Getting all Frost-y

It’s interesting to think backwards and John Madden your life. Obviously there are things I would have done differently; maybe I should've shut my mouth a few times, or thought twice about a decision. Sometimes I wish I had turned right instead of left.

Recently I’ve been having my students study poetry because, well, I’m the teacher and they get to do what I want. We started analyzing Robert Frosts’ “The Road Not Taken,” a staple for travelers all of the world. It has been one of my favorites since I heard it for the first time in the 7^th grade and in an oddly cliché way, it has helped define my life.

If you haven’t read the poem, I’ll give you the Reader-Digest version:

“Picture a grimy backpacker who comes upon a fork in the road. No one’s around, and he has to make a decision, because he obviously can’t be in two places at once. He looks at both; one is pristine while the other is unmaintained. Being a dirty hippy, he chooses to go left and take the road-less-traveled-by.

Even though he wants to see how the other road looks, he’ll inevitably lack funds, chain himself to a tree, or might catch the whiff of another like-minded-female-soul, either way, he knows invariably that he’s never going to go back to that same place.

We see his future-self sighing, saying that despite everything, it was worth it in the end.”

So, which road do you think I’m cruising on?? Ahh yes, the very same road as the dirty hippie.

There is a sequence in everyone’s life that leads to another; “Do I want to have coffee or a red bull? Do I want to quit my job or stay? Do I want to leave town for a weekend or hang around home?” I’m not a scientist, but I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that, “Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.”

Hmmm… what to do with this information?

Yes, I chose to take “The Road Less Traveled By,” and it’s obviously made a difference in my life. At this point, I can keep up with a conversation in Spanish, I can maneuver easily through public transportation (oh the horror!), and I can officially say that I know how to make, cook, and serve an Argentine Asado.

But where does that leave me?

Everyday I wake up and I’m surprised at how much I fall more and more in love with Argentina. The people and the culture are inspiring. To be surrounded by people full of fiery passion is an addiction that I just can’t kick.

When I first arrived here, I thought my easy path was chosen. I was going to live here for a year, return and reunite with an ex-flame, and live happily ever after. Enter a HUGE FREAKING FORK, and I decided to turn left down a path that doesn't appear to have an off-ramp.

So here’s my next fork and I know I’m going to be breaking the rules here, but I need to get it out there…. Friends and family, there’s a chance that one day I’m going to bring home an Argentine… There’s also a chance that I will be staying for a longer than a year… It also looks like Moose will be accompanying me…

Beverley, breathe!!

All clichés aside, to answer a pervious question of mine: “Do I want to leave town for a weekend or hang around home?” Hmmm…? Path chosen, decision made, and Rosario, Argentina was a phenomenal adventure.

Action, reaction.