And yes, I’m aware how weird it sounds to have my soon to be ex-husband cook anything for me. But getting divorced while living abroad is extremely difficult, and I’m not the kind of person who would throw anyone out on the street. I certainly wouldn’t do that to him, as we still love each other in our own way.
Public Hospitals Are 100% Free
The public hospital in Cordoba no longer charges the already minimal outpatient fee, which is great, but on the downside, getting an appointment with a doctor has become much more challenging. I’ll probably talk more about this in a future post.
Roommate From Hell
Earlier this year, Zach made friends with an Argentine named Cami. They had a lot in common, like their perky personalities and obsessive love for men and shopping. At first, we thought she was amazing. In fact, I was so relieved Zach had found her because he had seemed pretty down since our breakup in December of last year. She gave him a reason to smile again, and it took the pressure off me from looking after him after so many years, so I could actually focus on my life, particularly my university life.
About a month after they met, we decided to invite her to move in with us. We had a spare room, and she was desperate to leave the place she was living in. She also agreed to pay rent and half of the utilities.
Around June, she shared that she was doing a lot of freelance writing and felt she could find some work for me. I was actually looking forward to working for someone else because Ben, the guy who gave me freelance article assignments, had parted ways with me, and not on the best of terms.
Unfortunately, as the weeks went by, her assurances about freelance assignments didn’t turn into reality. Frustrated, I confronted her about it. It wasn’t violent, though I will admit I could have been friendlier when I told her I wouldn’t have quit Ben if I had known she wouldn’t have any work for me.
I honestly wouldn’t have cared if she never found a single assignment for me because I was still busy trying to get through my psych courses. But a lot of things led up to that confrontation. For starters, my parents, who had agreed to handle the utilities until I graduated, decided to cut me off financially. I suddenly found myself without money, while having not only myself to feed but also Zach. I also had to make sure I had enough money from freelance work to buy the Neotigason pills he needed for his Darier’s Disease. That was no longer an option because I had no freelance job and no financial support from my parents.
To make matters worse, my anti-anxiety meds had stopped working. Before, they would provide peace and even feelings of euphoria. Now I felt apathy toward things that should have mattered. So in the end, a lot was going on, and when I asked Cami if there was any word on steady assignments, which she had assured there would be, she told me there was no update yet. I got mad and accused her of tricking me into dropping Ben. She claimed she would never do that. I didn’t believe her and called her out on it. She got so angry that she decided to start looking for a new place to live, though she didn’t leave as quickly as I would have liked.
Although things calmed down a bit, and Cami was able to provide me with a few assignments, I continued to struggle in other ways.
No More Anti-Anxiety Meds
As I mentioned before, my anti anxiety meds had stopped working. As my 37th birthday got closer, I decided to try managing my condition on my own. But the meds weren’t the only things I cut off. I also said goodbye to my psychiatrist, who, if I’m being honest, was mildly homophobic, somewhat ignorant, and a bit apathetic himself. And although my psychologist was nice, I realized she didn’t have a f*cking clue how to help me. So as of this post, it’s been two months without therapy or anti-anxiety meds, and I’ve had my ups and downs. I wasn’t fully prepared for the mood swings or the unexpected anxiety attacks I've experienced.
While I was more sociable last year and in early 2014, I now find myself staying indoors a lot more. To compensate, I try to invite friends over when there’s enough money for snacks and drinks. But here’s the thing. Most of my friends are also Cami's friends, and she’s spun the story to make herself look like the victim and me like the bad guy, just like she did with her previous roommate and her ex. The only neutral friend was Brian, whom I met last year, but sadly, he went back home to the States and has gone radio silent. As for my college friends, let me rip off that band aid and tell you what happened.
I Quit!
It wasn’t an easy decision, but I didn’t feel the university was the right fit for me. I could go on about the reasons why, but suffice it to say it had a lot to do with how disorganized the university was. Not having my meds didn’t help either. I also had to focus all of my energies on finding full-time work.
Freelancing Full-Time
Eventually, Cami was able to secure more steady freelance writing assignments like she had originally promised. So now my time is fully devoted to freelance writing. My income depends entirely on these assignments, and I’m able to make ends meet, but just barely.
Zach has also joined our little freelance writing team, though his true passion has always been in the kitchen. He recently launched his own website where people can order some of his incredible pastries. You can check it out at: Zach’s Bake Shop
Here are some photos of the amazing things he bakes.
