So when those of us who think efficiently (read: lazy people) get asked multiple questions that can be answered in the same way...
Oh hey, mythbusting all-in-one blog post.
1. What's the food like?
As much as I hate to support the sweeping generalization about the cuisine of Argentina, the fact remains that we have an entire cow preserved in various plastic baggies in the freezer. Red meat here is delicious, extremely central to the culture and of very high quality (They know it, too.) You will insult your host if you ask for your meat cooked a certain way, and asking for a rare or well done cut of beef at a restaurant will guarantee you even shittier service than you were already getting.
But it's not all we eat. We eat lots of Pasta, and also things like soup or Polenta during the week. Weekends it'll be Pizza, Empanadas or a Tarta (pastry crust baked with egg, tomato, ham and cheese filling) unless we have an Asado. Breakfast and la merienda is Yerba Mate or Cafe con Leche with pastries, cookies, or bread with dulce de leche.
2. What are the people like?
Direct, open, honest, and to the point. Sarcasm doesn't really exist here, and people will always tell you exactly what they mean.They're also very expressive...loud laughter, shouts of excitement, and extremely loud expressions of anger are commonplace and an Argentine can go through all three of them in a course of five minutes. Girls are generally much more jealous and petty. The guys are mostly interested in soccer and girls, and most fall under the latin male stereotype of being unbelievable flirts. They really know how to relax and enjoy life here. I don't think anyone here knows how to hurry..I've gone to a five-hour Asado.
3. How's school?
I really don't want to be the critical foreigner but the school system here is...lacking, shall we say. The teachers are really not interested in teaching at all, and honestly there isn't a whole lot of time where we are actually learning. This week we listened to a teacher tell stories of her youth the whole class...I stopped listening in the middle but the story ended with "And I had an enormous hickey, so I told my dad some kind of bug bit me"
4. How's your host family?
Amazing, all fourteen of them. I could write paragraphs and paragraphs about how much I've loved getting to know them, but I think what sums it up is that I found myself truly missing them on my trip to the north, and I caught myself speed-walking home from the bus station because I was so excited to see them again.
5. So are you like, on Vacation?
This is number one on the list of "Ten ways to piss off an exchange student".
NO.
No, school isn't hard. But completely changing your routine, your habits, being somewhere where everyone is a stranger (at first), and knowing nobody that speaks english...is a lot harder than shooting off an essay from wikipedia. There are frustrating days, and days where you feel completely helpless. There are many more great days, and none of them are easy...but they're so worth it and I'd take them over vacation days anytime.
6. What's it like to be a foreigner?
It's a blast, to be honest. There's a bit of a catch-22, though...I live in a town of 5,000 and I'm the only exchange student. When almost everybody knows who you are, there isn't a whole lot of privacy. Don't get me wrong, it's nice feeling interesting, but let's say there's a weekend that I have one too many...by Sunday afternoon everyone knows..that's probably how I got stuck with my cute little nickname that my classmates gave me.
7. What are some of the biggest differences?
The school system for sure...The eating schedule (Breakfast without fail every morning, lunch at 12 or 1, "teatime" more or less at 5 or 6, and dinner at 9, 10, or 11 depending on the season and if it's a weekend or not) And the freedom. It felt pretty strange at first sitting down in a restaurant or a bar and ordering a Fernet, no questions asked. I've seen a 13 year old girl do the same thing. Also the nightlife...coming from Maine to here was a bit of an on-off switch. Readjusting to getting home by one or two is going to be....un embole.
8. Are you fluent yet?
The truth is, I don't know. Some people tell me that I am, but I'm not sure. I still can only roll my r's on a few words, and I'll always have an accent. I don't have a problem communicating myself anymore....but every once in a while I get stuck on a word or a phrase and have to back up and start over. I do know that I feel really, really weird speaking English out loud now because I almost never do.
9. Have you gained any weight?
A little. It goes up and down a lot and I don't weigh myself very often, but the way my clothes fit hasn't really changed.
And I think that just about does it. Side note: I have absolutely no idea where the time went...In exactly two months from yesterday, I'll be in Kennebunk.
I'm NOT happy about it at all.
Yes, I miss my family, obviously. I'm beyond excited to see them again. There are parts of my old life that I miss too. But I can wait. I just wish I had more time. I have the option to extend to a year...but that would mean I'd have to apply to college here without having visited any, and that's only if I'd be lucky enough to be able to graduate on time. I'd also be missing out on a summer of work, and that combined with having to pay more money to stay just isn't realistic. There's a part of me that really just wants to say "Screw it, I'm staying" but I'm not sure I can be away from my family for that long...it is what it is. I'm not going to want to leave, nor will I be ready, but I will never regret a single part of this experience.
