Why I Like Latin America

A number of my classmates at the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) have asked me why I would want to come study in Argentina. Is anything that I am learning here relevant to the work that I will do as an attorney in the United States? Of course I have made a point to choose classes that are international in scope (International Private Law, International Arbitration, Maritime Law). There are potential indirect benefits - not many U.S. law students study abroad, so maybe my exposure to Civil Law could make me slightly more marketable in certain areas of U.S. law such as maritime and admiralty law, international contracts and disputes, and even some M&A. In the current job market, maybe an Argentine perspective on international law could help to distinguish me from the thousands of U.S. law students who will have an "international law" class on their transcripts. There is also the benefit of developing a Spanish legal vocabulary. There is an increasingly large Spanish-speaking population in the U.S., and they are all potential clients. On the other hand, much of the substance of what I am learning at the UBA may not be DIRECTLY beneficial to a legal career in the U.S.

The truth is that I just really enjoy spending time in Latin America. Here are a few reasons why:

Excitement & Challenges. Vacations are fun, but when you spend some time living abroad you find that what would ordinarily be mundane tasks become a lot more interesting and challenging. I'm talking about the little things - grocery shopping, making a photocopy of a document, or buying an random item such as a stapler. These things would be simple in your own country, because you'd know exactly where to go and you'd be able to anticipate approximately how much it will cost you. In the U.S., you would also feel confident that what you are looking for is in-stock and that whoever you need to talk with will be available during regular business hours. Well, here in Latin America you have none of those assumptions. If the notary office in Panama is open between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., that just means that the notary might (possibly) be in the office during those hours and definitely will not be in the office outside of those hours. Maybe you need a three-pronged folder for your law school class, but in Argentina you find that all of the folders are two-pronged. When you need to get to work or to an appointment, the street might be flooded resulting in a traffic back-up - or maybe a group of protesters has blocked the avenue. Your weed-wacker is broken and needs a replacement part, but the stores only sell replacement parts for obscure Chinese brands. There is a guy who sells the part you are looking for, but he is on vacation for the next 3 weeks. This is especially unfortunate, because he is also the town's notary public. You are probably better off just buying a new weed-wacker. It is a pain, but it can be really satisfying when you start learning to navigate through the inefficiency. Maybe we should move on to a better example of why I like Latin America...

Less Expensive. I do not come from a particularly wealthy family, but in Latin America I have some money. I can afford to take a girl to a nicer restaurant. I can afford to pay the cover at the club. I can afford to have someone clean my house once a month, and I can gift a nicer bottle of wine to a friend. When we go to dinner, I'll have the prime rib. The fact that foreigners are able to come to Latin America and live so well is the result of a lot of sad truths. Generally speaking, your average person just does not earn as much real income, and a substantial percentage of many Latin American populations lives below the poverty line. The economic "quality of life" tends to be much lower for a whole lot of people. As a foreigner, I am able to afford these luxuries mainly because there are many locals cannot. There is certainly this very ugly side, but having a little money for awhile is a lot of fun. The problem is that you get used to some of these luxuries. For example - living in Latin America, I got used to having clothes tailored really well and not paying much for it. I use a seamstress in Boston now, and I am pretty sure I am one of her best, most consistent customers. I pay her many times over what I could pay in Panama or Argentina for the same work.

Beautiful women. If you know me very well at all, then you know that I have a bit of a soft spot for Latin women. There are a lot of beautiful women throughout Latin America - in Costa Rica, Panama, Colombia, Uruguay, Argentina... everywhere. The beauty is not just physical - its how they make a guy feel. The expectations are in many ways completely different. In some ways a Latin woman expects more from a guy, and in other ways she expects less. I had been dating my ex-girlfriend in Panama exclusively for several months and considered her my girlfriend when she politely pointed out that I had not yet "asked her". It had not crossed my mind that we should have a formal conversation before she would be considered my girlfriend. Anyway, I asked her and she said yes. Later, I learned that I actually should have formalized the process a little more, but these are lessons we learn.

A lot of people from the U.S. comment that when they come to Latin America they feel like they are stepping back in time to the 1950s. In my opinion, gender roles and interactions have become a point of confusion in the States. Gender roles are much more defined in Latin America. I know that some people will not agree with me that this is in any way a "good thing", so I won't pursue this point much further. I'm not one to try to ruffle the feathers of people I like. All I'm saying is that when a guy in Latin America expresses interest in a girl, he doesn't feel overly concerned that he may be out of line.

Different values. I once heard sort of a parable about a Latin guy who meets a gringo in a bar. The Latin guy explains that every morning he takes his small boat out fishing for a couple hours. He catches fish for dinner, then he goes home to feed his family, play with his kids, drink beer with his friends, and sleep with his wife. The gringo tells the Latin guy that he should fish for more than a just a couple hours each day - he should fish all day so as to maximize the amount of fish he brings in. Then he could sell the fish and use the money to buy more boats. Eventually, he could build an entire fleet of boats and start a company. He could start exporting the fish, and he could hire a employees to fish the local waters. Ultimately, if things go well, the Latin guy wouldn't have to spend any time at all out on the boat fishing. The Latin guy asks the gringo, "But what would I do all day if I didn't have to go fishing?" The gringo says, "Just think, you could stay home, have plenty of money to feed your family, and you'd have time to play with your kids, drink beer with your friends, and sleep with your wife."

Foreigners sometimes get frustrated with the work ethic they find in Latin America. This gives gringos something to complain about despite the fact that they are often paying substantially less for the service than they would in their home countries. I think the Latin guy in the parable may be onto something. We work hard in the U.S. to pay for our big houses and new cars, and we spend our entire lives trying to save some money for retirement. Then one day we retire and use that money to go out and do all the things we have always wanted to do. Maybe we buy a boat, maybe we travel, or maybe we buy a nice house on a golf course or in the mountains. The problem is that our kids might be all grown up by the time we finally learn to relax. Or maybe our bodies are so old and tired by the time we retire that we aren't able to enjoy these things to the full extent. The Latin way is not perfect, either, and certainly has its defects - but maybe the gringo can benefit from learning to chill out a little.

The point of all this. The point is that I really enjoy being in Latin America. I have described just a few reasons why, but there are many more. I like the music, I enjoy the food, and I have some really fantastic friends here. I'll put a lot of my experiences at the UBA on my resume, and those experiences help to justify my time here. Really, I am in Argentina because I really like spending time here.