There is definitely a difference between backpacking from foreign place to foreign place and living in said foreign place. Playing with words, I don’t get to to do that much here since everything is in Spanish and I can’t create slang or switch up my vocabulary because it will be viewed as a grammatical mistake, rather than a new creation. The little things, you really start to notice them once they are taken away, but it’s worth it – if only to see what replaces them.

For instance, I now look forward to my hour walks home on Friday afternoons, the neverending hunt to find the best confeteria  (bakery), in the city, watching Ugly Betty every Sunday at 7, and trying to go out to coffee with a new person every week (I am doing pretty well so far on that front.)

During one of my Friday afternoon walks, I began to imagine my year if I had chosen to backpack. Technically, I would be seeing more of the world, and it would solve my biggest issue here- meeting people. No. It isn’t that I am shy or lack confidence. In fact almost every foreigner I have met, who is staying in Buenos Aires for more than three months, has had or is having the same issue.Throughout my time here, I have noticed that there is a definite difference between being friendly with someone and really, actually, being their friend. I assume that this will happen wherever I go. Think about it:

A foreigner leaves their home with nothing but a suitcase. They are going to volunteer. Everyone in the country is nice and they feel really good. Most likely this is a country where family is an integral part of life and citizens have to work more just to get by, thus the citizens have very little time and when they have it, it is spent with long established connections. The foreigner does not have a family and, we are assuming if they can just leave their home, does not have to work very much. Thus, they have a lot of time and usually end up passing time with other foreigners in the same situation.

That is very simplified version of a common cycle for a person who chooses to live in a country for a set amount of time. A cycle that is easy to notice and fall into and hard to break. I can tell you that I have one leg in and one leg out. I am doing the Hokey Pokey all the time. But, I am actively trying. I am in a poetry class, I am moving to a large shared house, I play percussion in the plaza on Saturday afternoons, and every other Thursday I help kids with their homework. Sure, I like doing all of this, but I am also just trying to meet people.

To those who are considering taking a gap year, I would keep these pros and cons in mind. Yes. It is harder to live in one place. But, if you do, you lay down roots that will last longer than travelling stories. You know the layout of the city and can give directions, You learn how to create a community with people from a completely different culture and realize it’s idiosyncrasies, You can say that you are going home at night rather than to another cot, and, the best part, you can have routines like walking home from work on Fridays.

You might also be interested in:

1. Gap year, part three: That full immersion thing
2. Mira’s Gap Year – the beginning
3. Mira’s gap year, part two: leaving is the hardest part?
4. What I wish someone had told me freshman year
5. Meet Monika – taking a gap year on the road less traveled