This past weekend I had the opportunity to return to Valparaiso, Chile where I studied abroad during my junior year of college in 2003. I stayed with my former host family in their new apartment and visited lots of my favorite places… namely the beach and my favorite bakeries :) Although I thought I would feel more comfortable in Chile than I do in Argentina (since I have lived there for 6 months and I’m only on my second in Argentina), I was surprised to find myself feeling extremely out of place. I had forgotten simple things – what different coins look like, how to take a bus through the small city center, crazy Chilean idiomatic expressions, etc. My host family found it quite comical that I now speak like an Argentine and had a good time confusing me with words that I used to use on a daily basis. The trip definitely made me realize how much I consider San Juan home now; I was missing my friends and my new life even though I was only away for 4 days.
Valparaiso is the same picturesque city as before, but things have definitely changed. The city is more built up, with more modern buildings and commercial areas, and there seemed to be many more people on the streets than I remember (this could also be because I’m comparing it with San Juan, not exactly a bustling metropolis). The university is on strike at the moment so it was strange to see the doors of my old classroom buildings chained shut with desks and chairs piled up behind them as a symbolic protest. Although I could never really get a straight answer as to why the university has been closed for the last month and a half, it seems to be because the city wants to raise the student bus fare significantly. There have apparently been lots of protests and my 15-year-old host brother has even gotten in on the action (his picture was in the local paper much to my host mom’s dismay). There are also lots more international students in the city. I felt an international presence even just in the short time I was there and it made me remember how in 2003 we were only 17 students in the exchange program. It seems like Valparaiso is definitely in style as a South American study destination… haha I know I’m always a trendsetter, right.
Unfortunately my camera is still broken but soon I hope a replacement will be brought from the US (electronics are extremely expensive here) with some friends so I will be able to post more pictures. All in all I had a great trip and can’t wait to return … in only 5 weeks during our winter break!
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Professors and their students
One of the cultural differences that has most caught my attention is the way in which professors interact with students, in terms of personal relationships and what is taught. I have female professors for all four of my courses, and each course has two professors, one who is responsible for teaching on a daily basis and one who serves as an assistant (I have yet to figure out what this person does besides sit in on every class and help pass out papers). They are all extremely knowledgeable in their subject area and all but one speak British English perfectly… note that this does not mean they don’t ask me lots of questions about English vocabulary and grammatical structures that I hardly know how to explain (so I have to be paying attention 100% of the time as I’ve found out the hard way).
But what’s most interesting to me is their extreme bluntness – if a student is asking a question or explaining an idea and accidentally inserts one wrong word in English or if the professor simply doesn’t agree with what he is saying, they’ll say “no you’re completely wrong, why did you use THAT word?” Or “your idea makes no sense, you obviously haven’t been studying.” Etc. There is always a definite right and wrong. Many times it sounds so harsh to me that I think students in the US would start crying if a professor treated them like this, but here no one gets offended or embarrassed in front of their classmates even when being yelled at. These situations have made me realize that perhaps in the US we’re taught that we could always be right if we look at a concept in the right way or that even if you give a horrible presentation you’ll never be humiliated for in front of others. As students we’re much more used to presenting what we wish (whether on a test, in papers, or in presentations) and getting a grade. Here, feedback is blunt and constant – there is ALWAYS a second opportunity to do better, even on tests, so the student who leaves a course with a low grade has really had to work hard for it. On the one hand, this bluntness and opportunity for improvement gives students a real chance to learn the material, but at the same time students here are much more scared of their professors than in the US. But perhaps we leave college much less able to handle tough criticism…
Additional thoughts about school taken from my first report to the Rotary Foundation
"The most interesting aspect of studying the teaching of English here in San Juan is being able to compare the US and Argentine higher education systems. The most notable differences have to do with the use of technology, the knowledge with which students arrive at the university, and the notion of being a student. Here technology is absent from the classroom. All teaching is done with the chalkboard and all assignments are handwritten. Students have been taught only the very basics of word processing and become stressed on the rare occasion that a professor requests something typed. I also feel that many university students here enter school with a slightly lower skill level than those in the US. Secondary schooling here seems to be focused on the accumulation of information instead of on specific skills. Students graduate high school without knowing how to structure a five-paragraph essay or how to critically analyze text. This is of course not the students’ fault; it is a function of the Argentine secondary education system that is based more on memorization than in the US. This means that many of the skills that I developed in high school are developed here during the college years. Lastly, the idea of being a student is different from in the US. Because higher education at public universities is completely free in Argentina, there is little pressure to pass all courses on time, and therefore students normally graduate in 5-7 years. There is more emphasis on taking time to really learn the material instead of in the US where many students are consumed with passing to accumulate credit instead of knowledge. Also because public schooling is free, a more diverse group of people have the opportunity to study at the university. My classmates in the first year track range in age from 18 to 31, some working and many raising families in addition to being students. Equal opportunity is most definitely an advantage of the system here."
But what’s most interesting to me is their extreme bluntness – if a student is asking a question or explaining an idea and accidentally inserts one wrong word in English or if the professor simply doesn’t agree with what he is saying, they’ll say “no you’re completely wrong, why did you use THAT word?” Or “your idea makes no sense, you obviously haven’t been studying.” Etc. There is always a definite right and wrong. Many times it sounds so harsh to me that I think students in the US would start crying if a professor treated them like this, but here no one gets offended or embarrassed in front of their classmates even when being yelled at. These situations have made me realize that perhaps in the US we’re taught that we could always be right if we look at a concept in the right way or that even if you give a horrible presentation you’ll never be humiliated for in front of others. As students we’re much more used to presenting what we wish (whether on a test, in papers, or in presentations) and getting a grade. Here, feedback is blunt and constant – there is ALWAYS a second opportunity to do better, even on tests, so the student who leaves a course with a low grade has really had to work hard for it. On the one hand, this bluntness and opportunity for improvement gives students a real chance to learn the material, but at the same time students here are much more scared of their professors than in the US. But perhaps we leave college much less able to handle tough criticism…
Additional thoughts about school taken from my first report to the Rotary Foundation
"The most interesting aspect of studying the teaching of English here in San Juan is being able to compare the US and Argentine higher education systems. The most notable differences have to do with the use of technology, the knowledge with which students arrive at the university, and the notion of being a student. Here technology is absent from the classroom. All teaching is done with the chalkboard and all assignments are handwritten. Students have been taught only the very basics of word processing and become stressed on the rare occasion that a professor requests something typed. I also feel that many university students here enter school with a slightly lower skill level than those in the US. Secondary schooling here seems to be focused on the accumulation of information instead of on specific skills. Students graduate high school without knowing how to structure a five-paragraph essay or how to critically analyze text. This is of course not the students’ fault; it is a function of the Argentine secondary education system that is based more on memorization than in the US. This means that many of the skills that I developed in high school are developed here during the college years. Lastly, the idea of being a student is different from in the US. Because higher education at public universities is completely free in Argentina, there is little pressure to pass all courses on time, and therefore students normally graduate in 5-7 years. There is more emphasis on taking time to really learn the material instead of in the US where many students are consumed with passing to accumulate credit instead of knowledge. Also because public schooling is free, a more diverse group of people have the opportunity to study at the university. My classmates in the first year track range in age from 18 to 31, some working and many raising families in addition to being students. Equal opportunity is most definitely an advantage of the system here."
Monday, May 12, 2008
Lunches, weddings, a funeral…. OH MY!
And I thought I was going to be sitting in my room for the first 6 weeks in San Juan, ha! My life has been incredibly busy (in a good way) mostly because my host Rotarian and his wife are extremely social people and are afraid I’ll end up sitting in my room all day if they don’t get me out… which is actually not the case at all so I’m having to work on asserting my independence in a society where overprotective parents seem to be the norm. I’ve been invited to lunch at many Rotarians’ homes where usually the whole family (I’m talking grandparents, aunts, cousins – everyone!) is invited so I do my best to answer the barrage of questions that are thrown at me usually simultaneously. I’ve met a LOT of people this way and I’m sure I’ll keep getting invited to the random grandson’s soccer game or daughter’s dance recital pretty much for the entire year. I swear my life has never been this busy!
In sad news, my host Rotarian’s wife’s mother died last Sunday. Although it was somewhat expected, it was still a very difficult time for the family. I accompanied them to the wake and to the burial for moral support but at the same time was glad I got to experience the way death is dealt with here, very differently than what I have experienced in the US. Here everything happens extremely quickly – within 24 hours the deceased is already buried and the mourning period is virtually over. There is no formal funeral ceremony and instead everyone that would be at a US funeral comes to the burial at the cemetery. At home the process is drawn out for much longer obviously, but at the same time I feel like a general sense of grief lasts for much longer as well. Within three days life was back to normal as if nothing had ever happened - perhaps this is just because this was somewhat expected… anyhow, if anyone actually knows why in the US we wait three or four days before having the funeral there are many people here that would be interested. I speculated that it’s because families don’t all live in the same place as they do here so for purely logistical reasons… let me know.
And the wedding! This weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to the wedding of a family friend of my host counselor Jorge. As with everything here, the main difference from the US is that everything happens later. The mass started at 10 pm, the civil ceremony at 11:30, and the dinner at 12:30 am. We left at 4:30 am and that was early! And let me tell you, Argentineans LOVE to eat (although stay unjustly thin!). The dinner was exquisite, with brownies and ice cream for dessert before the cake was even cut. Then throughout the night new dishes kept appearing while everyone danced and finally at around 7 in the morning croissants and hot chocolate for breakfast… I was sad we had to leave early!
ps. I finally found a gym (although no Zumba ;)
In sad news, my host Rotarian’s wife’s mother died last Sunday. Although it was somewhat expected, it was still a very difficult time for the family. I accompanied them to the wake and to the burial for moral support but at the same time was glad I got to experience the way death is dealt with here, very differently than what I have experienced in the US. Here everything happens extremely quickly – within 24 hours the deceased is already buried and the mourning period is virtually over. There is no formal funeral ceremony and instead everyone that would be at a US funeral comes to the burial at the cemetery. At home the process is drawn out for much longer obviously, but at the same time I feel like a general sense of grief lasts for much longer as well. Within three days life was back to normal as if nothing had ever happened - perhaps this is just because this was somewhat expected… anyhow, if anyone actually knows why in the US we wait three or four days before having the funeral there are many people here that would be interested. I speculated that it’s because families don’t all live in the same place as they do here so for purely logistical reasons… let me know.
And the wedding! This weekend I was lucky enough to be invited to the wedding of a family friend of my host counselor Jorge. As with everything here, the main difference from the US is that everything happens later. The mass started at 10 pm, the civil ceremony at 11:30, and the dinner at 12:30 am. We left at 4:30 am and that was early! And let me tell you, Argentineans LOVE to eat (although stay unjustly thin!). The dinner was exquisite, with brownies and ice cream for dessert before the cake was even cut. Then throughout the night new dishes kept appearing while everyone danced and finally at around 7 in the morning croissants and hot chocolate for breakfast… I was sad we had to leave early!
ps. I finally found a gym (although no Zumba ;)
Food Politics
About two weeks after I arrived the entire country of Argentina went into crisis mode… culprit, MEAT. As it’s been explained to me it goes something like this: during Nestor Kirchner’s presidency (that just ended last December) farmers were allowed to export unprecedented amounts of food stuffs because crop yields were extremely high and prices were favorable to the consumption of Argentinean products around the world. This left farmers and everyone involved in transporting and exporting the food very rich while Argentineans were eating what was essentially the leftovers that their land had produced as all the best product was shipped abroad. Recently, the current president Cristina Kirchner (yes, his wife) substantially reduced the amount farmers could export stating that the Argentine people were going hungry while farmers got rich. As could be imagined farmers were instantly up in arms as they sought to lose tons of money with this deal. They started striking and blocked important transport routes all across the country so that food couldn’t be shipped out from the countryside. The most problematic part of this conflict was the fact that meat couldn’t be delivered….
Now, if the country was made up of Alysons this wouldn’t be a problem at all. Whenever I tell my friends here that in the US I might eat meat every 3 days or so they cringe at the thought. Argentina without beef would be like the US without peanut butter :) or maybe apple pie. Anyhow, it was very interesting to see how everyone reacted to almost empty shelves, mostly meat and dairy products were virtually gone for about a week and a half and what was available was very expensive. One egg cost one peso which is about 30 cents – a lot! After some negotiations the government decided to allow farmers to keep exporting at their previous rates but only for a month while a new deal was worked out. This week the month is up so we’ll see what happens. At least for now meat has been plentiful and I’m continuing to stock up on all the iron and protein I’ll need for the next two years.
Now, if the country was made up of Alysons this wouldn’t be a problem at all. Whenever I tell my friends here that in the US I might eat meat every 3 days or so they cringe at the thought. Argentina without beef would be like the US without peanut butter :) or maybe apple pie. Anyhow, it was very interesting to see how everyone reacted to almost empty shelves, mostly meat and dairy products were virtually gone for about a week and a half and what was available was very expensive. One egg cost one peso which is about 30 cents – a lot! After some negotiations the government decided to allow farmers to keep exporting at their previous rates but only for a month while a new deal was worked out. This week the month is up so we’ll see what happens. At least for now meat has been plentiful and I’m continuing to stock up on all the iron and protein I’ll need for the next two years.
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