Living abroad is now a dream realized for Dusty and I. And as you know, when you move forward in something having an idea of how it will be, its always turns out just as it was in your mind. Feel free to pause for a moment and laugh. Anyway, you arrive in your exotic place with the palm trees swaying, beautiful beaches not an hour away, new food to discover that is amazing in a way your taste buds have never experienced, people that want to be your friend immediately, and a city full of the things you need just a google search away. So unfortunately, when you wake up from you dream, you must get up, get ready, go to work, and live in reality. Let me share a little of our reality.
Upon arriving in Santiago, Chile, we had a shock to our system. The city was not very polished, and we were already feeling the effects of not living the way Americans do. However, we were excited to be living our dream, so we embraced the city and did end up really enjoying visiting the palace, taking in some beautiful views on a hiking trip on the edge of the city, and getting familiar with a new culture. By the end of 10 days in Santiago, we were ready to go on to Buenos Aires and leave the smog behind. We had been told by so many locals that it was such a beautiful city and we would love it.
On the 27th of September, we arrived in Buenos Aires. The neighborhood we chose to stay in is called Palermo. I did immediately fall in love with the trees that lined the streets on both sides, trying out my Spanish on the locals, the fresh fruit stands, and the weather. The city wasn’t as grand as I had imagined but it was nicer than Santiago and the uniqueness made it charming.
We spent the first couple weeks doing a lot of research and errands. Trying to figure out if we needed visas, how to exchange money (we have to only use cash here), where to take Spanish classes, the process of how ship and receive internationally, how to get Ry into school, and where to find a temporary apartment since we were staying in an Airbnb. Being an immigrant is hard. When you don’t have their version of a social security number (DNI), there are a lot of obstacles in living here. All the things I just mentioned, I plan on doing an individual post on each of them. There is THAT much to discuss about each one.
Once we got our immediate needs in order, I got to do some Spanish Classes in the morning while Dusty was Mr. Mom. What a change for a farmer! It was nice to go early, get coffee, and go to class. I haven’t taken any sort of class in over ten years. Once we got Ry into preschool, Dusty and I took classes together. We had to bring Clay along and he sat with the office people and did homework and watched shows.
So, reality so far is we still have responsibilities while we live our dream. Now that we are settled, we are excited to do more exploring and hopefully do some weekend trips and go outside the city of Buenos Aires!