Notes From The Road ~ Robin In Argentina ~ By Robin Sparks

January 29, 2004 - A BACKWARD GLANCE It's been a year since I temporarily set aside my search for a country to return to San Francisco. When I left Asia this time last year, I decided to stay put in my home in San Francisco for one year. I still had slight misgivings about my desire to live abroad. Was I running from something? If I put in consistent time in San Francisco would I find my purpose here? I would give the States one last chance. Several friends had hinted that the reason I felt disconnected from the U.S., was because I was always on the run. Ok then, I would throw myself into my community full-time, nourish friendships, develop contacts in the writing world, tie off the distracting loose ends of my former marriage. And complete my two biggest goals: Finish my book and find a mate. No go on both counts.

Get A Second Passport

The publishing world is in a state of paralysis - work for writers has all but dried up. It is so expensive to live in San Francisco, that I when I am here, I must occasionally rent out my condo, which means I have to move out for one to two weeks at a time, making it impossible to really sink roots here. I have dated two American men this past year. Neither shares my longing to live at least part of each year out of the United States. One thinks that much about our country stinks, but he believes that those who cut bait and run are selfish, that one should fight for change from the inside. Why would I want to live somewhere other than the best country on earth they both want to know? Why indeed? Because I am happiest living and working among people with an international view of the world. I want to do what I can to bring various cultures together in peace, to foster acceptance of our differences, and to shed light on the fact that in all ways that matter, we are more alike than we are different.

Even my most liberal friends are isolated from the rest of the world. They hear only one side of the news - that of American owned radio and TV, and even they let it sneak out every now and then, that they believe that Americans are somehow better than the rest of the world; it's the government, not us kind of thing. Granted the people I call friends do travel occasionally, but usually just for a 2-week peek at "the others" from the confines of a tour group or a five-star hotel.

Like Ayla in Clan of the Cave Bear, I set out again in search of my tribe.

ONWARD

Over the past six years, my search has taken me to France, Italy, London, Spain, Katmandu, Bali, Thailand, Mexico, and Belize. One month ago, I headed south of the U.S. border, way south, to the Southern Cone, to a place rich in mystery and intrigue - Argentina.

FIRST A FEW FACTS

There are 3.5 million people in Buenos Aires, 12 million including the metropolitan area.
Literacy is nearly 97 percent, one of the highest in the Americas.
A 19th century tidal wave of Italians, Basques, English, Irish, Welsh, Ukrainians, and other nationalities has made Buenos Aires a mosaic of immigrants

LAND OF IMMIGRANTS

Argentina has fascinated me as long as I can remember. It's a proud (some say haughty, but I admire their verve in the face of their ups and downs) European country surrounded by earthy, fiery, less prosperous Latin American countries.

Amazon.com Widgets

Buy A Vineyard In Argentina

Have you ever wanted to own a vineyard & make wine, but assumed that only wealthy people could afford this lifestyle? Think again! Owning a vineyard here is an affordable reality!

Escape to Bariloche

This is an Escape Book! This book, describing our family�s move to South America, is a kind of �how to� book for people thinking about moving to Jet Set Haven of San Carlos de Bariloche

Worldwide Income As A Writer

You want to live overseas, to live free, be your own boss & keep your own hours. The question is how do you make a living? The first answer that comes to mind is writing.

Residency & Retirement

Want to live in Argentina? We'll show you how - Invaluable information that can save you time money & frustration in your move to Argentina

Like America, most of Argentina's immigrants arrived on ships from Europe. Adding to its mystery is its shadow: a history of political and military coupes, the "disappeared", and the recent economic meltdown in what was once the world's fifth wealthiest country. With the precipitous drop of the peso in 2001, Argentina was suddenly the global investor's dream. I might be too late for the big bargains, but Argentina was still a less expensive place to live than the U.S. and who knew? Perhaps in Argentina I'd find the home that had so far, eluded me.

TAKING OFF

Standing in the check-in line at the San Francisco Airport, I feel something distinctly different about the people around me - the way they hold their heads, their graceful movements , the mellifluous words coming from their lips which at first I don't comprehend. Spanish with an Italian lilt.

Yes!!! The familiar flutter in my stomach is back in anticipation of setting out for the unknown. I'm still alive.

The American Airlines 747 fills with Argentines returning home - and an American tour group headed for the Antarctic. It will be a long flight, and like surgery, I'd rather wake up when it's over. So in go the earplugs, on goes the eye mask, and between me and the airplane window, a pillow. I go to sleep imagining Argentina.

JANUARY 30, 2004

CHE LULU

The taxi driver delivers me to the guesthouse I chose on the internet the night before I left - Che Lulu - painted bright red outside like a Scandinavian barn and inside delightfully shocking colors, urban hip with an eclectic blend of furniture. Buenos Aires is a city made up of distinct barrios and I've chosen the Soho-like barrio of Palermo for my brief stay - Three Argentine airline attendants who fly between Buenos Aires and New York put their savings together and renovated the building, opening Che Lulu less than one one year ago. What would I llike to drink? Here's the computer - use it whenever you want. What can we do for you? What's life like for you? And so on. I feel immediately at home as if I've entered a womb of like-minded, same-aged friends.

I toss my un-packed luggage on my bed and set out for a walk through the city to check its pulse. I teeter over its cobbled streets, in the shade of its sycamore trees, peek inside boutiques with the latest fashions, stop in a cafe for an espresso and empanada, look at the latest in furniture fashion. The women I notice, look like Penelope Cruz, perhaps a bit softer.. With its crumbling buildings and potholed roads, one gets the feeling of a city once great, which has suffered massive neglect. But with the emergence of boutiques, cafes, bars, and museums, one gets the sense of a city busy being reborn.

Buenos Aires - she is an old, elegant woman with a Bohemian hat.

Mojo and Frederick are entertaining friends tonight. Introductions go around, lots of air kisses, music, laughter and hilarity fill the house - and outside the steady drum of rain.They proudly show their friends each room in their guesthouse and then they gather around the dining table clinking champagne glasses and delivering toasts, " Buena suerte (good luck) in su trabajo (work), in su familia (family), y en su vida ( life.) I fall into bed early, the hearty laughter and conversation of friends ringing through the house. As I drop off to sleep, I am thinking that no matter how bad things get, or how destitute one becomes, if one has friends and the time to spend with them, one is rich.

WHEN IT RAINS IN ARGENTINA

At 2 AM I am wide-awake though daylight is still hours away. The rain is hitting the roof hard. I slip on a robe and go into the house to use the computer. A groggy MaJo is working the night shift. We greet each other as I step down into the anteroom just off the front door where the computer is kept. Cold water submerges my feet. "You have a leak in here," I tell her.

Go to the Next Page