Creeping Clocks

The point has come in the trip where my group has broken out the bucket list as our individual countdowns commence and time ticks. I'm hearing the end tick nearer each day, still a daze, yet dangerously close.. as if I were a ship captain on high alert for a large crocodile in Neverland (which just so happens to perfectly explain Buenos Aires and its seemingly infinite city borders).

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...

We've started muttering the dreaded 'final' before certain activities. I'll know the trip is legitimately getting eaten up when I insert 'final' before daily scheduled events and habits.

Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock...

But such is life. There are some anticipated finals and some that can't be planned in advance. So, in appreciation of our awareness of the end in this case, we've been making lists, checking them twice, finding out which activities are worthy and nice.

Anna's 'Final' BA List: (in ascending order of importance)

1. Final colectivo ride... my friend and enemy through it all. With ample preparation, colectivos transported me cheaply, quickly and with a story to tell the majority of the time (more to come later).

2. Final shopping ventures, for selfish and gracious reasons... I've done well collecting appropriate souvenirs for those back home (I'll keep it ambiguous) over time and markets, yet still have those few left who prove tough to buy for because I'm too much a perfectionist. As for me, I'm looking to return with a leather sling bag or jacket, several bottles of wine, and of course, unbeatable additions to my wardrobe.

Sanjuanino's empanadas! 

3. Final medialuna, empanada, steak, glass of wine... It'll be hard to part with these now integral parts to my diet. Okay, maybe not the steak so much, but better believe those fluffy pastries and stuffed bites have been the focal point of my cravings by now.

4. Final workday at Avant-Garde... despite the 3 hours of commuting I do each day to reach the office, I've fallen in love with my internship there. Not only have I been assigned creative and meaningful projects, but I've also had the honor of working alongside friendly and hilarious Argentines. The open environment full of conversation, laughs, burning incense and Martín's DJ jams will be sorely missed.

Hold on just one second... (disclaimer:
I am wearing rolled up shorts, not a diaper.)

5. Final ultimate game with Sapukay... as I blogged before, Sapukay is my Argentine family here. Granted I only see them on the weekends, I feel most comfortable spending time on and off the field with them. That last game isn't just going to kick my ass (since work has left me with less time to keep that bodybuilding form of mine), but slap me with the harsh reality... I'm leaving Buenos Aires without guarantee of return, and definitely never in this same situation.

MU J-School in Buenos Aires 2011

6. Final goodbyes to friends, teammates, doormen, colleagues, bosses, professors... this process of salutations includes the aforementioned Avant-Garde-ians and Sapukeños, but also: Carolina (my program's director and class professor), my apartment's numerous doormen who wish me a "Buen día! Ah, que linda!", and Alejandro (the professor who helped us first transition into Buenos Aires and learn its own language that some call Spanish). Each individual has painted my trip with a different color and made it as unique an experience as it has been.

7. Final time together as an 'equipo' in Buenos Aires... these are the last weeks, days, moments before returning to Columbia and loosening the strings that wove us so tightly here. It'll be an unraveling of sorts, soon to create something new, but just as special whether solely based on shared history or given room to weave more intricate connections.