Hola!
Even though I got back from Argentina a little over 2 months ago, it still is something I'm reflecting on. This weekend we had a weekend retreat for those who studied abroad and I wanted to share my journal entry with you (I am using the present tense to share how I was thinking while in Argentina).
Looking back on Argentina feels like a dream. I spoke Spanish every day for almost 5 months? I lived in a city? It all feels so surreal. Was it a great experience? Yes. Was it all fun? Absolutely not? It was challenging. Being in a foreign country where my minimal knowledge of the Spanish language screamed "I'm an American!" was difficult. Constantly checking around me to make sure no one would mug me. Taking the subte to school where my classes were 100% in Spanish. Was that real? I had never struggled in school, and here I was lost in translation. Ariel and Marta speaking 100 mph to each other in a language I though I knew, only to end up feeling out of place and unable to contribute. "I will learn Spanish!' However, it could take months for me to let my personality shine through conversations because I can't express myself.
Ah, church! Something I know, but wait, this is more like a celebration with hands lifted high! People excited to worship? Greeted by strangers with a kiss and a big "De donde sos?...Ah los estados unidos. Que parte? Ah cerca de Nueva York?" Only to respond with a meager "si. si. si. Como? ah si." In 12 years of Spanish I only know how to say "si?" "I have to learn Spanish!"
Juli welcomes us with hospitality like I've never experienced. Through love and a valiant attempt to speak English, she invites us over. "Si...Si?" I just met you and now you are inviting me over to eat pizza?" What did I just agree to? Little did I know that this would be one of my favorite aspects of my study abroad experience.
At the beginning, my life mirrored that of Jim Carey in Yes Man. Agreeing to sing with church, agreeing to go to Gowland, ultimately agreeing to experience life in Argentina. What did God have planned for me?
My routines started. Class Monday through Wednesday. Sitting through back to back 3 hour classes (all in Spanish). Dancing closer than I've ever even hugged a person before. I got to learn about history, art, culture, literature! What have I been missing by being an ed major? No wonder they make us major in something else too. In my Spanish major I can receive such a fuller world view and broader knowledge range. Is God calling me to use my Spanish instead of teaching (*SIDE NOTE: Coming back this semester and working with 4th graders is so great and I am reaffirmed that I want to be a teacher)? Called to a life of learning. A world of possibilities and knowledge stands before me.
I want to see the world! First stop? Patagonia. We arrive in the desert. Wait, what? I thought I was going to the glaciers. Driving to El Calafate: rivers, mountains, desert, glaciers, farms: all in one place. God, you are beautiful! Have I been living in a box? Am I ok being comfortable with my life and faith, or do I want to grow and learn? This sense of wonderment and awe fills me to this day. God has more adventures in store for my Argentine life: Jujuy and Salta, where the mountains show that God is a painter and an artist. Every color imaginable ingrained in the rocks. Salt-tricking us into thinking it was ice: nature in disguise. A week later Iguazu! This is how I imagine Heaven: waterfalls, rainbows, rocks, forests-beauty in all directions.
God doesn't have to give us so much natural beauty, but he chooses to bless us by our senses: seeing His works, hearing the water rush down the mountain, tasting the parrilla that night.
In the busyness of life at Gordon, do I miss Him calling me to praise Him, to appreciate His daily gifts? What about my relationships? Do I allow Him to teach me and work through me in conversations? Relationships. Hospitality. Thanksgiving. Love. God made us into social beings, called us to be in community with others. What's more important to us: spending time wondering at God's holiness and sharing our faith in our daily lives, or getting to class on time and filling our schedules with everything imaginable? The choice seems obvious.
Thank you for reading! Un beso grande,
Bot
No comments:
Post a Comment