In Maryville my life consists of 2 things: Soccer, and My friends/boyfriend. Here at maryville i can place certain words and pictures into a fitting description of my daily life.
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Now this is me in argentina: Except not wearing a striped shirt, slightly shorter and way more voluminous hair than Waldo.
Strengths that i bring to the table- AKA THINGS IM AWESOME AT:
- Being me- i honestly couldn't place a single worded definition on my self. but i know im unique and bring awesome things to the table
- I have been abroad before and have a spanish cultural family background
- hopefully this background will come in handy, and the customs/practices wont seem so odd (aka un-american
- RED MEAT IS MY FRIEND, and Argentina is full of it.
- although i go to school 800+ miles and 2 states away from home, i still haven't managed to get a grip on the fact that when the going gets tough i cant go home to my parents house for dinner
- being a different country- let alone hemisphere.... coping with this will be harder
- ill miss my parents more than when im at school because ill want them to be there to experience every amazing thing they have worked so hard for me to do.
- Having severe FOMO (fear of missing out) Maryville is a small, not really hoppin' place, but once you settle in here, it becomes your home.
- life will go on with out me and my friends will do all the friend things they do with out me, and EVEN THOUGH I WILL BE LIVING THE DREAM IN ARGENTINA, ill still stalk them on Facebook and cry a little inside because i miss them, and Maryville.
- Cell phone service- good thing im going to South America and the time zones are only offset by 1 or 2 hours. Having to depend on wifi is actually an awful thing. I did it in italy for 2 weeks and it was miserable... now dealing with it for 4.5 months, lets see how it goes
- Communicating- argentina wasn't my first choice because of the accent they have there, so ill need a few weeks to get warmed up (its just like soccer right?)
- Finances- Surviving in Maryville is easy, but will my tight budget for college carry over into another country with a different currency?
My strategies for Assimilation:
- Ive experienced assimilation in every aspect of my life at MC.
- 1st- moving to Tennessee from Sunny and 75 degrees South Florida (enough said)
- 2nd- playing soccer for Pepe. Its not as easy as it sounds and it requires a lot of adaptation and changing probably everything you did in your soccer career prior to being a Scot
- 3rd- Moving to place where i knew no one and starting over again- except i was immediately presented with a family of 50+ soccer player ( a better welcoming gift than most)
- I plan on using all 3 of those experiences to help me channel my inner Argentine
- 1st- moving from tennessee to the new world of South America and Argentina
- 2nd- letting go of all pre conceived notions of life outside America and learning how to adapt for the greater good of my life
- 3rd- once again, moving to a place in where i know no one (this time to only be greeted by a host family, who doesn't speak the same language as me- not as thrilling this time around
Shining my Inner light
- I have a big heart, and those who surround me daily will testify in my favor . I will go above and beyond my means to help anyone. The same goes for trying to make the most of this trip. My family is my heart and making them proud by achieivng my end goal of fluency/ being bilingual is what really matters. I hope to have an unforgettable time in Argentina and come back a different, in a better way, person.
- Having my moms favorite quote imprinted on my mind- "Pick your self up by your boot strap, Monica."When the going gets tough, as basically my beginning days will be in Argentina, ill never forget this. I want to be remembered as a girl who always always always always trudged through adversity and still made it out alive... barely breathing or not, but still alive.
- I know ill make it- i am my mothers daugther and that alone is enought to conquer the world.
Channelling my inter Argentine (factually)
- Most of the conversations i have with Ben are about argentina. like what he did, where he traveled, what to see , how much money to bring . ya know all the important stuff that google cant really tell you. i hope to utilize this primary source and ask him 123456789098765 more question before i leave.
- i have yet to be able to communicate fully in spanish with out the dependency of english. i wish to elimate the language barriers and soar through ropes like a trapeze artist influence by spanish. i want to cut my safety net and see where it takes me. I have nothing lose but everything to gain. Itll be worth in the end ( a little Chris Daughtery never hurt anyone)
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