Doubts and fears


Girl Meets Argentina


I arrived in Buenos Aires feeling groggy, lost and sad. Counting the pre-departure and layover periods, I was traveling for about 20 hours. My first stop was in Houston. Being that I was still in the United States, I still felt like I was living a strange dream.

My next stop was Panama. The airport was small and easy to navigate (thank you Panama!). I was surrounded by a 50/50 ratio of Spanish and English there. It was nice and comfortable.

Then, I boarded the plane to Buenos Aires and bam! — I was immersed in a foreign world. I had a little chat in Spanish with a businessman in the terminal. I asked him if he knew who Manu Ginobili was, and he either completely ignored the question or had no idea what I was talking about.

The flight was filled with lively people speaking Spanish loudly. There was clapping and jesting. No longer could I count on people to understand English. I knew this was a good thing, but when you are tired and missing home, it’s nice to have someone to chat with. The flight was seven hours long, but it felt more like 70! It was worse than the 13-hour flight to Europe because it was freezing cold, the movies sucked and there was no legroom.

I don’t remember the last time I cried so much. Leaving my family, my boyfriend and my friends was a zillion times harder than I imagined it would be. Although I have always been very close with my parents, I am used to seeing them sporadically because that’s how it was in college. What’s been the most difficult has been anticipating being away from my boyfriend for a long period of time. He’s my best friend and the person who I want to share my experiences with.

I feel really conflicted. Is this something I really wanted, or was I just drawn to the idea of it?

Categories: Uncategorized
mysa admin

No Responses

  1. jezica says:

    mi amiga linda te deceo mucha suerte y muchas experiencias bonitas. te quiero muchisismo!!

  2. martha beth fleming says:

    Hi Ashley! Guess what? My God daughter…that would be you is famous!! You are in the newspaper, I am so excited for you~ I know that you will have many great experiences in Buenos Aires~

    Que Dios te bendiga…love and belief~

    Martha Beth Fleming

  3. Amy Fleming says:

    Hey Ashley!

    I am glad you made it safely!