Melvin

Mads, Melvin & I - August 2010

If there were one person who I could say most impacted my time here in Buenos Aires, it would be Melvin. I met Melvin in August when I stayed at the hostel he works at – BAIT Hostel in Palermo. Upon meeting him I knew we were going to be friends right away. A few weeks ago, while we were out, Melvin and I were having one of his famous “heart-to-heart talks”. He told me how much I meant to him and how glad he is that we became friends, but also confessed that he didn’t really think that would happen back in August. Madeline was much more his type of lady - you know the sassy bitchy type (love you Mads!). He was bummed she was not the one coming back. This type of confession could offend one, but if you know Melvin you can’t take offense. He tells it as it is – a no bull shit type of guy. I've also often seen him make immediate assessments of people that don’t always pan out the way he thinks they will.

MELVIN’S STORY:
When I first met Melvin he told me: “Most people stay here because they either fell in love with a man or with the city… I fall under the latter category”.

Melvin grew up in San Luis Obispo, CA and then spent many years in the bay area (clearly we rep the CA pride every now and then). His plan, like many, was to stay in Buenos Aires for a couple of weeks, then head east to Mendoza, Chile, then North into Peru etc… That was in October 2007.

Melvin & Pablo

It was by luck that he chose to stay at BAIT hostel. He met Pablo his first week here and eventually told this guy, who would later become his best friend in South America, that he planned to stay by any means necessary! To that Pablo replied, "Man, if you wanna do it, we'll make it happen!"

And they did! In his words, “Three and a half frikking years later, I'm here at BAIT (3 years employed in July), and loving the cultivation of my friendships and love for this great city. But, WHERE MY BLACK FOLKS AT!?!?!” No joke- there are NO black people in Argentina! Melvin regularly gets confused for being Brazilian (not that he minds).

OUR STORY:
Melvin has been my rock since I moved to BsAs. Whether it is a night out to Club 69 or Levitar or a night at the hostel cooking dinner and watching a movie/new TV series, we have shared so many amazing memories. Like me, Melvin likes to organize events, and together we planned the most amazing Thanksgiving (with the help of Kristine) and my 27th Birthday (with the help of Em & Ty). Posts to come. On his day “off” from BAIT Melvin leads the Buenos Aires Out & About Gay Pub Crawl. He always asks me to come because he says I am the perfect hag to his fag. If you’ve seen the photos on Facebook you know it’s always a fun time!

When making my decision to move home early, a few things strongly weighed on the con side. Am I ready to say goodbye to my friends here? Melvin specifically? The answer is no, but will I be ready in a few months? No. At least I know our friendship is one that will last forever, and we will definitely be crossing paths again very soon!