When I first signed up to study and live abroad in Buenos Aires, I didn't know what to expect, but I had nothing but positive expectations. This would be my first adventure for this long outside the country. I did go to Guangzhou, China for a few weeks, but I just knew this trip to Latin America would be different on so many levels.
As the time to depart the wintery white blanketed grounds of Minnesota for the sun-studded soils of BA, I began to feel overwhelmed with anxiety. It started to sink in: I'M GOING TO A FOREIGN LAND. So many things crossed my mind, like how am I going to survive??? Food? Money? Transportation? Oh, yeah, and a little thing called LANGUAGE. Now, I DO know Spanish. I've been studying if for nearly seven years now. But this is different. I'm going to be completely out of my element. I honestly hardly know how to live on my own in small town Columbia, Missouri. Now I'll be in one of the biggest cities in the world where pretty much everyone speaks Spanish. And not just any kind of Spanish-- Spanish with an Italian accent. My heart fluttered under the weight of these thoughts. But after talking and praying with a great friend, I put things into perspective, I tried to follow what I'd learned in Sunday school many years ago, and cast my cares on the Lord. That got me through to my flight arrival to Houston, Texas.
It wasn't until I was waiting to board the flight to Argentina, sitting there in the passenger-flooded terminal, that I realized something I knew, but blocked out of my mine: unlike most Latin American countries, Argentina doesn't have a large population of Black people. Crap. I started to wonder: How are the people of BA going to receive me? A Black American woman from Mid-West USA, who's deeply rooted in her culture and Protestant faith. "Well, there's now turning back now," I thought. "I'll just see when I get there."
The day we arrived, my roommate, Anna, and I decided to take a look around the neighborhood after getting settled in. We found a grocery store (un supermercardo) to pick up a few things. On our short travel, we couldn't help, but notice that people (specifically men) kept staring at us. I had one guy stare me down until he passed me up. At first, I thought maybe they just don't see Black people everyday (the same thing happened in China). But then Anna mentioned she noticed it and thought it was just because people could tell we were Americans. Who knows?
I was still curious about the whole staring thing that night, so I did the "credible" thing and searched on Google. I came across a couple of blogs, both of which indicated negative perspectives of Black women in Argentina. One of them said many people in Argentina assume black women to be Brazilian, and not just that, Brazilian PROSTITUTES. That definitely doesn’t fit my description. And it doesn’t help that I have braids at the moment, perhaps making me look even more Brazilian. I mean, don’t get me wrong. I have absolutely nothing against the beautiful people of Brazil. What I do have a problem with is people making generalizations and then acting upon them. Then I thought back to my flight here.
I sat next to an older Argentinian man. He was very nice and helped me practice my Spanish. As the hours drew on, things became a bit awkward, though. At one point, he tried to lay his head on my shoulder while he was "sleeping." I'm pretty sure he was at least somewhat conscious, though. I could see him glance at me from the corner of my eye before making the move. (Yes, I'm nosey.) Another time, toward the end of the flight, I made a move to look out the window and saw him staring up at me from his resting position. I don't know if I just caught him at an awkward moment in between sleeping and waking up, but it was a bit strange. He was really nice and helpful, but I couldn't help but think about such episodes when reading the blogs. Perhaps I'm over-thinking it. Maybe he was just a nice, welcoming, Argentinian man looking to show kindness to a sista from up north.
In contrast to the blogs, I know several Black women who came to live in Buenos Aires as well, and they gave me positive feedback. So, it’s important that I give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I wouldn’t want to fall into the trap of generalized preconceptions. It’s only been a couple of days since I’ve been here, so I’ll have plenty of time to observe over the next three or so months.
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