73 days and Counting
Well I've been studying all day. And I don't mean it in the exaggery complainy way, I mean, besides eating, and drinking mate, of course, I have been studying all day. Mate is crack for studying by the way. It's great. For some reason writing in my blog seemed like a good way to take a break from studying, not really sure why. The professor is a huge dick and didn't give us any help on what to study. Originally I thought he would give us the ten possible questions and then when we got to class it would be one of them. Instead, he gave us no questions, topics, or ideas of topics to focus on. What does that mean? About 200 years of international relations history which is quite a bit. It also means that 90% of what I am studying will be ultimately useless, except for maybe my eventual appearance on Jeopardy. Hopefully Alex Trebeck hasn't died by then. How old is he anyway... I digress. Before you give me a speech about not studying because I am in a foreign country and so on, let me just say that the information is quite interesting and to some level I am enjoying what I am studying. Additionally, the extensive reading in Spanish has no doubt helped me learn the language.
I have been in Argentina for 73 days now. It doesn't seem that long and already my impending departure is looming. Have I been doing as much as I can to take advantage of my time here? I think about this nearly every day. Well, I've tried to get integrated into the culture with playing soccer and making a few Argentinean friends (though not that many, give me a break it's fucking hard to be cool in a second language). I've been trying to improve my language by taking 4 courses (most internationals take 3), taking notes in Spanish, and by speaking Spanish in my flat, but I'm still not thinking, dreaming, or comfortable free-style rapping in Spanish. Also, I speak in English with my American friends when we go out. I feel guilty speaking English which is weird, but it is almost necessary to speak it once in a while with an American or Brit because you can connect with people in a stronger way. I can communicate information in Spanish, but I can't really connect with people. So I don't know. I suppose there are things I could do differently, but the question is whether they are feasible or not. I could download podcasts in Spanish each day and listen to them on the hour train ride to and from school, I could practice conjegations in my inner monologue when I'm walking, I could play Spanish when I'm sleeping, but really these measures are impracticle and would virtually eliminate any tranquility in my life. Constant Spanish input. It would make me better but I can't do this.
I've also started to appreciate my home in Washington (both Seattle and Shelton) and my family. I don't know why I haven't really mentioned this earlier. A lot can be said for getting to see your family and friends on a regular basis and being in your own culture were you feel the most comfortable. I am comfortable here, but I always have to have a degree of caution when walking around because phenotypically I am different. No matter how much more Argentine I feel after 73 days, and no matter how well I know the system, I am not Argentine and I am seen as a foreigner no different than day 1.
I also miss living in the frat. Being able to wander from room to room and bullshit with people is awesome. I like my roommates here, but to some extent our friendships are out of necessity. We are quite different I think. They are french convervatives and I am a liberal american, but since we speak in Spanish our differences don't really come to light. I wonder how the situation would change if we all spoke fluently in English, maybe I don't want to know. I am totally happy with them though, and it is pretty cool that people from around the globe can meet on facebook, and rent an apartment and live in a foreign country together succesfully.
I also feel like my personality has slightly changed. Due to the language barrier I am forced to be more introspective, and in social settings I seem more timid. There is nothing more frustrating than not understanding what's being said around you. You feel uncomfortable and lost. Plus, I can't be funny or make jokes in Spanish except for really simplistic ones. In English I have a fairly dry sense of humor that mostly plays off of words but this is impossible in Spanish because I don't understand enough of the language. It's also difficult with girls. As it is in the US, but even more so here, it is up to the guy to direct the conversation and keep the girl interested, mostly through jokes. Well, this is really difficult and probably the reason why I have not had any success with Argentineans so far. I'm still working on it, but damn it's hard.
I guess that's it for now.
UW classes start tomorrow. That seems impossible to me as I am already half-way done.
I have been in Argentina for 73 days now. It doesn't seem that long and already my impending departure is looming. Have I been doing as much as I can to take advantage of my time here? I think about this nearly every day. Well, I've tried to get integrated into the culture with playing soccer and making a few Argentinean friends (though not that many, give me a break it's fucking hard to be cool in a second language). I've been trying to improve my language by taking 4 courses (most internationals take 3), taking notes in Spanish, and by speaking Spanish in my flat, but I'm still not thinking, dreaming, or comfortable free-style rapping in Spanish. Also, I speak in English with my American friends when we go out. I feel guilty speaking English which is weird, but it is almost necessary to speak it once in a while with an American or Brit because you can connect with people in a stronger way. I can communicate information in Spanish, but I can't really connect with people. So I don't know. I suppose there are things I could do differently, but the question is whether they are feasible or not. I could download podcasts in Spanish each day and listen to them on the hour train ride to and from school, I could practice conjegations in my inner monologue when I'm walking, I could play Spanish when I'm sleeping, but really these measures are impracticle and would virtually eliminate any tranquility in my life. Constant Spanish input. It would make me better but I can't do this.
I've also started to appreciate my home in Washington (both Seattle and Shelton) and my family. I don't know why I haven't really mentioned this earlier. A lot can be said for getting to see your family and friends on a regular basis and being in your own culture were you feel the most comfortable. I am comfortable here, but I always have to have a degree of caution when walking around because phenotypically I am different. No matter how much more Argentine I feel after 73 days, and no matter how well I know the system, I am not Argentine and I am seen as a foreigner no different than day 1.
I also miss living in the frat. Being able to wander from room to room and bullshit with people is awesome. I like my roommates here, but to some extent our friendships are out of necessity. We are quite different I think. They are french convervatives and I am a liberal american, but since we speak in Spanish our differences don't really come to light. I wonder how the situation would change if we all spoke fluently in English, maybe I don't want to know. I am totally happy with them though, and it is pretty cool that people from around the globe can meet on facebook, and rent an apartment and live in a foreign country together succesfully.
I also feel like my personality has slightly changed. Due to the language barrier I am forced to be more introspective, and in social settings I seem more timid. There is nothing more frustrating than not understanding what's being said around you. You feel uncomfortable and lost. Plus, I can't be funny or make jokes in Spanish except for really simplistic ones. In English I have a fairly dry sense of humor that mostly plays off of words but this is impossible in Spanish because I don't understand enough of the language. It's also difficult with girls. As it is in the US, but even more so here, it is up to the guy to direct the conversation and keep the girl interested, mostly through jokes. Well, this is really difficult and probably the reason why I have not had any success with Argentineans so far. I'm still working on it, but damn it's hard.
I guess that's it for now.
UW classes start tomorrow. That seems impossible to me as I am already half-way done.
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