The aspect of Argentine culture that I am most excited, or perhaps most intrigued about, is the city life and its friendliness towards foreign travelers.

In preparing for our trip we have heard countless times that we should not bring too much cash and that we should keep a watchful eye out for people that may try to steal our things while we are not paying close attention to our surroundings. Although I do believe and acknowledge that this occurs to travelers in Argentina, I’m curious as to the extent of which all of this occurs and whether it will happen to one of us on the trip. The way we’ll find about this is through just exploring the city as both tourists by day and hopefully in a less touristy fashion at other times and I’m excited to experience this with my fellow Benton Scholars.

Spanish is universal in the sense that it is a single language, but the grammar and vocabulary used across these Latin American nations varies greatly. This is something I have noticed especially since my family is from the Dominican Republic and have visited a great number of countries in Latin America. The variance from other Spanish-speaking countries, such as the frequent use of the word “che,” in the Spanish language is something that I’m looking forward to encountering in order to compare and contrast with my past experiences with the Spanish language in other countries.

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Many of my friends and family members have told me that this opportunity to travel to Argentina after just one year of college is the opportunity of a lifetime.  I agree with them in that this trip is a great chance to experience something I might otherwise not be able to.  So, as a token of my gratitude, I’d like to give a huge shout out to Colgate and everyone working behind the scenes that made this possible.

That being said, I’m psyched.  I cannot wait to submerge myself into a totally new culture and way of life.  In the fall semester of 2012, I took a course titled “Global Perspectives on Emerging Issues,” in which I wrote my final paper on the economy of Argentina.  I argued that while there’s so much attention devoted to the present and future, a lot can be learned by looking to the past and discovering why and how certain policies failed.  It was quite interesting to read and learn about Argentina’s economic past — the role and programs initiated by Perón, the military, and Alfonsín — and how they shaped the economy of today.  I’m no expert on the subject, and, if possible, I’d like to follow up and learn more during my stay in Argentina.

What seems most tangible, though, is what I’ll learn about actually living in the country.  There will be new food, new people, a new language, new decisions to make, and a new way of living in general.  Experiencing these things, and having them with me for the rest of my life, is what I think I’m looking forward to most.

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I am incredibly excited to venture to South America in a few days with the Benton Scholars. Through our in-classroom studies first semester, out-of classroom activities, and email chains with fellow Argentinians, I feel very ready to take on the nation of Argentina and its culture.

I am eager to see how Argentine culture is defined both by their place on the South American continent as well as their European roots. In addition, I am particularly excited to interact and become friendly with the people. Whenever I travel to either far-off countries or even other regions of the United States, I enjoy conversing with people of my own age. I feel a deeper connection and really enjoy taking in the fact that we share many similar qualities while also being in very different societies.

I am especially looking forward to some of our sightseeing adventures as well. I know witnessing Iguazu Falls will most likely be an unbelievable experience just by looking at pictures on Google Images. In addition, we have heard as a group how fun and exciting the city of Buenos Aires is.

Our arrival date is rapidly approaching and I look forward to continue reflecting on different experiences of this trip through this blog.

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As part of our preparation to traveling to Argentina, I took a class entitled Introduction to Latin American Studies. While the class did not exclusively focus on Argentina, it was interesting to learn how each country in Latin America (including Argentina) is culturally diverse. One of the main themes of our class was hybridity. We learned about the influence of European colonization, the influence of the Catholic religion, and the change in demographics due to the slave trade and the immigration of many Europeans. What we established in the class was that all of Latin America is a melting pot. It was great for us to understand the history of Argentina and its neighbors, and how this has shaped the country today.

While I am looking forward to all the components of our trip, especially Buenos Aires, and experiencing the hybrid culture that clearly shapes the city and its people, I am most looking forward to traveling with my friends. Over the past year I have been able to make great friends, live with them, learn with them, and now travel with them. Each person in the program brings a different perspective to the table, and I look forward to visiting a foreign place with them. I think that one of the most important parts of traveling is the experience that you have with the people accompanying you, and so I look forward to learning even more about the Bentons. I know that together we will explore Argentina and have our horizons broadened to our global community. I am sure we will accumulate a lifetime of memories on this trip, and I look forward to it all.

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I’m very excited to travel to Argentina with the Benton Scholars in two days. This will be my first foray into South America, and I look forward to experiencing as much Argentine culture as I can in the 18 days that we will be there. It’s difficult to pick an aspect of the trip that I’m most excited about. I am definitely very interested in looking at Argentine culture from a historical perspective, in light of the country’s political upheavals and the tragedy of the Dirty War. Having learned about some of Argentine’s history in the Making of Latin America class last semester, I’m interested to see how that history has shaped modern-day Argentina.

I would also love to explore Buenos Aires and see how city life there compares to that of New York City (my home town). There are certainly many perks to living in a city: the vibrant culture, fascinating people, patchwork of different neighborhoods, etc. But there are also some downsides, such as the many hours a day that one must spend in crammed public transportation. I’m curious to see how my experience of New York will compare to Buenos Aires, which is one of the largest and most populated cities in South America. I am particularly interested in Buenos Aires’s many neighborhoods and the cultural, social, and economic differences between them.

I understand that a working knowledge of Spanish would be quite beneficial in getting a more complete experience of Buenos Aires. Unfortunately, the last time I took a Spanish class was in 7^th grade. Consequently, my vocabulary doesn’t extend far beyond the basic pleasantries. Somehow, I’m still holding out some hope that my knowledge of French will help me in understanding Spanish, even though I logically realize how erroneous that notion is. So, I’ve tried to remember the simple Spanish one-liners I used when I visited Spain last year. I wish I was proficient enough in the language to notice the differences between the Argentine and European dialects, but alas, I’ll have to stick to memorizing the basics.

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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!

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41+ Million people, 1.073 million square miles, 23 provinces, 1 country: Argentina. Shortly after finishing our freshman year in college, the Class of 2016 Benton Scholars will travel to Argentina for close to three weeks. We will spend time in Buenos Aires, Iguazu, and Salta experiencing and immersing ourselves in Argentina culture and history.

One aspect about Argentine history that I am particularly interested in is the Dirty War. After learning extensively about the disappearances, and sometimes execution,  of political dissidents during the Peron Era this semester, I am interested to learn more about the time period, but from the Argentine perspective. Although the subject is still avoided today, the taboo is slowly lifting as the government delves deeper into the disappearances of thousands of citizens.

Choosing one or even two aspects of the trip that I am most excited for would be difficult, so I will have to make do with choosing three. The three parts that I am interested in the most are the trip to the world famous Iguazu Falls, the tour of Street Art and Graffiti in Buenos Aires, and the soccer match in Buenos Aires.

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As I pack for our departure in 3 days, the excitement for the trip is clearly escalating. Argentina themed snapchats are running rampant amongst the Bentons. Obviously everyone is pretty excited. It’s hard to say what part of the trip I’m most excited for, but I think in terms of culture, I’m really excited to see how the Italian presence in Argentina has influenced the culture there. I’m also really excited just to see the amazing architecture in Buenos Aires. Supposedly, it’s been called the Paris of South America, so I’m extremely excited to see the architecture, one of my favorite parts of traveling. When we go to Salta and Iguazu Falls, I can’t wait to see the terrain. I’ve never been to a place with such extreme variations in terrain so I can’t wait to see the mountains, the flatlands, the lakes, the rainforest, and obviously to see some llamas. It should be an amazing B.S. adventure.

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Ever since I got into the Benton Scholars Program, I have been excited to travel to Argentina. While I have extensively traveled throughout the world, I have never made it to South America. In less than a week, all that will change.

In preparation for this trip, each freshman Benton had to chose a class that related to Argentina and South America. I decided to take a history class entitled The Making of Latin America. While the class focussed on South America as a whole, I did get glimpses into Argentina’s history. Therefore, the aspect of Argentine culture I find most interesting is how the Dirty War has shaped the Argentine psyche. The Dirty War is dark time in Argentina history during the late 1970s-early 1980s where leaning leftists were heavily persecuted. To this day, no one knows for sure how many people “disappeared.” It is estimated 13,000 were killed during this time.

Naturally, a mass killing executed by the government takes its toll on the people. While I understand the topic of the Dirty War is not carried out in daily conversation, most people are still affected by this haunting event. I honestly don’t know how I will learn more about this piece of culture while in Argentina. Getting into the psyche of Argentine culture requires more time spent in the country. Yet, the most apparent way to learn more about this event is visiting President Nestor Kirchner’s Memorial Park where the names of thousands of Dirty War victims have been etched on the wall alongside the River Plate. Hopefully, I can visit this memorial to further understand the scope of this horrible time.

While I don’t know what to expect from this trip, I’m excited to get to experience a new culture in a new part of the world. This truly will be a special trip to remember throughout the ages.

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The Benton Scholars Class of 2016 is traveling to Argentina between May 20 – June 6, 2013. This trip is being directed by Professor Nicole Simpson in the Economics Department. We will be spending 10 days in Buenos Aires, and then travel to Iguaza Fall, Jujuy and Salta.

We have done quite a bit of preparation for the trip. All of the students took my First Year Seminar this past fall where we studied  the topics of financial crises, immigration and global poverty. Many of the students wrote a research paper examining different aspects of Argentine culture.  This spring we have heard from local experts on Argentina, including Professor Dan Monk (in PCON), April Sweeney (in Theater) and Elana Shever (in SOAN). A panel of Colgate students who studied abroad in Argentina talked to us about their experiences there.

Students will write blog entries before, during and after our trip. At this point, I would like all of the students to write a post to the blog before leaving for the trip. Please comment on what aspect of Argentine culture you have found to be most intriguing, and how you plan to learn more about that aspect of the culture during our trip. Also feel free to comment on the aspect of the trip you are most excited about.

We all look forward to your insightful comments!

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