Live for the moment.

Seize the day.

Take time to smell the roses.

These phrases get thrown out on a constant basis all around me.  So much, in fact, that they tend to lose their significance far too often.  Until now.  Because seizing the day is precisely what has become an overwhelming desire and mantra of mine as I prepare for an unprecedented and emotional 3 ½ week trip a continent and hemisphere away from my husband and children.

6627 miles, 10665 kilometers, or 5758 nautical miles.  And that’s as the crow flies.  However you measure it, it’s a whole heck of a lot.  Far enough away that Google Maps, my trusty source for distance and directions in this digital age, informs me that they “could not calculate directions between Monmouth, OR and Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina”.  They could not calculate a conceivable route for me to get home by land.

Pretty intense for a gal who worries when her children are 45 minutes away from her.  In fact, I will be so far away that it will be the dead of winter where I am while my family basks in the heat of the summer sun.

I am a mama first and foremost.  I spent 7 years of my life doing just that, until I made the choice to return to school when my youngest entered kindergarten.  It was a choice that I have never once regretted, yet one that has been filled with numerous trials and adaptations for my entire family.  We have struggled, been exposed to new things, and changed our family’s routines on a regular basis to work with this academic adventure of mine.  And in doing so, I think we have all discovered valuable new things about ourselves.  No one more so than myself, who has rediscovered a personal identity lost to the trials and craziness of young motherhood.

And now I embark on an adventure of my own for several weeks.  My family, of course, will be an integral part of the journey, both in Skype chats throughout as well as when I return to share my experiences, photos, and stories.  It will become another part of our family’s history, an ingredient in the glue that holds the four of us together.  But for those 3 ½ weeks, I will primarily be on my own for the first time in a very, very long time.

I know that my initial reflex will be to count down the hours until I am reunited with my family.  I am a homebody through and through, and I tend to crave the comforts of my home whenever I venture out.  This trip will be a challenge for me, but one that I am infinitely excited about.  And part of preparing to take full advantage of the experience is getting myself into the mindset to grasp hold of and appreciate every single moment for what it has to offer.  To ‘live in the moment’ and ‘seize the day’, if you will.

“Be brave. Take risks. Nothing can substitute experience.”-Paulo Coelho

But how can I possibly prepare for such an adventure?  I quite literally have no idea what to expect, both from myself as well as the Argentinian people and culture in which I will be immersed.  And so I start to make lists.  And my lists look a little something like this:

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What I Know about Argentina-

I know that the people of Argentina primarily speak Spanish.

I know that I speak very little Spanish.  Un poco.  Un poquito.  Muy, muy poquito.

I know that I really, really want to learn more Spanish, and that immersing myself in a Spanish speaking culture is one of the best ways to do so.  Therefore I plan to try to speak only Spanish while I am in Argentina.  My Spanish-English dictionary will be one of my closest and dearest friends.  In fact, I probably won’t let go of it.

I know that I will be living in a city, Rosario.  The third largest city in Argentina, to be exact.

I know that I am a small town girl, and that I will need to be prepared for the daily hustle and bustle of city life: especially city life in which everyone around me is speaking a native language different than my own.

I know that Argentinians are very big on drinking Mate, a brewed tea-like drink made from yerba mate leaves and traditionally drank from a hollowed out calabash gourd using a special ‘bombilla’ straw which strains the drink.  I know that sharing one’s mate, even with strangers in the city park, is not only customary but a symbol of hospitality.  I know that I am really excited to be a part of a culture that still shares and connects with one another like this.

I know, given the sharing custom of drinking mate combined with what I have heard from others, that Argentinians are pretty friendly.  Given that I will probably be a bit on edge from being in a larger city, this is something I need to keep in mind and work on fostering in my reactions to others.

I know that daily siestas are still a big part of Argentinian culture.  How can you not love a country that schedules time for rest?

I know that my ‘go, go, go’ personality will have to adapt to the idea of daily siestas.

I know that typical dinners are eaten anywhere from 9:30-11:00 p.m.  For a girl who doesn’t eat after 7:00 p.m., this will take some getting used to.

I know that Argentina, despite being located in South America, has been heavily influenced by European culture.  It’s a nation of immigrants.  So while Argentina has its own cultural characteristics, such as the tango (will I dance the tango while there?…we’ll see), and gauchos (cowboys), it also has large German, Italian, and Swiss populations.  The food is heavily influenced by Italy, with lots and lots of beef and pasta dishes.  I WILL be eating delicious empanadas while there!

I know that I will be staying with a wonderful woman named Denise.  A woman who has opened her home to an unfamiliar stranger from another country.  Someone who is herself open to trying out new and unknown experiences.   And I know that I can’t wait to get to know her, work on my language with her, and leave Argentina with a new foreign friend.

Most importantly… I know that I am extremely excited, nervous, and full of an infinite number of questions.  And what true adventure doesn’t start out like that?

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I can’t help but wonder who I will be once this experience is behind me, and has become a tangible piece of who I am.  How will I have changed?  It is said that every occurrence in our lives plays a role in who we are, despite how small or insignificant it may seem at the time.  And this trip is certainly going to be one of the more noteworthy in my own life.  So I am filled with speculation about not only what my time abroad will be like, but who I will be when I return.  Not only who I will be at the deepest level, when I am quietly conferring with myself, but as a mother, a wife, a sister, a teacher, a friend, and all the numerous other roles I play each day.  How much will it change the manner in which I react to situations, take action within circumstances, and present myself to new acquaintances?  I guess only time will tell.

So, now I prepare for my journey.  In 22 days I will catch a flight out of Portland, Oregon and 24 hours later will be standing in another country, on a different continent and opposite hemisphere.  I will land in an international airport in Buenos Aires by myself, and do my best to navigate immigration, baggage claim, and customs with my very limited Spanish.  I will catch a 4 hour bus to my destination city and find my way home to Denise.

Am I scared?  Very much so.  And that fear is the start of what I consider will be one of the most amazing adventures of my life.

“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” – Paulo Coelho

So come along with me, and follow the trail of this small town girl from Oregon as she finds her way into and around Argentina. 

Through this blog I hope to share my experiences, my emotions, and my adventures.  And my next entry will find its way to this site from the gorgeous Argentinian winter, 6627 miles away.  As the crow flies, of course.

~Jessie