Buenos Aires - Days 6 and 7

Yesterday was a good day. We worked a normal day since my flight wasn't until pretty late at night. It was cold and rainy so we didn't want to wander too far for lunch.  We did find this cool little hole-in-the-wall pub place that literally sat maybe 30 people. It was packed, but we managed to find a table.  The place had a limited menu and did a "plato del dia" - their daily special.  The special came with a drink of your choice and postre - dessert! So we ordered the special - carne con arroz. It was sort of like a beef stew over rice and it was so fantastic.  It was a perfect winter meal, and since it's winter right now in Buenos Aires, it fit that rainy day perfectly!  Dessert was a choice of several things - and I chose the flan.  It came with some sort of vanilla crema and dulce de leche.  It was really good!

We finally finished out our day and had a final glass of wine in the hotel bar while we waited for my driver to pick me up and take me to catch my flight home.  My driver was right on time at 7:30 and I bid my colleague goodbye and headed to the airport to start the long journey home. As we drove down Avenida 9 de Julio I felt a twinge of sadness as I watched the buildings and shops slip by. I love Buenos Aires and it's a little hard to leave it. As we drove out of the city, I turned around and looked behind me as the city grew smaller.  I was glad to be going home - I sure did miss my kiddo - but I am so thankful that I had the chance to go back to Argentina. I hope God sends me again for work one day. Or even if I get to go on vacation and take Isaiah!! Until then, I have pictures and memories (and an audit report to write).

Ezeiza airport is always a bit of a madhouse. I hung out in the Admiral's club til time to get my flight. I was barely able to stay away long enough to eat the dinner and watch a move. I finally drifted off into a light sleep while watching lightning flashing in the clouds as the plane flew by them. I wish I could say I slept well, but I'm just not sure if that is even possible on a plane. We landed in Miami at 6:30 this morning.

And then began the long trip to US Customs. To say it's a hike would be an understatement. It was a 30 minute hike, carrying my carry-on bags and my Duty Free bag that also involved a tram. I honestly think if we did the mileage it was probably 1.5 miles from the gate we landed at.  And of course, I'm dressed for winter because I had just left winter! I finally reached Customs and was drenched in sweat and even more exhausted.  And the lines were crazy long and they only had a very small number of agents working. Really?! Another 45 minutes later and I was through. Then I had to get my luggage and go through the next checkpoint (another .25 miles away), then put my luggage back through TSA, then I had to be rescreened. And the agents on duty this morning were beyond unamused to be there and were rude. Yuck. In the middle of all this I managed to get on my flipflops and ditch my sweatshirt. I consider that victory. After all the Customs stuff I had to hike BACK to the terminal.

Finally, at 8:30 I was at the Admirals Club. I must have looked like quite a sight. Sweaty, disheveled, generally gross, and so tired. Thankfully, they have showers. I think that might have been one of the top 10 showers I've ever taken. I felt so much better once I was washed and in clean summer clothes!! Then I hung out for the rest of my layover and hiked the last 15 minutes to the gate (it was in another area of the terminal all together).  Finally, I was on my final flight home. At about 12:30 I finally landed in Raleigh.

As I write this I'm finally back home, dressed in my jammies and completely exhausted.  I'm so happy to be home and so happy to be with my kiddo!! It was a great trip, a great adventure, and I'm glad I got to do it! Thanks for taking this journey with me!

Buenos Aires - Day 5

Tonight is my last full night in Buenos Aires. It's been a good trip. Lots of hard work, certainly, but good nonetheless.  It's been fun to get to know my colleagues better and spend time with them in person. We've eaten great food and had great wine. I have learned a couple things, though.

First, it's easier to travel alone in Argentina or to travel with another English-speaking person. I know that may seem a little weird, but when you travel with someone who speaks Spanish it can actually make things harder in some respects. First, no one will actually address you directly. Second, they give you stuff in English. Just because I'm not fluent in Spanish does not mean I want my menu in English, thanks. I can read Spanish fine and if it's food I'm certainly fluent. Also, when you're alone and you try to speak Spanish people will slow down and the conversation is much easier. When you're with someone who is fluent, they go full speed. I can still follow generally speaking, but it makes it a lot more challenging. And, if people get going in Spanish at full speed (like in a group), then you are totally left in the dust. Oh, and if you're slow to respond because you have to formulate the response in Spanish, then the other person often speaks for you. I may not be able to speak it fast, but I would like to do the best I can and attempt a response, even if it's a little wrong and let the person correct me (or laugh at me). It's the only way to learn a language. My colleague means well and is trying to be helpful, but I'd really rather be able to try. 

Second, staying in the middle of the herd is important when crossing the street during rush hour. There really is safety in numbers. If you're at the back of the herd when the light is thinking about changing (like you can see the yellow going in the other direction as the signal changes), the cars and buses (especially the buses and taxis) just start going and you have to really hustle or be squished. When you're in the middle of a herd, the bus/taxi is less likely to start going when the light is still red (though some will start moving anyway).  In the front of the herd you run the risk of getting taken out by the bus or taxi that ran the light because they were going too fast to slow down and stop. Tonight two buses, a motorcyle, and two taxis ran the light at the street I was crossing. The front of the herd people had to jump back on the sidewalk. I, having learned to be a middle of the herd person, was still safely standing back.

Dinner tonight was the best yet. We went to a place called Juana M. It is in my favorite part of the city, closer to Recoleta and on Avenida de 9 Julio.  If we hadn't been given directions we would never have found this place.  It's literally in the basement of this beautiful old building. To see it, you would think it was an art gallery. And it is an art gallery of sorts. It has all these paintings by different artists all over the restaurant. When we got there (early by Argentinean standards - 8PM) the restaurant was practically empty. The owner greeted us - and shockingly addressed ME in Spanish. I anwered her (woot!) though my colleague did step a couple times. It was funny though, she addressed me the entire time. Not gonna lie, I liked that. She knew I was American and she spoke more slowly and asked a few times if I understood her. I did (YAY!) and it was awesome. She asked me where I was from, why I was in Buenos Aires, etc.  She was genuinely interested. And she had the kindest face - she was like a restaurant mom if there is such a thing (well, if restaurant moms are incredibly hip, well dressed, cosmopolitan Argentineans). She also gave me a Spanish menu and didn't even ask if she should bring an English one!

Anyway, back to the food. I wanted to close my trip with my favorite dinner, Argentinean parilla.  Parilla is the grilled meat and they had an entire page of different cuts of meat and various sausages. As much as I love bife de lomo (which is tenderloin), my heart is with bife de chorizo (sirloin). I just like it. So I got bife de chorizo. All meats came with the salad bar. And what a salad bar it was. It had some composed salads, various greens, and all manner of vegetables - roasted beets, roasted eggplant, caramelized onions, roasted mushrooms, carrots, pickled onions, red cabbage, boiled eggs, tomatoes (what is an Argentinean salad without tomatoes?!), two types of roasted potatoes, fresh mozzarella, and too many other ingredients to name. And the salad dressing section consisted of three vinegars and a bottle of olive oil. Perfecto.

And there was the chimichurri and the criollo (both pictured below with 1/3 of my enormous steak). Oh, so good. Best yet in Buenos Aires. I love a good chimichurri!!!

We had a fabulous Malbec to go with dinner. It was much stronger than the Malbec Monday night, but very good. It went perfectly with the bife de chorizo (Monday I had bife de lomo and a lighter Malbec was better). And for dessert we had what I am sure is a sin that I need to repent of - panqueque de dulce de leche. Think crepe filled with caramel (pictured below). Oh. My. God. My colleaguge and I split it (I mean we'd already eaten a field of veggies and half a steer) - and it was pefecto. It was the perfect meal to end my nights in Argentina. The restaurant was a hike from the hotel (I think about 1.5 miles), but so worth it.

Tonight as we walked back and I enjoyed watching the cars and buses speed down Avenida de 9 Julio, and enjoyed the stately old buildings that line that avenue. The air was cooler (though the humidity is a beast here at the moment), and the night was busy, but more subdued than the day. My colleague and I talked about all kinds of things and it was a great walk back.

I'm glad to be going home - I miss my kiddo! But I am so glad that I got to come back to Buenos Aires. It still remains my favorite city. I'm thankful I got to spend another week here. Tomorrow will be a full day of work followed by a little shopping before my remise picks me up and I head to the airport for my flight home.

Buenos Aires - Day 4

Have you ever been a missionary? Have you ever been to a missionary's house/compound/facility in a country outside the US, say in South America? I haven't been a missionary, but I've been to a missionary compound two hours outside of Buenos Aires, in San Miguel del Monte. It was awesome from a people perspective, but there was no running water (you flushed the toilet with a bucket of water) and they used the "swipe and drop" toilet paper disposal method (versus the common US method of "swipe and flush").  It's simple really, the septic can't handle toilet paper. I understood that and I happily adhered to that process.

Why am I bringing this up? Because today I finally translated a sign in the ladies room of our Buenos Aires office. This is a "swipe and drop" location. Oh dear. I never expected that to be a possibility in the city, yet it is an old building and who knows when the plumbing was installed. And for three days I have not properly adhered to the appropriate procedure. I'm truly sure that it would take a lot more toilet paper to cause real damage and a backup, but who knows who else can't read that sign? I'm glad that God, in His infinite mercy, did not let anything horrible happen! How would you like explaining that the American gal who talks really fast couldn't read the sign in Spanish and flushed her TP? Dear God. No way. I have to work with these people!

We also had a blackout today. Apparently the power company lost it's ability to maintain power to the facility. This stuff happens occasionally here and the staff kept on working for awhile.  We were then informed that we should leave because the toilets would no longer flush and the network was down. Oh, dang. Ultimately, after about an hour in the dark (and thankfully no need to use the facilities) the power came back on (apparently nearly an act of God because they told the staff that it wouldn't be back today). I'm just glad we weren't in the elevators or something when it went out (we're on the 9th floor of the building). YIKES that would have been no fun!!!

We did have ceviche mixto for lunch today... I've included a picture (albeit not a good one thanks to taking it on my crappy work Blackberry). It was so, so good...

Tonight we finally made it down to Puerto Madero. It's so beautiful down there. There is the little river/port thingy and loads of restaurants.  It was fantastico. It looks just like I remembered it. It's one of my favorite places - very peaceful with the water and this cool bridge and such.  We walked down the riverfront and then picked a nice Italian restaurant for dinner.  One of the things I love most about Argentina is that nothing is processed when it comes to meals. Nothing. Tonight I started with ensalada mixta (mixed salad) that they prepared at the table. Salads are dressed very simply here - just olive oil, vinegar, and salt. That's it. And they are so good. Then I had hand-made fetuccini arrabiata - a spicy tomato sauce they made with fresh tomatoes, garlic, peppers, and bacon. It was simple and really fantastic.  My colleague had grilled fish and roasted veggies. again, simple and fantastico. 

Another thing I like about Buenos Aires is the walking. We walk to work - about 1/2 mile both ways. We walk to breakfast. We walk to dinner. Today I think we walked a total of about 3 miles. That's been about the average every day I've been here. Everything is within walking distance for the most part. We were very fortunate tonight, though. While we were eating dinner there was this little rain shower... Did we have umbrellas? No, of course not! Thankfully, God is merciful and it was a dry (but humid) walk back to the hotel. 

Day 4 officially at an end. And I'm going to bed.

Buenos Aires - Day 3

Day three complete. Work was work like and very long. We opted not to eat in the hotel because it costs a zillion dollars. We checked some cafes on the way, but the choices were croissants and more pastries.  I can't really do that and not have a nice sugar crash, so I figured I could probably live til like 1 when we could eat lunch.  God is merciful and someone had brought in three crates of fruit to the office so breakfast was an apple, banana, and coffee. Perfecto.

It is so incredibly hot in the buildings here. It's like 60 degrees outside and like 80 inside. After working in a sauna all day and then hiking back to the hotel I was so close to taking a cold shower. I don't understand the internal temperature here. The last time I was here it was summer and I don't recall such a strong temperature disparity. Inside it was comfortable. Outside it was summer. No problem.  And when I get hot it's so completely obvious. My face is bright red. I'm surprised my colleague didn't ask me if I was going to pass out or something. I wasn't (of course) I was just hot. Sigh. Temperature regulation has proven to be challenging here this time. 

After work we set out to find dinner. We eneded up at a Japanese restaurant. I know, Japanese is not what I think when I think "good food in Argentina" but it makes perfect sense.  They're by water. It's a very cosmopolitan city. And man did we get good food. The restaurant was distinctly Japanese, but with a Peruvian undertone. Our appetizer was ceviche mixto and it was INCREDIBLE. I wished I'd ordered two and just eaten that for dinner. Wow. It wasn't as good as my friend Eddie's but it was really respectable. The only problem was that it didn't have the Peruvian popcorn. It was similar, but not the same. I was surprised they didn't have the real deal - Peru is in South America. But it was still good and nice and spicy!

My colleague and I split nigiri sushi and a Peruvian roll (it was a bunch of different ceviche ingredients in a sushi roll and really unique and good).  I ate fish I couldn't readily identify, and they were all good (two were whitefish and still had the skin on - but not in a creepy way). Very fresh, not at all fishy, and very well prepared.  Tonight we drank white wine - a Sauvignon Blanc mixed with some other white French grape (my French colleague picked it). It was the perfect match. Very dry and crisp and ice cold.

With lunch at 1 and dinner at 9, I was super hungry.  I should have thought that through a bit.  The wine was really easy to drink and I didn't catch that the waiter was topping off my glass. I think I drank about 2.5 glasses tonight. Oops. By the end of dinner I was sorta dizzy, and talking too fast. Oh my. So my coworker probably got a good laugh out of me near the end. He's a nice guy and I've had fun learning about him and his wife. He's been to 80 countries and he has loads of stories about them all. He's great to talk to, though tonight I think I did more talking than was necessary. LOL. Oh, well. I'm sure he'll tease me tomorrow. One super cool thing - the restaurant will deliver to the office.  That means ceviche for lunch! Yay!!

Day three done, day four tomorrow. For now, I think I better sleep because things are still a little bit fuzzy. Tomorrow night I'll pay attention to whether or not someone is refilling my glass when I'm not looking.

Buenos Aires - Day 2

Day two is officially in the books. Today was mostly a workday. I met my teammate who is auditing with me for the first time face-to-face this morning. It was cool to see him somewhere other than a videoconference screen. We walked to the office, which is literally down the hill from the hotel (about 1/4 mile). Nice and short commute. I love that you can walk everywhere here. In fact, that's my favorite thing about auditing in any large city - no car. You either take public transportation or walk. I prefer the ones where walking is possible.

It's technically winter here. Except winter looks a lot like 55-60 degrees during the day. You would think those are arctic temperatures - most Argentinian people are wearing coats, hats, scarves, and boots. And the heat inside the buildings must be set at 80. I seriously have been practically melting any time I'm indoors. The office today was no exception. I know I look strange to the natives, but I was so happy to go outside and cool off after work I didn't bother to put on my jacket.

I've encountered the same heat in my hotel room. In an effort to try not to melt while sleeping, I set the thermostat to cool. Instead it got hotter. I thought I must be crazy. So I tried to set it as cold as it would go. And still, it was like a furnace. Finally, I decided to call the front desk and ask for help. As it turns out, that is the heating system and although it says "cool" it is actually a cooler version of heat. So now it's just off and it's magically cooler (though still not comfortable). I'm sure I'll survive, but I am so glad I get to walk outside where it is nice and cool.

After work my colleague walked around and I hung out in the hotel and called my kiddo. Then I went to the bar and hung out and had a Diet Coke, or Coca Light. I don't like soda for the most part, though I will down a Diet Cherry Limeade from Sonic at any chance I get. Here, though, there is something different about the Coca Light compared to the US. It's fizzier, less sweet, and just good. I can't drink many of them (because of the caffeine), particularly if I've spent the day drinking coffee (and I have - cafe con leche is a gift from Jesus, in my opinion), but I had to have one today.  Oh, it was so good.

It is so hard to wait til 9PM for dinner. At 9PM all I wanted to do was sleep, but instead my colleague and I went out in search of food. Since he speaks Spanish, French, and English and likes good food and good wine, he found a great little restaurant for us. We split empanadas (one beef, one cheese, and one corn - cheese was my favorite) with a spicy sauce. I had a filet with grilled veggies. It was so good. I almost never eat beef in the US, but the beef here is so good I can't help but eat it. And they really know how to cook it. I got a perfectly cooked medium rare steak atop a mountain of veggies. Yum! For dessert we split some chocolate cake that was good, not too sweet but all chocolatey.

And of course, there was wine for dinner. A lovely Malbec. As is normal, two people split a bottle. I have no clue how much I drank, to be honest, but I think it was probably two full glasses (you pour half a glass to start, then just pour more periodically).  My colleague was in charge of the wine pouring and he topped me off at least three times. I finally just stopped drinking so he'd stop topping me off!

We had great conversation over dinner and I got to know him better. He's really nice and we had great, spirited conversation on lots of things.  I got to learn more about French and Spanish (like from Spain) culture since he is French and lives in Spain.  It was loads of fun and, as is typical in Latin America, dinner lasted two full hours. I've also noticed (and something I forget when in the States), when you take dinner slow and it's more of a social event you eat far less. And you enjoy it far more. I need to remember that I know that when I come home and adjust my life a bit in that department.

It was a hard workday (as they all are when you audit), but it was good. I look forward to meeting more of my company's people tomorrow and continuing to work with my coworker. We've decided that we're going to look for a coffee shop in the morning to have good coffee and fruit. He's my kind of guy! For now, the wine is counteracting the caffeine and I'm headed to bed.

Buenos Aires - Day 0 and Day 1

I'm sure you're thinking, "How can she have a Day 0?" (And if you weren't, you are now.) Well, you see, it takes half of forever to get to Buenos Aires from North Carolina.  So, Saturday would be Day 0 (the day I started the trek to Argentina) and Day 1 is Sunday (when I finally arrived). 

Half the fun of any trip is getting there. At least that's what I tell myself. Some of my more exciting moments I've had come during travel. This trip, of course, is no exception. For the first time ever I was booked in business class. For those who know, yes, I've flown first class before but only because I was upgraded or flying standby. This was an actual business class reservation. It cost an arm and three legs, but my company's policy is if the in-air travel is greater than nine hours (and this is) business class is acceptable. And I found out a really neat thing... Business class reservations on American Airlines come with admittance to the Admirals Club. This was truly excellent news because I had a five hour layover in Miami and had been trying to figure out what to do with myself. Problem solved. Muy excelente.

So this journey started in the Admirals Club in RDU. With complimentary adult beverages. Except I can't drink alcohol and fly. No matter. It was still cool to know I could if I wanted to. Sitting up there, watching planes taxi by, playing with my iPhone on the free wifi, and sipping water was a pretty relaxing way to spend my 45 minute flight delay.

When we finally boarded the flight I promptly fell asleep (my favorite way to pass the time while flying). Upon arrival in Miami, I hit up the Admirals Club. For all the serenity of RDU's club, Miami is like one big party. It's packed with people and conversation. And there are all manner of languages being spoken. The most common language was Spanish.  I found this handy since my next stop was a Spanish-speaking country. I met a nice guy at the bar who tried to buy me drinks (and his response to my assertion that I do not drink and fly was, "Well, you should start!"). We talked for awhile. He was a businessman on his way to Sao Paulo. Then I read for a bit before heading down to the gate for my flight.

Okay, I was unprepared for the awesomeness of business compared to flying coach. First, you get presents - notably a toiletries kit and a bottle of water. You get that kind of stuff in first, too, but having never flown business I didn't know what to expect (other than a bigger seat that lays flat). I was most excited about the bottled water. Not kidding. For those who know, mission number one when I travel is make sure I have water with me at all times.

They also give you real food. I generally don't eat and fly, but there is no way I could do that with such a long trip and not make myself sick. So I prayed God would be merciful and let me be able to eat. He was. Overnight I tried my best to sleep, which is nearly impossible to do well on a plane, but I had plenty of television and movie choices or I could watch the plane's flight path. I tried to watch 21 Jump Street, but there was way too much profanity so I opted for watching the plane's path while listening to my iPod when I wasn't otherwise sleeping. 

The flight was uneventful, which is my favorite way to have a flight. We left Miami at 8:30PM and arrived in Buenos Aires at 6:00AM. This is when I became most thankful that I can speak some Spanish. I'm not fluent (yet), but I can communicate. And I forgot how desperately needed that would be in Buenos Aires. Also, though a lot has changed here, I still basically know how to get through the airport which also came in handy. I breezed right through security and customs, got my passport stamped and headed out to find my driver.

My company arranged for a car for me (called a remise), which is something I was told the first time I came years ago should always be the process. I found my remise driver as soon as I stepped out of security and we headed off. And as we walked to his car I discovered - my remise driver spoke no English. Well, okay then. It is a lot harder to try to converse in Spanish when you're tired and your ears haven't popped yet. I managed decently well and he told me different things about the city. As we came into downtown Buenos Aires we turned onto the main avenue. And it looked just like I remembered it. It was a thrill to see the sun rising over the buildings, some of which are hundreds of years old.

After getting settled into my hotel room, I went to find coffee. I found it in the hotel restaurant. I hit up the breakfast buffet, and was happy to see prosciutto and cheese. Seriously Americans, why do we not eat that stuff for breakfast? That's the sort of breakfast I've seen (with regional variations of course) in every non-US city I've ever been to. A cured/smoked meat and cheese with good bread (and real butter) is one of the best things on earth. I enjoyed my coffee and communicated entirely in Spanish (much easier after the coffee).

Then I took a shower and decided to explore the city. The gracious concierge gave me some suggestions and a map and I headed out. I decided to go see the government buildings in Plaza de Mayo. I spent most of my time in la Recoleta (opposite end of the city) the last time I was here so I figured I would go the other way.  I wandered along, checking out various shops along the way. I finally made it to the government buildings (they're about 2 miles from where I'm staying).  I took pictures and then started to head back.

Except, I got turned around. I can get lost in my own city and I always get lost when I travel. I try not to, but it happens. EVERY TIME. Well then, I suppose it was God's way of helping me get that out of the way. I walked along for a long time before I realized nothing lookind familiar. Whoops. So I started trying to figure out where I was and how to get back to where I wanted to be.  I did what I always do in these situtations - head up and look like I know where I'm going. There were not a lot of people (though there were some) because I wasn't on a main street.  It was about lunch time so I figured I'd duck into a cafe and look at my map and figure out where I was. Thankfully, I found cafe that was on the corner of that main avenue. I knew I'd be able to find my way back then. Yay! So I stopped for lunch...

Now is a great time to note that I was no longer in the touristy section. Translate that to NO ONE SPEAKS ENGLISH.  So I figured, "Well, I want to be fluent, I'll go for it and apologize a lot." It made lunch there interesting. I managed to order with no problem, but when my waiter tried to have pleasant conversation with me it wasn't so easy. I did okay (and got laughed at a lot), but we managed to make it work. I also managed to ask (and understand) directions back to my hotel. So, another 2.5 miles later I made it back to my hotel. Yay! Then I took a 3-hour nap.

Dinner here is late. Very, very late. Like 9PM late. My American self prefers dinner at like 6. But you conform to the culture you're in so I hung out at the bar, drank wine and talked to the waiter. He was so nice. I told him I needed to practice my Spanish so he helped me work on it a bit. Then I found a place for dinner. Did I go touristy? Nope. I went local. And of course, was the only American in the place. But I managed to communicate okay and had a great dinner.

So, to cap Days 0 and 1 - I have missed this place. I love it here. I love the pace, the culture, and the food.  I missed the fact that everyone will talk to you and if you try to speak Spanish they appreciate it. I missed the ensalad mixta, the bife de chorizo, chimichurri, and the coffee. And really, the best thing about the culture is the pace. Everything is just a little bit slower here and I really have enjoyed that today.

Tomorrow is work, and who knows what after. I'll have a co-worker with me, so I can be more adventurous and he likes good food so I'm sure we'll end up in good places!

Tales from the Road - Buenos Aires Edition (Introduction)

Tonight I'm blogging from a hotel room in Buenos Aires Argentina. It's been a very long time since I've done a Tales from the Road blogpost. Instead of doing it in Facebook, which is what I've done before, I'm moving it to a stand-alone blog.  Much easier to format and much easier to direct interested readers to it.

Okay, so I have to admit I haven't blogged a trip in awhile because I've been just flat-out too exhausted from life to even consider my travels an adventure. Instead that which my friends might think is cool has been Facebook status updates. This trip is different, though.  One thing that I've done is restore a bit of margin to my life - which is a fancy way to say learning how to say no and not cram every waking moment with an activity. The second thing I've done is remembered that my trips should be considered great adventure. I was sitting in an airport for what was probably the zillionth time (okay, that's an exaggeration, but I have totally lost count of how many times I've been sitting in an airport), enjoying a sweet experience God gave to me while worrying abou the trip. Raleigh to Buenos Aires isn't exactly a hop, skip, and a jump. It's a 17-hour travel day and it's physically and mentally taxing.  I don't like to leave my son.  I also don't like to fly, so the prospect of 12 hours in a plane for work (plus the 5-hour layover in another airport) wasn't exactly looking like an awesome way to spend my Saturday.

All of a sudden I really felt convicted. I had lost my sense of adventure. There are people in the world who will never see the things I've seen, travel to the countries I've been to, or experience many different cultures - all while getting paid by my job to do it. Yes, I work incredibly hard when I travel. The normal day-time duties don't cease because I'm on the road plus I get the extra added work of whatever audit I'm performing.  But I have always been able to see the city in which I'm staying and have been able to see and do things most people dream about. So, as I was sitting there I repented and began to see this trip as the great adventure that God is giving me this week. Not only do I get to go to my favorite city in the world, but I get to spend time with co-workers I've only ever spoken to on the phone or seen via videoconference. The coolest part of that? I get to know them better and I get to love them with the love of Jesus.

So, sit back, relax and get ready to read some tales from the road... Buenos Aires Edition!

And please forgive any misspellings... Because I'm in Argentina the spell check is only Spanish...