I actually have never met Ambi.  The funny thing is our paths have crossed many times.  I met her husband Hugh when they first moved here.  He stayed up one night and read my entire blog and then emailed me.  He asked if we could meet for a cup of coffee.  He and his wife Ambi had just moved here from San Francisco.

Since that time we have stayed friendly.  I have been able to give him some helpful information at times.  Then it turned out one of my English students and her boyfriend were good friends with them.  She and Ambi met through their running club.  She told me how Ambi was teaching yoga and how she started a blog.  Being a fellow blogger, I would check in from time to time to read her blog.

I find Hugh and Ambi interesting as their lives are completely different from mine.  I asked Ambi if I could interview her for Affordable Calling Cards.

Deby: How long have you lived here?

Ambi: We moved to Buenos Aires 2.5 years ago.

Deby: How did you guys ever select Buenos Aires to move to?

Ambi: We came here for a 3 week vacation to celebrate Hugh’s 40th birthday (3 1/2 yrs ago).  Every time we traveled somewhere new, we’d play a game of “could we live here?”.  This time, the game got serious as we both said “yes”.  We spent the trip strolling through neighborhoods and getting to know the city – getting a haircut, going to the movies, eating out of course and talking to the locals as much as possible.

Deby: What was the influencing decision to make your move to Buenos Aires?

Ambi: Timing.  It was the right time for me to leave my corporate career behind and it was a great time to move to Buenos Aires.  The year we moved here, there was a positive energy to the city that was palpable.  Lots of new business and growth everywhere.  The expat community was growing and it was one of the world’s top destinations for travel (still is thanks to the exchange rate).

Deby:     What did you do before you moved here?

Ambi:    I was a Marketing Director for Charles Schwab (brokerage firm in San Francisco).  I managed a team of people whose job it was to convince our current clients to invest more money with the firm.  Also to educate them on how to get more our of their investments.

Deby:    What are you doing now?

Ambi:    I’m a new mom to an 11 month old baby girl named Valentina; I teach Ashtanga and Prenatal yoga; I’m studying Iyengar yoga and I write – mostly creative nonfiction.

Deby: What was the hardest thing for you to adapt to in your move to Buenos Aires?

Ambi: The language – the first 6 months were brutal and frustrating not being able to make friends with the locals but then it flowed…

Deby: What was the easiest?

Ambi: The food.  I like how Argentines use simple fresh ingredients and shop every day for their meals..

Deby: Do you have any regrets?

Ambi: Sometimes I wish we’d traveled more in Argentina when we first arrived as its more complicated with the baby but then we wouldn’t have learned the language as quickly.

Deby: What is your favorite thing about living in Buenos Aires?

Ambi: The emphasis people put on spending time with family and friends – really enjoying each others company without hurry or multi-tasking with their iphones.

You can read more about Ambi and her life in Buenos Aires in her blog Argentine Dreams

Deby Novitz moved to Buenos Aires in 2004 from California. She has a small bed and breakfast for tango dancers, she writes, does translations, teaches English, and of course dances tango. You can find more about her life in Buenos Aires on her blog  TangoSpam:La Vida Con Deby.

Tags: Argentina, Buenos Aires, expat life, Schwab Bank, yoga

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I love reading your descriptions and experiences of living in Buenos Aires.
You really nail it to the wall also your lively personality shows thru.
What a perfect match, you and BsAs. It must have been made in heaven!

October 20, 2009    Rate Comment

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