Why Walking to Work Changes my Day

When I’m not running 30 minutes late, I love walking to work. More than riding my bike or taking the bus, it gives me time to wake up and observe my surroundings.

Here are some things I pass along the way.

1. at least one dog walker with 10 pups trailing behind
2. many other #dogswaitinginbuenosaires
3. a colorful bus, always parked in the same spot and (mysteriously) with a full drum set inside
4. a plaza where toddlers play next to people reading next to dogs pooping
5. a construction project on the other side of the plaza covered in graffiti and signs: OBRA ILEGAL
6. on Wednesdays, a farmers market
7. street art
8. street construction
9. cockroaches
10. businesspeople, spraying down and sweeping the sidewalk in front of their buildings because it’s their obligation to maintain the sidewalk
11. fruit stands

    

12. a furniture store piled to the rafters with desks, tables and chairs
13. a florist, cutting flowers daily in the sidewalk
14. more street art
15. once, two dudes frying a pig — head and all — across a grill on the sidewalk

Why I walk

These things can become shockingly easy to ignore (even the frying pig). Life settles into a routine: I work in an office. Work out. Eat out with friends. Watch too much Netflix. In many fundamental ways, my day-to-day activities are similar to those in any other city I’ve lived.

And sometimes, amidst the daily routine, I forget that I’m living in a place very, very far from where I grew up. Sometimes, I forget to notice the details. I fail to be among strangers and hear the snippets of conversation. Once, for instance, as I passed by the painted roadside bus, I overheard a little girl squeal over the DRUMS ON A BUS, MOM. I wish she’d seen the pig.

By starting my day on foot, I see the people and the places and the bustling activity that make this place unique. I feel immersed in this city — part of it and not simply observing it.