I've been tangoed

Holy moly, I cannot believe it. I've booked my flights.

Knowing full well that my new job may well kill me - I am, after all, returning to the soul-crushing hours I used to work and will be working alongside the crazy, intense kind of people I used to work with - I've decided to make full use of the time I have before I start work, and return to Buenos Aires to learn tango. I leave in a few weeks.

I was initially rather hesitant. After all, wouldn't I prefer going to a place I haven't been before, or going to New York and Boston instead, where I know I'd have a great time just exploring the cities and meeting up with friends and friends' friends?

I thought for a bit. And thought for a bit more, and realised I'd rather spend that time more productively, and do something enriching, instead of merely building memories. Nothing wrong with the latter, but I can do that even after I start my new job, only that I'll have to cram it into a shorter period of time.

I was still dithering though. Wasn't I at way too junior a level to go off to Buenos Aires and learn this most sexy and technical of dances? After all, I've only had about ten hours of lessons to date.

Then I saw this:

And came across Constantine's blog post. The concluding paragraph leapt out at me(emphasis my own):

Another thing Joseph mentioned on that July night... was that there’s no point in traveling to Buenos Aires to dance unless you have years of experience. Joseph may have been right... about many other things, but in this he was just as guilty of Buenos Aires folklore as his NYC counterparts. It is worth going to Buenos Aires if you haven’t been dancing for years. Hell, it’s even worth going if you’ve only been dancing for six weeks. And it’s not from hearsay that I say it. I say it because I’m here. 

And you know what?

I'm really only afraid of going and finding out that I really am a terrible dancer, which is crazy. I don't suck now, so why would I suck after? While it's true that I'll never win any competitions, much less even think I'll be good enough to compete ever, I'm good enough to do this. And, if it turns out that I'm not, well, I gave it my best shot. No looking back.

And I survived - hell, I thrived - during my last trip to Argentina in spite of not knowing the language. I'm sure I'll be more than able to handle it again.

And, as a little bonus, I'll be making a short side-trip on the way home on the off-chance I'll be able to meet up with a certain someone. Even if he can't confirm whether he'll be around, I'm sure the city in which he lives will have more than enough to occupy me.