Waiting in BA...

Here we are, finally, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Who remembers our initial plans in the fall of 2008 of heading up to Canada for a few weeks in the Boundary Waters? The Hinken Pool betting how long we would make it in the bitter winter cold? We had even planned out how to make it to the island via snowmobiles, how many decks of cards we would bring and how to rearrange the entire cabin. Then, our plan to head south the land called argentina. Over to Africa and then back to the states. Crazy, right? Who would've thought that was actually a plausible plan? Well, clearly that didn't work out quite the way we planned. We ended up moving to Paris for a few months, what I suppose could be called phase one. Phase one lasted from January to August 2009. Phase two was our first venture to the travel lifestyle. August to December we traveled south from Tanzania to South Africa, where we culminated our time doing a trip two-up on a '94 BMW. It was red, beautiful cherry red. December we returned to the states for some time with family over the holidays. We picked up some quick jobs, neither of which were particularly intense, rewarding or high-paying. April 2009 came and we flew to Mexico City, where we truly started travel. April to December, taking (mostly) buses and trains, covering who knows how many hours, hostels, restaurants, friends and random cohorts.

So, we now find ourselves in Buenos Aires, about to enter into a transition period with my parents. We're very excited about phase 4 of our trip, where we find an apartment in Mendoza and settle down for awhile. The transition from phase 3 has us spending some holiday time with my parents, which should be fantastic, we're really looking forward to it. The crazy thing about it is that we're trying to come to terms with the fact that we're moving on from the constant travel. No more of any of the crazy budget travel stuff we may do, but always reserve the right to deny: hoarding toilet paper; wrapping oil and vinegar in a russian doll of seven plastic bags to make sure you don't unpack a backpack to find your last pair of underwear soaked in olive oil; wondering how many times you can wear a pair of socks before they're actually too dirty to wear again; taking night buses because that way you don't have to pay for a nights accommodation; grabbing extra napkins to stash in your pocket for those bathroom emergencies that always seem to come at the worst time; wow, this list could really just go on forever, it seems. Imagine, a world where we have an apartment that includes such incredible amenities we've been lacking: hot water; towels; a kitchen without twelve israelis, dutch, aussies, argentines and token americans fighting for the one pot; a key to the door; a couch without lice; basically, in one word, privacy. I can't explain how wonderful it's been these last two days to simply sit in this apartment and do nothing. Absolutely nothing. Try it. Just sit somewhere, look at everything that is around you, think about how incredible it is to simply have these things. It's not as if these things define your life or make you more or less cool, but they're really nice to have and I'm ready to have some of these things.

Like a welcome mat. That may be the first purchase we make.