Photo Essay of Life - Bethany Headrick

I feel as if pictures can only convey the bigger story of my life in America: the most important things and people to me. I have compiled here a series of photos of the most important people in my life and the things I get to do with them (and of course very much enjoy). I'm blessed to get to live life with them in America.

 Dam! What a picture. This is some of my family members that live in Washington state - my Uncle B, me, my dad (lives with me in TN), and my Aunt Cathy. We are standing in front of Grand Coulee Dam, the largest concrete structure in the United States. My sweet Stepmom, who I call Bunnie, took the picture. It was a great day of driving around Grand Coulee and just talking.

Aunt Cathy, myself, Uncle B

 Every year, I visit family in Washington. This past year, my Uncle B and Aunt Cathy took me to Glacier National Park. It was so exciting to see such a beautiful place and fully take in how sheerly massive mountain ranges can be.

 Glacier National Park, one of the mesmerizing views from Going-To-The-Sun Road

 This makes me feel so small. How amazing! I would love to visit more national parks across the US; there are several that citizens flock to year-round to explore the natural United States.                                       

My Mom

She is my best friend. One of my favorite things to do with her is go and get Mexican food right by our house. Going out to dinner is a pretty common activity across America, I can say with security.

Myself and my Dad

My Dad, who is always goofing off. He likes to take me out to get dinner and then go to a movie, the only person I do that with!

Caroline, myself, and Brooke

Now we are really getting into the things I like to do the most. This is a picture of my best friends and I one evening when we went to the Parkway, a long road with mountain and city views on either side. We parked on the side of the road and went and found this spot to sit and watch the sunset. One of my favorite memories.

Myself, Katie, Cayla

This was taken after reaching the end of a relatively easy hike. We all climbed to the top of the waterfall and looked down at Brooke, who snapped this picture. Getting down from the waterfall was a lot harder than climbing up was.

Caroline and I

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. My roommate (sophomore year) and I sledding during a snow day. When school gets cancelled, all students layer up and head outside!

Myself, Kelsey, and Emma

Gatlinburg is right outside of Blount County, where I'm from, and is a huge attraction to tourists from all over... Including East Tennessee natives. Visiting with a couple of friends is one of the funnest things to do in my area.

Myself and Brooke

One of my favorite things to do is attend concerts. I recently attended a Foo Fighters concert in Nashville, and buying the tickets was the best decision I've made all year. I love grabbing a friend and just attending a concert. It's one of the easiest, most careless ways to have a good time.

Caroline and I

Sadly, my most favorite thing to do is to relax in whatever way possible as well as drinking coffee with my friends. These are both things I am very good at (are you impressed? (you shouldn't be)). Sitting around and talking and drinking coffee will never get old. I love to simply talk.

Myself, Brooke, and Caroline

My best friends and I after a long few hours of studying, doing homework, and drinking coffee. 

This is a photographic overview of my life in America... I hope you enjoyed it! 

-Bethany Headrick

An American Abroad - Bethany Headrick

Something I learned about myself from one of the surveys we took is that I am a very "low context" person when it comes to culture. I see things for how they are - I am a very black and white person. I believe that 100%. I am a blunt, straightforward person. I am not afraid to say how I feel to the people that I am comfortable around. What I did not realize, however, is that this might hinder me from adjusting to a new culture. I will have to adjust that attitude when I am in Argentina. I will have to suppress my straightforwardness in order to get along with people that I meet; not because I am incapable of getting along but because my honesty and sarcasm will most likely be taken wrong. This boils down to the differences in culture.

The nice thing about going abroad is that I will be around students that know I am not accustomed to their culture. I will ask the students I meet and befriend about their culture—this will be the best way to acknowledge the differences—and I will change my behavior to fit theirs in a way that will not completely suppress my personality. I realize that I will not be able, most likely, to make a sarcastic comment to someone I've just met like I do here. I've accepted that and I will not go around making sarcastic jokes. But that is only one aspect of the culture that I will have to grow accustomed to.
Something I have never truly thought about before is the realization that the United States overall is a very individualistic culture. From the surveys we have done for this class, I learned that I will have to be very open-minded about cultural differences in talking, first meeting, and friendship customs. I am really excited to see the differences between United States friendship and Argentine friendship as well as the differences between family cultures. Overall I am very excited to learn the cultural differences between Argentina and the southern United States.

Forget about my comfort zone, I get to study abroad!

Argentina is a place I’m drawn to because of the beauty of the country as well as the culture and history of its inhabitants. I want to become fluent in Spanish and learn about Argentine culture - these are my most imperative goals. There are many places I want to go within Argentina; however, I want to venture outside of the country and visit places like Iguazu Falls.

As excited as I am about the opportunity to study in Argentina—I am so nervous about speaking Spanish once I arrive. You could say it’s stage fright. I know how badly I need to speak, so I’m very happy I’m taking two Spanish courses this semester (every Tuesday and Thursday I have 2 and a half hours straight of speaking Spanish). But my comfort zone is speaking Spanish in class, so I need to break free from that. I need to speak with Spanish speakers outside of class. I feel that if I can force myself to do that I will have an easier time breaking out of that once I am there. Forget about my comfort zone, I get to study abroad! That’s how I feel about it.

My first choice university offers free tango and salsa lessons as extracurricular activities - that's something I will do if I end up at La Universidad Catolica de Cordoba. I will learn the tango, and the salsa would be a major bonus. How could I go to a country known for the tango and not experience it myself?

I will make friends in class by asking them to show me a nice place to eat or study after class and inviting them to join me. I will see what other people my age are doing and join in. I want to see Argentine students’ side of Argentina. Through this I hope to find a friend willing to travel with me around the country (and hopefully a dance partner because, after all, it takes two to tango).

I enjoy spending time with my family, so I want to have that experience in Argentina. So as far as living situations, I have chosen to live with a family rather than in an apartment or dorm. I feel living with a family is the best way to soak up the culture and language.

There will be many upcoming blogs that will be loaded with information about my experiences before I leave as I learn about where I will be going, applying for a visa, and finishing applications.

¡Adios!

- Bethany Headrick