I Left My Heart in Argentina
Noted on January 16, 2012 by Natanya Desai in
Written by Sierra Severson: University of Oregon student and scholarship recipient interning with the Community Center in Argentina.
It has been just over three weeks since I returned to the States and not a day has gone by that I do not miss my family, friends, work and lifestyle in Argentina. I am constantly reminded of my three year old host-sister and how we would spend hours after dinner each night playing “hijos y casa”; of the two elderly women whom I have come to call my abuelas; the long conversations discussing political theory and foreign policy I would have with my host-father each night at dinner as we watched 678 Buenas Noticias; and the daily late-night shenanigans and Sunday brunches I had with my coworkers and friends.
The three short months I spent in Villa Constitución, I felt a great sense of belonging and far more whole than I have ever felt living in the United States. My friends and family shared my political and religious beliefs and for once in my life, I felt like the people I was surrounded by truly understood me without me having to explain myself. I have always felt that my friends and even family in the U.S. have not completely understood my outlook on certain things, but my compañeros in the province of Santa Fe did from day one.
My time in Argentina was well spent and incredibly humbling, working in barrio San Cayetano and the jardín infantil at Engranajes. The children of Engranajes live in the barrios located in the margins of the Paraná River in the city of Villa Constitution, Santa Fe. Walking to work each day, I would pass many of the kids walking to the Casa de los niños. Though, some of the wealthiest families live directly across the street from the poorest families in the province. I have never seen such a stark divide of wealth anywhere; it made me sick everyday to walk by several large mansions with expensive cars parked in the driveways and then look across the street to see huts and shacks, many which did not have roofs, and see the children I was working with walking out of them.
I fell in love with the children of the barrio and jardín on day one and after just a few weeks living in this wonderful country, I began to picture a future for myself there. I began asking my friends about apartments, graduate programs and jobs in Rosario, a city I fell in love with and only an hour bus ride away from the town I was living. I fell in love with the friendly people and riverside restaurants and felt at peace with the political culture. The life I thought I had wanted in the U.S., a life centered around an Ivy League law education, began to seem far less important. Working closely with children and their families who often go days without food, seeing children taking care of children, and children having children of their own because they never received any sexual education, and no money to buy diapers despite working long hours in the fabricas, makes one suppress thoughts and dreams that revolve around steep tuition prices.
Upon my return, I began searching for flights to go back to Argentina. It’s not possible in the near future because of school commitments and job opportunities. So for now, I will allow myself to miss Argentina and all of the wonderful people I have met. I left the U.S. knowing I would only be in Argentina for a limited period of time, but despite my the brevity of my visit, I created a life there. I did miss my friends from the States terribly while I was away; however, I had a routine in Argentina that, though was different, oddly felt more normal to me. I had friends and coworkers and a wonderful family with whom I spent my days, nights and weekends and I developed meaningful relationships with several young children in the jardín and barrio as well. I still talk a couple times a week with some of the older kids who have internet access and know how to use computers. I love hearing about their soccer games and progress in school and feel so fortunate to have been able to help mentor them. The trees the we planted on my last day in the barrio, a project that I had been planning for some time, working closely with the municipalidad to acquire the trees, I hear are doing well; the kids of barrio San Cayetano are watering them every day, taking good care of them. This makes me so happy as they were intended to represent the children themselves and how they are growing.