Obstacles Overcome; Lessons Learned; Now What?: Buenos Aires (MO)

Las Salina Grandes, Jujuy, Argentina

Leaving Buenos Aires in 2 months is not something that I am looking forward to doing in any type of way. It is becoming very stressful when people in my program, and my host family start talking about when I will be leaving, and when I will be returning to Argentina in the future? There seems to be an urge right now to travel the country lots and to experience as much as possible, because we are all realizing that our time here is limited. Many people have explained to me that when they first arrived it seemed like this semester would take forever, but now that we are rounding the last turn into the home stretch, it seems that nobody is ready for our experience abroad to end.

The beautiful Buenos Aires that is my new "home"

Through having already experienced living in a new culture, learning a completely new language, and learning new customs through my last study abroad experience in Germany, I feel sometimes that my experiences in Argentina have been completely different from those of others who are studying abroad with me. Fortunately my experiences in Argentina and in Germany have been completely different. For this reason there have been a number of obstacles that I have overcome while living in Argentina for the last 3 months. For me, the biggest and most apparent obstacle that I have overcome while living in Buenos Aires was living in an enormous city. Like I mentioned in my first blog post, I am from a very quaint area of upstate New York, and to me Meadville is a city. Therefore living in Buenos Aires is nothing that I could have prepared for, but is definitely something that I have come to love. I am able to access everything very quickly, well okay on argentine time, and have gotten used to knowing how many blocks away something is and the various options of public transportation I have to get there. I have learned to walk quickly on the sidewalk, and to always be cautious of my surrounding while on the subte. Without thinking I am able to get to the subte station, switch my backpack to the front (front-packing is real people), and squish into the most claustrophobic spot of your life in order to get to my classes every morning. I am able to hail and determine what taxi is legit in the middle of the night, and I am able to explain to the taxi driver exactly where I live when he gets lost, like they always do, on their way to my house.

Just a few of the wonderful friends I have made

Of course another large aspect of my study abroad experience that was an obstacle was the language and the accent of a porteño. I am proud to say that I can officially make the "ch" sound without thinking while saying my "y" and "ll" sounds, and I have learned many slang terms that only porteños use. I have gotten used to the speed of the Castellano that is spoken here and I have gotten used to the Italian pronunciation type thing that the porteños have going on when they get really upset. I feel that my drive to conquer porteño Spanish is a skill that really improved my time here in Argentina. I am able to get to know other porteños and share my feelings with my host mother. I am now able to read various news sources from Buenos Aires and understand while people have certain political views. Learning and showing my interest in Castellano has shown to the argentines that I am interested in their culture, and that I want to be here. This has greatly allowed me to connect with them on a different level, than a normal american tourist would. It is a great feeling when I am able to speak to other porteños, and they don't stare at me anymore with that blank face of having no idea what I am saying.

Having read many articles about "reverse culture shock" and having experienced it once before there is no doubt in my mind that it exists. Although it can be quite frightening thinking that what you considered normal in the past is no longer normal, it is actually something that I am looking forward to. I always find it interesting to see the things that I take for granted and to see the things that I forget about being different. I like the idea that my experiences abroad allow me to question how things work, and why things are the way they are back in the States. Reflecting back on my first blog post, all of these aspects of the argentine culture have become normal to be. I know one thing specifically that I will have a hard time not doing is kissing people when I greet them. I have already found myself kissing my american friends here when saying bye and of course that awkward moment when I went in for a kiss when I met Allie's american mother who was here visiting.

Pure happiness in Argentine countryside

I definitely agree with the statement that one can "make the world their home". I believe that it is very possible that a person has multiple different homes and that one can change where they consider their "home" based on where they are living and where they have connections with others, but I think that one's "home" changes. Right now my "home" is in Buenos Aires, but it has been in New York, in Meadville, in Augsburg, and Castrop-Rauxel, Germany. I have made many places my "home" over time and I look forward to creating other "homes". Although my "home" right now is in Argentina, I know that as soon as I step foot back into one of my other "homes", that place will once again will convert to being my "home".