Corrugated City

Monday 1 September 2008

Happy Anniversary To Me

Today marks something of a milestone for me: I've been living in South America for 5 years now.

On September 1st 2003, I landed in Quito, Ecuador and now here I am in Valparaiso, Chile.

Over the past 5 years I've spent:

-3 months in Ecuador
-3 weeks in Peru and Bolivia
-2 weeks in Brazil
-2 and a half years in Argentina
-2 years in Chile
-About 3 or 4 months in England

I actually can't believe I've been out here so long. I can't believe I was 25 when I got here. It seems both far longer ago and nowhere near so long at the same time. I still kind of go 'wow' when someone tells me they've been out here for 2 years. I think that's a long time. And then I remember how long I've been here. It's weird.

Still, I'm happy in South America and, despite the many things that annoy me here, I don't want to leave just yet. I can't actually imagine being anywhere else. I don't want to be anywhere else right now. This is home.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Was it always your intention to stay when you first arrived in South America? Or did the decision happen while you were there? I'm heading off traveling for a year, from next March, including 6 months in South America, and while the plan is to return to the UK the thought has crossed my mind that if I really like somewhere, I could always stay.

Really enjoy the blog by the way.

Matt said...

Well...that's a good question...It was certainly at the back of my mind that I might end of staying in South America but it was never the plan. I was supposed to be in Ecuador for at least 6 months possibly longer but the serious crime there just got me down quite quickly and I went off travelling, fell in love with Buenos Aires and knew that's where i wanted to be. I've now ended up in Valparaiso and I'm happy here.

I think my original idea was to learn spanish and then probably look for work in Spain as a teacher or something else. I'm actually really glad that never happened.

I've known for a long time that living in England just isn't for me.