back in BA

I'm back in Buenos Aires, only for a day since I leave for Brasil tomorrow. I was in the States for around three weeks, to attend my brother Joe's (congratulations, Joe!) graduation from college, meet up with friends in New York and Maine, and even do a little (gag) business networking. The most frequent questions I got while I was home were the following, from most common to least:

1. Why aren't you tan?
2. Are you going back to work when you come back in November?
3. How many women did you sleep with?

The answer to the first is that I was in Buenos Aires which isn't tropical like Brasil, and since it's autumn here it's actually pretty cold (60 degrees and partly cloudy, right now) there weren't a whole lot of opportunities to get sun and/or go to the beach. But even when I was in Brasil I didn't get very tan unless I tried very hard since I was doing a lot of work inside and lying on the beach getting a tan, while it has its perks, to me is just really, really boring.

The answer to the second question is that I have no idea. I'm keeping all options open, and there are some very good prospects for when I come back, but who knows if they'll be there or where my head will be when I get back. A lot can happen in 5 months. But also nothing can happen in 5 months, so the only way to find out is to wait. I have been sort of poking around at graduate programs in Spanish/Portuguese language and literature. This is sort of a separate thing from work since I'd most likely still take a job somewhere if I went back to school.

And the answer to the last question seems like a Catch-22. If the number is low, then I'm a loser and everyone will know about it within days, and if the number is high then I'm a man-slut and everybody will know about it within days. While I'm as vain as the next guy, the idea of me being the subject of this kind of gossip is nauseating at best. My standard answer for this question is a knowing smile and nod and, "The women in Argentina and Brasil are *very* attractive" which of course is exactly true.