U.S.: Resettlement Reviewed

Somehow, nearly three years have gone by since we moved to the U.S. from Argentina. In that time, we have procured a house to live in, two vehicles to drive, health insurance, sources of income that generally align with our academic backgrounds and personal interests, and a Costco membership. We have reunited with family and old friends while also fostering new connections. The kitty we brought with us from Argentina and the kitty I adopted from the local humane society prior to grad school have become best buds (okay, not really, but there are occasional signs that show they enjoy each other's companionship).

Moving to a new place--even if it's a place one has lived before and is generally familiar with--involves a whole new renegotiation of one's identity and how it aligns with the people and places within it in their current form. This starting of a "new" life for us has been like riding a roller coaster that has taken us on a journey over peaks of celebration, joy, wonder, and discovery while also crossing through valleys of frustration, disappointment, grief, and loneliness. Our feelings have been real and our feelings have been big, but this is not to be mistaken as a cry for pity. We are grateful for this life we have worked to build together despite all the challenges we have faced.

With so many adjustments occurring in these past years, my blog has been left neglected. This post is my mediocre attempt to recap some of what has transpired since November 2021. I so enjoyed reading The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green recently (by recently I mean in the past year) that I've decided to write my own reviews as a means of reflection. Scores are awarded out of a total of 5 stars.

Passport Renewal

Moving to the U.S. on a spouse visa involves receiving permanent residency and a green card while maintaining one's citizenship from their home country. The opportunity to become a U.S. citizen (and therefore obtain a U.S. passport) only comes three years later. So, since Emi's Argentinian passport was set to expire within a year after our move to the U.S., we had to go through the process of renewing it after arriving. We drove from Minnesota to the Consulate of Argentina in Chicago to submit the renewal paperwork in person as there was no option to send it by mail. The renewal fee was something like USD $150-200, a hard reality to face knowing the same renewal process costs the equivalent of like USD $10 when completing it in Argentina. Once the consulate received the application and passport that was set to expire, they mailed it to the Embassy of Argentina in Washington, D.C., who then mailed it to Argentina to complete the renewal process. Once the new passport was issued, it traveled the same route back to us: Buenos Aires to Washington, D.C., then onward to Chicago where we had to pick it up in person. Luckily, my job required a trip to Chicago around the time that Emi's new passport had arrived back to the consulate, so I was able to retrieve his new passport approximately 5 months after our initial visit to Chicago. I'm a fan of deep dish pizza, we know some very wonderful people who live in Chicago, and the foliage in the downtown parks is very nice (particularly when they plant cabbages around the city in the fall), however, this whole ordeal would have been so much easier if we could have just relied on FedEx to get everything from Minnesota to Argentina and back. I give passport renewal 2 stars.

Charles de Gaulle Airport

Among the ranks of having to work and needing to pay taxes, passing through certain airports is one of life's necessary evils. In my experience, CDG airport is nice if it is the start or end point of one’s journey, but it is neither designed nor staffed for anything less than a seven-hour layover if one is just using it while in transit. I know some people have had no issues passing through CDG, but that has not been my experience. My goal for the first day of a work trip to Rome was simply to arrive to the Eternal City, which I accomplished, albeit several hours later than anticipated thanks to missing a connection and needing to rebook my final leg from Paris to Rome. My return trip through CDG was not any more pleasant, involving far too many bus transfers and bottlenecks of travelers, too much required budging and sweaty sprinting to the boarding gate. I give Charles de Gaulle Airport 2 stars. 

West End Shows

When life hands you the opportunity to return to London, you unquestioningly take it. While on that return trip, you best book tickets for that two-part Harry Potter West End show you didn’t have the budget for the first time. You will love every second. When depressed that your trip to London is about to end, you best book day-of tickets to see Hamilton. You will be an emotional wreck throughout the show, and every penny paid will have been so worth it. I give West End shows 5 stars.

FIFA Women's World Cup

We thought getting married in 2020 would be fun, plus it would make calculating the years of our anniversary easier. We ultimately decided to move the wedding to 2019 and take a trip to Australia in May of 2020 instead. When the Covid-19 pandemic put a damper on our travel plans, Air New Zealand cancelled our tickets and held a credit with an expiration date that underwent extension after extension. Summer of 2023 ended up being an opportune time for us to use that travel credit before it expired, and our re-planned trip not-so-coincidentally coincided with the FIFA Women's World Cup. This tournament was co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and both the U.S. and Argentina's group stage games were all set to take place in New Zealand. That led us to choose a game between random opponents to go to while we were in Sydney, and those opponents ended up being Colombia and Germany. I've been to plenty of sporting events in my life, but nothing could have prepared me for the instant overstimulation I experienced upon entering the stadium. Colombian fans brought their drums and their songs, the lights were turned to their absolute brightest setting, and the atmosphere was buzzing. Colombia ended up winning in an astonishing and well-played upset. The Fan Fest events also created an atmosphere of excitement that closely rivaled that inside the stadiums. If it weren't for the dismal performance set forth by the USWNT at this tournament and the fact that I paid more for a souvenir hat to keep the stadium lights out of my eyes than I did for the ticket to enter the stadium, this would receive a higher score. I give the FIFA Women's World Cup 4 stars.

Christmas in Summer

Having grown up with white Christmases, I was feeling rather nostalgic when our first Christmas back in Minnesota was cold, dark, and snowy, and then even more so the next year when it was colder, darker, and extra snowy. Seeking some variety for the following Christmas, we decided to return to Argentina to celebrate poolside in the summer. It was exactly as I remember the first Christmas I celebrated in Argentina: complete with summer foods lathered in mayonnaise, watching for Santa to arrive at midnight, and hours of dancing in the backyard with family until 4 a.m. The only problem with Christmas in summer is that half of our family (the winter Christmasers) were not able to join. This will receive a perfect score when the day comes that all the winter Christmasers and summer Christmasers can celebrate together in one place, but until then, I give Christmas in summer 4 stars.

The Mayo Clinic

Judging by the collection of surgery socks I have amassed in recent years (7 pairs in 7 years, to be exact), I know a thing or two about pre-procedure fasting and recovering from anesthesia. My best experiences have involved purple socks, watching an episode of whatever is playing on Animal Planet while being prepped with an IV, and ginger ale in the recovery room (multiple cans if I'm lucky). Despite the excellent care I've received, the worst experiences have been those that were not planned and involved insane amounts of blood loss. Somewhere in between the best and the worst is me projectile vomiting the red Jell-O given to me after a procedure that, while scheduled, did not begin until 4 hours after it was supposed to begin. By the third episode on Animal Planet, my stomach growling, I was so ready for the show to go on. We are very fortunate to live just a few hours' drive away from this world-renowned medical facility, but I was a bit surprised that my overall surgery experience there was not the best I have ever had. I give the Mayo Clinic 3.5 stars.

Dancing

Picture: that scene in Harry Potter when all hope seems lost as Harry, Ron, and Hermione are on a mission to find and destroy horcruxes, and Harry and Hermione start dancing in their tent to try and lift an incredibly heavy mood. Dancing is a hope meditation. Dancing is a plea for happiness. Dancing is a release. When times are tough, dance it out, whether in the kitchen, with the local ballroom dancing club, at a birthday party, or in a backyard celebrating summer Christmas. I give dancing 5 stars.