…And We’re Back
In [this country], red lights come in many varieties. A rare few actually mean stop. Others, to the driver, suggest different interpretations. At a pedestrian crossing at 7 a.m., with no pedestrians around, it is a “negotiable red,” more like a weak orange. At a traffic intersection, red could mean…full red, but it might, with no cars coming, be more of a suggestion than a command. It all depends.
“Obedience is boring. We want to think about it. We want to decide whether a particular law applies to our specific case. In that place, at that time.” This principle applies to traffic regulations, taxes, solemn laws and personal behavior. Everything is personal and open to discussion.“Controllers and controlled have an unspoken agreement,” Mr. Severgnini writes. “You don’t change, we don’t change, and [the country] doesn’t change, but we all complain that we can’t go on like this.”
The above passages were taken from a recent book review in the New York Times. In this book, “La Bella Figura,” a local journalist tackles some of the idiosyncracies that he feels are most emblematic of his country. Do the descriptions remind you of anywhere?
Actually, the book is about Italy, but while I was reading the review I could’ve sworn the book’s author, Beppe Severgnini, was chronicling a more familiar location. While I haven’t read the bok, I find Severgnini’s observations (per the NYT piece) dead-on in depicting La Argentina. Maybe this should be of little surprise, given the country’s huge legacy of Italian immigration, but the level of similarity between the place described by Severgnini and Argentina is uncanny. Lest on disagree with this comparison, I’ll humbly refer you to the point made in the previous post regarding Fernet, the mentholly, earthy-tasting alcohol that has production facilities in only two locations in the world: Milan and the Buenos Aires province.
So, we’re back. Now what’s new?
Everything and nothing.
Oddly enough, life in Argentina goes on without me. Colectivos are still belching exhaust as they chase pedestrians down narrow alleyways at top speed, and clubs are still blasting “Dancing Queen” to cynical partygoers willing to subject their eyes to the site of beautiful people at the expense of their ears. People still go to the mall. They probably fart, too. And they do it all as if I’d never set foot in the country, 5,000 miles away from my own home, for almost a year. Such is the painful acknowledgement of any traveller returning back home after a long journey. C’est La Vie. You live, you learn. Life goes on. He who taketh from the cookie jar…OK I’ll stop.
Things have been going fairly smoothly since I’ve been home. I’ve found a good temp job in marketing and PR, which will have me writing newsletters and press releases, so I’m pleased about that. Better yet, I’ve been able to continue some semblance of my former spanish-speaking life; every day I eat lunch with Colombian coworkers who are always more than happy to chat with me in their mother tongue despite my offensive, yanqui-tainted porteno accent.
Yesterday I actually made it out to the Baltimore County “Latinofest,” but it was a bit dissapointing, probably due to the fact that the largest concentration of latinos in the Baltimore area is in the city, not the county. It only had a few stands setup - most of which were from the local government’s spanish liasion or local politicians trying to recruit new voters for the upcoming election - and there wasn’t even any cumbia. But I did get to practice spanish, so it wasn’t all for naught.
I wasn’t there for long, but I didn’t have to be to notice that there wasn’t much of a place for Argentina in this self-titled “Latinofest.” There were no milanesas or choripanes being sold on the street at this festival, nor any flags with smiling suns in between baby blue stripes flapping around in the breeze. In fact, this could’ve more accurately been dubbed “Central AmericanFest” by virtue of the overwhelming Salvadorian, Guatemalan and Mexican presence.
My decision to indulge in the tamale de pollo being sold from a stand that had been cooking in the 90-degree heat since morning turned out to be an unfortunate one, though as a result Latinofest’s legacy has stayed with me longer than I originally intended, especially in my digestive organs. Though I suppose this is an appropriate omen, considering my recent plans. My roommate from Buenos Aires, Nico, is going to be visiting his father - who lives in Mexico City - around Christmastime, and then travelling down through Mexico and Central America overland for (his) summer break, along with another friend. While I haven’t booked my flight yet, I’m planning on joining them for a month or two. I anticipate my fair share of digestive tract issues on a trip like this…they don’t call it “Montezuma’s Revenge” for nothing.
So, you may be wondering, have I called off Argentina for good?
That depends on what is considered “for good.” For the next year or so, it seems, the answer is yes. I’d love to go back and visit friends, see the glaciars, explore the northwest, and do everything else I didn’t have the chance to do, but for now I don’t think I’ll be doing any of that. The reason is, I really don’t have anythig to go back for. I had my experience there, and I respect it for what it was, both good parts and bad parts. Whatever they were, they were meaningful in their own way. But I have neither a stable, self-sustaining job, nor have I found the love of my life - two key reasons to truly warrant another sabbatical to this faraway land. To go back to Argentina without either of these, to scrape by as a two-bit English teacher all in attempts to keep the shits’n'giggles going would just be gratuitous. I’m inclined to believe that vague attempts to re-live past glories, be it reenacting high school or college escapades, spending too much time in a place, or going to a Journey reunion concert, are just that: in vain.
That being said, nothing’s for certain. (Well, except for taxes and death, according to Benjamin Franklin. Seems much more Woody Allenesque to me). In the meantime I fully intend to keep this blog…as to where is anybody’s guess.
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ALSO - Want to waste more time at work? Check out my latest article about my trip to Paraguay here:
Tags: Argentina, Baltimore
