CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA

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          My experience in Cordoba, Argentina has been one that never going to forget. There is a quote from Bill Bryson describing my time here. He said,

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"The greatest reward and luxury of travel is to be able to experience everyday things as if for the first time, to be in a position in which almost nothing is so familiar it is taken for granted".

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This trip has shown this concept to me. This program made me change the way I see things. I was able to experience things in life as if was the first time and that really makes you question why you do things a certain way. 

          When I arrived I thought that five months was an eternity but at the end of my experience I was dreading returning to the United States. This was the most incredible experience in my entire life. I was able to travel and see things I had never seen before. I was pushed to my physical and mental limits on this trip. Hiking through places like Patagonia with a few of your friends, no direction, no technology, and little food really puts into perspective what is important. Mental limits came the first month spent in Córdoba. I was thrown into a home where no one spoke English, and I felt like I hardly knew any Spanish. There were times it would have been so easy to give up and go into my room and just call and talk to people from home in English, but I forced myself to stay out, talking to family and friends from Córdoba constantly in order to better my Spanish. While there were many thing that were difficult at the time, I wouldn't go back and change a thing. This trip has made me a different person, and part of my heart will always be in Argentina for that.

           One of the reasons I fell in love with Argentina was the culture. It is one of the most unique cultures I have ever come in contact with in all my years of traveling. The first day in class at my Argentine college our professor brought out mate (typical Argentine drink similar to hot tea). After she drank some she began passing it around the room so everyone could also have some. Now this wasn't a first day teaching moment but something very common in Argentina. People share this drink with anyone around them, even strangers. It was so different for me because here in the US everyone is worried about the germs they're spreading germs but there it was like it wasn't even a factor. We saw this idea of sharing and collectivism everywhere we went. Even as we helped build homes for people who had nothing, they were more than happy to bring out mate and whatever snacks they had. I love the idea of looking out for other people. And this culture made you feel like you were a part of everyone's family. 

          Something important I continue to learn as I travel more is that in life you have to make the most of your situations. If you get lost for the day, you don't give up and go home. You take advantage of that day, and that place and you make some kind of memory. When I arrived in Argentina I was put in with a group of students with whom I had very little in common. I could have easily put off that I wouldn't have any close friends there, or have a social life for that matter, but stepping out of your comfort zone and taking advantage of the new people I met changed the whole experience. People ask why the experience was so great for me and almost always my number one answer is the people. I have made better deeper friendships in those 6 months than some friendships I've had for years. I still talk to each and every one of the people I had the opportunity to meet in Córdoba and I don't plan to ever change that.

          In conclusion, this trip has changed my life. From the people I've met to the culture I've learned, I will never be the same after those months abroad. I have brought the knowledge I have learned back with me along with plenty of passport stamps and stories. I hope through this page you will be able to see a glimpse of my adventures and the joy in every moment.

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