International Education

As cliche as it sounds, my trip to Buenos Aires was the most challenging yet rewarding whirlwinds of a month I have yet faced in my life. Everything from the combination of culture shock, classes and overwhelming city life presented in itself a rewarding kind of obstacle.

To start, I didn’t originally think culture shock would effect me much, being an Anthropology major I thought I would have a better cultural understanding than most. Well I’m sure it helped, I was still quite literally shock by how different another nook of the world could be. It made me realize how important experience truly is. My anthropology books just couldn’t cut it. Everything from the smaller coffee cup sizes, the required ten o’clock family dinners and blatantly honest conversation topic of Argentina forced me out of my comfort zone. In retrospect it was amazing but I was surprised how much the little adaptations altered my daily American routine.

A whole other dimension of adaptations that I faced on my trip was the culture life of the city itself. Growing up in the small rural town of Davidson, I had never even been in a taxi before. Trying to navigate the subways and the one hundred plus bus routes within Buenos Aires was beyond overwhelming. The first time I made it home by myself to my university using public transportation was one of my proudest moments. The daily challenges of the city taught me to relax and go with the flow. Though once I got the hang of transportation I could take advantage of the endless byous of the city. Every spare minute I wasn’t spending studying or with my host family I was exploring some of Argentina’s beautiful, historical and nationally important sites, including Patagonia.

Of course I have to mention the whole reason I was in Buenos Aires, to study. I decided to take the international relations class offered at the host university, even though it was taught only in Spanish by local professors and I was a semester behind in the required Spanish class experience. I wanted a challenge and I wanted to better my Spanish and I definitely got both. I’ve never had to put so much effort into a class, both in assignments and in class participation. On top of it all, the laid back Argentine attitude carries over to school as well. The absence of rubrics and class starting twenty minutes late was another cultural adjustment and my stingy personality had to accommodate. I ended up receiving my first A minus ever in my high school and college career, yet it is the grade I am the most proud of.

Looking back at my time in Buenos Aires it was just a tiny blip in my life as far as time is concerned. However the significance of this particular time clip is insurmountable. I learned so much from the culture, the city and the class I took itself. Thank you to everyone who made it possible.