3 Meses

It's official, I've made it passed the standard 90-day, probationary period, which means I'm now able to participate in the 401(k) program, receive medical benefits, and have passed my orientation classes and preliminary HR reviews... Of course, I kid about all but medical benefits, as they are social programs offered free of charge by the state, which means I can walk in to see any doctor and not pay a dime - prescriptions, additional treatments, psycho-therapy, and other medical coverage is at an additional cost, but hey, it beats the US!

I have learned a tremendous amount in a very short amount of time, namely, I should have taken languages more seriously, and spent a semester abroad, practicing/living a different culture/language when I had the chance - this is certainly a lesson (if not more than one) I will pass on, strongly, if not mandatorily, to my off-spring whenever that day may come... I have finally had a little 'click' in my head with Castellano, and am beginning to think a bit more in the 'native' tongue, and my speech has advanced exponentially - I think the nearly 25 hours per week of instruction has helped a bit, as I added nearly 10 hours of private, one-on-one tutoring to expedite my verbal competency. I have to imagine that confidence is a HUGE part of getting thru something so challenging, and my desire to gut it out, and really learn the language has helped me thru the more challenging plateaus that I've experienced, but the more effort I seem to put in, the more rewarding the experience...

Outside of the language angle, I've been able to make some great business contacts down here, primarily with expats (shockingly...) who are launching/developing/opening hospitality-related projects here in Buenos Aires, Mendoza, and in parts of Brasil. As i continue to network, and provide preliminary value to these various groups, I am hoping they will see the potential value I can bring to their 'team' and give me a fighting chance to really show what I'm made of - it's 'now or never' to some degree, and I'm banking on my ability to succeed. I have my floaties, and I seem to be keeping my head above water, so with a little bit of hard work and determination, these first 3 months will have been a great entree in to something permanent...

Thanks for all the support!