I am back! And with plenty of awkward and funny things to share. I hope to evoke some laughter and smiles:)
CARBS If I was truly on an "Eat.Pray.Love" adventure I would have definitely have accomplished the "Eating" Portion.I have actually surpassed the eating portion.I feel like,actually I KNOW, that all we eat are things with bread.Pasta,cereal,more bread,Alfrojores (two cookies made into one with dulce de leche dipped in chocolate(white or milk)),soup,and more bread. Its hard to find a good salad that isn't super expensive.Salads here are really weird and you can just kiss any type of dressing other than vinegar and olive oil goodbye(I was sooo hurt when I found out) Yall,I feel as fat as a house.I'm probably not that large but the "study abroad 50" seems do-able at this rate. I PRAY I don't get 50 pounds heavier.Ive already told myself thanksgiving dinner might be skipped due to the 3-4 week detox that will be required when I get home.I think Imma have to call up my intense German Crossfit trainer and get my ass kicked just to loose all the weight possibly gained.You may think I am overreacting, but I swear I feel my hips widening. So what am I doing about it? Well,at first, I didn't care because the food was delicious and I should be enjoying my lunch/dinner.I should also be enjoying every once in a while beer,wine, or long island ice tea to go with it.NOW, i am attempting to run.Yall know I hate to run, but I cant afford 50 pounds.So last week I went running and caught a COLD.My beautiful afternoon run turned into a cool breeze and a sore throat. SOO i stopped that Quick and started the ab and burpee 30 day challenge.Its been too cold to run anywhere.Though it confuses my host mom, I am trying to cut my eating portions(it's in her nature to want to feed us a lot of food).I am also going to make a better effort to eat healthier, though the smell of choripan(Chorizo and bread) from the parrilla (BBQ) is always tempting. Transportation Struggles last week I forced myself to learn how to properly ride el collectivo/bondi (the bus). Let me tell you about these buses!They're alot like American buses accept for one thing.There is NOO lever to pull when you're ready to get off the bus.Well how do you get off the bus then? Well you better hope it stops where your suppose to get off or even get off before you'r suppose to.Oh and don't take your time getting off the bus! It will slam its doors in your face or even push you off the bus. I've seen it happen! Also they get jammed packed.There is no personal space.You can have an old mans underarm in your face for 30 minutes and you can't move.Trust,it happened to me last time i took the bus and luckily he didn't stink. Luckily school is close enough for me to walk and I only need to know two buses to get back and forth from my internship.Thank GLOB. Dodge the car Yes I said it,Dodge the car.It is a game that all portenos here play.As a wanna-be porteno I am a participant in the game. Of course the goal is to NOT get hit by the car so you have to dodge alot of people in order to successfully make it across. There are the old people who only walk fast enough for them to get across the street.The women with 3-4 kids and STROLLERS that do not play the game or get in the way of your game.The adults who are very chill and saunter across the street.ALL OF These people have almost gotten me hit 3-4 times. The streets are long here and the lights change fast. It is the ultimate struggle when you're always in a rush..which is something I am always in. Oh the life of a wanna-be Portena.LOL Nos Vemos! Bre<3 So this weekend,on the way to the Barrio chino(China Town) with friends,We stumbled onto a Japanese festival.We weren't sure of what the festival was for, but we were enticed by the smell of food and music. This was by far the LARGEST population of Asians I have seen in BsAs.I knew there was a small population of Asians,but I was surprised at the turn out.There were rows of vendors selling authentic Japanese clothing, souvenirs,and of course food!I wanted to buy every cute thing I saw but who buys souvenoirs from japan in Buenos Aires?I guess it could have been me but it didn't make any sense. .I think the thing that really threw me off was how they SPEAK SPANISH.It was ignorant of me to assume they speak english and chinese/japanese because thats how it is at home. Everyone spoke nearly perfect Spanish and would casually switch back to Chinese/Japanese when speaking to one another.It was mind blowing for me
I think the most interesting thing I found about the Asian Community here is HOW many stereotypes the Portenos have about them.My friends and I were comparing the things out host families would say. "Chinos are mean" ,"Be careful around those Chinos", "Dont go around those Chinos".Some of the women on the street were asking each other what was going on during a performance.They both concluded that it was just "Chino". Does this remind you of something?Well I'll tell you what it reminds me of,it reminded me of all the stereotypes and ignorant ideologies many Americans have about Latinos. .Think about all the stereotypes and stigmas that you have/or have heard about Latinos or even about another minority group. It's kinda crazy that they have these stereotypes about the Asian community but then again when I think about,it's not.Ignorance is World-Wide.The only way to combat these stereotypes and stigmas is to create cultural understanding. I won't even lie.I was miserable for a few days about this particular subject. I wasn't prepared for this particular culture shock.I was Furious,first I was pissed at my HBCU for NOT preparing me for this. They've been keeping me locked away in this bubble that doesn't realistically exist. Then,I was mad at myself for 1)Not being realistic about study abroad "diversity" 2)For allowing myself to feel insecure about my identity. You see it wasn't the people of Buenos Aires that made me so self aware to the point where I was uncomfortable,it was the people in my program. For once in a LONG time, I was a minority. My HBCU allows me to be a majority, which I do appreciate for many reasons. Being there allows me to forget that I am a minority because in my environment, I'm not.Now, being in this environment, I am beyond self aware and know I stand out like a sore thumb.It made me extremely uncomfortable and I hated myself for allowing myself to feel like that.No matter how hard I tried to "fit in". It was nearly impossible..All the black kids weren't sitting together,they didn't even acknowledge one anthers presence, which PISSED ME OFF. That was the absolute last straw for me. I knew I was in a WHOLE 'nother world that I wasn't prepared for. I cried about it ALOT,no lie. I am COMPLETELY out of my comfort level here and it's OVERWHELMING. I tried to explain to some people about how I feel, but you cant understand if you haven't been in this predicament before. So what do I do? How do I deal with these feelings? "Crawl over a bridge and get over it?" ,"Dance away my worries?" "Suck that shit up?", "Grow Another Uterus and Deal With it?". I've tried all these things(.except growing another uterus because that is IMPOSSIBLE lol) but none of them seemed like long term solutions. I've realized that I need to REMEMBER why I am here. Why worry about "fitting in" when I was born to stand out?A Star isn't meant to blend in with the darkness!! If I spend all my time thinking about ways to "fit in" I'll go crazy and wont enjoy my study abroad experience. I also need to try a little harder to stay open minded.I have managed to generalize a lot of people in my program, which isn't fair. I could be missing out on a lot of great friendships. Lastly,I need to stop being so shy and show people how amazing I am!!! Being completely out of my comfort zone is HARD. I believe that with time, things will get easier and everything will fall into place. Please send your love and encouragement through FB wall posts,FB messages and comments.They are MUCH needed and greatly appreciated. With Love. Brianna I have so much to tell.Since I last wrote, I have had a lot of "first". First time going out to lunch & dinner by myself and ordering in spanish.First time walking to the school alone.first time getting lost.First time using a taxi alone(Which I don't recommend,I was lost and had to be somewhere.I promise I wont do it again). First time ordering my first legal drink at the bar. I want to go into more detail about that I felt sooo GROWN! I ordered one of the famous Argentinian drink called "Fernet& Coke" it was REALLY strong. I was the only one who ordered it. Everyone else I was with had red wine.I am not a wine person.The only time I had wine was while I was watching Scandal with my crush.I couldn't say no to that gorgeous face plus he offered the last of the bottle, I had to say yes.ANYWAYS! When I got the bill of my drink I hated that I HAD TO PAY FOR IT! I don't want to be grown, if I have to pay for my own drink.It is NOT the move for me..
THE CITY The city of Buenos Aires is Beautiful.It is soo huge and alot of times it reminds me of New York except everyone speaks spanish LOL. There is alot of hustle and bustle around 9am,2pm and 6pm.There are 13 million people that actually live in BA but during the day 30 million people occupy the city for work Crazy huh?The neighborhood I live in is called Recoleta.It is this beautiful,upscale neighborhood where a good amount of rich people live.I live a few blocks from the embassy of France,Brazil and Columbia.I also live around the corner from these upscale Italian restaurants.They smell SOO good when I am walking to school at lunch time.My school is in the middle of downtown off of 9 de julio.If you know anything about 9 de Julio it is widest avenue in the world.I'd like to thank Atlanta and Cincinnati for helping me to acquire jaywalking skills because I NEED them here.If you are ever walking the streets of BA you will often see dog poop,couples,families,and people with their dogs.It's definitely different from home for sure, but I love it! THE PEOPLE The people here think they are Italians.LOL! It is the funniest thing ever because they speak spanish.Other than that,the people are really nice.A lot of strangers have helped me with my spanish and treated me so kind.They love that I really try to speak their language.The only thing I could do without is the constant staring I get when I walk into somewhere or even on the street.It's not a look of disgust, it's a look of curiosity.The men often wink at me and say small things but that's just like being in ATL. LOL .The people here are soo fashion forward,especially the men! It is a fashion show EVERYDAY in my neighborhood.I am just trying to dress for the weather,so I know they think I look frumpy. The people here are very affectionate in public with their significant other.Couples are EVERYWHERE. It is hard to have single girl swag when no one wants to join your movement here.Lol!The people here are also very affectionate with their friends.Alot of the people in BA grow up together and when they are old,still the best of friends..It is the cutest thing.The people here Love to talk about sports and politics.No other conversation is important.It can be a heated conversation with a lot of hand movements and flying arms. Adjustments I have had to adjust to a many a things.Many things that I do not mind adjusting to.One of those things is drinking coffee 3 times a day.I have become an addict and it doesnt help that the Argentinians encourage it. Having to walk to school is an adjustment.I love the long walk to school and it means I wont gain weight(well at least that much).The people here have no sense of time.Everything is very relaxed and go with flow.If they see a friend on the street they will stop whatever they are doing and have a 3 hour coffee break.This includes the bus drives and street workers.It is crazy for us, but it is normal for them.So if you show up "late" for work because of public transportation or whatever,people do not care.Crazy huh?If you know anything about me, I am an organizational freak.I am always on a schedule and if I am not, I am a mess.If I had to take public transportation to school that would drive me to insanity! The other adjustment is of course speaking and hearing Spanish everyday/all day,but one that I will soon get use to.With time, english will become less frequent and spanish will take over(I hope!) I am loving BA right now and it has only been less than a week.I am ready to start classes and get into a routine. About to take a nap and then hopefully geting some coffee:) Chou! -Bre |
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