buenos dias Buenos Aires?

I think I’ve decided that I want my study abroad destination to be Buenos Aires, Argentina. I’ve been going back and forth between Spain and somewhere in South America for a very long time, and the “somewhere” recently got narrowed down to Buenos Aires.

There are definite pros and cons for each destination, and I think no matter what I choose both places will still be on my “to visit” list.

Some pros for BA: It’s significantly cheaper, without really sacrificing anything of cultural significance or “stuff” to do. I can see way more Latin American cultures in South America than I can in Europe, which has started to interest me more since I’ve been taking this Gender in Latin America Class this semester. I know a few different people that have taken serious excursions to South America and who would be able to help guide me when I choose where to go/what classes to take.

Some pros for Spain: It is the “holy grail” of Spanish culture (obviously). Being in Europe would give me a broader experience as far as seeing other cultures would go. Muriel talks about her year in Spain with such fond memories, I know I could put myself in that position. There are so many classic things to see there that I’ve learned about since early high school…the art and architecture alone could take up an entire semester.

I’m attending a “general meeting” for study abroad programs Tuesday morning. Hopefully that will really start the ball rolling in deciding exactly how I want this to go. This process began much later than I wanted it to, procrastination at it’s finest, but I hope it hasn’t messed up my chances. One thing that terrifies me is that UF will tell me that I started getting my shit together too late to study abroad in the fall, but due to the university’s policy I can’t study abroad during my last semester either. I guess the meeting Tuesday will help put some of these questions to rest.

Not-so-personal life

I’m in the process of writing another article for my Magazine and Feature Writing class, only for this one we have to do a “personal essay” for an online publication called Tango. Having really only been in one relationship in my life, clearly that is what I’m drawing from to inspire this piece.

I thought that I was going to write about the trials and tribulations of being in a long distance relationship during the college years. However, I didn’t realize that finding the words to relate my experiences to other people was going to be so difficult. Somehow it seems as though there is was too much “history” between Aaron and I to present a neat package to complete strangers.

That’s the other thing; if my article gets selected for publication (which would be excellent, believe me) it means that other people will actually be able to read it. Beyond the fact that other people will now know the inner details of my life without actually knowing me, how do I write about my life so that it is compelling enough to make other people actually want to stop and read it.

Anyway, as I’ve been reading other personal essays this morning and attempting to outline my own I’ve stumbled across something that should probably be my topic. Instead of focusing on our distance as the obstacle to our relationship finally getting of the ground, I think the article should be more about my fierce (occasionally to a fault) independence.

Luckily it has become somewhat of a joke between Aaron and I, he’ll say “I’m not trying to take away your independence. I’m just trying to be nice to you.” But is that something your boyfriend should even have to say? Admittedly, I don’t ever want my independent streak to go away, but I have made strides to dial it down a little bit. Nobody wants to be known as some crazy feme-nazi, right?

Like I said, this is an evolution still in progress, but I think more women will be able to relate to this problem than my vague waxing poetic on what it is like to make long distance work. We shall see how the article ends up playing out. Perhaps I’ll even post it up here after I’m finished.