snail mail: penpal introduction

   hello readers! i am pleased to penpal, sarah! we met when we were in high school, and stayed close for awhile after. sarah decided to take a trip to argentina after finishing her degree in accounting, and decided to stay indefinitely (well, so far!). we had lost touch for a short period, but we decided we should stay in contact through being penpals. she has always been such a creative and inspiring person to me, i thought i would show readers a little of her personal style/vegan diet/let her talk about her move from the american midwest to south america. (she does not have a blog i can link you to, but i am going to try and encourage her to start one!). 

   "when i decided to move to argentina, after meeting my boyfriend in ecuador, I did a little research before hand. argentina, also called the europe of south america, had the nostalgia of italy with towns similar to paris (as written in travel reviews). while reading a little about the culture and history, I saw a phrase: cow country. apart, the word vegan did not exist. I started a vegan diet about 2 years ago, but have survived on store bought almond milk, and contently packaged vegan products."

   "as i started my journey into the place furthest away from my home, i kept this in the back of my mind. the first few months, i struggled with the language and the lifestyle. i couldn't express myself in the ways that i had worked so hard to construct in my language. half a year had passed and although satisfied in my relationship, i wasn't satisfied with my lifestyle. i didn't feel a sense of being understood, of having a community of people i could relate to."

   "after eating at a local vegan restaurant, i knew that it was the perfect place to fill the emptiness I had felt. i have been working there for a few months and have since learned the language and gained a sense of family. at the beginning of my stay i complained that i didn't have the opportunities, the luxuries i had in kansas city. after making everything from scratch, from the almond milk to picking vegetables from the garden for my salad, i created a stronger relationship with with the ¨tierra¨ or land. yes I have changed, yes i have a different perspective, but not in the sense that argentina put something in me i didn't have before, but it gave my body the environment necessary to make what i already had grow."

  i hope all of you readers enjoyed this post with the help from my wonderful penpal in south america. i am more than excited to have a penpal (the stationary sets, actually using stamps, etc), and i am so happy i reconnected with a friend. 

   readers, would you enjoy more updates from my penpal in the future?