la boca, buenos aires
continental airlines and a dwindling bank account are telling me that i have to leave south america tomorrow. with my departure imminent, i only think it appropriate to run through a few of the reasons why i bother to dust off that backpack and forsake the middle of baseball season for foreign lands. entonces, before i leave you with a little radio silence, why i travel.....
to reread your passport after every stamp.
to snap pictures of the sunset from the top of a dune at jericoacoara, then decide to leave the camera in the bag when you return the next day.
to laugh as a gringo makes a fool of himself on the 33 bus, forgetting that you did the exact same thing a few weeks ago.
to find a tangoistas contra gauchos chess board to add to your collection.
to take yourself less seriously.
to speak spanish to a brazilian, have them speak back to you in portuguese, and to understand one another perfectly.
to feel a sudden vested interest in the argentine national soccer team.
to look at a stinky mattress on a shaky bunk bed in a drab, windowless cordoba room and say to the hostel employee, ´perfecto!´ before unloading your backpack.
to return to total ignorance.
to arrive after an all day bus ride and wish that you had one more hour to stare at palm trees from that window seat.
to buy cheap sunglasses in ipanema, only to break them in salvador.
to find the biggest smiles in the poorest of places.
to hear a joke about uruguayans and ´get it´.
to talk with cab drivers about argentine politics.
to kiss on the cheek.
to see a wave and tell yourself, ´this one is mine´.
to be recognized by the acajare lady.
to know which choripan guy in plaza italia is the best.
to say, ´yeah, i´ve been there´.
to be an ambassador for your country.
to jam to creedence clearwater revival and the doors as the cab driver takes that turn on the paseo colon just a little too fast.
to run into a friend on the streets of montevideo.
to be hungry, tired, unshaven, and broke and realize that these may be the best days of your life.
to love.
to be told by a local that you have a porteño accent.
frequent flyer miles.....holla!
to acquire the taste of maté.
to see a two dollar bottle of wine and tell yourself it´s too expensive.
to memorize maps.
to pretend that you understand whatever the hell that person is saying to you.
to return home with a new purpose.
to eavesdrop in another language.
to be frustrated, angry, and discontent; and then to realize that you´ve been wrong all along.
for the kids.
to know that you have a better story but will keep it to yourself.
to splurge.
to finally throw away that green towel.
to learn that forearm is translated as antebrazo. i mean, how cool is that?
to see fortaleza, brazil and instantly be reminded of windhoek, namibia.
to say, ´that´s not what i thought i ordered´, and then eat it anyway.
to have emotional goodbyes with people who were no more than strangers a few days/weeks/months before.
to receive an open invitation to a chilean ski cabin, just for sharing your peanut butter and crackers.
to recognize the difference between pagode and samba.
to stare out a plane window as the ground of your newest home recedes and disappears and pledge to yourself that you will never stop traveling, you will never stop traveling.
....but, really, if the question has to be asked, the answer will never be known.
buenas noches y buena suerte, hasta entonces......
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