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

Going to France with your High School Girlfriend

Just to be clear, the last time I had a high school girlfriend, I was also in high school. At least that is the only high school girlfriend that I will be writing about on this blog. Ok, let's start the post...

Several weeks ago I started chatting online with my old high-school girlfriend. Imagine, we pretty much stopped talking about 8 years ago. Anyway, we were really close back then, so I have had a lot of fun catching up with her a little bit over the past few weeks. She is a newscaster now, which seems like a cool job. She also seems to be sort of a local celebrity in the city where she "does the news". I'll bet it won't be long before she moves on to a bigger market.

A few weeks ago we were talking about how we broke things off back when we were 18, and I was sort of musing at how things had ended up working out. I think it is a pretty cool story. You see, when we graduated from high school, we took the money that people sent us for graduation and went to France for a 1-month study abroad program. It sounds like a really cool experience, except that on the second day of the month-long-trip we broke up. Here is a valuable lesson: You probably shouldn't go with your good-looking, 18-year-old high-school girlfriend to France for a month. There is always the risk that she might realize that she is 18-years old, good-looking, and in France with her high-school boyfriend. If she does, in fact, realize this then things are probably not going to work out between the two of you. Of course there was a lot more too it than that, but

Gringo

Step 1: My name is Ryan, and I am a gringo...

Yeah, the term encompasses a lot of negative connotations and many consider it to be offensive - but I am a gringo. I always have been.

I don't think I realized that I was a gringo until I began spending time in Latin America. I was born on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, and I always considered myself a southerner until I realized that I am a gringo. When I was 24 years old, I moved to Panama to work for a U.S. real estate developer building a resort on an island off Panama's Caribbean coast. During my first three weeks, the company became engrossed in a strike with a radical labor syndicate called Suntracs. This labor union is well-known in Panama for shutting down streets, burning tires, throwing rocks, and pitting itself against the local police who arrive on the scene to break up the "peacefull protests". The company I worked for had this little golf cart that we often used to cruise around the little town near where we were developing, and one day I found myself headed straight toward a group of protesters marching down the main street. I probably should have just turned around and gone back to the office, but I was on my way to the supermarket to pick up something for lunch. I suppose I was feeling a little cocky, and I just kept driving forward. As the protesters and union reps passed by me, I heard someone yell, "F*ck you, gringo!"

I was excited to tell my co-workers about about my adventure when I arrived back at the office. We gringos really get a kick out of this sort of encounter, and we usually assume that our miraculous adventures in Latin America are completely, 100% original. We drink beer with some local guy, visit or get robbed in a "bad neighborhood", or pay a guy to guide us into the jungle - whatever we do, a gringo likes to think that he/she is the first gringo to do it. Of course, there is nothing better than being invited to a party where you are the only gringo. These make for fantastic Facebook photos and/or blog postings. We accumulate these stories, and then we go to gringo parties where we scoff at other gringos that who have arrived to Latin America more recently. As a gringo who has been in Latin America for several days, weeks, or months, you can be sure that all those other naïve gringos cannot possibly have had the plethora of interesting experiences that you have. My personal preference is to look down on dirty "backpackers". They show up in little Latin American towns, eat avocado and tuna from the can, and spend 2-3 days getting drunk and not showering before finally moving on to some other town where they will criticize U.S. materialism and will not put any money into the local economy. See, it is easy!

That day on the golf-cart was the first time that I was ever called a gringo. I have also been called a gringo as a term of endearment. So, what does it really mean to be a gringo? What I have realized is that I am a gringo because I just don't quite fit in here. I'm not from here; I'm from "allá". I speak Spanish well, I am well-versed in Latin American politics and history, and I eat the local food - but I'm a gringo. I listen to Latin music, date Latin girls, and enjoy watching The Simpsons dubbed in Spanish - but I'm still a gringo. Almost two years ago I moved from Panama to Boston for law school, and guess what... I don't quite fit in there either! After three semesters of law school at BU Law, I'm still a visitor. At some point I'll leave and move to some other place where I won't quite fit in. I suppose it has become a way of life, but I really like it.

Right now I am writing from Buenos Aires, Argentina where I am an exchange student at the national university's law school. Let me tell you, it feels great to be down here again having new adventures. Being "away" for a lengthy period of time, a guy begins to think about things in a different light and develops a perspective that lies somewhere between clarity and naivity. Starting now, I am going to write it all down. After all, its not like something I put on the internet creates a permanent virtual footprint that can come back to haunt me indefinitely. I'm sure I can just erase it all one day when I grow up, get married, and decide to pursue a political career... :-)