First day of school! First day of school!

Try to imagine the title of this blog in your best Nemo voice (from the movie Finding Nemo). School has almost always been something that I looked forward to. I like to learn, what can I say? Of course, my learning experience is definitely going to be different in another country! This semester, I am participating in the Semi-Integrated Program here at CC-CS. What that means is that I have three classes in PECLA (the part of UNC that is specifically directed towards international students) and take one class at the UNC with other Argentine students. Here is a list of the classes I am taking: Intensive Conversation II, Advanced Grammar, Socioeconomic Problems, and Algebra (UNC). I have been in classes for two weeks already, and already I have noticed many differences between my education here and at Wartburg plus differences between classes at PECLA and UNC:

My friend, Hanora, studying in Parque de las Tejas
Photo Courtesy of Liza Gashi

1. Classes NEVER start on time. All of the faculty say that if a class starts at 9:00 in the morning, be there by 9:00. Usually though, the professor hasn't arrive by the time class should start or the classroom may not even be open. It's kind of strange for me because I still come to class early because I don't want to miss anything. I just end up wasting fifteen minutes or more of my time just sitting and waiting for everyone else to get to class. In the United States in general, we focus so much on time that it's part of me that is so hard to change!

2. There is not very much homework in comparison to the United States. I am not sure of the reason. Personally, I believe that because we are in class for a minimum of two hours (maximum of four), that extra time that might have been spent on homework in the US is being used for extra class time. Also, obviously, it is just a cultural difference that I am still not used to (but don't mind either!). Along with this thought process, I wonder why there is that difference between cultures. What does Argentina value in comparison to the United States in terms of education?

3. At UNC, the classes are so much larger than my classes at Wartburg. Since I am here in the winter, it is second semester in the school year in Argentina. My Algebra class is the recurso of the course (AKA what people take if they did not pass the course the first semester). During the first semester, there are around 500 people that take my course. This semester, there are about 50-60 people taking my class. For some people, it's not a lot, but for a girl whose biggest class at Wartburg has been around 35 (Lifetime Wellness lecture excluded), it is a little overwhelming. At a university that has 128,000 students though, one should expect to have larger classes.

Miss Liza studying in Parque de las Tejas
Photo Courtesy of Liza Gashi

4. At UNC (at least for my algebra class), we don't have books to buy. If I want to read about the subject material that we covered in class or need more explanation, there are books in the library that I can read (but I can't check them out). For the homework, instead of doing work from a book or getting a worksheet from the teacher, the professor has one copy of the homework for the next class and then everyone has to go during break to pay to copy the assignment.

5. The typical class is just full of lecture - nothing more. This is not always true in PECLA (because we as students are still trying to learn the language and learn from one another) but is definitely true of the professors at UNC (one teachers my socioeconomic problems class and the other one teaches algebra). Sometimes this can be true of the environment of some classes at Wartburg. However, two hours is a
long time to sit and listen.

 6. This isn't Wartburg. At times, I will miss my beloved college with our Outfly, multiple bands and choirs, great staff and faculty, delicious breakfast pizza and cookies, and amazing people, but that does not mean that going to school at PECLA/UNC is either better or worse. It's just different.

Random information about education in Argentina:

There are both public and private universities here. However, studying at UNC is more prestigious than studying at a private school. It is free to attend a public university though which gives more people the opportunity to obtain their education. Initially, after hearing both of the aforementioned statistics, I was not sure why anybody would decide to go to a private school. First, there are some extra majors at some universities that one cannot do at a public school. Also, like me, people actually like smaller classes and getting to know the faculty.

¿Cómo te llamás?

Once again, welcome to my life! In the past week in my classes, we have talked about defining the people of Argentina. Who are they? How do we define an Argentinian family? In addition to our ethnocentric perspectives, I have had the luxury of understanding how the people of Argentina perceive themselves and their culture through talking in my class, with friends, and reading articles. 

Hola, me llamo Kjerstin [Kiss on the cheek]. ¿Cómo andás? Mucho gusto. Hi, my name is Kjerstin. How are you? Nice to meet you. This is a typical way of introducing oneself for the first time. After that, you really have the chance to get to know someone.

(L to R: me, Felipe [Brazil], Liza, Bianca [Brazil])

 You can call me Kjerstin, Kajeerstin, Kajurstin, or KJ (in English or Spanish). When I introduce myself, my name PLUS the majority of my nicknames do not translate well into Spanish. However, using a nickname is very central to the culture here. By using a person's nickname means that you're friends or have a personal relationship with them. The only time you use someone's full name is when the person is in trouble or in business-like interactions. Therefore, I have been called KJ, Kjerst, Kjersti, and Cris. It's been interesting because I am very used to being called just Kjerstin. Only certain people are allowed to use my nickname. I need to really know who someone is and trust them before they can call me by my nickname. I do not correct anyone here because of the culture though, but I wonder if using my nickname is a sign of their trust. However, how well do I really know the people of Argentina?

What comes to mind when you think of Argentina? Before I left, I knew very little about Argentina. I knew that Manu Ginobili is from Argentina and that the people here love to eat meat (which was perfectly fine with me!). The cattle industry is fairly strong, hence the affluence of meat-eating, but there are also leather goods that are (more or less) cheaper here as well. Finally, I knew there were some great wines to be tasted down here in Argentina and that I am actually old enough to try them. Ultimately, everything that Argentina has had to offer me has been a surprise because I had very few expectations.

(L to R: Liza, me, Quique, Hilary, and Juan at lunch in Buenos Aires)

In May, I took a class at Wartburg West (in Denver) that focused on two main themes: immigrants and Hispanic families. With my sociology background, I was more familiar with the concept of the Hispanic (Latino) family. General characteristics are that they are patriarchal because of the influence of machismo (the attitude of male domination), the families are very close, and they respect traditions. When I came here, I expected to have a family where there was a man in the house that the family had to please and there would be a woman who would have to clean, cook, take care of the children, and perhaps work. Additionally, I expected that if there were older children in the family, that they would live in the house unless they were married. The other day in my class, realidades culturales (cultural realities), we were brainstorming characteristics of Argentinian families, words that were used were: patriarchal, respect, proximity, traditional, machismo, communication, passion, and parties. Take in mind, these are all ideas that people have gathered after spending more than a month with their families. Those characteristics define our view of the families of Argentina.

How do the general definitions of family created through my classes compare to my family here in Argentina? Here, come meet my family. First, I would like to introduce you to my host mother, Cristina (Cris). She is a single mother, twice-divorced, with five children. Three children of her children are from one marriage, three are from another. She works full-time as a criminal lawyer and pays people to watch her children and clean the house during the week. Her oldest son is Martín, 20, who does not live in the family's home. Instead, he lives with friends while he studies abogacía (law) at UNC (Universidad Naciónal de Córdoba). He comes over to the house on Wednesdays and Sundays for family dinners. Next, there is Belén (Belú),18, who lives at home most of the time and studies abogacía at UNC as well. She is very independent, strong-minded, and tries to not conform to the stereotypes of a typical Argentine woman. Following Belú is Ignacio (Igna), 16, who lives with his father and is finishing high school still. I know little about him but he, too, comes over twice a week for family dinners. Julía (Julí), 8, is such a jewel. She loves every animal and is so willing to try and teach me Spanish. She is very welcoming and loves to talk and to get to know people. She plays a lot with her younger brother, Gabriel (Gabí), 7, who has so much energy, loves to tell jokes, and always wants to play some sort of computer game. Gabí is very close to his brothers and always cries when he has to leave his papá after spending time with him every other weekend. I believe that my family is NOT the typical family in Argentina. I believe that through the example of Cris and her independence, that the women in the family are very strong and obviously have more influence in the house since there is no "man-of-the-house". The fact that Igna and Martín do not live in the house to me shows their independence and the modernization of the typical family. Of course, my observations are purely off of what I have learned in my classes and are definitely ethnocentric, but I like to learn about how families work in comparison to others and how everything compares to what I have learned in my sociology courses. 

To look at the other side of this issue, how do Argentinians define themselves? By tango, mate, meat, or boots? No. One word: FAMILY. Even though there may be families like mine that are starting to change, overall, the most important aspect of life is family. Each member is there to support one another emotionally and financially. Even my family takes time out of the busy week to be with one another and talk about everything and anything. Other descriptors for the Argentinian people that they use for one another are: passionate, communicative, intolerant, generous, and emotional. Therefore, when you think of Argentinians, don't imagine stereotypes of Mexicans (not going to lie, I feel like that's what we all think of with Latino cultures since we only really know a little bit about Mexico) or people who only watch soccer all the time. I have learned to take my perspectives of Argentinians as well as their descriptions of themselves to better understand the people I spend time with.

A Traveler's Tale

Hello everybody! Welcome to August! Life has been busy down here in Argentina lately with a couple trips outside of the city.

GENERAL VILLA BELGRANO

My first trip, one that almost every student who comes down to Argentina does, was a day trip to Villa Belgrano with my favorite person from Kosovo, Liza. Villa Belgrano is a European town - more specifically, it's German. It's such a cute town. The architecture and decorations and very German and it did not feel like we were in Argentina still. Plus, the town was very proud of the beer it brews (in which we took a brief visit to the small brewery). 

The main attraction in Villa Belgrano for the month of July was the chocolate festival. At the chocolate festival there were many different booths filled various types of chocolate in numerous forms (bars, truffles, cakes, covering fruits, or in a fountain to dip whatever we wanted in the chocolate). It was delicious - so hard to resist! I ate various types of chocolate as Liza and I watched a children's comedian. I had no idea what the comedian was saying half of the time, but all of his exaggerated hand gestures and facial expressions helped so much! Part of me thinks that spending more time with children could actually help me learn more because of the simple exaggeration of the language. 

 In addition to the chocolate festival and sight-seeing around the small, German town, I really enjoyed the views of nature. Here in Córdoba, there nature is hard to come by. There are a few trees, but it is rare to see grass, flowers, or anything green. Sometimes, that makes me feel a little sad because I love spending my time outside. The scenery around Villa Belgrano reminded me so much of home with the hills. Even though I am halfway across the world, I can feel like I have my own refuge to go to that reminds me home. 

 

 

 

 

BUENOS AIRES 

The trip to Buenos Aires was arranged by my program (CC-CS). We took a 10-hours bus ride (overnight) to the country's capital. Buenos Aires is HUGE. There were so many people and so many places to go. It made me feel insignificant. 

La Cancha, Buenos Aires

The first place that we went to once arriving in Buenos Aires was Plaza del Mayo. It is at Plaza del Mayo that the grandmothers and mothers of the people who were kidnapped by the government 30 years ago. Many women were kidnapped when they were pregnant.  It is rumored that many of them gave birth while they were being tortured and that their children were then given to the families of the government members. As much as I wanted to, I really wanted to understand the pain of the country at this place but I couldn't. It is not something that I can just insert myself into. Plaza del Mayo represented the pain of the entire nation. I was lucky enough to be able to see where history is though.

Another area that we visited was La Cancha, the fútbol (soccer) stadium. It was amazing. I have never really liked fútbol, but I loved every minute of my time in La Cancha. There was so much passion that I could feel. I could feel the excitement of the game as I walked in. I wanted so badly to be part of everything. It is one thing that I can bring from home here to Argentina: my passion for sports. I can cheer and get caught up in the fútbol fever. Even though the Olympics are on right now, those games are not as important as they are in the United States. People do not know about other sports other than fútbol. More or less the only opportunities they have had have been to play fútbol. THAT is what Argentina really cares about. That is why I was so happy to be there. CULTURE.