Although many are finishing up their semester abroad, I am barely halfway through mine. My identity as a first-generation, low income, Mexican-American student remains and has strengthened. I have been constantly defending my identity with those who look down on Latin Americans who apparently do not live up to the Argentine expectations. I’ve been ridiculed by professors and by other AMERICAN students for my Mexican Spanish because according to them it is ‘wrong’. One thing that this study abroad experience has failed to do is educate students on the different types of Spanish that are spoken all over Latin America. Argentine Spanish/Castellano does not reflect Spanish as a whole, avocados can be aguacates or paltas there is no one correct one. Just because it’s palta here does not mean its palta in other places. Yesterday at a Tango event someone introduced me to an American student from Dartmouth as Mexican, the first thing he said to me was that the Argentine accent is better than the Mexican accent. Of course, I was offended, these exchange students are taught that anything Argentine is better and superior. When explaining the collective country people focus on European immigration rather than the Argentian history itself. I am finding myself at a constant battle protecting my identity here as well as my values. I unlike many of the exchange students did not come to Argentina to constantly get drunk at parks, or at tango shows or even at an immigration checkpoint. Because of my identity and values, it has been very hard to connect with other students. I am hoping to go on more excursions with other international students and not with ISA due to this reason. It’s been a long 3 months thus far…
Recoleta Cultural Center.
Colonia, Uruguay