I left home days before the calendar changed from 2009 to 2010. A date I vacillated upon for weeks, finally ticketing my flight three weeks before departure (despite daily ridicule from friends and colleagues). I couldn’t decide whether to give myself more time to finish projects at home where I was moving out of my house and preparing for a leave of absence from my job. Or do I jump in early to immerse as quickly as possible into a new life? Was the timing right?
As it turns out, I arrived just in time for the implementation of a new Entry Reciprocity Fee for U.S., Canadian and Australia citizens entering Argentina. The reciprocity fee requires visitors to pay a comparable fee to what the visitor’s country charges Argentine visitors. The fee is paid before making your way to the immigration station (I paid a Reciprocity Fee of $131 as a U.S. citizens. It is stamped in my passport and is valid for 10 years). Unlike the visa requirement for Argentines to travel to the United States however, the Reciprocity Fee requires no work prior to arrival. Just come ready to pay.
Arriving in Argentina also means adjusting to a new time zone. And I don’t mean the 5-hour leap ahead from my typical Pacific Standard Time. In Buenos Aires, dinner is planned between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. and a night out begins around 1 a.m. I discovered that porteños are not so big on counting down the moments before midnight on New Year’s Eve as it is a bit early in the evening for some partygoers.
I moved quickly from late nights to long days in Patagonia. While hiking among the unbelievably majestic glaciers, mountain formations, and expansive spaces near the end of the earth, I find a new viewpoint on timing. With no clocks, no routine and nearly endless sunlight, timing is a matter of perspective.
I’m back in Buenos Aires now with time to explore a little before beginning new work, studies and volunteering in Cordoba. I guess my timing was just right.
Latest posts by miascavone
- Balancing Your Life - March 30th, 2010
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- Why We Do What We Do - February 12th, 2010
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At least you pay the $131 and you get in the country. If they really want to follow the reciprocity fee, they should have U.S. citizens follow the same process where you go in and pay your $131, they say no to your visa app, you thank them for taking the nonrefundable fee, and you try again later
Glad you are doing well.
Glad to hear you’re blending in with the culture of Argentina. Your pictures in Patagonia with the mountains in the background were awesome. Nosotros le perdemos and buen viaje! Kathy
I would starve if I had to wait until 10pm for dinner!
Time will be an interesting theme to explore throughout your journey. Namely,the experience of being present. When we’re out of our usual routine, culture, language, it tends to bring us smack into the present moment. What a lovely thing in which to indulge for a few months! Enjoy, my friend!
What is time to us, but how we choose to live in it? A moment can seem like eternity, and eternity can be captured for a moment, in your pictures, your postings, your footprints in the sand. I look forward to reading about your journey, and in my mind, I imagine taking small steps of my own. Thanks for your inspiration. Who knows what lies ahead? A new day, a new time, only eternity, only now.