I love the diversity! There was a girl from Whales, 2 from England, 1 from France and the rest of volunteers were from the States, Me from Washington, DC, Texas and “The Other Washington” on the other side of the country. I went out with a group here in Buenos Aires and we laughed because there were four of us. I was Black from the states, there was a white girl from England, a girl from the Phillipines, and one from El Salvador. Everyone has varying levels of Spanish and so English is the common language. It’s so hilarious to hear some of the words used in England, whales, etc. or some of the miscommunications that happened because of it. At the village and in Iguazu, only one us of had a watch and so someone was always late or left behind, etc.
One day our LIFE Chaperone (57yo Liliana) was upset because she personally was waiting for someone for over an hour and got worried that something had happened. One of the volunteers said that she was pissed and someone thought they meant drunk. I wish I could remember some of the crazy words! That whole week was a riot!
I thought I would get a break when I went to Iguazu as I was closer to the Brazilian border and actually went to Brazil for the day, but that wasn’t the case. I was pointed at, stared at, and asked a million questions. In the 3 wks I’ve been here, I have not seen one other Black American person to my knowledge. There are a few Hatians in Buenos Aires and I was told there have been a few people from Africa come through the Residence. I think the big fascination was the braids. (I am worried they won’t last until I get back!) Everyone wanted to touch them. I would overhear people. Mah, mira a la chica con las trenzas (mom, look at the girl with the braids). Mira a la morena (Look at the black girl) and the list goes on. I even had one person ask to take a picture. I thought they wanted me to take a picture of them. I reached out for the camera and they said “No el quiere sacar on foto contigo” – No, he wants to take a picture with you.
My teacher was saying that in Buenos Aires there are very few people of color and so people are fascinated and curious. She said also guys may mistake me for being Brazilian. She said when they see Brazilian women they think Sexy, Samba dancing, bikinis on the beach, exotic, different, and to add to it some of the Brazilian women are more “free” with their bodies and so Argentine men are very attracted or at least curious.
Oh, and one of the girls told me I had the biggest lips she had ever seen. I was like wow, am I supposed to take that as a comment or what?? I told her, if she thinks I have big lips, she would be curious to meet some people in my family (Tia namely, lol). Clearly she hasn’t come across many black people. haha
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