Retrospect

Immediately upon returning to the United States, the main sentiment I felt while I waited out my layover in the Atlanta airport or drove around town my first few days back at home was how easy everything is in the United States.

In Atlanta Jackson Hartsfield Airport, I didn’t receive puzzled and annoyed looks when I asked personnel where the customs line was in broken grammar. Rather, I could ask in my native tongue and be perfectly understood. When the time to pick up breakfast rolled around, I didn’t have to settle for the only gluten-free option: a banana. Rather, I had dozens of options in the airport alone for gluten-free bagels and muffins. When I got thirsty, I didn’t have to pay for a bottle of water, but instead I filled up my water bottle with fresh, chilled water at multiple fountain stations.

After a couple days at home, the euphoria died down and I began looking for projects to keep myself busy. With my trip fresh in my mind, I wanted to make a scrapbook with all my printed pictures and ticket stubs. Unlike Argentina, when I went to an office supply store (by easily driving my mom’s car), all of the standardized three-hole-punched paper fit the standardized sheet protectors which fit the standardized three-ring binders. What a welcome change!

Despite the easiness-factor in my life sky-rocketing, I of course miss my life back in Argentina. I miss my host mom, Mónica, and my IES Abroad friends. I miss my daily walk to school and the same little girl I passed everyday at 9:08 walking with her dad and sipping orange juice from a juice box. I miss milanesa and ordering a Cuba Libre on a Wednesday night with friends. I miss Jade’s obsession with organization and planning and Natalie’s free spirit and subsequent sticky situations.

I miss the freedom of living on another continent and not having to worry about jobs or grades or the future, but rather focusing solely on getting by on a day-to-day basis in a completely different land.