Author: elavell2

Before writing this final blog post, I took a moment to read all my past entries. I think it is clear that one overwhelming emotion shines through my writing: excitement. Every day in Buenos Aires was different and special. Every museum I visited or stroll through the city I took was an adventure. My trips to Patagonia, Delta Tigre, Colonia, and Iguazu were all wonderful but even the days I went to class and played cards deep into the night were equally as memorable and exciting.

I left Buenos Aires just over two weeks ago now, and it has been on my mind ever since. I am still communicating with my friends, which is a great way to keep my Spanish skills sharp. I have almost every photo on my camera roll from the trip memorized, and I can’t wait to get my photos developed from the disposable camera I brought along.

My time in Buenos Aires was truly unforgettable. I know I summed it up pretty well in my last blog post, but I want to add a few things here. I am so thankful I was in a place where I was forced to use my Spanish speaking and listening skills. I learned a completely new vocabulary that will serve me well in the future. My biggest fear was forming friendships in Spanish with my roommates and classmates, and while some of my friends had English as their first or second language, many of my friends were not able to speak English. In some cases, we communicated through a language we were both still learning. This was a great experience and allowed both of us to practice! With my native Spanish-speaking friends, I got even more practice. Every time I would crack a joke in Spanish and receive laughs from my classmates and friends, I was so proud of myself. This was my biggest accomplishment, letting my personality shine through in Spanish.

Keeping this blog was a great tool to mark my expectations and gauge my thoughts and experiences throughout my time in Buenos Aires. I hope I can look back at my writing and remember some of the best times of my life, when I took a chance and entered an unfamiliar culture, challenging myself for the better.

I thought the beginning of my time in Buenos Aires was amazing, but the first 6 weeks were nothing compared to my last two weeks in Argentina. For my seventh week, my sister and cousin came and visited me! It was such a special experience to get to show them around my current home and share with them some of my favorite experiences. I took them to Delta Tigre, a tango show, and my favorite parilla restaurant. But I also saved a lot of things to do with them for the first time. We visited Colonia, Uruguay with a few of my classmates and even traveled to Iguazu Falls. We spent one day on the Brazilian side of the falls and one day on the Argentinian side. While I found the best view on the Brazilian side, the Argentinian side is far superior, boasting countless hiking paths that allow you to see the falls from the bottom and the top! On the Argentinian side, we also took a ride on “la lancha.” I am not joking when I say that the boat actually went into the falls. We got completely soaked but our wet clothes were far outweighed by the thrill of a lifetime. 

After returning to Argentina and saying goodbye to my family, reality sunk in. I only had one more week in Buenos Aires. The Porteños just have a way of making everyone feel welcome, there is a magic to this city that I am not quite ready to leave. The people in Buenos Aires are very relaxed, despite the conflicts they are experiencing with their economy and pending elections in the fall. The inflation was apparent to me, only being there for 2 months. Across the street from my apartment was a coffee place. When I arrived at the beginning of June, you were able to get a cup of coffee and a pastry for 600 pesos. At the beginning of August, I looked out my window and saw that the sign had been changed. That same deal was now being offered for 700 pesos. But despite these hardships, the people in Argentina seem to always be in a good mood. Having the chance to really interact with the local people through school and the various language exchanges was an eye-opening experience. I plan on taking the lessons I have learned of fortitude and perseverance with me as I travel back to the United States. 

My last week was my favorite week, with some of the highlights including attending a true at-home asado, by invitation of one of my classmates’ host families. We showed up at the house and were surprised to find that our entire dinner was being prepared by five seventeen-year-old boys. They turned out to be incredible cooks, and I was thrilled with the opportunity to practice my Spanish and meet more Porteños. I also had the chance to rent a paddle boat and explore the lake at 3 de Febrero Park in the heart of the city with one of my closest friends I met through school, Dimitri. No matter what time of day it is or what climate the city is experiencing, the park is always filled to the brim with families and adults alike. Countless rollerbladers, runners, or casual strollers circle the lake throughout the day. Seeing the sunset from the water was a memory I won’t ever forget. Every other sunset in my final week, I watched from the roof of my apartment building. 

My last day was the saddest day, but I tried to stay positive throughout. I went to school and said goodbye to all of my classmates and teachers. In tradition, I covered my hand in paint and left my mark on the hallway, proudly signing my name, the date, and my home country. After class, I went to lunch and explored an old antique market, the final thing on my Buenos Aires bucket list. My flight was scheduled for 5:00 AM the following day, which means the driver would pick me up at 1:15 AM. I grabbed a late dinner with my friends around 10:00 PM and after returning to my apartment, we played truco, my new favorite card game, for my remaining hours. When the buzzer to my apartment rang, my heart dropped. My friends walked me out and we hugged each other goodbye. 

In the hour-long taxi ride to the airport, I had time to reflect on the last two months of my life. My time in Buenos Aires skyrocketed through the already high expectations I had set. Because I was able to stay in Buenos Aires for 8 weeks, I truly had time to establish myself in the city. I met locals and engaged with the cultural traditions. I drank mate, played truco, watched tango, and of course advanced my Spanish in a way I thought was only possible in my dreams. But the thing that I will remember most about my summer isn’t going to be the incredible cuisine in Buenos Aires, my trip to Patagonia, or Iguazu Falls. It isn’t going to be the tango show that still plays on repeat in my head or the inside of Teatro Colon. It isn’t going to be the colorful houses of el Caminito, or the bustling center around Obelisco. The thing that is going to stick with me most from my time in Buenos Aires are the friendships I have formed. 

While my time in Buenos Aires comes to an end, my feelings are bittersweet. I am so incredibly thankful for this experience and the generosity of the CSLC. I wouldn’t have traded this past summer for anything! I was exactly where I was meant to be, experiencing the world, meeting new people, and living life to the fullest.

Now that I am coming to the end of my trip here in Buenos Aires a strange feeling has set in. I’ve been studying in the city for just over six weeks, and with two more to go, at the same time I feel as if I just arrived and I feel as if I’ve been in the city for a while. Living and studying in a foreign city is turning out to be one of the most impactful experiences of my life.

After returning “home” from Patagonia, I was excited to get back to studying Spanish. Class has been going great. Honestly, everything has been going great. I have been deepening the relationships I initially formed with my classmates and still meeting more people as new members join the program. I have also met many locals and call some of my professors my closest friends. The entire experience of my language and cultural immersion has been one of the best parts of my life. 

First and foremost, the classes at my school have been amazing. We study the complex grammatical structures of the Spanish language and focus on improving our conversational skills. Additionally, we study the more abstract aspects of the Spanish language. I never knew that different languages would have different signals and gestures. Last week in class we played a game where each student had to flip to a random gesture in the book and act it out. The point of the game was to have the students guess what the sign or gesture meant. We all really struggled but I was able to learn from the game. I often find myself utilizing gestures to my fellow classmates out and about as a result of this class. 

After class I have still been making the most out of everyday. One of my favorite things is to just walk around the city and take in the breathtaking sights that are found in each barrio of the city. I did a street art walking tour as well as a day trip to Delta Tigre. I also took the ferry across the bay to Colonia, Uruguay. I can’t wait to see what the final part of my trip will hold. I’m looking forward to my sister coming to visit me and our trip to the north of Argentina. We are going to visit the falls in Iguazú.