My wife and I are flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina, this afternoon. I’ll work there with our Tangilla software and support engineering teams until February 11. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a while, and I hope it will be the first of many like it.
The trip has many goals, including further testing the waters of “working from anywhere.” It’s not a vacation, though there will likely be many moments when it feels that way every day. Being in a new place has that effect. Of course, I want to bond with our team and make it a productive experience for everyone. I also want my wife to enjoy her time there as much as I know I will. Her experience will be different from mine. She has no network of friends in Buenos Aires.
What I don’t want is to feel comfortable. Or maybe it’s more accurate to say I don’t want to seek familiar experiences. I don’t want to surround myself with snippets of life that feel like home, just in a different place. And I have a bit of a strategy.
My Uncomfortable Strategy
Try to live like a local.
I probably could have started by picking a less trendy neighborhood. We’re staying in an apartment in Palermo, Hollywood, so it may not be the most “authentic” Buenos Aires experience. A less touristy area may have helped with this plan. Baby steps.
Taking local transportation whenever possible will help with this particular quest. If we try to avoid the urge to hail an Uber, we will be forced to read signs and ask locals for directions. This leads me to strategy number two.
Force myself to speak Spanish
as much as possible.
If I start every conversation with, “¿hablas inglés?” instead of struggling to find the words, that would be the definition of seeking the familiar. My Spanish vocabulary is not stellar. I pick up a lot from context clues, but getting the right words out of my head is hard.
One way to fix that is to cozy up to the struggle. I need to be ok with feeling like an outsider, struggling to find the words, turning to Google Translate if I have to. Whatever it takes. Just don’t give in to the temptation to bail out. It won’t be easy at work, but if I desire to live like a local when I’m out and about, Spanish has to carry the day.
Say yes to invitations.
(And hope to get them.)
We will accept invitations to events and parties, even if they feel intimidating—a family dinner, a casual meet-up… anything. If we end up standing in a corner wondering what everyone around us is talking about, that’s what uncomfortable feels like. That’s the goal.
Seek out unfamiliar activities.
Maybe we’ll take a Tango lesson or go visit a local dance hall to experience the passion of Argentina’s national dance firsthand. Perhaps we’ll take a cooking class and learn to make empanadas or asado. I don’t know. I know there are things we’ll only be able to do in Buenos Aires, and we need to seek them out. They won’t come seeking us.
Also, try to find a few local parillas that don’t typically cater to tourists. However, I will try to get a reservation at Parilla Don Julio. Seriously, it’s ranked the #1 steak restaurant in the world. But back to local parrillas, finding them will not only force more Spanish but also force us to venture into other parts of the city. This leads to the next strategy…
Wander around Buenos Aires.
Thankfully, we’re good at this one. We’ll dedicate some time to exploring the city without a plan. We’ll wander around the streets and discover whatever hidden gems present themselves. I’m not sure there is a better way to experience a place. Or to experience life, for that matter.
“Not all who wander are lost,” is one of my favorite quotes. Tolkien certainly has a way with words. But it’s clear from the rest of the context of that poem that the wandering has to have a purpose. It will.
Avoid familiar habits.
I think this first part will be the simplest. I have no desire to frequent restaurants catering to expats or coffee chains with familiar names. I want the corner bakery and the local coffee shops.
Avoiding familiar habits also means limiting familiar entertainment, like Netflix. This one will be harder but doable. We must opt for local media, again forcing ourselves to hear the Spanish language and struggle a bit. We should also find some Argentinian films to watch.
Reflect on the discomfort.
In keeping with my recent theme of new habits, I’ve started journaling since the beginning of the year. I plan to continue this daily habit and keep a journal to document moments of discomfort and growth. I want to reflect on what makes me uneasy, what I struggle with, what is getting easier as the days pass, and what I learn from each day’s experiences.
I am very much looking forward to feeling uncomfortable. And to the growth.
Here’s to continued growth in 2025!
The challenging part is staying with your course during the frustrating period of sucking at what you’re attempting to do. Neuroplasticity requires time and repetitive practice. Remember to honor the process.
Day 1 was rough. 🙂 I won’t be giving up.
Bill, each day has actually gotten easier, not harder. I’m sure there is some brain science behind that. Last night the waiters spoke nothing but Spanish to me, and I spoke nothing but Spanish to him. And while I couldn’t always pull the words out of my own head, there was nothing I didn’t understand from them. The business side of the equation is a different story. I have to hold all of the technical conversations with the team in English, so the rest of the conversation just ends up flowing in English as well. But I’m surrounded by the fast-spoken Argentinian Spanish language and it’s exactly what I hoped for.
Awesome Jeff. I took my family down to BsAs for 1 year… best experience ever. You’ll have an amazing time.
Jessie, I remember hearing you tell that story once, I believe. Likely on a hike. 🙂 Our first night in BsAs was perfect. Had some amazing pizza at Siamo Ne Forno. And wandered the streets a bit. Now working from our co-working space here and loving it!