I’ve been avoiding writing this blog post for FAR too long. A few *cough, cough* weeks, to be exact. In the whirlwind of getting home
and readjusting to my newly sedentary life of movie-binging and Internet-surfing,
I just haven’t wanted to force myself to reflect. Everyone keeps asking me,
“How was the experience? What was your favorite part? What’s your best story?”
For some reason, I find it really difficult to answer with anything other than,
“It was awesome: an incredibly worthwhile experience.” I can’t figure out how
to boil down 4 months into one sentence. How can I describe my multitude of
failures, triumphs, and self-discoveries in a few short phrases? I guess the
best way for me to review my semester in Buenos Aires is by reflecting on my
goals:

1.    
Achieve fluency. That didn’t happen, but I was
able to survive in a foreign country, conversing with locals on a daily basis,
AND I wrote multiple 4-8 page essays in Spanish, so I think I accomplished
something.

2.    
Learn to relax. I definitely think I’ve improved
in this department. I’m a planner, and I used to get very annoyed and upset
when my plans didn’t end up working out. Now, however, after living in a city
where my plans never worked out the way I wanted, I’ve learned to breathe,
laugh it off, and adapt. This skill is incredibly helpful, and I absolutely
notice a difference between my adjusted attitude and those of the rest of my
family and even strangers on the streets.

3.    
Let go. I did (a few times, at least). Tango
really helped me achieve this, but so did my beautiful surroundings. All the
hikes around the amazing landscapes and ruins inspired me to step outside
myself and appreciate the wonders before me. I let go of the minutiae of my
daily life, so that I could revel in the marvel of nature and the strength of
the human spirit.

 

I feel like I’ve now lived three separate lives: Jess before
B.A.; Argentine Jess; and Jess after B.A. In Argentina, I lived my life as a
foreigner, but it nonetheless had a daily rhythm. I went to school, had lunch
at a café, explored the city, ate dinner, did homework, and occasionally
explored the nightlife. It wasn’t a vacation. It was an entire semester of living in another country. Then, I came
home. I came back to my “old life,” but I could feel that there was something
different. My way of thinking has changed and I have definitely caught the
travel bug, the adventure bug. I got a taste of what my life could be in South
America, and I’m hungry for more. I want to spend the rest of my life seeing
the world and meeting people from all over. There are bound to be some
game-changers in the mix.

 

In Argentina, I made some new lifelong (I hope) friends,
tasted an array of exotic foods, ate a bit too much dulce, learned to tango,
and discovered things about myself and about my goals that the U.S. couldn’t
have taught me. I needed to step outside of my comfort zone, which I did.
Studying abroad has been an eye-opening experience, and I am so grateful to my
parents and to Penn State for the opportunity. I encourage anyone and everyone
to take a leap of faith and do it. Alright, brace yourself for my corny theatre
geek side courtesy of Wicked: “Who
can say if I’ve been changed for the better, but I have been changed for good.”

Location: North Wales, Pennsylvania