El principio del fin

The beginning of the end. Yesterday I experienced that incredible rush of freedom as I turned in my last assignment for the semester and walked out of my last class with my head held high, knowing I’d survived my semester in Spanish. It was pretty comparable with the wave of relief that overcomes you when you turn in your last final at Georgetown and skip, hop and sing across the front lawn, anxious for everything that winter or summer break holds.

However, this time it’s a little different-you’re not coming back next semester.  ‘Have a good summer, see you next year!” is replaced by  “It’s been really great. I hope I’ll see you again?” It feels great to cap off the semester over some pieces of pizza and a beer for 9 pesos at the local parilla, but bittersweet when you walk out the front door and say “Hey, good luck in…life?”

Someday I’ll be back in Buenos Aires and I’ll be sure to see my host family and good friends that I’ve made here, but who knows when that will be, and if I’ll still be in contact with a lot of the friendly acquaintances I’ve made. It seems like the guy selling socks on the corner, tirelessly bellowing “¡Tres pares SEIS!“, will be there no matter what-but even that could change.

Perhaps you’re thinking  it’d be better to just title this post el fin, or the end. That will come soon enough, but we’re not quite there yet. Next Monday, I leave Buenos Aires for good-kicking off about a month of travel that will take me through Northern Argentina, Bolivia, Peru, and Mexico before I find myself strangled by hugs at Hopkins International Airport in Cleveland.

But until then, there’s still a week full of experiences to be had and goodbyes to be said in Buenos Aires, and a lot to recall from the semester that didn’t find its way into the blog before. I hope to go out here with a bang, seeing that I have to make up for the past few weeks of inactivity when studying tax theory for public finance became a big part of my life. Stay tuned!