Katrina Wills
Staff Correspondent
BUENOS AIRES—I know you would absolutely love me if I wrote about the war. NOT. I know you would absolutely kick away your chair and throw it out the window if you had to read one more opinion about the war. So, I’ll spare you and introduce a different subject. This may be especially interesting to any future Buenos Aires travelers.
You might remember that I left the North American continent as an explorer on a flight of grandeur along the Atlantic wind with so much excitement for the unknown. I left as a SurAmerican explorer set to uncover and discover. However, I’m sorry if I’ve disappointed you, I have not conquered. I’ve merely survived. And I haven’t even found all the souvenirs on my gift list.
I’m coming home soon (be sure to stock the fridge, girls). When you see me — one of those unkempt, confused overseas kids wandering around on campus with culture shock and nothing to do — I have returned to just being me, Katrina, with a different perspective and a real respect for this culturally diverse world.
I didn’t conquer this country or truly assimilate myself into anything. Seriously, that’s impossible. Oh, foolish and crazy little me. However, I, and every student here, have learned fun lifesaving tools and nuggets of knowledge, which allowed us to survive and enjoy the Argentine experience.
First of all, not calling attention to ourselves — to avoid unnecessary rolled eyes, dirty looks or arrogant hair tosses thrown in our direction — is a science.
Blake Burcham always has wise advice on this matter: “Avoid large groups, tour buses and Plaza de Mayo.”
He tells me this as we, 52 students, file out of our tour bus trying to line up in Plaza de Mayo to take our group photo. I look around, see the stares and nod my head in agreement.
So, the wisest move is to go alone, “don’t talk,” according to Jessica Heller, and focus on appearance.
If you can’t be an Argentine, just look like one.
“Do the mullet” Jock Lockrow suggested. And, in reality, he’s totally correct. You wanna know why the mullet still exists in the world? Beause it’s actually cool to some people.
Here’s some more input: “Don’t wear anything that matches, like patterns, stripes or whatever,” Kaley Johnson said.
“As far as clothes goes, less is more. If you really want to blend in, go naked,” David Cram suggested. The South American man doesn’t mind short cutoffs and the average girl feels very comfortable with her body. VERY comfortable.
Second, though Spanish is the best tool to have while living in Buenos Aires, strong, ACCURATE body language is just as good. Here are opinions on a semester of miscommunication.
“Say ‘sí’ to every question if it’s not understood,” Burcham told me.
Um, yeah. Don’t do that, you’ll get in trouble.
If you don’t speak Spanish, you will learn it quickly. At least that’s the idea when you travel abroad.
So, in closing, I love Buenos Aires, I will miss it incredibly, and I have three weeks to find my dream Latin man to take home to the parents. And keep in mind the words of student Edward Leon, “The cute ones don’t care about mistakes.”
March 27, 2003
