It’s A Balance

September 15, 2025

It’s A Balance

The last week and a half has been busy! Connor and I celebrated our 2-year wedding anniversary on September 8. How has it been 2 years?! It is pretty amazing to think about all that has happened between then and now. But truly what better way to celebrate our love than getting to travel the world with your best friend?! Cheesy, I know. But true. We are getting to spend a LOT of time together which has been amazing, and also comes with some growing pains of figuring out our new rhythm and flow. But so far, spending 24/7 together, we still aren’t tired of each other.

There have been many projects around the farm that we have started, including a water reservoir that our host will use to store water for the garden. It has been a lot of digging and removing dirt, but it will be cool to see how this project progresses. Hoping we can finish it before the sheep undo all our hard work. We have also extended the garden to add more planter beds for the upcoming summer season. She has a lot of little seedlings ready to be transplanted but not a lot of space for them. Looking forward to planting some tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, pumpkin/squash, beans, and melons. We have been here about a month and it has been amazing to see things continue to flourish in the garden.

We have also been nonstop with the social events - farmers markets, bbq nights, pizzeria, fernet con cola. For Connor and I, who sometimes act like we are 80 years old, it has been tiring. But, we are embracing the full experience of the late-night culture of Argentina. In general in this country, it is common to not eat dinner until around 10:30-11:00pm. One night, when our host asked if we wanted to go out to eat, Connor and I were slightly taken aback when she said the restaurant opened at 9:00pm. What?! But we persevered and enjoyed some pizza, beer, live music, and staying up until 2:00am. It was hard to request to go home early when the 3-year-old having his birthday party at the table next to us was crushing it until 1:00am. We also had our first, homemade “asado” (bbq meat) of course accompanied by fernet con cola, which was very delicious. Definitely a part of the Argentinian experience - everyone has a barbecue or a make-shift one in their front or backyards.

Overall, Connor and I are feeling really happy that this location has given us a true look into the Argentinian culture. We are loving the language and accent, getting to practice Spanish daily along with the unique rituals and routines. After about 5 1/2 months of travel, a theme that is starting to show up for us is balance. How to we balance our own needs (be it food preferences, movement and exercise, sleeping schedules) with that of the place we are in? Because all the places we have been to have provided us with unique experiences - including different food/drink and various daily schedules and work - it has been a challenge for us to strike a healthy balance in our routine that makes us feel good. “Experiencing” the local food and alcohol can quickly turn into “over-indulging” especially because we aren’t just on a week-long vacation. Both for our health and finances, we need to remember we are in this for the long haul. However, most of the challenge comes living in other people’s homes and on their schedules, which impacts what food we are eating daily, how much movement/exercise, and what our sleep schedule is. All this to say, Connor and I are working on balancing our flexibility with being on other people’s schedules and our own health needs. We can still enjoy the culture and experience in each place, but we can also maintain our overall health and well-being.

Enjoy some pics from the last week or so. We love and miss you all!

Con amor,

Abby y Connor