Playing Tourist

Because yet another week has passed, I know I must write something here today. Because that is my promise to myself, and I've already fudged it more than once. I just don't know what to say. The truth is that my rocky relationship with Patrick is consuming so much of my time and energy that it can sometimes feel as though there is nothing else in my life. But of course, there is so much more happening, I just need a zen moment to process it all. Excuse me while I try to meditate.

Ok. So I guess I want to talk a little bit about tourists. Since Pat finally quit his hostel job with the awful schedule, we have really been trying our very best to wring the most out of Mendoza by revisting our favorite tourist activities and finally getting around to trying the ones we never had time to try before. Of course, until last week, I still had a full weekday schedule, which means that we've been playing tourist during some of the busiest times in town. But that very aspect of theatrics is what really makes our visits to tourist hotspots unique: we are "playing" at being new to Mendoza and therefore seeing the city with new eyes.

After you live somewhere abroad for even a relatively short period of time, you usually begin to exist in a sort of no-man's land: not quite tourist, not quite native. This feeling of limbo can be uncomfortable at times. Sometimes it makes me angry when local touts assume that I can't speak a word of Spanish or don't know how much the bus costs or insist on pushing some hostel on me. I mean, I walk across Mendoza several times a day, use the bus system like an old pro, and have a pretty solid grasp of the layout of the land after over 6 months here, and no: I don't care that your hostel has "free friend day", whatever the hell that means. Unfortunately, the local tourism industry is just kicking into high gear, and there are enough clueless travelers who are also wearing chacos and smearing on copious amounts of sunscreen to make me an easy target if I even get within range of a popular tourist destination.

In some places its worse than others, and expats all over the world usually struggle to avoid being lumped into the "tourist crowd" for their whole time in residence abroad. Yet after spending so much time trying to avoid being a tourist, I have begun to discover some of the benefits of voluntarily throwing your lot in with the tourist crowd. For one thing, it makes you feel really good about your language skills, knowledge of the area, and typically wider range of experiences in the place. It also makes me feel validated in my decision to live abroad, since for the first time in a long time people have been asking me "How do you do it?" instead of "why are you here?". And after wave upon wave of tourists who are innocently clueless, completely lacking any knowledge of Spanish, or just plain rude or unengaged, the tour operators are only too happy be able to show us around in their native tongue and share anecdotes about living here. Occasionally, this even translates into discounts or free stuff!

But probably the best part about playing tourist in your own town is that you get to interact with an incredibly diverse range of people who are so awe-inspired by the place you are currently living, they have traveled around the world just spend a day or a week in your stomping grounds. It is humbling and fascinating to see Mendoza all shiny and new, through the eyes of the tourists who are just passing through. And at that moment, it really feels great to be able to say: "yeah, I live here."

As our time in Mendoza comes to a close, I feel honored to say that I called this place home, even for a little while. And I can appreciate all the amazing Mendocinians who constantly make me feel like a novice as much as the tourists who make me feel like a hero, because in different ways they each challenge me to be a better individual and appreciate this unique experience more.

ps*** Now that we're on the move again, I've allowed myself to begin dreaming of all the things I am looking forward to in the US. And sad to say it, but Tillamook cheddar cheese is still number one. Perhaps I need to play tourist in Oregon too, so that I can get some perspective on this growing obsession...