Day 39

I had culture today. So you already know it was not a good day. TIC and Stats passed by at a glacial pace. One of the breaks I was in the room, and the other I was outside with people. And then came culture. She started off by going over the homework I didn't understand, but I was lucky enough not to be called on. Then she talked about what made Argentina Argentina. The other people in my class mentioned dulce de leche and empanadas and grilled meat. One of the girls in my class suggested asking me what I thought of when I thought of Argentina. So, even though I had understood the question, Juli, who sits behind me, translated the question into English and asked if I knew the ball-point pen was invented in Argentina (I didn't). But I didn't really have anything to add to the list, and the teacher was having a discussion with the rest of the class, so I didn't really say anything. Then Juli told the teacher this. I almost added something like "gauchos" or "tango" while she was speaking. I didn't realize that she was going to tell the teacher. "That's because North Americans don't even think about Argentina, " my teacher concluded. "We have a concept of the world, but North Americans don't see anything outside of North America. They have no concept of what Argentina is and they don't know anything about the planet outside their country. North Americans don't even think Argentina is a part of America--". I stopped her. "Wait a minute, professor. I may not have known the ball-point pen was invented here, but that doesn't mean I don't have a concept of Argentina. I know that Argentina is the land of gauchos and tango. I know that dulce de leche comes from here, and empanadas, too. I had heard of Patagonia and Iguazú and Buenos Aires before I got here. I had known where Argentina was, what its capital was, what language was spoken, and that it stretches from the Andes mountains to Tierra del Fuego years before I knew I would be coming here. I know that Argentines love soccer and hate Brazil. I know that Argentines eat crazy amounts of beef, and that they smoke like chimneys and drink like fish. I know that thirty years ago your president declared war on Britain over the Falkland Islands. I know that Argentines are just as overly patriotic as yankees, even though they still all wished they lived in France. I know that Argentina has accepted dozens of Nazis as refugees and not let them be tried in international courts. I know that people here are so racist as to shock people in the United States and horribly offend African-Americans. I know that Argentina disappeared and killed tens of thousands of politically active citizens only a few decades ago. And, on top of that, I know that Argentina has a horrible education system. Now, how many people in this room had even heard of Minnesota before I came here?"

Except I didn't say that. The words were in my mouth, ready to be spoken, but, instead, I sat, as always, silent. And I let my teacher tell me I was a hypocrite and a xenophobe and a chauvinist.