Well I made it. The first week is done. So far its been scary, exciting, lonely, exhausting, exhilarating and overall pretty hard. It has definitely been a culture shock. No matter how much preparation you have before you go on exchange, or into any foreign culture, it is going to be hard.
This week I’ve learned a lot. I’ve learned that taking 4 year of Spanish in the United States does not mean you are fluent or even conversational sometimes. I’ve learned that immersing yourself in a new culture is hard at first but gets easier with time. I learned that some physics teachers in Argentina give an exchange student a test on the first day of class and expects them to understand it.
Every experience and adventure comes with setbacks and difficult situations. The first few days I was very home sick and didn’t want to be here. However, once I started getting into a routine and meeting more people, it didn’t matter as much what was happening back home. Of course I miss my family, boyfriend and friends but it got better. I forgot for those couple of days that I was homesick of how lucky I am to have the opportunity to travel abroad, experience a different culture and learn a new language.
People: The people of Argentina are so incredibly welcoming and nice to foreigners and always go out of their way to make you feel more comfortable.
Food: Breakfast is a snack or almost non-existent in Argentina. Lunch is referred to as a “merienda” and is usually later in the day around 2:00 or 3:00pm. Dinner is the biggest and most sacred meal of the day and usually starts around 9:00 or 10:00pm and doesn’t get over until 11:00 or later. I am so lucky to have an amazing host mom that is an equally amazing cook. So far I’ve tried empanadas, milenesa, asado, chorizo seco, and many other foods. In Argentina, you just have to accept the fact that every meal is going to have meat in it, and even when you think you can’t eat enough you will be served another plate.
Language: I came into my exchange thinking that I was prepared with my Spanish. I was so wrong. In the part of Argentina that I live in, they speak Catellano, a type of Spanish that has many different words and a strong accent. The accent is the hardest thing to get used to. It is a beautiful accent but almost sounds like an italian trying to speak Spanish. The words are different and hard to get used to because the Spanish we are taught in the United States is from Mexico and Spain.
School: Schooling is extremely different here as well. My high school (Escuela Normal) has class from 7:00am to 12:30pm every week day and physical education Tuesdays and Thursdays after school at 4:00. In class students are basically allowed to do whatever they want. The teacher doesn’t have that much control of the classroom. All of my teachers have been very nice and understanding that I am an exchange student that has graduated high school. So schoolwork isn’t a priority and learning the language is.
Thank you to everyone who has helped me get through this week. I am so lucky.
Thanks for being the best to me Tanner
Ben
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