To the Left, To the Left

It was a good weekend here in South America. Very sunny, very mellow. My friend Marcella is now here in BA, which has been much fun. The first time I visited Argentina last fall, I went with Barb, Marcella and our friend Lorie. Now, three of the four of us have quit our jobs as lawyers and are spending some time traveling. Barb was first, then me, then Marcella. (We're anxiously waiting for Lorie to quit, but I think that fact that she's getting married next weekend might throw a wrench in that plan.) Anyway, so we're all here in Argentina for the moment, and it looks like we're all going to Asia next month together, too. I'm very excited.

We spent Friday night out celebrating Marcella's return to BA -- and well, celebrating life in general. It made it very tough for me to get up at the crack of dawn on Saturday to go to Uruguay, but I played through. I took a rapid ferry from Buenos Aires to Colonia, Uruguay -- it's another of those UNESCO World Heritage sites, and apparently one of the 1000 places to see before you die. So, I only have 999 left. (1000 seem like a lot of places, no? I mean, it's not very selective. I can't even think of a 1000 places total in the world, let alone 1000 places that I think I need to see before I die. I think they need to do a little editing of that list.)

So, Colonia was cute. It's a coastal town in Uruguay established in the 16th Century, I think. Lots of cobblestone streets and old buildings. I went to Colonia with Marcella's friend Ashley, and we wandered around the streets and ate lunch on the water, watching the sailboats go by. It was fantastic, but it did make me miss summers in Maryland spent hanging out on the water.

Tomorrow is my last day in Buenos Aires before I leave for Patagonia. I'm planning on taking care of some last minute errands and shopping, and hanging out with Barb and Missy. I can't believe a month has gone by so quickly. I also can't believe that we have only known Missy for a couple of weeks. In my old life, knowing someone two weeks meant that you probably had dinner once or something. But here, Barb, Missy and I have been running around the last two weeks as if we have all been friends for years -- sipping fancy cocktails in the afternoon, singing Beyonce's Irreplaceable, scouting out high priced hookers in hotel bars over sterling silver bowls of pringles, and generally having a great time. I think it's a completely different timetable when your life centers around leisure. And, I also think that traveling makes you more open to meeting people in a way that I had neither the time nor the energy for when I was in NY.

In some ways, my trip reminds me of being in college, when your whole life was basically about new adventures and new people. There was a certain feeling when you were younger that anything could happen, and your whole life could change completely in a moment. As I grew older and more jaded, I lost that feeling of hope and promise and excitement. I'm glad to have it back, even if it turns out to be only for a few months.