These past two weeks have been a blur, but even more than that, Argentina has become somewhat of a blur. One of the most unfortunate things about study abroad is that once it's over, you don't know when you'll be back next. Argentina is a country in turmoil, and because o that reason it makes me unsure of when I'll return.
When I left on the 12th, I left a piece of my heart in Buenos Aires. Saying goodbye to our host mom was one of the most heart-wrenching experiences I've ever had to go though. She held on to me and my roommate as we bawled our eyes out, and told us not to cry and how the past four months had been an absolute pleasure. She reminded us that we always had a home in the city, and made us promise to return one day. As she put us in the cab, we rolled down the window and she reached in and held our hands. My heart broke.
Jenn and I just cried our way to the school and cried again once we got there because it finally hit us that we had to leave the place we called home for four months. After traveling and arriving back in the states, it seemed as if my life turned back to normal- and I don't like that.
I love my life, don't get me wrong, but being home has seemed to blur my study abroad experience. I don't know how to explain it, but these past two weeks have gone by so quickly and have seemed like an absolute lifetime. I feel so distanced from my experience and I feel like it happened years ago. Maybe it's going back to my normal at-home routine, but it saddens me to feel like my experience hadn't actually happened.
But it did happen. And it was wonderful. Every day I look back at my pictures and remember how awesome of a time I had. I showed my pictures to my family on Thanksgiving and it made me unbelievably happy. Argentina had it's ups and downs, but it was part of my life I'm never going to get back, unfortunately.
Argentina taught me more than just spanish. Those four months in Buenos Aires I learned more about myself than I could ever imagine. I was so lucky to have my roommate, Jenn, to push my limits and help me explore and become more open. I'm more confident and willing to try new things, and I can't thank her enough for that. My host mom is a woman I'll never forget. She was crazy and wonderful and mostly crazy. I wish I had opened up to her earlier, but I'm so glad I did and I'm eternally grateful that she had the opportunity to meet my dad.
I'm never going to be able to get back those exact experiences in Argentina, but I guess that's ok. These past four months of my life have been incredible. I would never want to replace the memories I made, no matter if they're blurred. What I do know is that I'm happier than I've ever been and more confident in my abilities to do what I want to do in my life. I grew up.
And I couldn't be more thankful.
Thank you for reading my blog, and thank you for following me on my adventure, it's been quite the ride. Muchas gracias.
Te amo, Argentina. Te extraño, Argentina.
Chau, un beso.
- Meagan
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