One of my favorite Argentine-isms is the typical goodbye: chau, suerte! Bye and good luck! It's such a hopeful way to say goodbye to someone: a wish for the unexpected and perhaps fortuitous things to come.

We have been indulging our (my) nostalgia by saying goodbye to this amazing city little by little. The fall has arrived in Buenos Aires: streetsweepers clean up leaves in the street and everyone has whipped our their fall jackets. I do believe I'm the only one in this city still wearing flip flops, and the strappy sandals in display windows of shops along Santa Fe have been replaced with dark, toe-covering winter options. The dropping temperatures remind us that it's just about time to move on. This was, after all, the eternal summer year for us, and our light spring jackets are not going to work for us much longer.

The things I'll miss are the little things that make life in another place interesting:

Tango is everywhere in this city, and although I never really learned to dance it, I love the music, the dance, and the history it represents. I love little old men and women knowing the classic songs by heart, and happening upon dancing in the street, from plazas in Mendoza to the streets of Florida in Buenos Aires.

Coffee and cafe culture: a to-go coffee is almost as barbaric of an act as eating dinner before 9pm (which is still an early bird special by the way). A proper coffee is almost a ritual, served in ceramic and always accompanied by either a little glass of fresh squeezed orange juice or sparkling water and a little sweet treat. I also love seeing servers delivering coffee orders to local businesses, with a covered tray containing real glassware.

Argentine Spanish: hearing the rhythmic, Italian-influenced, gesture-filled, perhaps even poetic language is one of my favorite parts of having lived here. Like many travelers, when I first came to Argentina in college, hearing the language was disorienting as it sounded completely different than the Spanish I had learned in school. Now, when I hear an Argentine speak, I love it.

That said, we're excited for a return to life in Colorado, and hopeful for all that is to come. For as much as I believe I am Argentine and love this country, there's just something about home.