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Don't Cry For Me, Argentina
Wakeboarding on my last day in Argentina
Towards the end of my time in Buenos Aires, I started getting excited to come home to all the familiar places, language, food etc. Now that I am finally home however, there is so much from Argentina that I miss. Argentina is an amazing country, and I am so happy that I chose to study there above all other places. The most rewarding aspect of the experience for me was meeting people from different places. I became very good friends with a group of guys from Costa Rica who were studying in Buenos Aires, and learned so much from them about the Spanish language. They lived in my building, so they taught me how to cook food from Costa Rica every once in a while, and I also became close with many of their other friends. Knowing locals was so crucial to my study abroad experience because, once I met them and started doing non-touristy things with people other than NYU students for once; I really started to feel like I was living there. They took us to clubs where they knew everyone and therefore got us in free, drove us to cool places outside the city that are difficult to get to without a car, and on my last day, took me wakeboarding I Tigre, a small water town outside the city. It was very ironic because before I met these guys, I went on the school day trip to Tigre in which we spent the day on a tour boat. Towards the end of the day we saw a small group of wake boarders. About two months later I was in the same river, but this time in the wakeboard boat complaining about the amount of space the tour boats take up in the narrow river. I no longer felt like the stupid American tourist, but I felt like I was a part of Buenos Aires society, and it felt much more like I belonged there.
The biggest problem I faced I think was that, in the beginning of the semester, I spoke VERY little Spanish, so getting by day to day was very difficult at first. The language barrier really shut me off from a lot of opportunities that I missed out of, and I think it made me apprehensive to approach Spanish speakers and meet new people.
One thing I will do differently here at home is to have much more respect for people who can speak more than one language. I have always appreciated how difficult it is to learn a new language, but not until this semester I had no idea how frustrating it is to live in a place where you are trying to learn that language.
Here is a list of things from the states that I will never take for granted again:
· The use of spices other than salt and pepper in cooking
· Free refills at restaurants
· Creamy salad dressing
· Chipotle, Subway, California Pizza Kitchen, and all other American food chains
· Cold soda
· Public bathrooms with toilet paper (or even a toilet seat would be nice sometimes)
· Gossip magazines in English
· Juices other than apple and orange
· Being able to pay for things with a credit card
· Stores who don’t mind making small change for large bills
· Clothing that is made for humans, because clothing in Argentina is apparently fitted to anorexic dolls instead of women
Things I will always miss about Argentina:
· The exchange rate
· Argentine men
· Spanish accents
· The Tango
· Asados and all Argentine beef
· The hospitality and cheerful nature
· The sunshine and warm temperature
· Their relaxed approach to time or deadlines
· The culture and charm of Buenos Aires
· Speaking Spanish
