I finally bought a backpack today. A real backpack. The kind you cram a bunch of stuff in before you set out for adventure. So after I finish up this final post I’m going to head home to cram the pack, say goodbye to a few friends before heading to the airport and beginning the next leg of the adventure.
Leaving Buenos Aires and all the friends I’ve made here is going to be tough. I really am going to miss all the cultural quirks, the architecture, the empanadas, and the buenas ondas in general. I was thinking of who I needed to say goodbye to here when I realized that over the last 5 months I managed to be a part of my own little community here... from the people I buy groceries from, to the wait staff at the cafe in my neighborhood where I studied between classes to Andri (the kiosk attendant on the corner who I chat with before going out). I’m going to miss these people!
But what makes leaving a LOT easier is the adventure that lies ahead! I’m flying to Rio tomorrow, which I can’t even conceptualize in my head at the moment. I’ve always seen it on TV or in the movies and it always seemed so distant, so I am more than thrilled to see the real thing come tomorrow afternoon. Relaxing on the beach for a few days while friends back on the Northern Hemisphere suffer in the snow won’t be so bad either. Sorry guys! (I'm not sorry)
After a few days in Brazil I am going to meet friends in Colombia where I plan to trek into the jungle for five days on a trail spits you out at an old forgotten city, with old temples covered in vines. I remembered. Unbeknownst to my two friends joining me on the trek, I have planned the trip so that we arrive at the forgotten city on the 21st, so that if the Mayans were right after all we might be spared because we are at an old indigenous temple of some kinds. The familiarity effect. Maybe the aliens will come there first to look for us if thats how things are going to go down. Who’s to say? Certainly not me, and apparently the Mayans.
Providing the world doesn’t end I will spend Christmas on the beach on the Colombian coast before returning home in early January. Did you know some Santa Clauses on this hemisphere wear board shorts? Wild.
But before I continue I feel obliged to impart some kind of wisdom about this whole Study Abroad business for those who may be considering: Do it.
I feel that studying abroad is a really unique way to get to know another city and another culture. There are very few jobs that allow you to live in a city for just six months at a time. You are either go to a city for a few meetings, or are transferred there for an indefinite future. But with study abroad you are allowed six months to fall in love with a city. It’s enough time to get to know your way around, get to know the language, make some lasting friendships, and best of all it’s short enough that you are reminded to waste no time and enjoy every moment.
This is part of the reason I have decided to do it all over again in the Spring semester, but in Milan this time. Some other reasons are to practice my Italian, connect with the roots, and be in a place where it is much, much easier to travel than it is in the Americas. I’m not sure where I want to live after graduating GW (or even exactly what I want to do), so I hope this will help me in coming closer to those kinds of decisions. In terms of my studies, applying the lens of an emerging economy in Latin America to business and economics has really been fascinating, and I hope to gain yet another perspective in Milan next semester in the midst of the Euro Crisis. Bocconi, the University I will attend is heavily economics focused and is home to some brilliant people. I also can't wait to get to know the city and gain 40 pounds.
Hay que seguir. Hay que disfrutar. Siempre.
I hope you enjoyed reading about my journeys, and if you are a student I would highly encourage you to study abroad no matter where you go. The Office of Study Abroad would be happy to share my email with you should you have any questions for me!
May you always be a traveler, and never a tourist.
Un beso,
Giordano