*Written July 23rd 2011. My last night in Argentina. Some awesome experiences that I never took the time to publish. Crazy what a different life I was living so recently! (if you're only going to read part, at least read about Un Techo Para Mi Pais) =D
“Hello world! This is will be my last post in Argentina. Tonight is my last night in Argentina, as terrifying as that is. Tomorrow night I fly out to the U.S. and have almost a week there before heading off to Spain for 3 ½ weeks.
Right now I am definitely feeling bombarded with emotions. I know that I have a lot ahead of me. I still have to go home and see everyone, and then whisp off to Spain and then straight to moving into my apt. in Mt Pleasant after classes have already started for the semester. I’m trying not to freak out and I’m just taking this one day at a time, trying to enjoy it tranquilo.
Since my trip to Salta and then Iguazu [read last post. It’s worth it!!!], I have had just 3 weeks here in the city. During this time, I have spent it trying to cram in a lot and take advantage of my life here.
Un Techo Para Mi Pais (building houses in poor barrios)
I went back to one of the barrios in the province (outside La Capital, the actual city limits) where I had volunteered building houses with the organization “Un Techo Para Mi Pais” or “A Roof for my Country”. I don’t think I had really written too much about my experience there during my weekend of construction, so I’ll give a quick summary now.
I showed up one night to some military place with 2,500 other volunteers. I didn’t know a single person and was really intimidated. I am now SOO glad that I had pushed myself out of my comfort zone, because those were some of my best 4 days here in South America.
We slept very few hours a night on the floor, I was in a group with 3 other volunteers, and we built a house for the family - an incredible woman named Angeles who has 3 sons (the youngest 2 yrs old). They were living in a "house" with dirt floors, no bathroom or running water, with gaps so wide between the boards of the walls and roof that rain and wind would enter. These are their conditions every single day, even in the cold of winter. The house we built is a very small 1-roomed house. And still, it has no running water, kitchen, or bathroom. One of the families that I had worked with has 13 kids. Even though the houses don’t have carpet and are rather simple, the families are oh so grateful for their new home. Angeles (the mom) showed her gratitud to us by serving mate without mercy for about 14 hours a day. I think it was the only thing that she could think of to thank us. By the end of the 4th day, I had zero feeling in my burnt tongue. :) After the days of construction were done, I was able to take the train home. My host mom took one look at me covered from head to toe in mud and saw dust and said, "oh poor thing you are!" Yet this really opened my eyes. I was able to shower and sleep in a bed that night. That little boy right this minute still has no bed to sleep in.
Not only did I have fun and learn a lot of Spanish, but I was slapped in the face of how blessed I am (more like "spoiled"), how much "stuff" I have and don't need, and I now understand a new level of gratefulness. We just take so much for granted.
Also, I know for a fact that there are countries that I don't know exist. However, it was humbling to meet kids who had never heard of the United States and didn't even know it was a country.
Anyways, so almost every Saturday I had been going with this organization to a different poor barrio to volunteer and talk with the people about their family, income, education, and health, to see who is in the most need of a home. Then, this weekend of actually constructing was maybe about a month or two ago. Last week, it was the Birthday of the mom (Angeles) so I went back and brought cake and spent a beautiful day outside of the city in her new little house that actually has walls and a roof so the rain and wind stay out and finally a floor that is not made of mud. We gave her a little book with pictures we had taken during construction. She could not have loved it more because they were the only pictures now that she has of her sons. I can't tell you how many albums capturing my childhood we have in my basement. Long story short – an incredible growing experience for me.
Cottolengo (volunteered at home for women with mental disabilities),
Since my trip to Salta and Iguazu Falls, I also went back to Cotolengo with friends that I met through San Benito, the Catholic Church here. This is a home where women with different disabilities live and are taken care of by nuns. I went to chat, sing songs, dance, and hang out. Loved it and it made me miss Camp Huntington, in New York even more.
Exams
Also in my few weeks here since the trip I have had two final exams – my two classes with Argentines. The University system here is set up where your entire grade is based off of a written midterm and a 30 minute oral exam where you sit in front of all the professors and they can ask you whichever question they desire. My sociology class was most definitely the hardest class I’ve taken in my life. Learning about the concepts of Marx, Weber, Durkheim, Hegel, Comte, and Spencer aren’t exactly easy in English. Taught in Spanish was another world for me, especially in a class where everyone else already knows the language. And they had assumed that it is common sense to know everything about European history. I felt very ignorant at times, but in the U.S. [at least in my experience] I hadn’t learned hardly anything about these concepts, even though I have already taken Sociology at CMU. That is one rather big cultural difference I have noticed. Our educational system puts so much extra focus on our own history, and less of the world’s. On my exam I got a 5 out of 10. Which sounds horrible, but it transfers as a B-. I passed!!!
In my Social Psychology class, I am the only foreigner. The class is set up the same way. I studied my butt of and got an 8 which transfers as an A-!!!
Leaving my “Home of 6 months”
I have spent some time here just spending time talking with Silvia and Nelly and Silvia’s daughter Ceci just enjoying their company while it lasts. I have been so blessed to live here. I have gotten really really close with them and leaving them is a topic that I’m not even going to talk about.
I have just spent the rest of my time running around the city cramming in last minute experiences and saying goodbye to many people. I am feeling pretty numb from goodbyes. It is really hard to leave my life here. I'm not just here on vacation. After 6 months I have friends. I have a family. I have a home. I have brought my clothes to same laundry lady for 27 weeks straight! I have so many of the bus and subway routes memorized. I have experienced SO SO much during my 6 months here. Some days were really really hard. I definitely struggled as each day had its challenges (especially in the beginning). But my goal was to get through each day so that by the end I could pull a Legally Blonde and say, “I DID IT!!!”. And in the process, I’ve learned to love it here and while looking back to my time here in February, I think it’s definitely safe to say I’ve changed as well.
Tomorrow I leave and it is quite a bittersweet thing. So, yes I am terribly sad to leave. Yes I am rather excited to go home. But more than anything I am afraid go home. Culture shock, a different life, and mixed emotions, here we come!!!
