Estrés! Parciales Week

Hola gente linda,

Here are the pictures that wouldn't upload the last time I tried. Hope you enjoy! 

 This was the view from my old apartment with June in Microcentro. It was great! You can see the Obelisco (the tall white monument) in the distance. A few buildings to the right of it, you can also make out a giant cartoon dog-head on top of a building... that is an advertisement for Pepsi that really annoys me (because I used to have to look at it every day), haha.

 The view in early morning, when the sun was just starting to come up.

 Fede and I have been eating lunch together most Mondays, when we both get out of class at the same time. I really like this picture!

 These are the empanadas I made! They are filled with corn, cheese, and tomato sauce. (A visitor at Leo's house taught me how.)

 This... was my dinner. haha. Coffee, chocolate, dulce de leche, and melon helado (ice cream). Mmm... Argentina's ice cream is really some of the best in the world! It has the texture and kick of Italian gelato and the creamy flavors of the Americas. =)

 A typical university scene (both here and in the US). The signs have inspirational, "we're-going-to-change-the-world" messages. The little plastic things hanging on the wall are a tiny art exhibit: you can look into them like microscopes and see a little photo! This was at Leo's university, UADE.

 A different view of the Obelisco. This is a business district right by la Casa Rosada, the government house. I really love this architecture, and seeing all the businesspeople rushing around in their suits.

 I like the necklace someone put on this statue. It really suits her! haha.

 A great statue in Retiro.

This is El Federal, my favorite cafe in San Telmo.

And, this is where I left off last week:

These last few weeks have been really busy! I moved to San Telmo and like my new house. I live with girls around my age from France, Norway, Chile, and China. The Argentine woman who runs the house, Fernanda, is really nice. She calls everyone 'corazón' ('heart'/'dear') and gives us insider information about Buenos Aires (thanks to her I will now have to check out the Farmers' Markets that go on sometimes!).

It is midterms time, my graduation is coming up, and I've had falling-outs with a few of my friends — all that has really been stressing me out, but my friends have been helping me through: drinking lots of mate tea, getting out, and throwing around ideas for plans. ¡Gracias, amigos! ¡Les quiero! (Thanks, friends: I love you guys!)

I've submitted an essay so far, and have tests this week on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday. I have been studying literally all day for the last three days, and am still worried that I might not be able to pass. It is tough for me, not only because it's in Spanish, but also because I am not used to the test formats here: it's hard for me to guess exactly what I should be studying. I've read about 700 pages, and can't memorize all of it, so I have to guess at what will be asked. The advice the professors gave me (and everyone) was, unfortunately, "study it all!" So I am...

I do feel I'm progressing, though, and have been trying to ease my stress with a few fun things. I saw Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" at midnight at MALBA. It was great! My favorite part was the very end. I cooked with Jorge (he made chicken and I made a cauliflower, potatoes, and cheddar mix: a la American), and we watched "Groundhog's Day," a movie that I ironically never get tired of watching, haha. I went to the Sunday feria in San Telmo and talked with some labor activists the day after Dia del Trabajador, Labor Day. And tonight I will eat pizza and go to a party!

This is an essay I wrote for my Experiential Learning graduation requirement at Knox. It's about my experience studying abroad in Argentina and how its contributed to my academic advancement. Anyone interested can read it here!

Seven months ago, I traveled to Argentina to study abroad through the Knox Buenos Aires Program. I arrived knowing nothing about the country aside from a few historical anecdotes about its Jesuit and Catholic traditions and the 1800's aristocracy — information I'd picked up from the first quarter of a mandatory history book. I came with vague plans to improve my Spanish, learn about Argentine culture, and soak up as much art as I could. My expectations were greatly surpassed.

I'd assured my friends and family that adjusting to Argentina would be easy. I had experience traveling; I had lived in South Korea for five months. I felt sure that Buenos Aires would be even easier for me to adjust to than Korea had been, since while I'd known only basic Korean and had communicated mostly in English and with improvised hand gestures in Korea, I was already fluent in Spanish. I soon realized, however, that all the students, advisers, and relatives warning me about challenges I'd face in studying abroad had been right about the initial adjustments required.

During my first month here, I ran into problems that surprised me. I realized that my ability to understand about three quarters of conversations in Spanish — an ability I'd formerly considered impressive — was actually a problem when it came to making friends and understanding professors' lectures. I felt deceived by my surroundings: whereas many things in Korea had seemed foreign to me from the start — the tables at restaurants were close to the ground, for example, and everyone ate with chopsticks and shared the same bowls of food— the things I encountered in Buenos Aires seemed deceptively familiar. I boarded public buses, went to class, and sat down to dinner with my host family assuming that I knew exactly what to expect, but found myself confused and frustrated when things turned out, after all, to be culturally distinct. I felt lonely and overwhelmed: feelings which ultimately passed, as everyone had assured me they would.

The support I got from study abroad coordinators, family, and new friends, as well as my own determination to make the most of my time here made my frustrating first weeks in Buenos Aires bearable, and everything improved with time. I ended up doing everything I'd come to do and more.

My Spanish has improved a lot. During my first two months here, the phrase I used most frequently during conversations was “What…?” Now I can carry on hour-long conversations with hardly any doubts about vocabulary. Thanks to the Knox Program, my classes at the University of Palermo, and my conversations with friends from Argentina and other Latin American countries, I’ve also gained a basic understanding of Buenos Aires and Latino culture, Argentine politics, and the dictatorship whose devastating effects will never fully disappear.

Another goal I had for my trip to Buenos Aires was to see a lot of art; and I really did! The Argentine government sponsors many artistic events, and artists from all over the world bring their talents here. I've seen amazing sculptures, paintings, architecture, films, plays, literature, concerts, and photos, and talked with art scholars, curators, dancers, and artisans.  I studied Latin American and Medieval Art at the University of Palermo: my first formal education in art history. My extensive exposure to great art here has taught me a lot about communication (as great art evokes strong emotional and critical response), and with its strangeness has opened my mind to possibilities.

My specializations in both Spanish and Anthropology & Sociology (AnSo) have been advanced by my travels here. My Spanish abilities have been improved and reinforced by my constant opportunities to practice and build upon what I’ve learned, and my AnSo studies have eased my transition into a new culture and have shaped my critical perspective about everything I’ve seen. For example, my AnSo classes taught me that race is a social construction, and I saw evidence of that in my travels here. Three people who would all be considered “Latino” in the United States might be considered “White,” “Black,” and “Indian/Indigenous” in Argentina, and whereas the United States census offers numerous racial categories, the Argentine census asks only if respondents are “Argentine,” “Indigenous,” or “Afro-descendant.” My studies have taught me to notice the social character of culturally normalized divisions like race and gender, to think critically about their consequences, and how to work towards reducing structural inequalities.

Studying in Buenos Aires has been an invaluable experience for me. I’ve learned and grown more than I ever expected to. The knowledge I’ve gained here has enhanced my formal studies and fueled my interests in anthropology, social justice, and the arts: the fields I will pursue as a writer, teacher, and activist. The months I’ve spent here have been some of the most significant in my college career, and I thank everyone who made this trip possible for me!