By Clare Sanderson, 2023-24 McCall MacBain International Fellow in Argentina

Over the past three months, I have participated in 20 hours a week of intensive Spanish courses, ventured around the infinite city of Buenos Aires, and have met many incredible people. When I first arrived, the intensity of the Spanish classes definitely took a toll on me, leaving me exhausted each night, especially as I arrived only knowing “Buenos días” and “Hola”. However, it has been incredible to see how quickly my brain has adapted to the workload and how I can now leave my courses actually being able to speak another word of Spanish without my head exploding. This language learning has been a great way to observe and recognize my growth since my arrival. Through my language school and my involvement in a church in the city, I have also met friends from all over the world, and many who are locals to the city. Talking and getting to know these people has been another experience I am thankful for each day. Not only am I experiencing the Argentine culture by simply being here, but I am able to dive deeper by conversing with locals and being welcomed into their arms as if I was one of them. The people are truly my favourite part of the culture from their familiarity, sincerity, and kindness.

Since my arrival, I have become more and more Argentinian every day.

Examples: I have a very distinct Spanish accent unique to Argentina and am implementing more colloquial words into my conversations. I eat dinner a few minutes later every night (however, I have still not reached the 10:30pm dining time… and honestly, I think that may take me more than a year to achieve). I find myself exaggerating when describing the tastes of food or how an experience was (even if something is only a 6/10 taste wise, it is common to hear “wow… so rich!” and for a 4/10 “absolute horrible”). I am picking up on how Argentinians religiously follow football (not soccer) and praise Messi as if he was the Pope.

I am getting accustomed to how much this culture is centered around socializing and sharing (drinking yerba and passing only one mate cup around for everyone to drink out of was a shock).I have learned so much about ‘Asados’ and the preparation of the meat they cook on the parrillas and have fallen in love with empanadas. Although, one thing I have not adopted from this culture is owning a small white scruffy dog. They are truly everywhere. But I do appreciate the dog culture here and love to see dog walkers walking 6+ dogs around the city or seeing a well- behaved dog following its owner without a leash.

Although there is so much else to learn and see, reflecting on these past three months, I am amazed on how much I continue to learn and experience every day. Thank you to the McCall MacBain Foundation for enabling these experiences!

Ciao!