Trip Preparation and Preliminary Reflections

The last two weeks in Eugene before our departure were filled with activities, nervousness, and also with positive emotions. Both Cris and I worked against the clock to prepare all that we needed for the trip, running errands, and packing our house belongings. During those days, it was difficult to visualize that we were really going to leave on a trip. This was because of the urgency and immediacy of our daily responsibilities, which started to multiply as the time to leave our house approached (April 1st, 2002). At the same time, farewell gatherings began during those days and the many demonstrations of affection by our friends in this country also multiplied.
The frenzy involved in preparing for the trip partly helped to mask the fact that we would soon separate from dear friends in the United States, from people with whom we shared work, projects, confidences, adventures, friendship, and daily experiences. But the more busy we were, the more apparent these ties of affection became, as we received one thousand and one gestures of care, love, and concern: offers to store our belongings in garages, offices, and barns; gifts for the trip (good lack charms, the Motherpeace tarot deck, journals, clothing, pepper spay, a laptop computer, music, books, and others); mechanical assistance with the car; food when we were too busy to remember to eat; a home in Eugene after we left our own; farewell parties with much laughter and camaraderie; help with paperwork, errands, and transportation; and many other details that contributed to reinforce how fortunate we feel, as well as the sadness for having to separate from good friends. On the other hand, ahead is the trip that we have thought of, imagined, dreamed about, and planed for many years; the hope to join our loved ones in Argentina once again, and to be present in key moments of their lives (e.g., Agustin and Helen's wedding, and the birth of Sebastian and Florencia's baby); and finally, the ambivalences generated by returning to our country during such difficult times.
It is in the spirit of sharing our experiences that we decided to create this web site. We hope that these reports help to connect us with our family and friends while on the road, and that those of you who visit our webpage get a taste of this trip across the Americas. We can't predict exactly what's ahead for us, nor what kinds of voiced will be more adequate to express different experiences, nor how much time we will have to write and send our reports.
We will try to post as many messages as possible both in English and Spanish, but perhaps this will involve more work than we can dedicate. Some things lend themselves to be said in English, others in Spanish, and sometimes one has a particular person(s) in mind when writing. The content of this page is as open as our trip. We imagine it involving a mix of various kinds of reports, languages, audiences, and frequency of messages. Send us your reactions and ideas, or simply write to us to stay in touch. See you!