Explaining Trump to an Argentine (it's actually pretty easy)
Because I'm one of the more well-spoken exchange students here in Paraná, I was part of a group of them who were invited to each create a slideshow about our country and present it to a school group. Being me, I put it off until the day before we were supposed to present. With the help of my liaison, I slapped something together, which you can see for yourself here (although bear in mind it is in Spanish): https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1RvewZ7Oa2kZqMoBwUFWraq1JShXrnmEevTLWsuQMITs/edit?usp=sharing
Because I was the last to finish my presentation, I went last when presenting my slideshow. This is me, looking extremely awkward, introducing myself and my country. The local school's students appear mildly interested in what I am about to say. The other exchange students, having already given their presentations and having already met me, know there is no longer any reason to pay attention and are instead chatting amongst themselves.
Here I am describing the weather in Oak Park/Chicago (enthralling, I know).
After the presentation, I answered some questions. There were a couple about how the school system works, and what my favorite part of Argentina was. Then, the school's director asked me my opinion on Donald Trump. I hadn't really expected that question (although looking back on it, I probably should have), so I hesitated. I thought for a few seconds, choosing my words carefully, before saying "Él es un...pelotudo." Feel free to Google Translate that one.
A few days later, our same group plus a few more exchange students took a train to another school to present to them. Here's a nice photo that my liaison took:
And here's my Danish friend Viggo being a reckless idiot:
Once we got to the school, we got to settle in for the day (yes, it took all day. And it was hot and humid the entire time).
We each took turns presenting parts of our presentations (because if we had done them all in full, it would have taken longer then there are hours in the school day). Fortunately, we had cups of water to keep us hydrated and got to take a break in the middle to share the food from our countries we had each made. I made chocolate chip cookies.
When we had time for questions, one of the students asked us if we liked dulce de leche, and offered us a jar of it. We finished it within about 5 minutes.
In the end...giving presentations is boring and exhausting. So I'm very glad that my host family's pool is up and running. It's going to save my life this year, I think.
I hope that everything is going well up north with you guys. I know it snowed for the first time this winter, so that's cool. I hope you are all remembering to treat one other with empathy and respect as fellow humans. Because despite what some people will tell you, it's a really big world, with many different cultures, peoples, and ideologies. The more we can appreciate our differences, the more we better ourselves and the world around us. Living here is definitely helping me to learn that. I hope you all can too, in your own way.
P.S.
A blog post about the weather here in Argentina will be coming out sometime in the next month. But as a preview, just know that the day I wrote this it was storming, and the power went out about 5 times.
If you don't have time for that, don't know Spanish, or just don't care, here's a summary:
Slide 1: Our flag and what it represents
Slides 2-3: Maps
Slide 4: The climate in Chicago
Slide 5: Population, languages, and religions
Slides 6-8: Holidays
Slides 9-11: OPRFHS
Slide 12: Youth Culture
Slide 13: Popular food
This is me and the other exchange students comparing flag sizes (mine's the biggest):
This is me and the other exchange students comparing flag sizes (mine's the biggest):
Because I was the last to finish my presentation, I went last when presenting my slideshow. This is me, looking extremely awkward, introducing myself and my country. The local school's students appear mildly interested in what I am about to say. The other exchange students, having already given their presentations and having already met me, know there is no longer any reason to pay attention and are instead chatting amongst themselves.
Here I am describing the weather in Oak Park/Chicago (enthralling, I know).
After the presentation, I answered some questions. There were a couple about how the school system works, and what my favorite part of Argentina was. Then, the school's director asked me my opinion on Donald Trump. I hadn't really expected that question (although looking back on it, I probably should have), so I hesitated. I thought for a few seconds, choosing my words carefully, before saying "Él es un...pelotudo." Feel free to Google Translate that one.
A few days later, our same group plus a few more exchange students took a train to another school to present to them. Here's a nice photo that my liaison took:
And here's my Danish friend Viggo being a reckless idiot:
I hope that everything is going well up north with you guys. I know it snowed for the first time this winter, so that's cool. I hope you are all remembering to treat one other with empathy and respect as fellow humans. Because despite what some people will tell you, it's a really big world, with many different cultures, peoples, and ideologies. The more we can appreciate our differences, the more we better ourselves and the world around us. Living here is definitely helping me to learn that. I hope you all can too, in your own way.
P.S.
A blog post about the weather here in Argentina will be coming out sometime in the next month. But as a preview, just know that the day I wrote this it was storming, and the power went out about 5 times.
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