Argentina: Kamika Patel (A Day in the Life)
A Day in Buenos Aires
7:30 AM: Disoriented and begrudgingly, I wake up to the sound of my alarm to quickly get dressed to go to the neighborhood gym, located two blocks away from my homestay.
8:00 AM: I complete a quick and simple workout routine. I prefer to go at this time of the day because I like doing this part of my routine as soon as I can and there are fewer people occupying the workout spaces. The people living in the city of Buenos Aires are considerably active and you can find people of all ages at the gym during busier times. This includes coming often coming across groups of pre-teens in their school uniforms using the weight machines or a group of older women participating in a Zumba con Salsa class.
9:00 AM: I return home to take a shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast. Breakfast is a smaller meal of the day (which was hard to adjust to as a breakfast food lover) as I chow down on a piece of toast with cream cheese and dulce de leche and gulp my cup of instant coffee all set on the table by my host mom who is getting ready to go to work.
10:15 AM: I head to the bus stop, which is less than a ten-minute walk from where I am and on one of the busiest and main streets of the city of Buenos Aires (Avenida Santa Fe). Waiting for the bus is like waiting for a shooting star, you just never know when it will come. Waiting for the bus is a bit unpredictable because there is no fixed timetable for the buses. Today, I just missed a bus, but it doesn’t mean anything as I see another one around the corner! I make sure to stick my arm out as it passes by so that they stop.
11:00 AM: Spanish class. With five students in the class, we typically spend our time reviewing grammar concepts and chatting with our professor, Natacha, about whatever topics naturally come up. Today, we talk about short-term and long-term goals in our personal and professional lives. We always share good laughs in this class, and this class period is no different. The causal approach and having a small group to learn Spanish have been incredibly helpful as we navigate practicing the language outside of the classroom.
1:00 PM: Spanish class is over, and a few friends and I head to a nearby Korean restaurant for lunch. Near the IES Abroad center, it is easy to find several, delicious options for food. However, this is one of the few restaurants I have managed to find that actually delivers its promise of spice, a hard feat in this country. I bring back my lunch to the center to eat with everyone else on the terrace. After finishing my meal, I work on my weekly ESL lesson plan as I tutor university students in the language.
3:00 PM: Marketing in Latin America. This is one of my favorite classes because of my amazing and eccentric professor, Martín. Today, we have a guest speaker, an economist who has his own consultant agency and is also a professor at a Chilean university. I was looking forward to this all week because the Argentine economy is especially interesting on its own and when compared to the other economies of Latin American countries. Given the small class sizes, due to a few absences, I ended up being the only student who attended so it was like a private lecture/lesson to answer all of my questions!
4:30 PM: After my classes, I stop at a café for a coffee and a sweet treat, choosing to order an alfajor (an Argentinian cookie with dulce de leche, sometimes covered with chocolate). The service at cafés and restaurants is typically more relaxed than in the States. I appreciate the leisurely approach as I don’t feel rushed and can calmly enjoy the beginning of my evening.
5:30 PM: After coffee, I meet my friend at the Centro Cultural Recoleta. We walk around the center to explore the different exhibitions. We were thrilled to come across a musical performance and be spectators for a little bit. The diverse art and culture helped us to understand what is important to the urban society in Argentina today. Upon appreciating what we were able to observe, my friend and I decided to part ways and return to our individual homestays. After taking the bus and before going home, I stopped by the local lavenderia, a more than affordable shop where you can take your clothes to be dry-cleaned. I came home with my bag full of clean clothes and chatted with my host mom, Sole, for quite some time. After our lengthy conversation, I headed into my room for a short nap. While I’m not someone who likes to take naps during the day, sometimes I find it especially necessary while I’m abroad because the days are full and language immersion is a difficult journey. Yet, I’m proud to say that I have already learned so much within these past two months. I feel like I have turned a corner with my Spanish as I can usually navigate conversations in public. But there are still moments, learning experiences, that humble me.
9:00 PM: Dinner time. It is normal to expect everything in the evenings to happen later. Most people will usually have dinner at 9 PM or 10 PM, and even later on weekends. Sitting at the dining table when we have sobremesa, which is more catching up after our meal, with a cup of coffee or yerba mate in hand. And if you’re going out, most clubs do not open until at least midnight. This was a shock at first, but I now appreciate how this allows the day and my routine to continue, uninterrupted. Tonight, my host mom prepared a salad and Milanesa, a very typical dish in Argentina that consists of breaded slices of meat, usually either chicken or beef. We have a vegetarian version made with eggplant, and I eat mine with mayonesa con limón squeezed on top. After a dessert of dulce de leche pudding (Argentines are obsessed with dulce de leche), I help clear the table and start to figure out my plans for the night.
11:00 PM: My friend walks over to me before we meet his other friends at a boliche (club). I enjoy meeting his friends, learning more Spanish slang while I talk to them, and hitting the dance floor. While I have no dancing bone in my body, I love joining others as many Argentines are gifted with rhythm and suave moves. We dance a ton of Cumbia, which is more of traditional dance, and move to Latin pop songs as well. This particular boliche is occupied by people of all ages, from others around our age to grandmas shaking their hips in celebration of a bachelorette party. The dancing continues for hours and once we leave the boliche, we set our eyes on the rising sun. A McDonald’s run is in order because some things just don’t change, even when you’re across the world.
Kamika Patel
Major: International Studies & Communications (Certs. in Educational
Policy and Business)
Hometown: Suburbs of Chicago, Illinois
Program: IES Latin American Societies and Cultures; Buenos Aires, Argentina