Reflection

In the week before I left the United States to come to Argentina, I was incredibly nervous, I remember packing and repacking five times over. A month seemed as if it would last forever. But now that I have been here for three weeks, it seems as if time has flown by. I wish I could stretch the seconds into days, because nothing in me is ready to return. But instead of spending my time writing this blog saddened about the trip ending, I want to sped this time reminiscing and sharing the amazing experiences I had. However, if I were to share every incredible moment, you would be reading a novel. So instead, below are my three most influential.

Numero 3-El Parque de Memorial: When we first arrived at the memorial, my mind was racing because at the same time we were heading there, my mom was going in for her two year appointment with her lung specialist back in the United States. This was the day we would find out if she was healthy, or if the spot in her lung was malignant and growing. For months previously, there were failed surgeries and scans and more consults than I could count to find out if my mom had lung cancer. We never knew, in the end we were told to wait, and return every 6 months to check for growth for at least two years. This was the last visit, two years had passed.

But as I sat in Argentina, the collectivo I was on seemed to blur past the neighborhoods and the talk by my peers seemed a distant buzz. I couldn’t focus. And when we arrived at El Parque del Memorial, the beginning I was so entangled in my own mind most of the art seemed to only expand my pain and fear. But then I went into an art exhibit, and there were pictures up on the wall in black and white. They were pictures of protesters, pictures of all of the people that fought for their rights. And at the end o fhis hallway, fillied with these black and white photographs, there was a room with a movie playing. It was a showing of the history and the horrific actions done towards the people of Argentina. I must have sat in that room, on the bench in the dark watching that movie play over and over. Something about the music and the people fighting for their rights stopped me, and it brought me perspective.

I knew then whatever happened we would get through, just as the country of Argentina did.

Numero 2-My business meeting: I am so excited to say that I got the opportunity to meet with an alumni from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Argentina. It was an incredibly insightful conversation, during which we talked about the economic crisis in Argentina, the concept of Cooperativas, and more about the lessons he teaches in business. As a professor at the University of Palermo and an entrepreneur and strategist who has lived all around the world, I learned a lot.

Numero 1-The people: No matter how many tours, or trips, or experiences I have had here in Argentina, none of it would have meant anything if not for all of the amazing people I have met along the way. Each person that played a role in my trip and enriched it, and for that I am thankful.