SIT/IHP: Cities in the 21st Century: Buenos Aires, Argentina

 Buenos Aires: September - October, 2022

I couldn’t have asked for a better start to my study abroad experience than in the capital of Argentina. I was looking forward to being able (or even forced) to practice my first tongue, Spanish. Being in Spanish-speaking countries fills me with a deep pride and admiration for my background and culture. I grew up in a latin household but at times feel out of touch with my ethnicity because I was later raised in a predominantly white neighborhood. Argentina was good. It was interesting getting to know what was different about our host country for my classmates versus what I already had an inkling to. Some of my fellow classmates of color were shocked to find out that the country wasn’t brown, but more so the “Paris of Latin America”, or european. I am grateful for my time in Buenos Aires and its provinces; never having been in Europe before this trip, I got a fair glimpse of it within BA and thanks to the program leaders of the Buenos Aires leg, got to see people that reminded me of my family abroad in El Salvador and Dominican Republic. I got to see the city and got to know the country life with themes being introduced to us, like “quiet encroachment” and being “pushed to the peripheries” outside of the classroom and later supported in the classroom by lectures and scholars who wanted us to genuinely understand their country’s government and why its past and future have commonalities that have yet to change. I learned a lot more than I thought I could or would there. One quote that stayed with me by Isi Martinez, a local-turned-friend (very randomly but organically) who said to me, “this city has a lot more than meets the eye, huh?” It was easy to make friends and connections that I wanted to nurture. I even got to see Isi this past spring break when I went to Southern Florida.

Some things I learned while in Argentina...

•  Patagonia isn’t just a brand, but the tundra of southern Argentina... Major facepalm, but what else is travel good for other than to teach us? 

• It was surprisingly easy for me and my classmates to get away with our English and limited Spanish. 

• I would need more time to explore it. I want to see and get to know more of the country and not just its capital city. 

• The power of the people will [should] always be more powerful than the power of government

 

I would say the biggest concept that I was introduced to was collectivism and the power of a community coming together to defeat something bigger. During the four weeks that we were in Argentina, we met with so many different groups and figures. I got to know many gold-hearted individuals and women who have the hearts of a million soldiers. It was an interesting time being in a country whose economy and government are failing. My host-mom would have the news channels going on the TV all day and every night. My roommate for the month Kylie, my host-mom Alicia, and I would watch and discuss current local happenings as well as how the information was being portrayed over dinner, having political discourse and getting to know one another more. Before getting to know the nation for myself and through my own experiences, the only knowledge I had of Argentina was how proud they are of their nation and of their accent (which I learned is unique to Buenos Aires whose people are called porteño, or people of the port). I was looking forward to Argentina, because my mother would always mimic the porteño accent when I was growing up. After being there, I must say, she was pretty spot on! After some time I began to understand the pride. Throughout my first month abroad I never felt like I was in a foreign place although I also never felt completely settled. This being said, I really fell for Argentina. I felt a certain level of comfort being there because of similarities in cultures. It felt as if everyone I was able to have a conversation with was family and could have been a cousin of mine. Any country that survives a dictatorship and manages to work with their government better be proud as people. The program focus during BA was sustainability and how Argentine’s overcome adversity through collective action. 

         A program expectation was a small group of students introducing each city and country leading up to our departure for it. Some of the warnings of Argentina was the Latin culture of touch and using terms of endearment, even with strangers. For some of my classmates this was new, for me that was home! Buenos Aires was safe. I took public transportation everywhere and walked plenty as well. I really enjoyed that part of my travels– the walkability of where we were. 

        At the time I was there the conversion rate was one US dollar equalling around 140 Argentine pesos at the official rate, and 226 at the Western Union exchange rate. Today one USD is the same as 226 pesos officially and 446 with WU– scary. Had I not packed as much as I did for the three months, I would have probably bought a whole new wardrobe while there. The fashion in Buenos Aires was beautiful, and I definitely window shopped on my walks. 

        As I was budgeting and it was the first month of the trip, I didn’t spend much, but I’m happy to share that my father was able to send me some money through Western Union– he simply told them my name, birthday, pick up cit, and I was able to get money from any storefront (Monday-Friday) with my passport. The simplicity and convenience of it all even gave me thoughts that I could live there… lol! The food of Buenos Aires wasn’t extraordinary… Come to think of it, Argentina doesn’t have many staple foods or a palette outside of dishes like empanadas, yerba mate, milanesa, and parilla. It was a lot of fried food and minimal vegetables. I also ate a lot of sweets and meat!

         I used my time in Buenos Aires with friends and trying out the nightlife, understanding the flow of how my assignments would go during the program, and editing videos for my music career. In terms of how much of the countries we saw, I would say that we saw the most of Buenos Aires and Argentina because we traveled the furthest (and the most often) outside the city center, learned about peripheries, and were able to connect and speak to many interesting and unique individuals/organizations. Now I have plans to spend a minimum of three months in Argentina to explore the south and the natural islands, with a clause. I’ve been telling locals and friends that the next time I go to Buenos Aires it will be because I’m booked to perform a show. With this intention set in place I really wish to make it happen. Whenever I recall my time in BA I remember a smell, a climate, and a gentleness; with myself, the people around me, and from experiencing so many moments that made me think. I met amazing and interesting people in Argentina. People that I would love to see again. I appreciate how everything was established for us by the SIT team in Buenos Aires. They made sure we were adjusting well, were fed, and generally taken care of for any need. I’ll admit I missed a lot in Buenos Aires but I’m not allowing myself to feel regret or to view it as such. I think it’s a great thing to be able to say I stayed in the city for a whole month and very much plan on returning because of the people I got to know and the spaces I didn’t get to experience fully. Argentina is rightfully prideful, but it is a tragedy about the government and the corruption that it has seen for the last decade and beyond. 

        I’m so grateful that I even stepped foot in Argentina. I hope to someday return with my mother and get to introduce her to the places that I got to get familiar with and explore everywhere I never got to go to.