My first week in Buenos Aires - July 12 - 17...

Well by the end of my first week here in this grand city I landed a part time job as the marketing director for a company called Alternative Latin Investor - as well as completed my first recording session for the new album "Real Joy" and... signed a lease on my very own apartment. Not bad for a week's worth of work.

Granted my job pays less than $5/hour - but hey, a job's a job and I really like what I'm going to be doing. The opportunities are myriad. For those of you who know me (which is anyone who would actually take the time to read this blog) you are probably not surprised at this seemingly quick acquisition of a "Life." I, however, am shocked at how quickly things fell into place. I was a bit nervous truthfully and didn't really know where to begin, but as my very wise poppa always says to me "Step by step... inch by inch"

So I started applying to jobs online and Martin and I made a list of places we wanted to check out and we went apt. hunting, which I might add, was a BLAST. I already knew ahead of time which apt. I wanted. I found it months ago online - I could tell it was a local owner and it appeared to be a meagerly furnished, not touristy at all, bohemian style loft on the top floor of an three story apartment complex - with... of course... a big balcony. I also paid close attention online at the monthly asking price began to drop - so when I did a walk through I took a chance and made the owner an offer at below what he was asking for a 6 month contract. He took the deal and my official move in date is August 1st. Happy happy joy joy (I will post photos of my home sweet home just as soon as I get my hands on another camera) I should also mention that at the age of 27 this is going to be the very FIRST time I have ever rented an apartment completely on my own, I've lived with partners, friends etc...but never had my very own place. It just so happens that now that it has come around it is in Buenos Aires, which is just beyond fantastic if you ask me. August 1st couldn't come soon enough.

Can I just say that I am so happy to be here. Altogether I've probably only spend about 5 months here in this city, but it's really comfortable to me. This is probably due to the following reasons: I speak the language and my "Porteña" accent is so strong I rarely get asked where I'm from. I know how things work, the subways, the train stations... I'm well acquainted with all of the customs: I drink mate, I understand how important meals are, I dance tango. It just feels how it has always feel to me - like a second home.

I must admit that I left Brazil a bit skeptical about my decision to move here. The moment I arrived, however, and saw my "family" waiting for me - I jumped for joy like a little school girl and I knew, I just knew that I had made the right decision. The story of how my Argentine obsession began is quite a story indeed.

Nearly 7 years ago, a young Argentine aspiring drummer named Martin Sosa (www.martinsosa.com) did a search for "American Singer/Songwriters" and due to some twist of fate, a link popped up leading him to my website... he entered the page and immediately started writing drum lines to the songs and learning all he could about my musical pursuits from afar. Eventually he reached out to me via email which resulted in what is now a nearly 7 year friendship. His words were more or less "Hi, my name is Martin, I'm an drummer in Argentina, I love your music and if you ever come on tour here, I would be honored to play alongside you"

Well, four years after that email I had just graduated from college with my degree in Spanish linguistics and was just months away from releasing my first bilingual album which I had recorded simultaneously while attending classes. I decided to pack up my things and head to Buenos Aires for a short "Tour" to promote the upcoming album. I stayed for about four months and the result was not only a severe infatuation with this city but also my complete adoption into the Sosa family.

So here I am again - settling down for a bit - and I must mention that this isn't something that just happened. I dreamed about living here in Buenos Aires at least every other day. I would wake up after yet another vivid dream and my boyfriend at the time would ask "babe, are you ok" to which I would respond... "yeah, I just had another dream about Buenos Aires, I was living in this apartment with a balcony, drinking café etc..."

A lot of things came up in the years between the birth of this dream and its completion, and many of those things took precedence over the dream...but the dream never died. I didn't know how it was going to happen, but I never needed to, I just knew that it was my destiny.

The first night I arrived we ate empanadas and sat around and chit chatted about life and all of its craziness... after Mamá and Papá headed home, Martin and I sat there with my head on his shoulder and mused over the fact that this whole thing began with an email. Furthermore we laughed at how magnificent it is that 10 years from know we are all going to be sitting around with families and kids in tow and telling the story of how mom (me) met uncle Martin a millions years ago etc... It is way cool. The fact that Martin knows me so well and just the whole idea of having a best friend or someone on my side out here means the world to me. I am so so grateful for the Sosa family. (that includes Mama (Elisa) Papa (Juan Ramon) Martin, his sisters Jimena and Yamila, and the family dog "Max" who we also like to call "Gordito" - see photos)

So, there are about a trillion other things I could say but I'll just stop at this: I am amazed at the power of a dream. That If we truly desire something and hold it in mind as something we see happening. If we imagine what it will look like, feel like, taste like, and even smell like to achieve that dream... we may be surprised at the outcome. And last I'd just like to paraphrase a quote from a speaker that I admire - Dr. Wayne Dyer... "when it feels like everything is falling apart it may be that everything is really falling together for the first time."