It's getting to be that time...

Uh oh. So here we are, June has practically come to a close and as the firsts of the good friends that I've made here in the past couple months begin to leave, whether I like it or not I am being forced to reflect even more on my time here than I have in the past.

My classes have pretty much come to an end - all that remains is to turn in one final paper for a seminar on Argentine political history, one of my favorite classes due to the insight that it offered on the society in which I've been living for the past 5 months. Following the history and the political development of this country through this class has been extremely interesting, especially when through detailing some past conflict, our professor can help shed some light on the issues that are plaguing Argentina today, most especially the distrust of the economy and of the executive branch of the government. These are things that I never would have been able to gain a reasonable understanding of before.

I've decided that these were the classes that were most worthwhile - the seminar, my class on political economics, and my Spanish class. These were the classes that either through the subject matter (economics) or the mission, were able to truly enrich my experience by reaching out to me and letting me understand better Argentina and its people. The best advice I can give for future USAL exchange students is to get a feel for the professors of your prospective classes. The university is good enough to give you a period of several weeks in which you can test out various courses - during this time, the best thing to do is to take into consideration which of the professors are truly interested in you as an international student, and in what they as professors and sometimes mentors can do to truly maximize your experience but, perhaps more importantly, your understanding of that experience and its context.

The past months have been amazing in so many ways, and while it is sometimes difficult to look past the thrill and the spectacle of whatever trips I've taken (truly wonderful and eye-opening experiences), when I really think about what the best part of my time here as been, I have to say that it's been the opportunity to get to know the people with whom I am sharing this experience. Discussions with not only Argentine friends and acquaintances, but with the other international students as well, have provided a really invaluable opportunity to analyze and compare outlooks, customs, and ways of life from a great, wide variety of perspectives. The ideas of why things are the way that they are, or how they came about or how they could be improved vary greatly based on where people come from and what they know - I have found that the sharing of those opinions has been truly worthwhile.

And it is through that sharing that I have been able to make some of the greatest and most fulfilling friendships of my life (I am beginning to worry that this is starting to sound like a study-abroad brochure, but it is the truth). Perhaps this all sounds extra-cheesy due to how sentimental I am now that all of the friends I've made here are beginning to head back to wherever they came from, but the seemingly endless despedidas combined with all the extra time I have on my hands now that classes are ending makes it nearly impossible not to be reflective. One of the things that I have learned here has been to never underestimate how much you can learn from somebody, no matter what your first impression of them may be. When you are going through an experience like this one, I honestly believe that meeting as many people as possible and listening to as many of their stories as you can shoud be of the highest priority - it is through this that your experience can be truly life-changing.

Argentina: Striking sense of political responsibility

Farmers renew protests

Looking back on the last few months, one of the most striking differences between Argentina and the United States is the amount of protesting that goes on, and how completely dedicated the Argentine people seem to be when it comes to showing their government how they feel. It's been said for a while that in the United States we have a huge problem of political indifference, and that indifference is easy to see when you look at statistics such as voter turnout, etc. But after coming here, the difference has been blown into surprising contrast.

Maybe I would have a different perspective if I lived in DC, and was close enough to the seat of the federal government in the United States that I'd see more of the political activity that goes on. And legitimately, the differences between the two countries - in government, in infrastructure, in armed forces - all play a part in this difference as well. But it is a truly affecting thing to be walking through the city and to be able to hear the banging together of pots and pans from a mile away simply because of the amount of people that are participating, and then to hear the protest spread as the drivers in the streets take up the cause by sounding the car horns, and before you know it the entire city is full of noise, and completely immersed in the demonstration.

I was lucky enough that while I was here, I was in 2 classes that helped me to understand better Argentina as a country and how it worked. I have a better understanding now of Argentina's tumultuous (understatement) political and economic history, and at least a basic understanding of the differences between how their government and our government work. For example - the problem that we have in the United States with low voter turnout is something that here doesn't exist - voting in all elections is something that is obligatory for every person of age. Maybe this has something to do with the greater sense of political responsibility.

Effects of farming strikes

I don't know if it would right to say that I am "fortunate" to be in Argentina now and know the country and the people at this particular time; because right now is certainly a rough time for the country and its people. Inflation and taxes are rising at record levels and the peoples' salaries can't quite keep up, and the government and the Central Bank seem to be proving themselves over and over again to be not quite competent when it comes to handling the current problems of the country. But I do definitely appreciate the experience and the perspective it's offered.

Oops.

Well guys, clearly I haven't proven extremely regular with the blog thing - I've started a couple posts here and there, on various things, but things here have been a little bit crazy after the semester finally warmed up and so it's been a little bit difficult to just take some time and write a post.

It's been about four and a half months now that I've been down here, and although when I left the States in January I thought that the beginning - the first month or so - would be the most difficult, I think that this title belongs to the period I'm going through now. It's reached the point now where the spring semesters are over in the States, and a lot of friends are home for the summers now, doing various combinations of work and enjoying themselves, and while it would be ridiculous to complain about how I'm missing out on just hanging out, making trips to the beach, etc, that is the part of home that I tend to miss the most. It would appear that the real homesickness has finally set in.

But - it's a complicated feeling. I miss the States and my people there, while at the same time knowing that I am in no way ready to think about leaving here yet. The people that I've met here have made this easily one of the greatest experiences of my life, and I am not even close to prepared for that to be over. It's difficult to think that starting in just a couple weeks, I'll begin to be separated from the people that have been a fairly constant part of my life since February. Knowing that this is true makes us want to go out and celebrate every day we have left in Buenos Aires, and really seize the last of the time that we have, but this too is frustrating, because now is the time when the semester is coming to an end, and most of us are too swamped with work to be able to go out without at the very least feeling guilty about spending the time doing something other than studying. I even feel guilty about working on this post instead of studying.

So, because of the fact that I haven't written in a while, and how because of this, this blog is missing out on a lot of details/opinions of my experiences here, the next few entries are going to be relatively short ones on some of the things about Argentina that are different from home, whether they be things that I'm going to miss or just simple observations. Some of them will be the ones that I've started but not finished in the last month or so, and then maybe some new ones as well. Sorry for the long delay.

Thoughts on the USAL housing options...

One of my biggest struggles here in Argentina was with the places I was living. It took almost 3 months for me to find a situation that actually worked for me - I'm now living in my own apartment more or less in the center of the city. As one of the reasons for this blog is as a resource for my University, and therefore potentially a resource for students looking to study abroad in Buenos Aires in the future, I thought it would be good to write about the different housing options available to the exchange students, so that maybe they have a little bit more information than I did when I made the decision on where I'd be living.

For my first month here, I lived in a student residence called Proyecto Alfa 2000. I generally enjoyed my time in the residence (here, endearingly referred to as "la resi") but I think if I stayed for more than just my first month, I would have a very different opinion. I came to Buenos Aires a month before the beginning of the semester to participate in USAL's Curso Intensivo de Español, and it was for the CIE that I was staying in the residence. This time was good for me because the majority of the other people participating in the CIE lived in the residence as well during this time, so it was a really great opportunity to get to know and build friendships with people from all over the world. The best thing about living in a student residence like Alfa 2000 is the opportunity for meeting people and making friends. Chances are you'll be paired with an Argentine roommate, and the residences are packed with people from all over Latin America, who are generally all really friendly and fun. The main drawbacks to the residences are the rules - drinking is not allowed, most of them don't allow visitors from outside the residence to be anywhere besides the common areas, and having guests in your room (even people who also live in the residence) is generally frowned upon. A lot of American friends who stayed in the residence after the CIE have gotten very frustrated with the lack of privacy, and many of them feel as though they aren't treated like adults. However, out of all of the housing options, the residence is definitely the best for making quick friends your age who help you figure out the quirks of the city and can show you some of the best places to go out and have a good time.

After the CIE I lived with a Argentine host family. This is the experience that would probably be the most variable, and I've heard different stories from friends who have also lived with a host family, but there are some things that seem to be cultural common denominators. For example, Argentines (and perhaps Latin Americans in general) tend to see their home as being a very sacred and personal space - you should be honored that they've opened their home to you. They tend to accept you immediately into the family - but you have to be open enough to take advantage of that. If you're shy and you think that you'd have trouble with the idea of participating in a huge family function where everyone has known each other for years and 8 different conversations are going on at once, all in loud, fast Spanish - you might want to think about another option. In order to really get all the host family has to offer, you have to really participate in the life of the family. Have dinner with them, join them for their asados (basically, barbeques that last all afternoon), ask them questions and share information about yourself, too. I think that with the host family experience, what you get out of it is about equal to what you're willing to put into it - from what I've heard, the people who have had the best experiences have been the people who were really willing to participate. But in regard to what I said before about the home being sacred - the biggest problem for me about life with a host family was the fact that (like in the residence) visitors are a problem. Just having a friend "drop by" or have someone come back from class with you to study generally isn't allowed. If you bring a friend by, you should ask permission first and be prepared to introduce the friend to the head of household. Your host family is generally going to want to know who comes into their house and when, and to bring somebody by without notifying them first and getting permission is considered extremely disrespectful. This was the once cultural adjustment that I couldn't make - it was too important to me to have my own space where I felt comfortable inviting people over for whatever reason.

If, like it is to me, it's important to you that you have your own space and the freedom that that comes with, the apartment is the option for you. If you organize it through USAL chances are you'll be placed with other international students, but it is sometimes possible to be placed with an Argentine student (better for practicing your Spanish) if you let them know that that's what you want. It's also fairly easy to find an apartment on your own once you're down here (cheaper if you have a roommate, obviously) and something that many people from the CIE did was to stay in the residence for the first month and begin their search for an apartment while there. It's usually possible to find something and get everything set up within about 2 weeks. What you miss out on in an apartment (especially if you're on your own or with international students who also aren't familiar with the city) is the information resource that the residence and the host family provide. In the residence and with the host family, its easy to figure out which bus to take to get where, what's the deal with the latest protests going on around the city, etc.

Hope that might be helpful to some future intercambios :)