At some point almost every single day, I think "What am I going to write my blog post about this Sunday?" and I plan out an entire post, and then by the next day I ask myself the same question and my answer is completely different.
By Sunday I've had so many different things that I could focus on that it is almost just a matter of chance whatever thoughts I manage to write out first that lead to some sort of coherent thread.
First of all, the main update is............... I still have not technically really started classes.
I did get to meet the professors and students I will be working with at the Institute, and they seemed super friendly and it was very fun, but then we had a day of planning observations and then there was a national paro, strike (from parar meaning "stop"), and it was exactly that: everything-- taxis, buses, banks, businesses-- stopped for 24 hours. So yeah, no school that day. And then it was Friday.
On Friday, instead of observing classes at the tertiary Institute where I will be doing the majority of my work, I went into a high school classroom to get a sense of what education is like before the career-focused level.
I had scheduled the visit with a secondary school (high school) English teacher, who was excited to have me do a one-day presentation and share my native speaking skills with her class.
For some reason I could not fall asleep the night before class, and even when I did my sleep was restless, so I ended up going to the 8am class on about 4 hours of sleep.
Luckily I had been pretty well-rested before then, so I survived the class just fine, but WOW, it was an intense time, and my head was spinning afterwards from more than just sleep deprivation.
The high school building was an old house that had been converted into a school. There was a gorgeous entrada (entrance hall), narrow escaleras (stairs), a small biblioteca (come on, you all know that one), a patio area with natural light, and relatively small aulas (classrooms). In its structure, it was remarkably similar to my high school, and I told the students that my high school, like theirs, was in the middle of a city street and was also a house that had been converted into a school.
There were many differences, however. In my high school, there was student artwork covering every wall, the paint and decor was impecable, the desks were brand new, and every classroom was equipped with a Smartboard and all kinds of accompanying technological equipment (projector, Smartboard markers, regular whiteboard, real markers, etc). Here, student work on the walls was more scarce, although there were posters up about El día de la memoria. The paint was chipped in places. The desks were small, a little more cramped, and written all over. There were definitely no Smartboards, and the teachers had to bring their own equipment, including not only a projector and laptop but also their own whiteboard marker and eraser. It was a beautiful and comfortable space, certainly effective, but definitely made the abundance of my high school stand out to me.
I was a little nervous as I walked into the classroom, but I was also not quite awake enough to be fully anxious. The teacher introduced me and I began by giving a powerpoint presentation about myself and my life: my name, my hometown (San Francisco), my family, my school experience in Washington State and in England, my work experience. On the final slide, I showed several circus-themed images and asked students to describe them with any words in English that they knew. When someone pointed to the window in one of the images and said "window," the entire class laughed and started repeating "Open the window, close the window." Apparently, this is their equivalent of those basic sentences like "¿Dónde está la biblioteca?" that beginning language learners are often forced to repeat ad nauseam. Once I realized this, I laughed along with them and explained how I felt the same way sometimes in my experience learning Spanish. I really wanted them to understand that just like they struggled with speaking English, I have been (and still am) going through the same experience with Spanish. Maybe next time I will have to show them this: ¿Qué Hora Es?
After some talk about my taste in music, my hobbies, and other light subjects, things got a little heavier. The class I visited focuses on intercultural, interlingual studies. They work in a combination of English, French, and Spanish and discuss differences and similarities between the many countries and cultures that speak these languages. They had just watched a French film with English subtitles and discussed the topic of racial tolerance, so you can imagine they had quite a few questions for me about the United States. The teacher had pulled me aside beforehand and told me that if I didn't feel comfortable discussing any of it, I did not have to-- but I told her that I was eager to engage in the discussion. These are some of the questions I was asked, usually in a combination of English and Spanish:
- What is your opinion about Donald Trump?
- Why was Trump elected if Clinton got more votes?
- What do you think about US international policy? Why does the US bomb so many countries?
- What do people in the US think about the potential involvement of US officials in the military dictatorships in Latin America?
- Did you like Obama?
- Are high school and university in the US really like they are shown in the movies?
- What is your opinion about the current Argentine president?
So yep. As you can imagine, this was not only a learning moment for the students, but very much so for me. Many of these questions I had anticipated, but many I had not, and they definitely required critical reflection.
Here are some of the English vocabulary words I shared with the students as I answered their questions:
unpredictable (adj.): when you do not know for sure what someone is going to do
translation: impredecible.
Donald Trump is scary to many people because they feel he is unpredictable.
deportation (n.): when a person who does not have the necessary legal documents is sent out of the country
translation: deportación
Many of the students and families at the elementary school I worked at are immigrants from places like Mexico, South America, and the Middle East. Some of them are afraid that they or their family members could face deportation.
alternative fact (n.): a phrase used by US government representatives and members of the media to describe a statement that is presented as "truth" but directly goes against known facts
translation: hechos alternativos
Example that the teacher gave: "This right here, what is it? Yes, it is a desk with writing on it. We know that is true, it is a fact. If someone says, 'oh actually, this is a chair,' they might claim this is an alternative fact. They are saying something that is not what we agreed was true about what this thing is and calling it a fact, an alternative fact." Student reaction: laughter and bafflement as to why this phrase even exists
ethnocentric (adj.): very focused on one's own culture, thinking that one's own culture is the best and not being open to other cultures
translation: etnocéntrico/a
The United States can sometimes be very ethnocentric; in school, we mostly learn about the history of our own country and we do not learn as much about the history of countries around the world. Most people know nothing about the military dictatorship in Argentina because it is not something that is usually taught in school. This is a problem that many teachers want to fix, and students can choose to take more language classes or world history classes to learn about cultures outside of the United States.
representation (n.): in the context of popular culture: having examples that different groups of group can look up to and identify with
translation: representación
One of the exciting things about Obama is that he was the first person of color to be President of the United States. This type of representation is so important to young people who may not see many examples of people like them in positions of power, in businesses, in TV, in movies, and so on.
I think that in my answers, I may have been a little harsh on the United States. I am coming from a place of great frustration with aspects of the current political situation, and that clouded over some of the aspects of living in the States that really are remarkable, that I do genuinely appreciate. I am realizing two very important things about my abroad experience in England are proving to be true here as well:
1) I am learning as much about my own country and culture-- the positives and the negatives (and the way most things defy such easy categorization)-- as I did about the culture I was immersing myself in.
2) My idealized notions about other cultures being in some way "better" or less corrupt or less frustrating or less prejudiced than the U.S. are continually challenged.
Argentine politics seem very complex, and the more I learn the more questions I have. I do know that many young people express as much frustration at their political situation as I do at mine, though.
I could not answer the question about the current Argentine president, because I have heard so many different points of view about him. I told the students so much: I told them I haven't been here very long and my opinion of Macri will depend on what effect his policies have on the people of Argentina-- on them, the students.
However, I do know that Macri is de derecha, right-wing, and I am realizing how true it is that the election of a conservative party member as a response to a previous liberal is not merely a U.S. phenomenon with Trump, but it is something that has been happening worldwide.
When I left for Argentina I had no intention of "escaping" US politics-- in fact, I was a bit reluctant to be away from the country in the fear that I would feel less capable of being politically active. But I've realized that being out of the country neither frees nor bars me from the larger discussion. Not only do the actions of the US still effect my life here, I also have a clearer view of how much bigger it is than just one country. Issues of racism, sexism, feminism, transphobia, socialism, democracy, capitalism, homophobia, nationalism, ethnocentrism, economic injustice, police brutality, queer identities, colonialism, imperialism, immigrant rights... these will come up no matter where in the world I am. I will meet people who are prejudiced in ways that I am not used to, and I will meet people who are open-minded in ways I have never thought to be.
Another question that came up at the high school was: Why do you call yourselves Americans, like you are the only ones? We are Americans too. America is a continent.
I am sure I must have considered this before, but I am so used to everyone using "America" to refer specifically to the United States, and it has just been a part of my vocabulary.
You might notice, however, that throughout this journal entry I have been more specific: I have said "United States" or "US" to refer to the United States. From now on, this is something I am going to try to be more conscious of, because that student was right. All of us are americanxs; I am estadounidense. This is an identity that I feel neither unequivocally ashamed nor proud of; my relation to it is a lot more complex than that, but it's something I am not afraid of delving into. It is important to me that I understand it and that I return to the United States with a better idea of how to be the type of U.S. and global citizen I want to be.
So bring on the questions, kids. I'm ready for more.
I hope that, like me, you are able to come away from this with greater curiosity about yourself, your national identity, and the way that people around the world navigate their different identities in a globalized context. I hope that the questions that come up for you can serve as starting points for conversations with your friends, family members, and maybe even strangers. I hope that by sharing these droplets of my experience in this blog, I am able to create small ripples that extend beyond borders.
And to end with something a little lighter to process, here are some pics of other stuff I've been up to this week:
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| My first adventure horneando, baking, in Argentina! Oatmeal chocolate chip cookies... without any baking soda/baking powder because I couldn't find it at the store lol |
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| They actually turned out pretty well :) |
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| Went to a gallery opening at the apartment I'm hoping to move into in a week-- the person on the left is rocking some plastic neon green high heel sandals with fuzzy white socks. |
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| This picture may not look exciting to you BUT IT IS SO EXCITING BECAUSE IT MEANS I SURVIVED MY LAPTOP CHARGER BREAKING AND SUCCESSFULLY GOT IT FIXED WITHOUT COMPLETELY FREAKING OUT AND I AM SO PROUD OF MYSELF |
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| Tasty homemade pasta from La Mamma, right on la cañada and only about 5 mins away from my current apartment... |
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