If I tried to capture my experience abroad in a few words I would fail myself for trying to do so. My experience abroad was one to remember not only because it was my first time out of the United States but because I met great people, did exciting things like travel to Iguazoo and go on a bike ride through out the city. But rather than speak on individual experiences I will attempt to wrap up my experience in Buenos Aires, Argentina in this blog and what lesson I learned that I will carry with me for the rest of my days.
If I learned something from the Argentina folk that I met it's to live life to the fullest while also appreciating where you are and what is around you. I can't express enough how friendly and outgoing the Argentine people were. Every individual interaction that I had with an Argentine person was both informative and exciting at the same time. To be more specific I met a guy named Christian. Christian was born and raised in Argentina so he knew about all the historical sites, all the greatest restaurants and bars and even introduced me to more Argentine folks. Whenever Christian was around it felt as though there was a presence of life where it was absent. What I mean by this is that Christian would always have a huge smile on his face and would talk to everyone that was around him. It may seem as though I am describing a lot of people that I know but for some reason this interaction was different. It was educational and fun at the same time. Christian would get everyone in the perimeter to indulge themselves in whatever it was that we were doing. If we went sightseeing Christian would make sure that everyone was paying attention to what we were seeing. When we went out to have fun Christian would make sure that everyone was having fun. Christian was the kind of person that you wanted to be around. The reason that I am using Christian as a representation of the Argentine folk is because every Argentine that I met was this way. They were a very outgoing and happy people much less resource and material than the American people. I thought to myself when I was in Argentina "how are these people always so happy and outgoing".
Recently I heard someone in seminar mention something about pride. I saw pride in every single Argentine persons face while I was abroad in Argentina. The pride that the Argentine folk have was extremely apparent and easy to see. I also thought to myself "I really should have more pride in where I'm from and what I have rather than focus on what I don't have". This thought occurred over and over while I was in Argentina.
Christian taught me that wherever you are and wherever you go enjoy it and live in the moment. Christian also taught me to involve everyone around you in the fun that your having or the activities that you are doing. This is something that I have trouble with seeing as how I'm not a very social person but Christian taught me to set aside my insecurities and doubts and live the one and only life that we've been given. Live each and every opportunity that you have because in the end this life is really the only thing that we as a people really have.
After my experience in Argentina I will carry myself with more confidence, life and ultimately pride in myself and everything that I have and am on my way to doing.
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