The Five Senses: Buenos Aires (MO)

According to Mary Helen Immordino-Yang, "cross-cultural experiences have the potential to strengthen a person’s sense of self." Even though I've only been in Buenos Aires 9 days, it seems like I've been here for years. I feel like there are so many different experiences that I can talk about when it comes to my five senses, that it is difficult to narrow them down into just one blog post, but I also feel that I have gained lots in terms of growing as an individual. I have learned to navigate a large city on my own, communicate in a different language, and live 5,370 miles away from home.

The Argentine flag

Sound: So originally I wrote a couple of generic paragraphs about the many different sounds that I hear while living in the biggest city in Argentina, but while I was writing I kept getting sidetracked by my host mom who was talking on the phone with a friend of hers. That is when I realized that this is the sound I hear all the time. As the Argentines would say Castellano (Cas-te-ja-no) is one of the most beautiful languages out there, but have you ever heard an Argentine speak Castellano? It is filled with lots of colloquial words that you definitely don't learn at Allegheny and this "ch" or "j" sound in place of all "y" and "ll" sounds. Argentine Castellano is quick and has intonation influences from the many Italian immigrants who have moved here. It appears that the Argentines are always yelling at each other and never seem to peacefully just sit and chat. Luckily I have started to develop an understanding of the many words that they use along with their intense speed. When one actually knows what the porteños are saying, they can realize that Argentine Castellano is full of many beautiful, and not so beautiful, sounds which mixed together create an amazing and unique language.


Touch: Kisses upon kisses upon kisses!!! I think I receive more than 10 kisses a day from my host mom. It is the very first thing that she taught me when she picked me up to bring me home. In Argentina everyone kisses everyone. Whenever one walks into a room and greets people, it is expected that they lean in for a hug and a kiss on each check. During my very first two days I was taken aback by the amount of kisses that I was receiving, even the cleaning lady at my house was kissing me when she saw me, but now the kisses are something that I have learned to love. I look forward to coming home everyday from school and receiving a very warm greeting from my host mother.

El congreso de la nación Argentina (National Congress of Argentina)

Sight: Something that makes Buenos Aires different from the rest of Argentina and South America is that it is known for being the most "european" city in South America. I believe that this slight identity crisis is shown through the magnificent architecture of the city. As my host mom walked me to my classes on the first day, she explained to me that there are French, Spanish, and English (along with many other) influences on the architecture of the city, but that they were mostly created by Italians! So...therefore the french looking building that is in Argentina was built by Italian men. Although it is arguable that the Italians had the most influence on the city of Buenos Aires, the grandiose architecture is something that one can admire in any corner of the city.

Empanadas

Taste: It's funny because when I was preparing myself to move to another country, I asked many people I knew who had previously studied abroad in Buenos Aires about the food, and they all seemed to have the same consensus that the food was "bland," "tasteless" and "nothing special". Well, after spending just a small amount of time here I would like to disagree. The many different tastes that I've had the pleasure of indulging myself in include: empanadas, mate, amazing beef, empanadas, and more empanadas. If you haven't gotten the gist yet, empanadas are everywhere and you can get amazing deals on every street. I also think that my experience with Argentine food is different from others because my host mother is an amazing chef. She cooks homemade dinner for me every night that seems to be increasing more exceptional every time.

Smell: Living in a city with a population of a little over 3 million, smells here are everywhere and of course can vary dramatically on the scale of being pleasant or not. Walking on the streets of Buenos Aires one encounters many, many distinct smells. During my daily walk to the subte, the word the porteños use for metro, the first smell that I confront is the smell of sweaty construction workers, who are working diligently to destroy a building around the block. Although that is not the most pleasant of smells, I also get the opportunity to walk past a local bakery! These are the smells that I look forward to in the morning. Throughout the day I find myself absorbed into the different smells of the street, which include roasted nuts, lots of coffee, and of course empanadas. One of my favorite smells that one would not think that I smell often in a city, comes from the plants that my host mom has growing over our terrace.

My terrace which my host sister refers to as "la selva" (the jungle).