spend an anniversary in Argentina... see what it is like ... would we really like to live there ??
We were here for 10 days , fell in love with the city , I think, on the second day and the Love part has lasted right up to now.
In fact, I think having gotten to know the people and how great they are, I love BA even more .
I was interviewed by the Ex-Pat Blog people and I was happy to answer the questions.
What was really pleasant was the memories that came back, the pictures in my minds eye of people stopping us everywhere we went to pet Tate (Pup) and talk to us about him. ( They don't have Standard Poodles in Buenos Aires.)
The way everyone helped us if we needed directions, phone numbers, a leaky pipe fixed until the plumber could come ( that happened often).. making phone calls for us when it was beyond our abilities.. giving Pup a ride in a shiny new car , the vet coming to the house every day to be sure Pup was managing.. mostly happy memories, some very sad.
The endless trips to various Government buildings with papers awaiting their Stamp.
The fingerprinting and signing of forms.
The sitting for hours in dreary old buildings waiting for someone to call our number.
It took quite a long time but the day we became Permanent Residents was a pretty good day.
Tate was happy too. (No more waiting at home while mom and dad got up too early and came home grumpy after a long day of waiting in lines)
Tate was always happy.
He was not so thrilled with the trip here and I promised him, crossed my heart, that he would not have to do that again.
He came off that plane yodelling and frantic to pee.
How many dogs do you know who take a flight from Portland, Oregon to Texas to Argentina and Hold It ?
Thank God there was a patch of grass outside the airport doors.
We went to parks and walked the city streets and looked at apartments and met lovely people and moved in to the apartment that most fit into my dream home requirements.
100 years old, French style, 2 apartments to a floor with a totally private walled in garden in the back. A big tree outside my bedroom window with doves cooing and little tiny birds tweeting all day.
Our neighbours accepted us as if we were long lost family.
No one has been unkind, everyone has been sweet and helpful.
Why can't they come back to the US with us ???
so exciting and so wonderful that it is not that hard to decide to Go Home.
Go back and start another adventure in another place that will be familiar but not.
Instead of a city, we will live in the country.
Instead of a beautiful apartment with trees and other old buildings out the windows, there will be trees and gardens and hopefully a bit more peace and quiet.
Instead of a 2 bedroom apartment, there will be an old house with rooms galore.
Enough for family and friends and anyone new that comes along.
And a new dog.
Maybe not a Standard Poodle, maybe something else. We will know when we see it.
We will be Ex-pats in our new home.
We have not been there in 6 years.
We still speak the language. That will help.
We will drive a car again. I will get to sit in the front seat again.
If we want to , we can make all the noise we want in our house.
We will explore and visit friends and family and have big gatherings at our home.
We will be Home again.
So while I recommend that everyone try to do something like we did ... I still agree with Dorothy,
There is No Place Like Home ...
Thursday, December 27, 2012
Friday Photo
Pup used to love wandering in this park.
I can never get enough photos of these trees, they are so big, so old, so beautiful.
We were very lucky to find a home with this as our "backyard" ..
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Scrooge here
Hello Boys and Girls, Scrooge here !
Yes, Scrooge.
What ? you didn't know that Scrooge is in Argentina ?
Why, of course he is .. or she is ... Scrooge is everywhere, just like Santa and the Easter Bunny .
Well, maybe not the Easter Bunny, they would shoot that bunny faster than you can say empanada.
But Scrooge is here and she has something to say.
It is hot.
It is too hot to be Christmas.
Christmas should not be spent inside with the a/c on full blast.
Nor should it be spent on a hot sandy beach although that might be preferable to the air conditioned apartment in the city where the last bad driver on earth will be found, honking his horn at a red light.
Did I mention that this Christmas finds us in a sold apartment, waiting to move to the US ?
Counting the days until I can once again be complaining about the cold.
There are no Christmas trees here, the flowers are wilting and dead at the flower shops on the corners and there are no Christmas carols on the television.
We never bothered with a radio here.
But there wouldn't be any Holiday songs on the radio either.
Unless Ricky Martin or Shakira are the ones doing the singing.
It is too hot to cook so Christmas dinner at our house will look something like pasta .
Or pizza .
Or a sandwich that doesn't have to be cooked.
Hopefully, not too long after the New Year, someone will Take Us Away and we will be back in the USA.
Where I can once again whine about things.
Until then . . . It is dreadfully hot.
Freckles pop out , brains fry, white skin looks an unpleasant hot pink color.
Movie theatres and malls over-air conditioned.
So while you are sweating your brains out walking down the street to the mall, be sure to carry a warm sweater in your bag , upon arrival, the sweat on your brow will freeze.
Merry Christmas .. really.
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