Global Gab

When packing, don’t forget the right heart

Virginia Thomas
Overseas Columnist

As I’m tossing the necessities for studying and traveling in South America into my suitcase, I’m realizing that there’s one thing I didn’t pick up at the mall.   

Hiking boots for trekking through the Incan ruins of Macchu Picchu? Check. 

Comfy cute shoes for dancin’ the night away in Rio de Janeiro?  Check.

Heart to learn and grow and be a better servant of God?  Um…what? 

I thought that cult in Heidelberg does enough of that spiritual growth stuff for the rest of us! The Buenos Aires kids are just going to live it up Latin-style, right?

I hope not. 

Don’t get me wrong, I’m so excited for all the fun I’ve heard this year will be, but this year should be about something so much bigger and greater than all the tea in China, er, clubs in Argentina. I could easily see myself crossing the Argentine border, watching my bank account triple and indulging myself in a lavish life of Latin luxury. I plan on having a lot of fun, but this year will also be an once-in-a-lifetime chance to broaden my perspective. The more I understand the world, the better I’ll be able to serve God in it. So, there are things I hope to come home with besides a hand-tailored leather jacket for the equivalent of 50 American dollars. (By the way, to those studying in Europe this year, have fun with those exchange rates!)   

For one thing, I want to bring back a real understanding of the Argentine culture.  That means committing to a balancing act of spending time with Americans and Argentines. Upperclassmen at Pepperdine all talk about how they made their best friends on their overseas program. From what I’ve seen, there are some cool cats flying south Sept. 9, and I’m hoping to come home with those super-close-friends-made-on-an-abroad-program everyone talks about. However, I hope some of them are Argentine.

I’m sure there will be plenty of times I’m going to get so culturally overwhelmed that I’ll want to fly away home to the familiar fortress of the Pepperdine bubble. Or, more likely and less dramatically, spend my time only with American friends down there, laughing at American jokes and doing American things. Becoming as Argentine as possible will be difficult when there are so many Pepperdine people I’m going to want to hang out with.  Photo Courtesy Tracy Domingo
Shop ’till you drop: Florida Street is an upscale shopping area in buenos Aires, Argentina.

Safety permitting, I want to see and serve in the poorer areas of the continent. I want to see the less-wealthy communities of Buenos Aires, the northern, more indigenous, part of Argentina, and travel to countries like Bolivia to really see a world I do not comprehend as someone who lives a middle-class American life.  

I also want to avoid being one of the “ugly Americans” abroad. As a nation we have a reputation for being fat, ignorant of other cultures and languages, and brash in international politics. Stereotypes are stereotypes, but I have to admit, I don’t even know who the president of Argentina is. I am an ignorant American!  Looks like I’ve got some research to do these next nine days, while my friends in the “Malibu program” are already in school. And some more suitcase stuffing to do. Looks like I better add “open mind” and “servant’s heart” to that packing list.  

08-30-2004