JULIA NEESON

Un Porteño Temporal:

Taking on the Southern Hemisphere

 

In the summer of 2013, I studied abroad in Argentina in an intensive language immersion program with SOL education. I have always known that I hate to be overtly horrible at something, especially something of value.  After taking Spanish 102 at A&M for the first time and finding that it did not come naturally or even easily to me, I decided that foreign language was going to become my new strength.  I knew in a vague sense that culture should be important to me and wanted to make sure to take advantage of the amazing opportunities given to University students. Taking initiative, I funded and planned my entire trip independently through scholarship and careful budgeting. While abroad, I volunteered for Un Techo Para Mi Pais -“A House for My Country”- and built houses in the provinces of the city, participated in Maté Club de Conversation to meet Argentinian locals, and travelled throughout the country both alone and with groups. It was truly a life changing experience.

 

My lack of natural talent in the language realm taught me that my greatest weakness could be transformed into a solid strength with intention, investment of time, and motivation. Through volunteering, I learned that service is one of the most concrete and fulfilling ways to show love. The world, though we may never see most of it, is so small and the people who inhabit it are not so far off. In the Maté Club de Conversation, I met weekly with a group of locals to speak in both English and Spanish, learn about culture, and truly be immersed in the Porteño life. Nomads, travelers, locals, students, elderly, and businessmen would meet to exchange their personal stories and experiences in the name of exchange.  This is my greatest personal illustration to date, teaching me that the span of human experience is larger than I ever could have fathomed and, more personally, that I wanted  to experience as much of it as I could.

 

Finally, travelling both solo and with a group taught me problem solving, calculated risk, adventure, and leaps of faith are all overwhelmingly valuable.  Other than the local citizens I had the opportunity to meet, I met amazing and lifelong friends within my own travel group. From all around the country, our group of “SOLmates” shared a kindred spirit. We learned, triumphed and failed together. Traveling through a country with an originally small amount of knowledge of the language was both terrifying and exhilarating. Looking back, I never knew how much I loved a challenge.

 

Living as a temporary Porteño made me more daring, independent, and globally minded.  I take the lead on projects in leadership roles, express my thoughts and opinions openly with personalities unlike my own, and more naturally undaunted by the unknown or measure of risk.

 

Volunteering for the poorest of the poor gave me a new perspective on how to live life, how to approach love, and what it means to have light.  Meeting some of the most joyful people in the poorest of places was simultaneously heart wrenching and illuminating. They lived simply and found light in each other. Coming away from the experience, I had the overwhelming feeling that humanity, at its core, is inherently good. Ever since, I have adjusted the way I live, how I spend money, and what I find beautiful.  It’s funny that you can feel homesick for a place in which you were but a bystander. But, whenever I do, it’s usually for the muddy roads of Cohesion rather than the lights of Buenos Aires.  I am more of a global citizen than before, which has concretely changed the way I approach things. I care deeply about world politics and can’t go a day without reading the news, something that I had never bothered with before.

 

The people I met with and learned from along the way remain my lifelong friends, whether they be classmates or across the hemisphere. My final takeaway and understanding of others this experience gifted to me was that gratitude, joy, and laughter go hand in hand- a philosophy I try to mold into my own life on a daily basis.