It has been said that “Buenos Aires is a place where people come to figure out their lives”. I read this in a Smithsonian article about the wonders of B.A. that I had clipped before coming here, and didn’t catch that phrase until I read it again in Argentina. Oddly enough, that is exactly the reason why I came here. Coincidence or not, after a month of settling in, I am starting to feel like I am gaining more of a sense of what makes me happy in my life. I always had the inkling that I would like to teach, and knew that I had a passionate desire to be immersed in all things Spanish (be it the language, the food, the music and dance, from Spain or Costa Rica or Argentina or wherever my heart should take me). However, since graduating from college, I had been on the fence, not sure which direction to jump and which endeavors to pursue. The careers that I’ve considered, such as teaching or translating, require financial commitments and more schooling, and I am not too keen on adding to my already deep pockets of undergraduate debt. I want to be fully sure, not only that I enjoy my career, but that I’m good at it, too! I am still walking down this path of enlightenment, but I believe now that I am going in the right direction. I’m not sure if there is some invisible power possessed by the city of Buenos Aires that guarantees that every expatriate will discover their life’s destination but I would say it’s the worth taking the chance.

Buenos Aires is full of delightfully friendly people, enough empanadas and Malbec wine to last you a lifetime, culture on every corner, and all at dirt-cheap prices when considering the exchange rate of 4 pesos to the dollar. I see it as the ideal spot to create some roots; it offers a European lifestyle at much more affordable prices and with pleasant locals who actually want to get to know you. The city is spread out across 78 square miles and is divided into several different neighborhoods to help orient tourists and locals. Walking the streets, you may not realize you’ve left one and entered another. However, after getting to know the city, each person will equate the specific areas with their likes and dislikes. For me, there are some barrios that I find irresistible for daytime boutique-window shopping but I steer clear of once night falls, thanks in part to young partiers and to an abundance of English-speaking foreigners. There are oodles of comments I could make on each neighborhood’s offerings that I think I should save them for a separate blog all together.

Part of settling in to any new city involves establishing connections and networks, building new friendships, finding a job and creating happiness (anything from joining a new gym to enjoying the local food). Slowly but surely, these things have all been developing for me. Having come here with one of my closest friends, it has been easier for us to not socialize as much as we probably should. However, we did take advantage of a social networking website called BA Expats (www.baexpats.org) to meet other foreigners living in Buenos Aires. Although we came here to improve our Spanish, it is comforting to have a group of English-speaking amigos to turn to as well. Through this site, we found a great friend from Missouri who shares our same desires to be immersed in the culture, to try to impact people’s lives either through volunteering or teaching, and to keep speaking Spanish. I have also been lucky to know several people in the United States who either lived in Buenos Aires or have connections down here. With the smallest tie, Porteños are always more than happy to offer assistance to new-comers, especially if you’re searching for a flat (there is always someone renting a room in their apartment – unfortunately, usually not two rooms, though, which has made it difficult for us to move into single rooms.) What I have been most amazed by in Buenos Aires is the “small town” feel in such a sizeable city. One day, while rummaging around the city’s millions of bookstores for ESL books, we met an eager employee who guided us to a few bookstore gems. Since then, we have run into him twice in bars around the city – unfortunately, he has a huge Latin crush on my friend and won’t take “I have a boyfriend” for an answer! I have also discovered a website called Conversation Exchange (www.conversationexchange.com) which allows people to exchange languages for free, online or in person. Although I haven’t met with anyone yet, I highly recommend it to anyone who is looking to improve a second language – it’s available all over the world! Besides meeting locals and Americans, we have been socializing more with our flat mates, who are from England, Venezuela, Colombia, and (mostly) Germany. It is exciting to think that I can leave Buenos Aires with new friends to visit across the globe.

I have been here for slightly over a month, and have picked up a few hours of teaching, become a member of the local gym (and for the first time in my life, I have actually been going!), and purchased a modest mobile phone (a generous step down from my previous pink blackberry pearl). After having spent the past two years of my life constantly traveling for my past job, I am looking forward to spending time in one city and creating routine. Luckily, if I ever get bored with Buenos Aires, another country is only a hop, skip and jump (and maybe a 15 hour bus ride) away!