Google defines ¨global citizen¨as: someone who identifies with being part of an emerging world community and whose actions contribute to building this community's values and practices. There is a cartoon here named "Malfada." She is their version of Lisa Simpson. Malfada is very cultured about the world around her and questions politics and current events. She is a very popular figure in Argentina today symbolizing how Argentinians are very globally aware of their surroundings and consider themselves "global citizens."
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| Malfada & I @ Caminito in La Boca |
For some reason I am having trouble writing and reacting to this blog post. I have this underlying desire to give an amazing personal/original definition of study away and that it'll affect all of my readers' opinions, but right now I am tired. The readings did interest me, but I am having trouble accepting what they say.
I feel that because I make an attempt to go and open my mind to the world and make connections between lands that I am a global citizen. Even though I felt that Zemach-Bersin was kind of a brat in their writing, I can't find a reason as to why he would be wrong. I am never going to be an Argentinian, no matter how many times I try or how much effort I put in. My Spanish accent may always be a little off and I will never fully be able to understand what it is to grow up in this beautiful country as a poor porteno. I can only try to understand a sliver of the hate some of these people have for the United States or for Great Britain. I can dress myself in platforms, drink Yerba matte, pronounce my "y's" like "chs" but whenever someone asks me where I'm from, the response will always be "the United States." It's who I am and I cannot evade it. Not that I'd want to.
But isn't that the beauty of it? To read and hear about cultures is one thing, but to see them and experience them with your own eyes is something completely else, and much stronger. I didn't come here to become an Argentinian and use their culture to try and fit in. I came to by myself and learn more about the world and help shape myself. Obviously I came here to better my Spanish in the beginning, but now it has grown to finding independence and freedom. I do try different things and surround myself within their culture. How am I to describe to the ones around me about study abroad, you ask? To my family, study abroad is a growing experience. To a prospective employer or grad school, it was a way to learn different perspectives at a more difficult level, especially with Spanish.
I'm pretty sure John Steinbeck wrote once, "People don't take trips, trips take people." I feel that I have been swallowed by Argentina, turned inside out, and spit back into the world. This adventure has been one for the ages, and I can't wait to see what this country still has in store for me.
| "Awakened Argentina" |
It is very interesting that you took the standpoint of identity when thinking of what it means to be a global citizen. From the readings you were referring to, it is very clear that the definition of global citizenship is not clear cut and quite subjective as it is still in its early stages. All the same, I never thought of my citizenship as a part of my identity or anyone else's for that matter. I think I am in the same boat with Byers when he discusses citizenship and how its purpose is to provide and/or secure certain rights and privileges. But I could understand how citizenship could be an aspect of a person's identity when you take into account things such as culture, nationalism, patriotism and even the idea of the "state" as an anthropomorphic figure.
ReplyDeleteIt seems like your experience in Argentina is really helping you develop into the person that you want to be. It is also super interesting to see the differences between our experiences even though we are basically taking the same classes and living in the same city. I agree with Yemi in the fact that I hadn't thought about the articles referring to nationality. I do agree that Argentines usually think that they are more of a global citizen than an American, but I do have to disagree with this statement. I think that the degree to which somebody is a global citizen or not has no tie with their nationality. We are learning defying the odds of a normal American, studying abroad in a different country, but I don't think that fact that I am American thus takes away from what I am doing. We've got this girl!
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