Learning to say "yes" more.

I arrived in Argentina exactly two weeks ago today. Time has flown by, mainly because the first week was marked by a lot of orientating and shuffling around my 100+ pounds of luggage from big airport to taxi to airbnb to taxi to hotel to taxi to smaller airport to car to new apartment (Who let me bring a suitcase filled with shoes that I hate and bars of soap?). I must say, however, that in my two short weeks here, I feel that I have covered a lot of ground. The main reason for this has been my (extremely) concerted effort to say "yes" to opportunities as they arise.

We all know how easy (and delicious) it can be to turn down drinks with friends to stay under a blanket and watch Netflix. Now, imagine that same scenario, except that your friends are complete strangers, and they don't speak the same language as you. And, in order to go find them, you have to walk through a town you've never been to before, in the dark, with a map made out of PAPER. I don't know about you, but that makes me want to drink copious amounts of wine in my home, in the darkness, with my friends Leslie and Ron.

As I mentioned in my first post, the reason why I wanted to come here to Argentina was to challenge myself, which is, by definition the opposite of watching Netflix. For this reason, I really pushed myself over these first few weeks to say "yes" more, even when I have been tired or nervous or homesick. I am happy to report that in doing so, the following incredible things have come to fruition:

I went directly to the zoo by myself in Buenos Aires after a long, tiring flight and met a lot of cute little friends, some of which I have only seen on cereal boxes.

I bought a bike! This is, literally, the first bike I have owned since I was about 11 years old. It's orange, and I love it so far. I rode it to work this past Friday. It was really windy, and I ate lots of bugs. Here it is, chained up outside of my apartment. No idea how I got that up there. In all honestly, it may have to stay there forever.

I attended two incredibly fun dinner parties with two separate groups of new, welcoming friends. I understood about 70% of what we talked about, but laughed 100% of the time.

I shared traditional mate with new friends and liked it enough to buy my own bombilla (straw) and gourd. Check it, yo.

I also tried tereré, a cold variation of mate usually served with juice. It was delish, and even more so because I was sitting around a swimming pool with friends and TWO DOGGIES THAT KNOW SPANISH!

I went to the movies to see a film that was completely in Argentine Spanish, with no subtitles. I also understood about 70%, but only laughed about 40% of the time, this time. It was a funny movie, but it wasn't THAT funny. I did find out who Argentine actor Chino Darín is, though, and you're welcome, ladies.

I learned what cumbia music is all about and how to dance to it. Still working on this one.

I went to an intimate piano concert in the beautiful Teatro Municipal of my town, Bahía Blanca.

I learned that Fernet is in fact tolerable when mixed with coke. Chicago, get on this.

I ate many unknown meats, some of which did not pass the smell-and-lick test prior to eating. It turns out that "chinchulines" are not a type of shrimp... (Google them now).

I went to a dance club, also known as a "boliche" here in Argentina, for two consecutive nights, until well past 5 am. If this doesn't merit some type of award at this stage in my life, then I honestly don't know what does.

I made an effort to talk with and get to know my new neighbors, including the owner of a homemade pasta shop. Definitely not upset about having THIS a block away from me for around $4...

I kept speaking in Spanish, even when my head hurt and I was frustrated and embarrassed and wanted to cry. And, I am happy to report that it is getting easier every day.

In looking back on my first two weeks here, it is pretty incredible how much I have been able to accomplish just from accepting invitations that come my way or forcing myself to leave my apartment and explore. Above all, I have been moved beyond words by the kindness of everyone I have met so far. I was genuinely worried upon arriving here that I would have no friends for the next 10 months, mainly because I am unable to make jokes in Spanish (on purpose). To my great surprise, people still like me and choose to willingly hang out with me! I'm hoping to learn some jokes in Spanish over the next few weeks in order to ensure they stick around and continue being my friends.

I am happy to call you my new home, Bahía Blanca.

Oh, one more thing. While I did say "yes" to all of these awesome, productive activities, Netflix DOES work here (!!!) and I DID also say "yes" to binge-watching all of the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt. Highly recommend.

Also, I should mention that I do not condone saying "yes" to crack, kids.

Bienvenidos!

Hola amigos! Whether you meant to or not, you have found yourself at my blog. Welcome! I have never blogged about anything before, mainly because nothing I have done up until this point has been as cool or blog-worth as moving to the end of the Earth. Nonetheless, I have decided to take a stab in order to record some of my thoughts, pictures, and memories from my year in Argentina for my own benefit, while bringing some of you along for the ride, if you so choose.

Based on my blogging experience thus far (i.e. the above paragraph), the most difficult part about starting a blog is coming up with a good title. The key is to find something that is kitschy enough to draw people in without sounding like a pretentious d-bag. This is a surprisingly small window of opportunity. Luckily, the title of my blog came quite naturally to me. For those of you who know me well, you may be thinking, "Of course it did, genius. You are an improviser, and you just moved to a Spanish-speaking country." While both of these things are in fact true, I promise you that the title does hold a little more weight than that, so hear me out.

When applying for my Fulbright grant in Argentina, we were asked to submit a one-page personal statement, basically asking us to summarize who we are, where we've been, what's important to us, and where we're going. This would be really easy, except for the fact that it's a TRICK QUESTION BECAUSE NO ONE KNOWS THE ANSWER TO ANY OF THIS, EVER, UNTIL WE DIE AND BILL MURRAY TELLS US. Despite the fact that it was impossible, I still did it, because I had to in order to complete the application. I chose to write my essay based on a maxim that is near and dear to my heart, that I learned from studying improvisation in Chicago, which is follow the fear.

While it may seem simple to most, this phenomenon is something so very special, and almost magical, that many of us do subconsciously throughout our lives without ever really noticing the immense benefits. The things that frighten us the most always, without fail, lead to the most rewarding experiences and opportunities for personal growth. While I sort of always knew this, hearing this phrase said aloud for the first time challenged me to really think about all of the good things that have come from making myself uncomfortable. It was because of this phrase that I began to recognize how comfortable and stable I felt in Chicago, and subsequently, how it was time for me to move on in order to do something new, scary, and unknown. It felt right, then, to dedicate this blog to a lesson learned from improvising both literally on a stage and throughout this crazy life. Only time will tell if I am completely insane for leaving behind everything I know and love, but based on my past experience with scaring the shit out of myself, I have a feeling this will be a pretty amazing year. Thanks for joining me on this adventure!

SPOILER ALERT: I am actually insane.