Posts

Posted on

Post #4: DIVE into Reflection

The Lord’s providence has shone clearly while I have been in San Jose. I have built many friendships with seminarians, religious, and priests, which continue to be a blessing. The gift of experiencing the difference in culture and practice of the faith, and yet also the beauty of the Catholic Church’s universality among different countries, has enriched my faith and devotion.

My friendship with Padre Jose Luis, a Piarist father, is an example of an enriching relationship that has strengthened my cultural competency and understanding of the Catholic Church in Latin America. A few weeks after meeting Padre Jose Luis, he invited me to take a tour of the high school where his community resides and spend the evening with his community. Padre Jose Luis is the vocations director for the province of his religious order, the formator of seminarians studying philosophy, and teaches a high school class.

I enjoyed Padre Jose Luis’s tour of the high school because of the many similarities and subtle differences between el Colegio Calasanz and my high school in New York. The time spent with the religious seminarians was wonderful. I immediately felt welcomed as part of their community and sensed the same strong fraternal bond I experienced at Notre Dame with my brothers in Old College. I am thoroughly grateful for the hospitality I received that night and the chance to spend time with guys who have similar future aspirations to me.

Posted on

My New Normal

Every week that I spend in Buenos Aires only makes me love the city more and more. Now that I have been in BA for 4 weeks, I feel like I have settled into a routine. I have class Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM till 1:00 PM. The Spanish classes are a great way for me to practice my language skills. Of course, out on the street I have ample opportunities to communicate with others, but I appreciate class because it lets me diversify my vocabulary. We watch Argentine films and have in-depth discussions following the viewings. We talk about current events and our own opinions. Every activity we do is extremely valuable, even if it is just learning to play Truco, a classic Argentine card game. I also enjoy class because it has allowed me to get to know people from all over the world! My classmates are from many different countries and not all of them know English. 

My schedule after class varies. Sometimes I get lunch with a classmate or visit one of the many museums in Buenos Aires. So far Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes has been my favorite. I traveled to the Ecoparque and saw peacocks walking around. I even went to the Vincent Van Gough traveling museum. My favorite post class event this week was traveling to the neighborhood of Belgrano where I visited the Argentine China Town. It was very crowded but I enjoyed trying the cuisine and seeing all the different street performers. 

This past weekend I also had the opportunity to travel to El Calafate, a city in the Patagonia region of Argentina. I think this might have been one of the prettiest places I have ever visited in my life. While it was extremely cold, since we are in the southern hemisphere winter, it was still breathtaking. I arrived in El Calafate with my roommate and a few of my classmates on Thursday and we had dinner in the town. We tried guanaco, which is a common type of llama in the region. We woke up bright and early the next morning and toured the national park and Perito Moreno, the third largest glacier in the region. We were able to take a boat and cruise right next to the glacier. We didn’t get too close because the glacier was cracking and huge chunks of ice kept falling into the water. We all thought the glacier was melting but we were happy to find that Perito Moreno is one of the few glaciers in the world that is actually in equilibrium. Although the ice is breaking in the front, it is growing from the rear. The next morning we toured around Patagonia in safari trucks and saw some of the cave art left from the native people. The entire trip was perfect and after venturing outside the city of Buenos Aires for the first time, I am already planning more weekend excursions.

Posted on

Post 3

The other day, I talked to somebody and asked him about what he thinks of American students. Unfortunately, I must say that his general impressions were rather negative. Indeed, he thought that most American students study less and are less educated than their European counterparts. Moreover, according to him, they particularly lack what he considers “general culture,” for example, knowledge about basic geography, world history, and the arts.

However, his statements were based on hearsay and the media rather than firsthand experience. I also found that his judgments aligned well with the stereotypes many Europeans have of Americans in general and not just the student body.  

Posted on

What do you think? (Dégustation des plats internationaux)

What do you think?
(Dégustation des plats internationaux)

At my first dinner with my host family, I noticed that the table was set formally- plates, knives, forks and tablespoons then, my host mother placed what she called the entrée/appetizer before us. I was surprised because I actually expected a bowl of food (main), plates with spoons beside.
After the entrée, we had the main dish during which everyone except me employed the services of their knives. We were having salads and bread. Instead of using my knife to shred the salad and bread, I used my fork and my hands to fill my bread and ate with my hands. She looked at me and said, “Les Américains préfèrent utiliser les mains parce qu’ils mangent vite” (Americans prefer to eat with their hands because they eat fast. I tried to tell her that I am not really good at using cutlery but her husband continued by saying “C’est pareil. Les Américains mangent des burgers avec les mains, ils aiment les burgers et ils mangent beaucoup avec les doigts” (It is similar. Americans eat burgers with their hands. They love burgers and they eat with their fingers a lot. And finally, we had déssert/dessert.

All the while, I couldn’t take my mind off the fact that they believed Americans lived on burgers. It was almost as though Americans were synonymous to Burgers.
Considering the fact that they have never been to America, I believe their theory was incited by American movies. If we go by that channel of information, they could be right depending on the movies they have seen. Most times in comedies, high school movies, and others, the actors are mostly seen eating burgers, in a hurry and of course with their hands. I thought about how that discovery made me feel, I definitely did not feel bad because I reminded myself that circumstances shape our culture as humans. Most times, they are learnt involuntarily. We just grow up behaving the way we do because of the society we found ourselves in.

As at the time I sat down to write this, I was commended for my cutlery skills. I barely use my hands to eat anymore.

When asked about American food, the first word that comes to mind is bland. As an American student, I have ascertained that American food is bland. Most times, one has to choose Mexican in order to get a tasty meal. On the other hand, the French have more tasty meals. It would not be out of place to say that they are among the best globally. With my host family, I discovered it is possible to not repeat a meal in one whole month. I really cannot say Americans have many options when it comes to food recipes considering the fact that they also use French recipes.