We're Selling Our Apartment in Buenos Aires--UPDATE

Yep. It's true.

Oh, it's not that we don't love it. It's been fantastic. We chose this location (just on the edge of Belgrano) three years ago when we had two daughters living with us, and it couldn't have been more perfect in terms of proximity to their schools--Islands International School and Universidad de Belgrano, and an easy bus or train ride to Lincoln University College. Just a couple of blocks from the Subte D line (Congreso de Tucuman stop, so you almost always get a seat!) and four blocks from the Nuñez train station, with bus 29 running right in front of our apartment as well.

We have great neighbors and our sweet little street is quiet with very friendly people.

Our building? Love it. Only three years old, with a lovely pool and parilla area on the roof, a small gym, and a large sauna. There are only two apartments on each floor, and ours is facing the back instead of the street. Despite the fact that we're only a couple of blocks from Cabildo, what wakes us up in the morning is birds in the trees below (we're on the seventh floor).

So, why are we selling it? Well, regular readers will know that I just wrote a book and in May, Tom and I will be going to the US for the book launch and promotional tour...and we have no idea how long we will be staying. It could be two months, but it might be six or eight months, depending on speaking engagements and other opportunities.

Also, we purchased a studio apartment in Palermo, right on Paraguay (between Armenia and Malabia) that has been under construction and will be completed in the next month or so.

PLUS, our four daughters seem reasonably launched and as empty nesters, we just don't need three bedrooms. We really like to change things up, and we've always wanted to try living in a studio apartment, so Tom and I are excited to move into the little one.

That means we've decided to sell this one, despite our daughters' concerns (we've assured them that we're likely to buy another place--with at least a spare bedroom--once we get back here after the tour stuff is over).

Luckily, the wonderful realtor who sold us this place--Javier--is a friend and is helping us sell this one as well. He works with Cristian Bau realtors here in Buenos Aires and he's such a good man, a pleasure to work with and we trust him completely. By the way, buying property here isn't hard as long as you've got the cash since there aren't really any mortgages--we saw this place, bought it and MOVED INTO IT--all within a month.

So, anyway--if you or someone you know might be interested in buying a really nice three-bedroom, two bath apartment in a great location--and we're happy to sell most of the furnishings as well for a VERY reasonable price--let us know. It's been a fantastic place for our family and I know that whoever ends up lucky enough to live here next will enjoy it as much as we have.

To see the listing with photos, go to:
http://tinyurl.com/b675u9

WAIT--THAT'S NOT IT! IT'S THIS ONE: http://tinyurl.com/bb9sbe

AND you can take a look at much better photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/oregonfrost/sets/72157604301180973/show/

Kayaking in the Delta (Tigre)

Maya is hard at work on her other blogs so I (her husband Tom) wanted to use her traffic to recommend a guided kayak tour of the Delta that I took last week.

I have been up to Tigre and the Delta several times, it is only about 30 minutes from our apartment in Belgrano via train. Though the town of Tigre itself is worth a trip, I generally skip it to get out to the islands in the Delta.

Generally we have taken the Interisla Collectivos (passenger boats that act as buses between the islands) and have gotten off at a restaurant pier or someplace else to go hiking. We have also rented a house for a weekend.

But, what I really wanted to do was explore the myriad of small canals and channels that the
larger boats cannot get into.

Based on fellow expat Jonathan Harada's advice (http://tutoramigos.blogspot.com) we contacted Martin at www.eldoradokayak.com. Martin met us at the station and had already purchased tickets for the collectivo (boat) out to their island camp.

I have been on the same route before though it was totally different as Martin is very knowledgeable about the Delta and during the entire 1.5 hour boat ride he gave us great information about the route.

The last stop of the collectivo is their camp/house. Serenely quiet, the small canal had very few houses. All that we could hear was the winds in the leaves and the chirping of the birds.

Martin's partner Chapa had a light lunch ready for us, set nicely around a picnic table in the jungle clearing. Their house is simple but new, clean with full changing and shower facilities.

After a brief instruction on paddling techniques we set off in double and singles--very stable kayaks that were almost brand new.

Time is different in the Delta and the two-three hours we spent blissfully paddling the small canals and channels flew by. My two daughters were hesitant to go initially (worried they were not strong enough) and completely enjoyed the experience.

Our route took us through darker narrow passages as well as past grand houses on one of the larger rivers and then into seemingly untouched portions of jungle.

When we got back, a lovely lunch of sausage sandwiches, tomato salad and vino patero awaited. Chapa and Martin are wonderful conversationalists and our hour lunch turned into a three hour (again time in the Delta is different) discussion of Argentine politics, culture and life on the Delta.

When you visit Buenos Aires take this tour, you will not be disappointed. I have traveled a fair bit and the Delta is like nowhere I have been before and Eldorado Kayaks let me see it up close and personal.

New Year's in Buenos Aires: A Look at the Year Ahead

Some people like to do the look-back-over-the-last-year thing on December 31st. I prefer to do the what-a-cool-year-it's-going-to-be thing on New Year's Day.

For the Frost family, lots of good things are in store and already in motion. Observe:

**My book, The New Global Student, will be in bookstores on May 19th. So the next six months will be devoted to pre-launch publicity as well as sketching out Book Two. Lots of exciting times ahead as we start to get media attention for the book!

**Tom and I are working together. We worked together as English teachers in rural Japan when we met back in 1983, and over the years, we've had businesses together and worked side by side. But we've always had our own projects. This year, I am very excited that he will be working directly with me on the business/nonprofit projects related to my book! We've always been far better together than apart, so there's no stopping us now! ;-)

**Our oldest daughter (she is 22) will complete her master's in May. She's been working full time in addition to earning her master's so May will bring some relief but also new opportunities. Cool!

**Daughter Number Two (just turned 21) graduated from college in December and finished two internships in Manhattan--one at a Latino ad agency, one at MTV international. Now, she is very happily working in an Irish pub (she LOVES it!) while saving money and also working as a freelancer for the ad agency. It's great to learn how to do freelance work (and negotiate for good pay) at the age of 21. This weekend, she is moving into a new apartment (she's been living with her older sister since August) and is thrilled to be living in New York and doing her thing.

**Daughter Number Three also graduated from college in December (she is 19) and was offered a job as a multilingual events coordinator for a major cruise line. Unfortunately, the earliest they can place her in a position is March, so she is arriving in Buenos Aires today to spend the next couple of months relaxing, traveling and possibly pursuing other work options if the cruise thing is taking too long.

**Daughter Number Four (she is 18) is here in Buenos Aires now on her winter break from college in upstate New York. It's a chance to visit us, visit her boyfriend (okay, we know he gets top billing) and see what it's like to come back to Argentina after being away for a few months. She's going to meet her boyfriend's family out in the campo (country) for a few days, which should be interesting. She'll return to New York in a couple of weeks, continue her studies, and do an internship this summer. It looks like she'll graduate with a BS in Applied Psychology (organizational psych, really) in December.

It's a year of growth, opportunities and changes--exactly what we love best. ;-)

Happy New Year, everyone!