Creating Routine When The Dust Settles

I've learned that there is a huge difference between traveling to a new country as a tourist, and living in a new country and adjusting as a new resident.

When the dust settles and the honeymoon wears off from the "oooooh's" and "ahhhhhhh's" of a new place, a few things happen.

Uno : Culture shock

Certain things that you disregarded and shrugged off at first, begin to suddenly creep up and annoy you. For me, it became things in Buenos Aires like the massive amounts of dog poo on the sidewalks you have to dodge with every step, the erratic drivers who don't stop or slow down for pedestrians, and the brown carbon monoxide pollution that spews out of buses. Brian gets frustrated with the inefficiencies of the banking system. I find myself muttering to myself on my daily walks while dodging dog poo, "Why don't they just clean this crap up?" Literally.

Dos : Changing your eating habits

Back home, I used to drink tap water from my Brita filter. Drinking water in Buenos Aires and eating raw vegetables, however blessed me with one of my worst travel fears: traveler's diarrhea and traveler's stomach bug. It was non stop the first few weeks here. I don't know if this was a delayed Delhi Belly, but I suspect that my stomach just can't handle the water in Argentina. So I'm drinking only bottled water, and refuse to eat raw vegetables unless it's from a reputable and clean restaurant. Even then, I usually stick to grilled vegetables to be safe. Thankfully, I loaded up on antibiotics back home including CiPro, so that's been helping settle my stomach.

Tres : Adjusting your standard of living

Our neighborhood Palermo has luxury condos and high rise apartments on tree lined streets that have chic cafes, restaurants, and boutiques. We have a housecleaner Maria who comes by weekly to clean our apartment and change our linen, and a driver named Alberto.

Here's the most ironic part, though. When Brian and I moved into our first apartment in a modern complex in Palermo Viejo, we had a shocking discovery that the apartment was cockroach infested which was not disclosed by the rental manager! The roaches came out of the pipes in the bathroom and kitchen and had me shrieking loudly at night, probably waking up the neighbors each time. The final straw for me was when I discovered 2 cockroaches crawling on our fridge, and I found a 3rd fat one happily eating my kiwis in the fridge!

Brian and I terminated our contract with this apartment, and moved into a new AirBNB 2 bedroom loft about 4 blocks away in Palermo SoHo. Guess what? We discovered that THIS apartment also had cockroaches! It wasn't as nearly infested like the first one, but we still had 2-3 small roaches crawl out of the sink at night.

It turns out that cockroach infestations are completely normal in Buenos Aires apartment buildings and condos. Even luxury complexes and neighborhoods. Many buildings including both our first and current one have monthly fumigations scheduled. The Buenos Aires Expat online hub on Facebook has thread after thread of anti-cockroach and fumigation tips exchanged.

Our AirBNB host Mariano, promising that "pizza for bugs" would kill all of the roaches.

Our current AirBNB host, Mariano, fixed the roach problem immediately and came over to put this roach-killing gel all over our kitchen which he proudly dubbed "pizza for bugs." As promised, the gel killed all of the roaches and their colony within a few days, so thankfully we've been living roach free finally.

Expats on the Buenos Aires Expat Hub on Facebook share tips about how to get rid of roaches.

Cuatro : The Occasional Feelings of Loneliness and Isolation

When you can't speak your new host country's language and you don't know anybody in the country, occasional feelings of loneliness creep in. I usually resort to playing Charades with the locals to get my point across, and I cherish the short interactions I have with my baristas, bakers, and vegetable stand guy. And I've signed up for a few expat meetups and events and have met a few friendly people. But even with 13 million people in Buenos Aires, you can still feel very lonely and isolated.

...

A few days ago I reminded myself that living abroad is an honor and a once in a lifetime opportunity.

I could either choose to be in incessant culture shock and disgust about certain things, or I could embrace that things are just "different" here and embrace this as a unique cultural experience.

I could continue to gripe about what they don't have here like they do back home, or I can create alternatives.

I could choose to feel lonely and isolated, or I can choose to see this as an opportunity to learn the local language and meet new people.

And the traveler's diarrhea, well... it just means loading up on CiPro and being vigilant about what I eat and drink here.

So to combat some of these things I've encountered while the dust settled in Argentina, I created some regular routines that make me smile:

1. "Necesito banana y kiwi, por favor. Nada mas, gracias."

Buying fruits from this particular vegetable shop is always one of my highlights every day. I buy fresh kiwis, bananas, peaches, and mandarine oranges. The owner of the shop is a jolly and plump man who is hard working and seems to always be working. However he does close down his shop to watch futbol (soccer) matches at the next door parrilla (steakhouse.)

2. WiFi, baked goods, and green juices

I discovered a lovely bakery, Ninina Cafe, that serves mostly organic and natural foods. They have delicious homemade granola and fresh fruits. They also make delicious green juices that cure my Nutribullet cravings. I usually come here in the afternoons to work on my laptop and practice Spanish.

3. Getting my sweat on

One of my favorite parts about my day is going to my new gym, Always Gym in Palermo SoHo. For the equivalent of $50 a month, I have unlimited access to classes including Cross Fit, BodyPump, spinning & RPM, yoga, pilates, latin rhythms, and other toning classes.

I've learned how to count in Spanish in my BodyPump classes, and simply follow the instructor and other students to figure out what repetition I'm supposed to be doing.

One thing is for sure. Even if you don't speak or understand a language, fitness is truly a universal language.

4. (Trying to) Get My Espanol On

I signed up for 2 weeks of basic Spanish lessons for beginners at VAMOS Spanish Academy in Palermo, which was highly recommended by our friend Neema (thanks, Neema!) who lived in Buenos Aires before. It's a Spanish school for expats and travelers, and they host a number of social events where you can meet other students.

This was my first time studying a new language, other than Japanese, which I picked up as a child. The first week of Spanish lessons was completely overwhelming and daunting because I was placed in a class full of Europeans who spoke 4 - 5 languages and were far more advanced than me.

Week 1 with my German and UK classmates, and Profesora Paula

Profesora Paula was very diligent about making sure we understood Spanish grammar accurately. After being asked what the answer was to a grammar excercise, "estoy, esta, estas, esten, estamos?" I simply gave Profesora Paula a blank look and responded, "estaWHAT?"

The administrators switched me to private lessons the following week because I couldn't keep up with the advanced European students.

Private classes with Profesor Gellarmo

They paired me with Profesor Gellarmo who understood that I wasn't looking to perfect my Spanish grammar, but to simply know how to speak basic functional phases that will help me get around Buenos Aires and Latin America. He patiently taught me the basic phrases and words I needed and that was incredibly helpful.

Mucho Gracias, Profesor Gellarmo.

Profesora Paula's class

.....

I've learned through the adventures and misadventures of my first month living in Argentina that life is really all about your attitude and how you choose to live it.

It doesn't mean that things are better or worse in countries like Argentina. It's just "different."

I'm thankful for this opportunity to travel and live abroad. I choose to make the most out of my time here in Argentina and embrace all of these experiences.