Living in Neverland: On the Road Again

Goodbye, Tetons

I cannot believe it, but it’s happening again – I have packed everything important to me into two suitcases and am hitting the road, or rather, the skies. I am off to Argentina for the next five months, not returning stateside until May 24^th, maybe. I am ditching the -27F temperatures in Jackson, Wyoming for the toasty temperatures of 80F in Buenos Aires, Argentina!

Goldie was super UN-helpful in the packing process

The past few weeks have flown by in a flurry of feeding horses in two feet of snow, staring at elk, visiting Virginia, home for Christmas, sleigh rides, skiing, snowmobiling, and trying to cope with absurd amounts of snow. I can hardly even believe that I am actually going to Argentina for five months! In fact, it doesn’t even feel real to me yet because I have been so (pleasantly) distracted trying to fit as many winter activities into the week as possible. And yet, as I feverishly shove boots, jeans, belts, and my polo helmet into a bag, it is slowly donning upon me that not only am I an awful packer, but I am also packing for my next international adventure! How did this even happen and what am I doing?! Have I lost it?

Just over eight months ago I was surprising my mom at the Denver airport after living in Tanzania for 2.5 years as a Peace Corps volunteer. (check out my Tanzanian adventures at www.littlehutontheserengeti.blogspot.com) Barely ten days after being home, I moved to Jackson, Wyoming where I worked for the next eight months as the head wrangler at Spotted Horse Ranch. I had worked at this same ranch right before I left for Tanzania and something about it pulled me back in. I have never repeated a ranch job, and yet this place had an undefinable hold on me and drew me back. Throughout the summer and fall I was fully engrossed in my job: leading trail rides, maintaining trails, guiding pack trips, and working at hunting camp, but as the season neared its end, my mind began to wonder what I would do next, and my heart was yearning to go abroad. For a few weeks, I could not figure out how to merge the necessity of earning a living with my insatiable desire to travel. One day, on a total impulse, I started searching for international ranch jobs. Despite the appeal of a dozen different places, I managed to narrow it down to working as a camel guide in Australia or as a gaucho-in-training in Argentina. Tempting as the camel gig was, I landed on Argentina due to my desire to learn Spanish.

Once that decision was made, everything else fell into place in just a few days and before I knew it, I was doing a phone interview with the owner of the estancia (ranch) in Argentina. Barely a week after that interview, I was offered the position and before I even gave it due thought, I accepted the offer and started looking up plane tickets to Argentina! In just two weeks my life took a turn that I had not expected and I began the scramble to prepare for this impulsive trip.

Libby - another distraction from packing

See ya later, Enzi!

After dancing in the new year and cramming as many winter activities as I could into seven days, I made the arduous drive to my home base – my mom’s house – in Loveland, Colorado and furiously began to first unpack all my summer and winter gear from Jackson and then to repack for Argentina. I arrived at my mom’s house around 4pm, procrastinated from packing until about 8pm, then berated myself for doing so as I stayed up until 2:30am vainly attempting to stuff all the necessary, but bulky, ranch clothing into a single pack. I failed. I ended up with one overstuffed 65L pack and a barely zip-able duffel bag. Don’t judge – do you know how much space jeans, boots, a helmet, and a couple of shirts take up?! Not to mention the handful of other clothes I brought in case I ever want to feel like a female while there. All in all, I think I did a great packing job, despite the last minute approach.

Barely an hour later, I woke up, tried to force feed myself some breakfast, then tried to stay awake as my most wonderful mother drove me to the airport at 5am. Turns out that I booked the most convoluted ticket ever: Denver, Colorado to La Guardia, New York, to Houston, Texas, and finally, to Buenos Aires, Argentina. This odd route may have been the reason that this ticket was $200 cheaper than all the others. Oops; still I would have done the same thing. I’m all about saving money to spend it on fun adventures! Speaking of fun adventures, I guess I should explain what (I think) I will be doing while in Argentina. The Estancia Los Potreros is settled in the center of the country, about 2 hours outside of Cordoba. The owners of the ranch love to host people from other countries and share their love of everything Argentine and horse-related. As a member of the staff, I will be responsible for everything from taking out trail rides, moving the cattle, training polo horses, playing polo, entertaining the guests, and sometimes cooking breakfast (which may be disastrous). To be honest, I am flying blind and am a little sketchy on the details, but I love surprises and don’t mind making it up as I go. I will have a much clearer idea of my duties once I am actually there and engrossed in the work. For now, I am just focused on getting there and meeting up with my friend, Shaylin, to explore the city of Buenos Aires for a week before heading to work.

After working alone at the ranch for 3 weeks feeding horses, capturing escaped horses, and praying that I wouldn’t have to plow snow, I am pretty much over all that fluffy white stuff and negative temperatures. So, in an effort to escape the brutal Wyoming winter, avoid adulthood and experience new cultures, I’m off to spend the next five months of my life stuttering my way through Spanish, learning to play polo, and trying to figure out what a reata is so that I can bring one home for my mom and Art. While not quite as exotic as Tanzania, my adventures in Argentina are bound to be embarrassing for me and entertaining for you, so I hope that you will follow along and experience this dive into Argentine culture with me!