The Joyous Land

I have in fact returned to Rosario, that beautiful city on the Rio Párana. It was quite a laboured decision to return; however, despite the unfortunate circumstances that have led to my removal from and subsequent return to Rosario, I am very glad to be back. It is such a beautiful city with wonderful people, and I feel very comfortable here. I hope to accomplish a few things that I was not able to in my first stint in Rosario: namely, I would like to try the local seafood, visit the top of the Flag Memorial, and find something newly pretentious to bring home for my friends to joke about when I return to school.

I’m also working a little extra at ARICANA, visiting as many classes as possible before I leave. Next week I will also begin with a series of presentations in promotion of a study tour from ARICANA to Maryville College. There are two trips which consist of several weeks of intensive English study at Maryville College and then a week of tourism at Disney World for the younger students and New York/Washington D.C. for the older students. I’m really looking forward to receiving student from Argentina in January and February. It will be my chance to show them some of the hospitality they have shown me during my stay in their country.

Yesterday evening and this morning the institute received a guest speaker, Else Hamayan. She spoke about several issues and methods in teaching English as a second language. I found it very interesting and it has started me thinking on something: one of the objectives of this trip was to taste a bit of the teaching English as a second/foreign language experience--to see if I thought I would like to further pursue such a career. Though I have enjoyed being in the classrooms and even teaching on my own several times, I have to say that I am not as interested in the actual teaching experience as I am simple linguistics--the was in which ideas are presented and perceived in different ways in accordance with the norms of different languages. These aspects are of direct use for my composition of poetry in which I must find new ways to describe complex ideas and be able to understand the composition of the very language in which I am writing in order to use it most effectively and efficiently.

I’ll be around Rosario for another week and a few days. Then on the 16th I will take the long flight back to the States. I’m really looking forward to my senior year at Maryville College, but not necessarily finding a way to pay for it! : )

Chau.