My expectations were to begin improving my Spanish, to make a ton of friends, and have a few unique stories to tell. I assumed the difficulties would be with adjusting to a new climate or environment, to have issues deciding which experiences would be best of all the great opportunities available. For the most part these are all true. And there are more things that I didn't expect.
My Spanish is slowly but surely improving. It's very interesting to step back and watch as one day I can speak for hours on end with full comfort and interest while the next I might not remember how to respond to 'Que tal?' However, it is certainly improving. In Milwaukee, I would have to mentally prepare myself to ask for a pen in Spanish, needing to form the words in my mind and silently practicing several times before speaking. Here, I've accepted that my Spanish sucks and that I'm going to make mistakes, and suddenly asking for directions or ordering at a restaurant becomes a much easier activity. Speaking with the old folks who hang out at the center that we spend many of our lunch hours volunteering at becomes quite the art, since the combination of their history and their slow ways of speaking allow for an engaging experience. And constant kisses on the cheeks from old, senile Argentinian woman is always interesting. These conversations, games, and meditation times with these old people allow for great inter-cultural as well as inter-generational bonding. I hope the enjoyment is mutual. There are plenty of other cool linguistics opportunities that this opportunity offers. Last night I got an hour-and-a-half long Portuguese lesson from a Brazilian intern. That in itself is awesome, but he was teaching a Polish intern as well as me, and this was all being done in Spanish since this is the only language that all three of us know. One more sweet experience, brought to you by AIESEC.
Running is my passion and what keeps me sane and so far I've only been able to go once with Diego. At home it is easy to run along sidewalks anywhere you are and is generally a safe experience. In our neighborhood the traffic is constant, the sidewalks are made of broken cobblestones covered with dog poop, and running for fun is not exactly a typical South American past time. In addition the air quality in a third world city like this sucks, although not noticeably until you engage in any serious exercise. For our first opportunity, we began running north along sidewalks, incurring piercing stares from anyone within a half block. Just when it began to feel fruitless, I suggested we find a park to run around. Sure enough, within a minute a big park appeared with not one, but two tracks around it and runners everywhere. At least there is one safe, relatively clean place to stay healthy and sane.
These are all things I have somewhat expected. One thing I am a little surprised about is the food. What I thought would happen:
- There is a ton of meat (Argentina after all has the highest per capita meat consumption in the world)
- There are also a ton of cheap veggie and fruit stands
- They eat really really late, so this should result in three really really late meals
- Therefore, being vegetarian shouldn't be terrible. Stir fries accented with some typical Latin American sides of rice and beans will be fantastic!
What actually has happened:
- There is a ton of meat, and a ton of cheap veggie and fruit stands.
- This is not a tropical climate, so those veggies and fruits are mostly limited to the exciting, tropical fare of tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, apples, bananas, and if you're willing to spring for a real treat, kiwis.
- This might be Latin America, but rice and beans in the Mexican or Puerto Rican sense do not exist. On that note, there are no spices used to flavor anything. Rice becomes like a gray soup. Ketchup is about as wild and crazy as condiments get.
- They eat dinner really really late (it can begin as late as 11pm), but the only other meals are lunch and tea. Breakfast might be tea and crackers. And tea means tea and crackers. Adding a banana and yogurt for breakfast must be their idea of an Easter feast.
- Therefore, being vegetarian can be really difficult and expensive, since salad is about the only option unless you can afford to go find exotic international foods every day.
I have learned how to navigate the complex maze of buses and the subway (el Subte) around the city, so that is not difficult, and I am comfortable enough with the language to get around if I get lost. Nonetheless, the concept of dangerous meaning you shouldn't go some places at night, especially alone, does not compare to any bad neighborhoods in Milwaukee. Here, it can be much more real. This is easy to deal with in big groups, but as a big group of foreign interns we have learned to carry our backpacks and purses in front of us and to not yell "I think I'm lost" in English to your friends on the other side of the street.
The biggest shock has not come from some tip-of-the-iceberg difference like language or food. It is something that I have been sheltered from back home enough to not have to deal with. Here, living in a foreign country with a couple dozen college kids, I have learned that I need to both go with the flow as well as fend for myself. There are certain things that I have no control over and this will not magically change by being stubborn. At the same time, I have to take care of my things and my needs and not expect anyone else to.
To elaborate, the internship that I signed up for is to work with a team of interns to fundraise for an NGO in Buenos Aires. This is not exactly what has happened. Mensajeros de la Paz is a great organization and has a fantastic mission of providing food, shelter, and safe places for lone or homeless kids and seniors. However, they have had us spend time (and a lot of it) in community centers just chilling and talking. The people we engage with are amazing, fun individuals who have great stories to tell and I expect to make some good friends with some of them by the end of our time in Argentina. However, the NGO's idea of fundraising, my job, is to put together a one-day soccer tournament and sell hot dogs and yerba mate tea for donations. To be honest, I did not travel thousands of miles to a different continent to just hang out with people. I would love to do plenty of that back in the Midwest. I came to help this NGO achieve its mission by raising money while developing my business skills and experience working with other companies or organizations to create a program to bring in donations. At the end of this I need something to put on my resume. So far, this hasn't really happened.
There are a few other interns feeling the same way, and we will work with the organization to come up with a new plan to better achieve goals from both needs and the needs of the interns. Fortunately, the local AIESEC people have been wonderful with assessing our needs and helping us with these. In addition, the organization has been more than accommodating (they bought the house we live in for not just the interns working for them, but also for all Andes Way program interns here working for other NGOs). Nonetheless, a few things within the internship need to change for me to get what I invested into this.
Another thing that I didn't think about is the planning process involved in social activities for 27 people, plus local AIESEC members. For example, one night AIESEC told us about a free buffet that went that night from 8pm to 10pm. We all agreed this would be great and decided to check it out. What does 'free buffet' mean in Argentina? A really cool three-story, blazer and tie-type club built in a 19th century factory with expensive drinks and at the end of a subway line. It was certainly a sweet place to go out on a Friday night, but was no Golden Corral. And when you are a big group of starving interns, this is not ok. So we had to settle for Burger King.
Another day included a plan that involved going to a Japanese Garden and some particular museum as well as walking around the trendy areas of the Palermo neighborhood. This turned into us wandering around the Puerto Madero area and taking a tour of la Casa Rosada, then being part of the 6pm changing of the guards. Or today, we planned to go to an art museum and some kind of festival at the university. This turned into us getting to the museum three hours late and spending the evening planning who would go to Iguazu Falls and who would go to Montevideo in a couple weekends. In other words, living in a giant frat house in Argentina does not allow for good planning. Ever. So I've had to learn to just go with the flow and be in charge of what I can do. These are experiences that I didn't expect and didn't know I need; maybe I do.
In other words, I believe that by the end of this experience I will have grown up a lot. If I don't get anything else out of living in South America (and so far it has been incredible), I will take a new maturity home with me. And that is priceless.
Nic
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