HOLA AMIGOS!! IT’S BEEN A WHILE HASN'T IT?
When I arrived at the airport in my hometown it finally hit me that in 3 days I would no longer wake up to the familiarity of my room, or my house, or even Canada in general. In 3 days I was to be sleeping in a stranger’s bed in a different house, in a foreign country that I knew almost nothing about. As the nerves crept in, my lack of knowledge in the Spanish language hit me full throttle. I realized then that soon enough I would be surrounded by this language that I only knew a few phrases of. Even though at orientation they drill “LEARN THE LANGUAGE” into your mind I never took it seriously. I thought that when I arrived I would just flow into the language so easily and in a few months I would be fluent. No, turns out that’s not how it works.
My father flew all the way from Grande Prairie to Toronto with me so that I would be able to get my visa on the exact same day I would fly out for Chile. If it wasn’t for him I don’t know what I would’ve done maneuvering the Toronto airport… I suppose it would’ve ended up like Santiago. When it came time to say goodbye to him his eyes got all teary… I think this is the first time I had seen him cry before… And he told me how proud he was of me, which was also a first. He told me to have the best year of my life, and to do everything that I hoped I would. And all throughout that I did not shed one tear. I still haven’t. Maybe it’s because I don’t miss them, or my friends, or any bits of my home town. Maybe at one point I will miss them but not for a while. I already love it here, and for only being here for 2 weeks I feel like I can call Argentina home already.
Anyways back to the flights... Santiago airport was honestly
the worst thing about my journey so far. I did everything wrong, I panicked but
managed to keep my cool, and paid over $300 USD when I didn't have to. To put
it shortly I was not prepared for what happened there. But once it was all
sorted out and I was sitting at gate number 15 waiting for the plane to take me
to my new home I could not stop smiling. In that moment I have never been so
proud of myself for being so brave to do something so utterly different. And in
that moment when I walked onto the last plane my emotions were so escalated. I
wanted to throw up and burst into tears all at the same time, but all I did was
smile proudly, the biggest smile that I could conjure. I remember whispering to
myself "I'm finally an exchange student" and then jumping up and down
like a little girl in a toy store.
Choosing to become an exchange student was the most
effortless and easiest decision I have ever made. But the reality is exchange
isn't what you first expect. It is hard and frustrating, and completely
opposite of what I thought it would be like. I thought I would just glide into
Spanish and within a month or so I would be fluent and I would speak exactly
like how everyone else does. But in reality I have never been so quiet in my
life. I understand quite a bit if people speak slowly or write things down but
otherwise it is a struggle. At school I talk but throughout the day maybe 20 or
30 words. I hate it in a way, I feel like I'm not trying to talk enough and it’s
my fault and that other exchange students are farther along than I am. But then
again every exchange is different, and most of the people I have talked to said
they were all quiet at first and it didn't go away for a while. So I guess it
isn't just me after all. Sometimes I just need to tell my brain to shut up and
stop holding me back and speak Spanish, no matter how stupid I may sound; at
least I am making an effort.Besides the language barrier everything else I superb! My host family is awesome they like to include me in almost everything. The mum and the kids speak English, but the dad and the cleaning lady, Flor, don't know any whatsoever. The mum gets me to read one children's book a night and then write down what the story was about in Spanish.
Flor is so nice and cooks so well. I help her clean and cook, and tidy up after myself so that she has less work to do. I am used to cleaning up after myself in Canada so I don't see why I would need someone to do it for me here. Honestly from how well Flor cooks, and how delicious everything tastes here I am probably going to come back weighing more than I did when I left.
I like school and I have friends... well sort of. It is kind of hard to build any friendship with people when there is such a huge language gap. However the education system in Argentina seems to be valued in certain places and then in others not. My school is located in an apartment complex type of thing. There is no central heating, and the patio (basketball court area) doesn't have a roof) so it is freezing. The classrooms have 35 kids and no smart boards, iPads, laptops, or any technology. They have one white board and that is all they have, on any of the walls. It is completely opposite from the kind of education I had in Canada. I'm not trying to degrade this school or make it seem lesser in any way, I would just like to point out the differences.
The thing that was the biggest shock for me was the gap between the rich and the poor. In Canada we have poverty but not to the same degree. Yes I have seen homeless people, and shelters that help battered women. Here however there are crumbling houses and slums. The other day I had the biggest shock. On one of the streets there was a neighbourhood of crumbling houses and a little girl sat outside in tattered clothing holding a picture book. She looked sad, but at the same time happy. And until this time I had never seen poverty like this, I had never seen it firsthand. In Canada you hear about stories about the slums and the poverty stricken people, but you never see it. You see just a slim portion of poverty.
Because of this I think my view on the world and what I want to do with my life has changed, and I have only been here for 13 days. I know that in some way I want to change a person’s life and reduce the barrier between the rich and the poor, and that I want to work in humanitarian aid.
Back to the good stuff. I live in a gated community with gorgeous houses that look like the modern ones in Canada. I have a swimming pool that I can swim in everyday if I like. I have seen my first palm tree, and its right in my backyard! The food here is delicious. I have never tasted bread or desserts like these before. My favorite things to eat so far are empanadas, (the kids in school mock the way I say empanadas) my host father's spaghetti, criollos, bon o bon, dulce de leche, and lemon ice cream. The ice cream sounds a little funny huh? But guess what it is the most delicious thing I have had yet, minus this one pastry that was to die for. I swear that I will be coming back fatter than before if I keep eating the way I do now haha! I went to my first party the other weekend; it was a 15th birthday party that my youngest host sister was invited to. So I met all of her friends which are wild and crazy just like her. We stayed at the party till 5am. I danced most of the time, even if my friends went to go sit down and take a break. I had a blast! I was asked to dance by this boy and we sort of did a tango or salsa, or whatever you call it. I say sort of mainly because I struggled to follow along but I made him laugh at how terrible I was. The DJ noticed me dancing so much and he asked where I was from and if I had fun dancing and what kind of music we listen in Canada. Apparently the party wasn't very good so I am really excited to see what the next one is like.
In summary I already love it here. I cannot wait till the day when I am fluent and I can communicate with people in only Spanish. Even if things get hard here I still remind myself that I AM IN FRICKEN ARGENTINA, I ONLY HAVE ONE YEAR HERE AND I HAVE TO MAKE IT AWESOME.... AFTERALL ONE YEAR HERE IS STILL BETTER THAN A YEAR IN CANADA.
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