Bienvenidos a Argentina: Be Kind to Yourself

Today marks the end of 2017's first full week! I hope the year is off to a rejuvinating start for everyone.

Oh, and today also marks the end of my first week in Buenos Aires, Argentina! For those of you who don't know, I'll be interning here until the end of March. As any journalist would, I definitely did my homework on Argentina before getting here. The food, the music, the culture at large - and how I would fit in with it.

As with any place, there's a variety of experiences people had. Here are some of mine, as well as thoughts and some photos I took along the way.

Being in Argentina has already showed me the beauty in slowing down. In the U.S., and ESPECIALLY at universities like Northwestern, it is extremely normalized to stay busy and moving at 300000 mph. If we're idle, we're being inefficient. If there's too much time to relax, we're being lazy. That can grow to be exhausting and toxic as all get out. But here? On the contrary. Here it's encouraged to take your time - and to enjoy it. There's no rush to walk to your destination. Time is merely a suggestion, lol. Whereas in the states, we do dinner solely for eating purposes and move on as soon as the check comes, here dinner is a communal experience. Each person doesn't order their own dish. We order as a table, with a lot of "could you pass the..." and "how do you like the..." and "can I have a little bit of your..." There's lots of coffee, lots of discussion about literally anything in the world, and lots of just sitting. Just sitting. In the states, I would feel extremely weird taking all this time to do things. I still kind of do, to be honest. But, every day I feel myself adapting and liking this slower lifestyle. I get to stop and smell the flowers, and perhaps even sit to admire them. And this is a epiphany only within my first few days here. I have a lot more epiphanies to come.

Being kind to myself means being patient with myself. It means reminding myself "Girl, this is only your first week. Would you quit trying to plan the other 10?" and seeing every day as a new opportunity for new experiences and new memories. I deserve that much.

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One of the things I heard a lot rang very true -- no hay (muchos) negros en Argentina. AKA: Black folks are few and far between here. Of course, as an Africana Studies student, I looked into why. Obviously Argentina's sugar didn't harvest itself, but for some reason many Argentinians either a) very blatantly avoid the topic or b) have been brainwashed into believing something incredibly nonfactual. There is a very brutal history with Argentina as a nation and its relationship with indigenous people and AfroArgentines (read a little here). So, walking down the streets of Buenos Aires, I don't see many people who look like me. And by "many" I mean on average 2 a day. What makes everything more complicated is that I am also the only Black student in my cohort studying here. What does this mean? A few things:

Just about everyone in my cohort, when they aren't loudly speaking English, could be seen as an Argentine. They don't stick out unless they do obviously touristy things. For me? It's the opposite. We walk down the street and people in their cars literally stare (lol).
The only person who actively notices is me (lol). If someone is staring at me, I might look around my group to see if someone else will react, but there's no way they could. This also means they also don't think much on how different my experience here will be.

Already this has been illustrated to me. Por ejemplo, at dinner one night, there was a dessert item on the menu named "Mousse Cabecito." After a brief description and a less-brief Google session, I learned that cabecito is, more or less, a derogatory term used to refer to an oppressed sector of society. Basically, the term wreaks of racism and classism (see here). As such, the mousse was chocolate flavored - brown. Pretty messed up right? But, I was the only student (visibly) put off and bothered by the fact.

There are also interesting depictions of Black women here. The walls of our apartment bedrooms have Black femmes depicted como brujas. Then, when we went to La Boca, the "birthplace of the Tango," there was a statue of a Black woman in servant-like clothing, washing dishes and hanging cloths (photo will be below). The real adjective I'm thinking of is a little more colorful than "weird," but I'll stay modest.

Beyond all of that, overall negative outlooks on other Sudamericana countries like Brasil and Perú was pretty off-putting. Is there a linkage between the greater demographics of these countries and reasons why there is such an "anti" sentiment towards them in Argentina? (Read: I already know the answer here).

What's all of this to say? Pues; as una negra, soy una negra no matter where I go. Colonialism isn't simply a thing one "escapes" upon leaving the United States (but experiences like these grow the arsenal of knowledge that we possess....well at least it's grown mine). It's important that in every situation, I understand I am not perfect, and every emotion I feel is valid even when nobody else around me feels it. Even when I can't quite illustrate it to others. Every day is new. Be kind to yourself.

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So have I had some critical conversations with myself this week? You can bet your best peso on it. It hasn't been "easy," no. But do I deserve to have this experience? Heck yes. This pushes me forward, along with random check-ins from family and friends, A Seat At The Table, and pan bueno. Already, I've had great experiences that will go in the books of best memories of my life, and you can see some of those photos below! Sure, not every single second will be for fun. But finding the light en mi situación is in the contract of being kind to myself.

I got to visit another continent and now living in better diggs than most adults twice my age
The BBQ is as good as you hear everyone say it is...and then some
Feministas de grupos como Ni Una Menos are a light in this town
I live in a beautiful city, I'm currently enjoying my second Summer, and not to mention my hair looks grrrrreat
I'm speaking Spanish further than what a textbook teaches me
I'm trying things I probably never would have even been exposed to...like Peruvian/Japanese mix cuisine. Yes, that exists. And it's delicious.

My Spanish isn't the best right now compared to the other students in the cohort, but I give myself time, patience, and space to grow. Be kind to yourself. I don't have blooming chemistry with everyone. But I allow every day to be opportunity to learn more and share more. Be kind to yourself. Every day so far has been a late night and an early morning. I get my time to smile by FaceTiming my grandparents and singing happy birthday to my dad. Be kind to yourself.

Today ends the first week of 2017. I did more than survive, I thrived. Tomorrow begins a new day. Another blank page. Another opportunity to be kinder.

Check out some of my photos below, and tune in every week to see updates of my trip!