\nthis instance was not an exception, with passport in hand.<\/p>\n
This time, though, my destination wasn\u2019t sunny Carlisle in late August\u2014it was the middle of
\nwinter in Mendoza, Argentina. July. Cold air. A whole different hemisphere. Goodbye trusty
\nflip-flops; hello chunky coats and the promise of new memories, unfamiliar customs, and a fresh
\nway of seeing the world.<\/p>\n
And I was right.<\/p>\n
I arrived in Mendoza on a late evening, stepping into a warm, bustling house where my host
\nmother, Silvia, welcomed me with open arms. Next thing I know, I was being introduced to
\neveryone in the family: her two sons, her mother, her nieces, and even a Swiss exchange student
\nwho had once lived there and was now back for a short visit before starting medical school. I
\nalso happened to be just in time for dinner, which in Argentine standards, begins at earliest 9
\nP.M. The dinner, a traditional Argentine dish, consisted of a crispy chicken milanesa
\naccompanied by salad and some vino tinto. From that moment on, all the anxieties I had in my
\nmind were no more, and I became eager to embrace my new home for the next 5 months, starting
\nwith the voseo of the Argentine form of speaking. Mira vos!<\/p>\n
Of course, there were a few things I had to get used to first, as we were advised by the sweetest
\nand most attentive director of this program, Eliana. The transportation system here, for example,
\nmight have been the reason for a few of the fits of frustration I\u2019ve had here. On my first attempt
\nat the bus system, I ended up riding half an hour in the wrong direction, and I couldn\u2019t help but
\nlaugh at my own confusion. Now, after many trial runs, I\u2019d call myself a local expert\u2014though
\nonly by my own generous standards.<\/p>\n
Then, there is the social heartbeat of Argentina: the national drink\/herbal elixir, mate. For those
\nwho aren\u2019t familiar, it\u2019s a herbal infusion of dried yerba mat\u00e9 soaked in hot water, served in a
\nsmall gourd. There are a variety of designs that you can choose from, so I would recommend that
\nif you do go shopping for one, that you should expect to take a while. Probably explains why I
\nstill haven\u2019t chosen one – shopping feels like its own cultural ritual.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/files\/2022\/03\/Naomi-San-Martin-2025-09-15-at-13.03.14-300x225.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n
My first taste of mate came
\ncourtesy of Eliana. She kindly
\nsuggested I add some sugar to
\nsoften the bitterness that many
\nfirst-timers experience when they
\ntry their first mate. Not exactly love
\nat first sip. But the ritual, consisting
\nof a pause in the day, the circle of
\nconversation, the simple invitation of Tomamos unos mates?, made me fall in love instantly. And in Parque San Mart\u00edn\u2026there couldn\u2019t be a more perfect plan.<\/p>\n
Oh, and Mama\u2014this one\u2019s for you! I\u2019m making so many friends. On our very first day of classes at UNCuyo, I showed up early (a habit I\u2019ve never quite shaken). The classroom was quiet and empty, but soon enough students began to filter in. I struck up a conversation with one of the students, and before long we were arranging to get some ice cream![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/files\/2022\/03\/Naomi-helado-at-12.38.34-225x300.jpg\")
downtown and wander through the busy city center. On the day we agreed to meet, not only did we enjoy the best and beautiful ice cream I’ve ever had (Flavio Soppelsa), but she showed me her favorite stationery shop, and led me through Plaza San Mart\u00edn and Plaza Independence, where the Escudo Provincial glows vibrantly at night, casting a lively
\nenergy over the square.<\/p>\n
At UNCuyo, I\u2019ve enrolled in Latin American Literature and Pol\u00edticas Migrators\u2014two courses
\nthat I hope will deepen not just my Spanish, but also my understanding of the region\u2019s culture and history. On the side, my friend Maya and I work as teaching assistants in the Facultad de Educacion,<\/p>\n
But life in Mendoza isn\u2019t only about classes and studying. When the sun goes down, the city Now, after being here for about 5 weeks, I\u2019ve started to settle into that rhythm that feels both new <\/p>\n 3\u20262\u20261\u2026 \u00a1Despegue! Este es el conteo que siempre escucho en mi cabeza antes de un vuelo, y Llegu\u00e9 a Mendoza por la noche y entr\u00e9 en una casa llena de gente. Mi mam\u00e1 anfitriona, Silvia, Claro, hab\u00eda cosas a las que ten\u00eda que acostumbrarme, como nos hab\u00eda dicho la directora del Luego, est\u00e1 el coraz\u00f3n social de Argentina: el mate. Para quienes no lo conocen, es una infusi\u00f3n Mi primer mate me lo ofreci\u00f3 Eliana. Me sugiri\u00f3 agregar un poco de az\u00facar para suavizar el \u00a1Y mam\u00e1, esto es para vos! Estoy haciendo muchos amigos. El primer d\u00eda de clases en la En la UNCuyo, me inscrib\u00ed en Literatura Latinoamericana y Pol\u00edticas Migratorias. Espero que Pero la vida en Mendoza no es solo estudiar. Por la noche, la ciudad muestra otro lado, Aun as\u00ed, en mi primera salida con amigas me propuse probar un pancho\u2014un hot dog al estilo En mi primera semana aprend\u00ed dos cosas: Argentina tiene su propio ritmo, y si compartes un Esto es solo el comienzo…<\/p>\n _______________________________________________________________________________<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Por Naomi Fernandez 3\u20262..1\u2026 Takeoff! This is the countdown that always echoes in my head before a flight. And this instance was not an exception, with passport in hand. This… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[343593],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-testimonios"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":157,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5\/revisions\/157"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/files\/2022\/03\/Naomi-y-Maya-2025-09-15-at-12.38.34-1-300x225.jpeg\")
helping professors who teach <\/span>English to students of various ages. It has been both challenging and rewarding, and I can\u2019t wait <\/span>to see how it shapes my experience here.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nshows a whole other side of itself\u2014most vividly along Calle Aristides. The street buzzes with
\nmusic, laughter, and the shuffle of people spilling in and out of bars. My least favorite part? The promoters, who insist their bar has the \u201cbest prices\u201d and \u201cbest drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blogs.dickinson.edu\/argentina\/files\/2022\/03\/Naomi-comida-2025-09-15-at-12.38.33-300x225.jpeg\")
\nNonetheless, on my first night out with friends, I had set myself two goals: try a pancho\u2014 a hot dog, but Argentine style\u2014and a fernet con coca, the unofficial drink of the night. Both delivered exactly what the street promised: something simple, a little chaotic, and completely unforgettable.
\nIn my first week, I\u2019d already learned two things: Argentina moves to its own rhythm, and if
\nyou\u2019re willing to share a bus seat or a sip of mate, you\u2019ll never stay a stranger for long.<\/p>\n
\nand familiar. The little things that once felt strange\u2014late dinners, crowded buses, the bitter taste
\nof mate\u2014are slowly becoming part of my daily life. More than anything, I\u2019ve realized how
\nquickly Mendoza has shifted from being just a dot on the map to a place where I laugh, study,
\nshare meals, and feel at home.
\nThis was just the beginning\u2026<\/p>\n
\nesta vez no fue la excepci\u00f3n, con mi pasaporte en la mano.
\nPero esta vez, mi destino no era el soleado Carlisle a fines de agosto, sino el invierno en
\nMendoza, Argentina. Julio. Aire fr\u00edo. Un hemisferio completamente distinto. Adi\u00f3s sandalias;
\nhola abrigos gruesos y la promesa de nuevas experiencias, costumbres desconocidas y una
\nmanera diferente de ver el mundo.
\nY ten\u00eda raz\u00f3n.<\/p>\n
\nme recibi\u00f3 con los brazos abiertos. Pronto me presentaron a toda la familia: sus dos hijos, su
\nmadre, sus sobrinas e incluso una estudiante sueco de intercambio que hab\u00eda vivido all\u00ed antes y
\nahora estaba de visita antes de empezar la universidad. Llegu\u00e9 justo para la cena, que en
\nArgentina comienza muy tarde, alrededor de las 9 p.m. La cena era t\u00edpica: milanesa de pollo
\ncrujiente, ensalada y un poco de vino tinto. Desde ese momento, todas mis preocupaciones
\ndesaparecieron y me entusiasm\u00e9 por vivir los pr\u00f3ximos cinco meses all\u00ed, empezando con el
\nvoseo, la manera argentina de hablar. \u00a1Mir\u00e1 vos!<\/p>\n
\nprograma, Eliana, muy amable y atenta. El transporte, por ejemplo, fue un poco dif\u00edcil al
\nprincipio. En mi primer intento con el colectivo, termin\u00e9 viajando media hora en la direcci\u00f3n
\nequivocada y no pude evitar re\u00edrme de mi confusi\u00f3n. Ahora, despu\u00e9s de varios intentos, me
\nsiento bastante experta\u2026 al menos seg\u00fan mis propios est\u00e1ndares.<\/p>\n
\nde yerba mate con agua caliente, servida en un recipiente peque\u00f1o llamado \u201cmate\u201d. Hay muchos
\ndise\u00f1os, as\u00ed que comprar uno puede tomar tiempo. Por eso todav\u00eda no eleg\u00ed el m\u00edo, ya que
\ncomprar uno se siente como un ritual cultural.<\/p>\n
\namargor que muchos sienten al probarlo por primera vez. No fue amor a primer sorbo, pero el
\nritual\u2014hacer una pausa, compartir con amigos, la invitaci\u00f3n de \u201c\u00bfTomamos unos mates?\u201d\u2014me
\nhizo enamorarme del mate de inmediato. Y en el Parque San Mart\u00edn\u2026 no podr\u00eda haber un lugar
\nm\u00e1s perfecto.<\/p>\n
\nUNCuyo llegu\u00e9 temprano, como siempre hago. El aula estaba vac\u00eda al principio, pero pronto
\ncomenzaron a llegar los estudiantes. Empec\u00e9 a hablar con una chica y unas semanas despu\u00e9s
\nplaneamos ir a tomar helado al centro y pasear por la ciudad. Ese d\u00eda disfrutamos del mejor
\nhelado que he probado (Flavio Soppelsa), visitamos su tienda de papeler\u00eda favorita y caminamos
\npor Plaza San Mart\u00edn y Plaza Independencia, donde el Escudo Provincial brilla de noche y llena
\nla plaza de energ\u00eda.<\/p>\n
\nestos cursos no solo mejoren mi espa\u00f1ol, sino que tambi\u00e9n me ayuden a entender la cultura y la
\nhistoria de la regi\u00f3n. Adem\u00e1s, mi amiga Maya y yo trabajamos como asistentes en la Facultad de
\nEducaci\u00f3n, ayudando a los profesores que ense\u00f1an ingl\u00e9s. Ha sido un desaf\u00edo, pero tambi\u00e9n muy
\ngratificante.<\/p>\n
\nespecialmente en la calle Ar\u00edstides. La calle est\u00e1 llena de m\u00fasica, risas y gente entrando y
\nsaliendo de los bares. Lo que menos me gusta son los promotores, que insisten en que su bar
\ntiene \u201clos mejores precios\u201d y \u201clas mejores bebidas\u201d.<\/p>\n
\nargentino\u2014y un fernet con coca, la bebida t\u00edpica de la noche. Ambos cumplieron lo que promet\u00eda
\nla calle: algo simple, un poco ca\u00f3tico y completamente inolvidable.<\/p>\n
\nasiento de colectivo o un mate, nunca estar\u00e1s mucho tiempo como un extra\u00f1o.
\nAhora, despu\u00e9s de cinco semanas aqu\u00ed, empiezo a acostumbrarme a ese ritmo que es nuevo y
\nfamiliar al mismo tiempo. Las cosas que antes me parec\u00edan raras\u2014cenas tardes, colectivos
\nllenos, el amargor del mate\u2014ya se sienten parte de mi vida diaria. Y me doy cuenta de lo r\u00e1pido
\nque Mendoza dej\u00f3 de ser solo un punto en el mapa para convertirse en un lugar donde r\u00edo,
\nestudio, comparto comidas y me siento en casa.<\/p>\n