ASHLYEE HICKMAN
Overseas Columnist
They say an Argentinean is a Spaniard who talks like an Italian but sounds British. Well I say an Ashlyee is an American who tries to talk like a Spaniard but sounds like a cast member from Clueless.
Welcome to Argentina.
I’ll spare you the commonalities and get straight to the good stuff: Buenos Aires is like New York. Except it’s all in Spanish.
And there’s less diversity. During our orientation we were told there is not a black population in Argentina so prepare to be stared at.
Imagine our excitement.
It actually works to our advantage, though, because most people think we’re from Brazil.
And it’s cheaper than New York, over three times cheaper. In the primary stages of applying to go abroad, I was debating between the London program and Buenos Aires.
Yes, I thought learning a second language would be beneficial but I really wanted an authentic British accent. I had to buckle down and think. “OK, Hickman,” I said to myself, “which country can you shop the most in?”
Argentina.
Though I was expecting a sort of parallel universe, I was happy to see some similarities. For example, the Argentines appreciate the cultural contributions our great nation has to offer — like “YMCA” by The Village People.
And, excuse me as I revert to a pre-teen, to my excitement every teen magazine has either Zac Efron or another cast member of “High School Musical” on the cover.
Needless to say, I bought them all. Reading them is a different story, “You know this magazine is in Spanish,” said a cashier in the airport. Yes, I’m aware.
It’s no secret that Pepperdine spoils us in Malibu. That’s true in Argentina also. The faculty family in the BA program is phenomenal, always ready to help us when we’re in need.
Whether it’s helping us get internships, calling the country’s hot spots on our behalf so we don’t pay the higher prices as foreigners, or just baking us cookies, they have us covered.
Chapel, for example, is to die for, a phrase that can’t be heard too often on the Malibu campus. After a few housekeeping matters, we all headed to a restaurant named “Kansas” to get our fix of American cuisine; each bite reminding us that there’s no place like home. Next Chapel is Tango night, when we’ll tango the night away with the dance that put Argentina on the map.
Even with all this excitement, we still have time to reflect on the change of our surroundings. A key difference, if it was apparent already, is that we’re no longer justified to use the slightly self-centered comment of “Why can’t they just learn English,” because, newsflash, we’re in Latin America.
This brings me to another point — we’re still in America. Yet, listen to any of our dinner time conversations you’ll hear that the only America we acknowledge is the United States — we, as a country, are kind of full of ourselves.
Case in point, I had to change my DVD settings to South American format all the while wondering why they can’t just make them “right.”
But as Rafa, the Buenos Aires director, pointed out to us, the ways and means of this culture is not better, not worse, just different.
So, as an effort to adapt I pinpointed some things I have to stop being such a princess about.
First, smoking in the States there is an obnoxious, over-the-top hacking cough that one can put on in an attempt to dissuade the puffers. It doesn’t work here. Everyone smokes, it seems like Argentina’s favorite past time.
Second, pollution — Al Gore would not be pleased. The emissions from the busses are so concentrated that by the end of the day the gutters are laced with gasoline.
But, it’s a developing country, so I gave them a break. I just don’t breathe as much.
Third, using a map — It took a bus and three taxis to get me to class the other day, and I only live 20 minutes from school. There’s something about wandering around in a shady neighborhood that got me to realize reading a map sure could have helped.
So why in the world did I choose to leave the luxuries of Malibu where I could be a princess, the weather is perfect and Matthew McConaughey runs free?
Because I can.
Opportunities like this do not present themselves every day. Keeping true with Thoreau’s quip about living life free and unencumbered, I feel like I’m doing a pretty good job of that. Well, I still have to go to class so I’m not fully free.
The point is whether it’s trying to decide what bus route to take to get to the university or how to flush the toilet — an incident that put many of us in a awkward position — eventually we figure it out. And the payoff is, like, totally awesome.
09-20-2007
