Well, my bags aren’t packed and I’m not ready to go. That doesn’t really seem to matter, though. I’m still leaving for Buenos Aires, Argentina in three days. Yes, like many students at UR, I have chosen to study abroad. This is a truly unique experience because, for the next five months, I will be living in Argentina – not visiting. My siblings, Ben, Becky and Andy will be replaced by Juaquin and Alejandro, and my parents names have transformed from Susan and Marc to Silvia and Enrique. How is that for “Trading Spaces?”
Everyone else has been in school for almost two months, and I haven’t even left yet.
Why? Well for all of you who are not geography buffs, Argentina is on the other side of the equator, which means their seasons are opposite. So, I will be leaving three inches of snow and 20 degree weather – I know that is nothing for you guys in Rochester – for two inches of grass and 85 degree weather. Who feels bad for me?
Once I arrive in Buenos Aires, I plan to study art, Spanish and psychology. I will be taking classes at El Instituto Universitario Nacional de Arte. On the weekends, I will explore historical places in Buenos Aires such as la Plaza de Mayo, a historically significant central square.
Every Thursday at 3:30 p.m., the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo – Mothers of the May Square – protest the justice for “los desaparecidos,” the young people who “disappeared” during the military government’s six-year power siege in 1976.
If I have a long weekend, I may visit Iguzu Falls, one of the Seven Wonders of the World.
After I am done with my schooling, I plan to travel around for a month or so visiting places like Patagonia, which has winds that are known for “stripping men to the raw,” as Bruce Chatwin put it in is novel “In Patagonia.”
What else lies ahead of me, I have truly no idea, but if I have time, I’ll let you know.
Webb can be reached at jwebb@campustimes.org.
