Collectivism in Argentina

It has been a busy couple of weeks. Before I spill the beans I want to address a question that may get deleted with changes coming to Google/Blogger. The question was "if there were any differences in collectivism that have stuck out to me so far in comparison to the individualist tendencies back home." I will say that thus far we have gone hiking in the Andes mountain range twice and on both occasions it was an American to the top of the peak first. Meanwhile the others in our group, one time it was Mendocinans and the other time was Europeans (Austria and Germany), seemed like they valued the experience and company more than the "race to the top."

Outside of the group activities there are some things that at first I saw as backwards that I have come to appreciate. Instead of having a parking meter on the sides of streets, there are humans who do the job. It seemed a little antiquated at first but once I realized that they keep an eye out for ladrones and keep the cars safe while also waving in people to help parallel park it seemed superior to the way things are done in the U.S. I would classify this collectivist because it really is looking out for one another and the group.

Besides parking assistants, just called "Asistentes," taxes in some neighborhoods (mine) go to paying the salaries of security officers. The alternative would be a gate with a passcode--which they have those here too. These are by and large not ultra wealthy communities where these security officers are present. These officers just referred to as "Seguridad" talk to people about the weather, look for lost soccer balls, and have taught me a few soccer tricks. They are another example of a human touch where back home it would likely be a mechanical one.

With all of those examples in mind, it is dangerous to generalize because there are still some huge individualist examples present. One of which is a statue of San Martin. San Martin was in the "Army of the Andes" statue on my last post. That statue is great example of a collectivist perspective on the movement for independence here in Argentina. There are also two statues, one in San Rafael and another is near the center of the city, which show San Martin alone on horseback. I think this was probably done to give special recognition to San Martin outside of the military context. But nevertheless, a great example of a competing perspectives in the fight for independence from Spain.

That was a great question and I am sure I will run into examples in the future.

Wild Horse in Ushpallata

Part of the 360 degree vista of the hike to Aconcagua's base camp

San Martin alone in San Rafael. The hooves up in the air symbolizes that he died in battle but he really died of old age. 

Made it to the 10 day mark.
I am living with a Argentinean couple born and raised in Mendoza. It has been a great experience thus far and I have vastly improved my Spanish in the last week through dinner table conversations and questions on directions, food and what time dinner will be. One learns quickly when the fate of la cena is on the line.

 I wandered into the police who specialize with tourists and asked for directions to school on the morning of my first day. Although I managed to get lost before my first class I still made it on time.
In the heat and jumble of first day prep I forgot that class start times are close suggestions of when class should start with students and professors alike arriving sometimes 10-15 minutes later. This has been my experience so far and it is quite a contrast to the "if you are on time you are late" motto I have heard and sometimes lived by at Marietta.

Someone who was just as lost as I am asked for directions yesterday to the neighborhood I am in and I answered and not only did they understand the directions but they were also correct. It is the little wins in the sea of misunderstanding and misunderstood accentos that keep me afloat. There have been many mistakes so far but my host parents have helped me to understand them not as mistakes or errors but just as everyday life. This way you can keep discouragement at bay. It is quite a change in mindset that they recommend and has proved to be a daily struggle.

Although English and Spanish and the myriad of accents that accompany them can be misunderstood or mistaken, it seems laughter, food and Rock is universal here. In the last week, admittedly, a lot of the laughing has been at my expense. From mixing up the word for spoon and knife-it is cuchara and cuchillo for anyone wondering- to my horrendous skills with futbol that never fail to bring a peanut gallery of awe and laughter. More than anything, I have been reminded that I am not infallible and it has been a thorough lesson I doubt is over.

 I may not understand everything that my host family says to me and I doubt that they understand everything I say, but we share a roughly mutual understanding of dinnertime. I say rough because I am not quite sold on starting to make dinner at 9:30 and finishing around 12:00. This is something that is pretty normal and so I will have to adjust. However, the timing of dinner has little effect on the ability of dinner to bring out conversation and connection.

I have been quite surprised by the popularity of Rock. This week I was at a diner where a replay of the Queen's Live Aid performance was playing. "What is your favorite band?" was a cornerstone of Spanish conversation in highschool and in this first week I have propped up several conversations with it yielding answers like Lynyrd Skynyrd, ACDC and Queen.

The Superbowl was spent with my host family's extended family and it was a great time. Just in the last week I have traveled to an olive oil factory and the statue of the Army of the Andes in San Martin park I had my first "asado" which was amazing and topped off the week with the Jazz festival featuring Carrie Diane Ward who was so good. I have not been a big fan of Jazz in the past but it was hard to not enjoy the concert which took place on an illuminated island.

Olive oil spread and Asado photo from my friend Adam.

Asado 

Statue of the "Army of the Andes"

Jazz en el Lago

Different types of Olive oil in order from weakest to strongest flavor. 

This was my view from airport. And this is a street dog which can be found almost everywhere you go here.

There was a bit of a delay in posting because of spotty WiFi connection. Sorry for any confusion.
Tuesday Morning 8:00am Argentina Time

I made it to Mendoza this morning around 12:30. My flights went well, my eardrums didn't explode and it is always a great day when that doesn't happen. From Chicago to Houston to Panama and finally Mendoza. I went from about 10 degrees in Chicago to 75 degrees in Mendoza. The transition to here is quite literally "night and day"
           As far as things that are going well, my view right now is pretty awesome. Something that could have gone better would have been my checked bags not taking a siesta in Panama but at least they are not lost! I hope to get them tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to meeting fellow study abroad students at orientation this afternoon and catching up on sleep. There were a few speed bumps along the way but I am just glad to be here.
         I will say how out of place I feel with clothes that I traveled in which are more fit for a cold Chicago delay than for the bustle of this hot airport. Jean shorts are very much alive here and I may have to hop on the "Jorts" train.
       Somethings I have noticed about differences in life at the airport from my 7 hours of wandering at O' Hare and my 6 hours and counting in a dazed state in Mendoza are that the airport goers I've seen are very intentional about whatever they are doing. In the cafe right now everyone is talking Spanish and I only catch about half of what they say. Which is a stark difference to the quiet cafe I was at in O' Hare where it was food and phones instead. I will be interested to see if this is a larger trend.