Orgullo y Prejuicio

Posted: January 27, 2011 | Author: | Filed under: Blog Blurbs | Tags: , , , , , , , | 1 Comment
Una Semana
That’s one week for all you English speakers out there, and I want to impose upon you the fact that one week can either seem very long or very short. And at the moment…it’s kind of both.
I’ve had about 2-3 months to prepare for my semester abroad and out of those 90 days or so I’ve spent most of them either working my bootie off folding the infinite tables of Unfolded Sweaters and Tiny Baby Clothes at my job, watching BTVS and Kdramas, playing Zelda, going through and deleting the ridiculous 60GBs of music that I somehow have acquired these last 5 years, talking to friends, and then coordinating rides since my car crapped out on me two weeks before I leave. Those days were simultaneously long (7 hour shifts can get pretty tedious when you unload boxes and then refold shirts you just organized an hour earlier) and yet they went by in a flash.
I’ve also done a bit of spring (read:winter) cleaning around here. I have discovered a few things about myself.
1. I like to keep anything and everything that fits me (kinda) or  things that I will wear (I’ll never wear)
2. I like to keep things of sentimental but useless value
3. I have too much crap.
4. I am good at organizing and maintaining said crap so that I forget I have it.
Entonces, in order to eliminate these four clutter and hoarding tendencies, I have decided to go through everything by trying it on, prancing about my room to that music I’m supposed to go through, and then attempting to get rid of it. some of it. okay maybe I’ll just keep this t-shirt in case(conscience: it has stains on it) (But they’re invisible!) (get rid of it.) (ooookay finnneeee).
Rinse and Repeat.
After about 3 days of that, I have acquired a pile of clothes, nicknacks, accessories, and shoes that are old, from middle school (HS too), the 80s or the maybe the middle ages, who knows. Friday I will proceed to donate said 2-3 laundry bags of STUFF and then breath again in my own room.
Of course, that leaves all the papers and work from elementary, middle, high schools and college that I have yet to get rid of because of A. sentimental value or B. I might neeed that for laaaterrrr!

On to more important things – when I’m not throwing everything out of the closet only to put it all back in (this time organized by type and style (thank you retail job) I’m reading about Argentina, Buenos Aires (Eyyyyeeee-aaaair-Reehhs), and what it is like to study abroad. I’ve come across some interesting information which I will likely repost and write about at some other time, but I’ve also hit a lot of the same tips and lists over and over and over. Which isn’t such a terrible thing when it’s important to know about common pick-pocketing scams, what fake money looks like, and how to blend in. However, here’s one thing that I’ve been hit on the head with multiple times by a sledgehammer attached to a medieval battering ram with vikings going HEAVE! HO!
and that is Culture Shock.
Culture Shock tends to be presented in this way:
  • Orientation and honeymoon: The shock and awe of the moment, the bliss filled “everything is new and shiny and oh! That’s dulce de leche?!”
  • Initial culture shock/confrontation: The moment when you realize everyone speaks spanish and you don’t and that they eat beef All. The. Time.
  • Adjustment-crisis/depression-frustration-to adjustment (cycle): When you just can’t connect the way you wanted to
  • Recovery-integration into host culture: When it becomes easier to understand Los Porteños and you feel comfortable enough that you can flag down and get on those loco buses (Colectivos) without getting hit by a taxi. Everything’s gonna be aaaall right.
  • Re-entry and reverse culture shock: After you’ve gone back home and you realize that everyone speaks English and all you want to do is go to a Milonga and speak Spanish.
So those are some things I’m apparently supposed to look out for. I’ll let you know how that goes.

And after all of this ^, I’ve even gone through my DVDs to find all the ones that have Spanish dubbing (surprisingly, the majority are actually bilingual, but in FRENCH! but not Spanish). Here’s the list of the movies I’ll be watching and rewatching before my plane leaves on Thursday:
  • Finding Nemo
  • Edward Scissorhands
  • Kinsey
  • 12 Monkeys
  • The Princess Bride
  • The Incredibles
  • The Prestige
  • Labyrinth
  • Pride and Prejudice (YES)
Not bad. Not bad at all. Will I be watching all of these you ask? Por Supuesto.
~La Mariposa

Handy Student Travel Site: http://studentsabroad.state.gov/index.php

Sigh. Mr. Darcy, even in Spanish you make me swoon.