This past semester, I took a class entitled “Intro to Latin American Studies” at Colgate, and my eyes were opened to the diverse and intriguing region that is Latin America. Admittedly, I knew very little about Latin America prior to taking this class, but now I feel as though I have a solid base line of knowledge, especially of the nation of Argentina, that will allow me to better engage with the exciting experiences that I can’t wait to have!
Argentina, as I have learned this past semester, is a nation that is very much diverse, and that was largely populated with European immigrants beginning at the turn of the 19th century. Most of these immigrants, were in fact from Italy and settled in Buenos Aires. Being that I have lived in and visited Italy many times before, I am extremely interested to see the similarities that I will find between Italy and Buenos Aires. Being a vegetarian, I am definitely hoping and expecting to find some delicious Italian pizza and pasta in the city that I will be able to eat! Not only am I hoping to find strictly Italian elements in Argentina, but I am very interested to see how the two cultures mixed and blended to create a new culture that is purely Argentinean. This past semester I learned that the Argentine Tango was formed from a mixture of many cultures, including the Italian culture, and I can’t wait to see unique and amazing cultural expressions of Argentina such as this!
In addition, I learned about the Dirty War that occurred in Argentina, and how tens of thousands of people were disappeared so recently in the scheme of history, and I am very interested to see first hand how this affects the mindset of the people today, politically and socially. I wonder if I will find that the people of Argentina are still very resentful to their government? I am also so excited to visit the central Plaza De Mayo in Buenos Aires were the Mothers of the Plaza De Mayo marched for many years to protest for their freeing of their disappeared children even during very dangerous times. After reading so much about this group, it will be be amazing to see the place that they actually marched!
While in Argentina, I also want to be able to draw comparisons between the Argentine educational system and the liberal arts educational system that we are immersing ourselves in at Colgate. I was amazed to hear that the University of Buenos Aires has around a quarter of a million people and I am interested to find the ways that all of these students are structured to make this University as successful as it is. I am also interested to see how much the University students specialize compared to how broad our education is, especially during the first couple of years, at Colgate.
Besides all of this, I absolutely can’t WAIT to visit Iguazu Falls and am in awe of the fact that I am going to visit a site that is deemed one of the most amazing natural wonders of the world! I can’t wait for the trip, and to see everything that Argentina has to offer!