Confirmed: Teresa is from the country

What an excellent, excellent adventure today! This afternoon I hopped on a colectivo (bus) to Puerto Tirol, a smaller town (population approximately 15,000) about 20 km northwest of Resistencia, to meet with Viviana Marilin Cimbaro Canella. Viviana was also a Fulbright recipient who worked as a Spanish Teaching Assistant at Simpson College in Indianola, Iowa in 2005 & 2006; her contact information had been passed on to me from the Fulbright Commission last November. Since then, we had exchanged a few e-mails, mostly prior to my departure from the United States but also more recently in a game of e-mail tag to try and arrange an in-person meeting. Finally, though, we set a date for me to come visit and I was both excited and nervous to make this first trip to the "country" of Argentina.

Here, I need to explain a bit about a few of the dichotomies that exist in the ways that Argentines classify themselves and others in the country.  The first, and clearest, of these divisions exists between those Argentines who are from Buenos Aires, los porteños (meaning: people of the port) and those who are from any other part of the country (also called the interior). Much like in New York where those who live in "the city" fall into one category and those who live, well...in "the rest of the state" fall into another, Argentina has its own distinct stereotypes about individuals who live in specific parts of the country. Porteños generally perceive themselves as more modern, more efficient and more sophisticated than Argentines who live in the internior, and Argentines of the interior see porteños as pushy individuals, too busy and certainly more preoccupied with themselves than they should be.  It was amusing, at the least, to see these stereotypes played out in real life as I spent a few days in Buenos Aires for orientation upon first arriving for my grant. Everyone who worked for the Fulbright Commission and Argentina's Ministry of Education was a porteño and all of the Fulbright scholars' referentes were from the interior. Yep, pretty hilarious to see these two groups interact and even more humorous to observe how openly all Argentines will discuss their opinions of these stereotypes and how they/others reinforce them.

Similar stereotypes exist in each province (or, at least in the Chaco province where I live) for those who live in the biggest/capital city versus those who live in the smaller towns/country lands of the province. I live in Resistencia, the capital city of the Chaco province, and when I told a guy at dinner tonight (in Resistencia) that I had been to Puerto Tirol, his eyes got plenty larger and he exlaimed "Gueyyy, el campo (whoaaaa, the country)." Here again, there seems to be an assumed air of sophistication, sometimes a sentiment of superiority for those that live in more densely populated areas of the province. This topic is on tap for some further critical thought, but I digress. Let's return to my afternoon in Puerto Tirol.

I stepped off the bus in town after showing the bus driver the directions that Viviana had given to me. I had been in touch with her via text message just before leaving Resistencia but there seemed to be nothing of familiarity as I stepped off the bus in this new place... Fortunately, that was absolutely the last moment that I felt that way the entire afternoon as I was quickly approached by Yara and Daniel, two students of San Fernando Rey (the institute where I teach) who also live in Puerto Tirol. They walked with me to Viviana's home where we got to know one another a little better over mate, a delicious cake that Yara had baked especially for my visit, some good conversation and even a bit of entertainment, courtesy of Viviana's adorable two-year-old daughter. Between this little lady's: constant babbling about how their dogs were dirty so they had to be outside, coloring escapades, and exuberant dancing to Wheels on the Bus, I was nearly rolling on the floor in laughter. Later, Viviana, Yara, Daniel and I went on a short walk around town to see some of the primary places where people gather and, en route, to try torta a la parrilla (Cake from the grill), a regional specialty that I could most closely identify as a treat resembling Indian naan bread. Daniel and Viviana saw me back to Resistencia from the bus stop in front of the town's main plaza...

Yara, Daniel, VIviana and her daughter, and I at Viviana's kitchen table

Comfortable would assuredly be the most accurate adjective to describe my interactions this afternoon. Maybe the most comfortable situation that I have been in since arriving just over a month ago! I can't exactly put my finger on why I felt this way: my speaking/listening abilities hadn't magically improved 500%, I was in a totally new environment with individuals I had never met face-to-face before and I was being asked to consider potential volunteer opportunities in this small town I was visiting only for the first time. At the same time, I can't seem to escape the notion that being in the "country" of Argentina had something to do with me feeling this sense of comfort. There were clothes hung up to dry in Viviana's back yard, Viviana and her younger counterparts exchanged greetings with numerous people as we traversed Puerto Tirol's streets, and the young people across the street alerted us when my colectivo was arriving (something I don't think I would expect of others in the city). The tentative conclusion for the day is that I- Teresa Young of Payne, Ohio, country girl- was amidst something vaguely familiar with its own cultural distinctions. I think I shall be spending more time in Puerto Tirol in the near future....