We had a graduation ceremony to start off the sad, depressing day. A GRADUATION CEREMONY! That's supposed to be a joyous occasion but all I could do was sit and be depressed that I just hugged my host mother so tightly she might have had internal combustion's. She told me to go home and tell my family that I am a beautiful woman. I told her I wouldn't remember that, but I would remember her. She drastically made my life in Mendoza amazing as she was the woman I could turn to in time of need. She helped me up the stairs with my luggage than turned around and almost left as quickly as she appeared. We both don't like goodbyes, just see you later, but as she turned to go, I felt like it would be a goodbye forever. I waved, knowing she didn't see me, and watched her get into her car and drive back home..to my home. Throughout the ceremony all I could think was, If I run now, I can make it back to my Mom's house in time to let her know I'll be staying indefinitely and if she had a problem with that...well I hadn't got that far. I knew she wouldn't have a problem with me staying forever, but my butt was planted on the chair, because on the other side of my brain was a picture of my real family that I got to come home to, and that kept me planted right where I was. I made myself get excited that I just completed two Spanish courses, not to mention a Tango course, all in six weeks in ARGENTINA. Still, there was an eerie silence in my spirit as I walked up the aisle to claim my diploma. I knew something wasn't right as I watched others jump around excited that everyone was graduating and moving on with their lives. Maybe it was the fact that Dr. Sup made us perform skits group by group in front of everyone, or that we had to dance later on at the luncheon we would be having. Either way, I was not having this day because it was the last day that I could call Mendoza mine.
We left from the ceremony to be taken away to a bodega. I was in no mood for a bodega. No wine. No festivities. I wanted both my Mama's, my Mendoza bed and my Waco bed, both my homes, and both my families. I wanted it all but my world was split in two. We arrived at this stinky joint and made our way to a nice, large room to accommodate all of us folks and had a nice lunch. I made myself love this part of my trip just so I wouldn't have bad memories of the place, because it wasn't their fault I was in this stinky mood. Before I knew it, we were finished eating lunch and my Tango Instructor was pushing my back up to the front of the room for a spin. I said, "No sirree, mister, I am in no mood for your shenanigans today!" Then I remembered he spoke no English. Just my luck! I waltzed onto the dance floor with as much gumption as I could muster and smiled at the crowd. How mortified I was that my first on stage performance would be Tango and Folklore. I barely made it through the routine before I politely excused myself and ran for the bathroom to hide out until the dancing was over. Just as soon as the dancing was over we were all saying our goodbyes. Now I wish I stuck around and made the dance portion of our lunch last longer, if only so we didn't have to say goodbye.
Crack. There goes my heart splitting in half. I didn't think it would hurt that much to leave, BOY! I was wrong. It hurt more than I can even explain. I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience as I made my way on the bus and put my hand to the glass as I waved goodbye to the crowd of new people in my life. A tear streaked my cheek and I knew that for some this would be the last time I saw them.
I was in the van headed to Buenos Aires with approximately 10 other people. I clung for dear life to the girl sitting next to me, just so I wouldn't scramble out of our van and attach myself to the entrance of the bodega. People were cheering and smiling as if this was some sort of lovey-dovey hoopla that I was not informed about. I was backtracking trying to make the moment last, but nothing felt worse than pulling out of that parking lot with Mendoza behind me. I spent the remainder of that night in a mood like a little girl that I am sometimes and decided that's how I was going to stay. I needed to act that way and get it out of my system so I could enjoy Buenos Aires while I was there. Still, Mendoza in my rear-view mirror wasn't pretty. The next thing I remember is waking up from a 14 hour bus ride in front of our hotel at Buenos Aires. That my friends is a whole different story, but the one you've just read did come with a few pictures here and there. I am currently in the process of acquiring said pictures because unfortunately my camera was stolen on the trip, so I'm stealing pictures from my friends. They will be posted shortly! In the meantime, I will be posting other stories of my last adventures in Argentina and my coming home party with my family. Enjoy!
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