It has been about four weeks in Buenos Aires for me, and things are definitely a lot different than back home. One of the major ways I can see a difference is through my classes. I am taking five, three-credit classes, but it sure does not feel like it. I have readings for both of my political science and both of my history classes every week. The reading load for 2 weeks of classes at Belgrano is the equivalent of 1 week, sometimes even one night, of reading required for my classes at Wesleyan. I had my first ever assignment to turn in the other day and our professor was extremely laid back. During the class that it was due she said, “No worries guys, just turn it in by next week at the latest”. I was really surprised when she said that, even though I know academics and due dates are more relaxed here. Another big difference is the amount of time spent in class consecutively. First of all, every class here is an hour and a half long which may not seem like a big difference from 50 minutes, but it definitely does feel like a big difference. The other major change is I have three classes all one right after the other, so I am in class from 11:30 am to 4:00 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays. That is a very big change from Wesleyan classes where it would be very rare to have class for that long without a break. Honestly, it takes a toll on my ability to focus and participate in class. Going that long without food or even a mental break has been a bit difficult, but it is only two days out of the week so I can manage.
One thing that is highly unusual, to me at least, is that during my history classes my professor asks us to speculate quite often. She eventually tells us the right answer, but she really wants to know our thoughts without any research, which is different from Wesleyan. My professors at Wesleyan stress research and analysis and then you base your opinion, statement, or paper off of that work. I do not really enjoy just guessing what the answer is, as I would rather do my research and then be confident in my answer based off of primary sources or scholarly articles. Another quite peculiar thing is that my professor for Human Rights and Cultural Representations asks us about our feelings all the time. I do see the importance of how feelings can impact your interpretation of events, especially the one pertaining to my class because they are quite dark events, but it is just different. The best difference about this semester compared to all of my other semester is that I do not have to take any general education courses, which means all of my courses correspond to my major and my interests. All my classes deal with content about Latin American countries and I am really immersed in the history of those countries through my four major content classes. It is really amazing that what I am learning in one class can directly relate to 3 other of my classes and it is really giving me a comprehensive history of Latin America.
While there have been some things I have had to get used to there are a few things that are very similar. All of my classes are 20 students or less, which is what I am used to. They are all heavily participation based just like Wesleyan. Another pleasant similarity is that my professors are very personable and try to get to know the students because of the small class sizes. This was one of the selling points of Wesleyan for me and I am glad I get to enjoy that with a few twists here in Argentina. All in all, this semester is really laid back and is giving me a lot of time to explore the city and myself.
Emilee Pierson
5,226 miles 