The Power of Perspective

"2016 is the year of realizing things"- Kylie Jenner

"and so is 2018" - me

Adjusting to life in a new country, new continent for that matter, is not a linear process. I've run into a lot of challenges, experienced many altibajos (ups and downs), and stumbled across differences that have confused, frustrated, and annoyed me. I definitely should have expected this - and I did to some degree - but I haven't had the best attitude when it comes to dealing with these issues.

The hardest part of overcoming challenges so far has been the fact that I cannot resolve them immediately and that my stress or anxiety over various issues builds up until the point where I finally can deal with them. In many situations, I need (or feel like I need) to consult my parents and I am unable to do so without WiFi. Here I spend multiple hours-long stretches without WiFi, so I might encounter a problem at 9:00am and not be able to handle it until 9:00pm when I'm home. This means tasks like sending emails, looking up words I don't understand, and using electronic maps are often delayed or I need to look up directions way ahead of time and screenshot all the information. I am getting used to this and it helps to write down in my journal tasks I need to get done and to carry a physical map I have of Buenos Aires.

Perhaps the greatest struggle I've encountered so far is trying to adapt to the Argentinian style of life and to the new people around me. Instead of reacting to these situations with curiosity or joy, I am quick to feel annoyed or angry or disappointed. For example, it is very normal for teachers to show up 20 minutes late to class and I feel frustrated that I wasted my time to get there punctually. Instead of reacting this way, I should appreciate the fact that I have to sit through 20 less minutes of class (haha!) and be grateful to have the opportunity to just sit and do nothing and relax.

Many frustrations have arisen in my home too. My host mom is very left-leaning and DESPISES the current president, often calling him an hijo de puta lol. And while I don't disagree with her political views, I disagree with her habit of consuming extremely biased news and writing off every little possible thing this man does. One of the only good things about him is that he does support legalization of abortion and I tried to tell my host mom this but she said, "mentira" as in its a lie. It's literally a fact that he supports abortion but her absolute hatred for him blinds her from trying to look at him from any rational standpoint. This frustrated me incredibly and at first I wanted to just argue with her until she understood but I sat back and I thought about the fact that I haven't lived in Argentina for 62 years, I am not truly affected by the policies this man makes, and I have no right to advocate for one candidate or another. It is this kind of polarizing behavior that plagues politics all over the world. Instead I changed my attitude and thought of the situation like this: Okay, she might not be the most impartially informed voter but she cares deeply about the well-being of Argentina's citizens and wants the best possible candidate to represent them. Instead of looking at her hatred for the president as a sign of ignorance, I should view it as a sign of passion and love for her country.

My host mom also often tries to convince me that I should go to certain restaurants, certain bars, certain doctors... I used to view this as her thinking that her way was the only way but I have come to understand it as her just wanting the best for me and looking out for me as much as she can. She has hosted tens of girls before me and she knows what she is doing.

Laura truly is such a great woman. She is funny, she is honest, and she cares that I am treated right. One time, she even called the phone company and screamed at them to add credit to my line, threatening to never work with them again if they didn't! Who wouldn't love such an aggressive woman who gets what she wants!!! I should be grateful to live in a home with a very special woman like her.

Basically, the point of this post is to explain that much of the unhappiness I have experienced here so far is my own doing. Panicking about spending 5 extra dollars, staying in because I don't like the music they play at the clubs, not going to a cafe with friends because it's far away... all of this is ridiculous. I have the power to be happy and satisfied with my experience here and sometimes it just requires a change in perspective.

P.S.- My host mom went out with friends tonight and as she was walking out the door she said, in Spanish, "Since I won't be driving, I'll be drinking beer tonight," to which I responded, in English, "Oh hell yeahhhhh!"