Adios Argentina, Hallo Norway!

What a weird feeling! It's been an amazing few months, and while I'm sad to say goodbye to the place I've called home for the last four months, I am also excited for the next chapter in my unfolding adventure. As many of my followers already know, I'm originally from New Orleans, but I have spent the last several months living in Buenos Aires. When I left New Orleans, I had no plans to go anywhere else but Argentina. On one hand, I was a writer struggling horribly with writer's block, and I felt like going to the home of some of my favorite writers (Borges, Cortazar, Ocampo, Arlt, etc) would be a way of snapping out of my funk and forcing myself into finding some sort of inspiration. On the other hand, I was just genuinely bored with my life, and I was ready for something new, some sort of adventure.

To my surprise and satisfaction, Buenos Aires has been a success on both fronts. After a chance encounter with @sponge-bob (at a basketball court of all places!) he talked me into giving Steemit a try, and I'm glad that I did! The effort to produce quality content has been a way for me to force myself to write. I have done a couple of multi-part short stories, making them up as I go along, and I've been pushed on by the fact that they're publicly viewable-- all my followers would know if I simply gave up and moved on. This, combined with the inspiration I've found in such an intricate and interesting city, has been more than enough to snap me out of my writer's block.

But not only have I made progress with my writing, I've also made tons of friends whom I will never forget and I've had experiences that only a few months ago I would never have imagined would be possible for me. One of those was meeting a wise, beautiful, and nature-loving Norwegian girl named Shirin, and now my adventure continues in a new direction as I head off to meet her in her hometown of Stavanger Norway.

The only hitch so far was at the airport, when I was told that I had-- between my checked bag and two carry-on bags-- 19 kilos too much weight! It was outrageously expensive to consider checking a second bag or paying for the additional weight fees, so I started taking out everything I was willing to part with, a list which grew longer and longer as I realized how much weight I really needed to get rid of. Fortunately, none of my stuff went to waste, as the other passengers in the check-in line were more than happy to take some free goods! In the end, I gave away sixteen books (all but one!), seven vinyl records, a liter of vodka, two pairs of pants, a sweater, three t-shirts, and a basketball pump. I'm a bit of a hoarder, so it was incredibly difficult to part with my old books and old t-shirts, but after I did it I felt better. I'm learning to leave the past behind me and look forward to the future... Adios Argentina, Hallo Norway!