I learned a great deal at the Universidad del Salvador, taking a variety of courses ranging from The Argentine Social Reality to Argentine Literature, from Marketing to Improvisational Music.  I am extremely happy with my decision to diversify my academic selections and get a broad range of instruction and classmates.    While some of my course selections may seem unrelated at first glance, the common denominator of every class I took in Buenos Aires was “the Argentine.”  “The Argentine” in my politics class seemed very different than “the Argentine” in my music class, and thus I was able to get a more complete idea of who “Argentines” are and what cultural values they possess.

I can tell you how my politics class gave me a far better understanding of Argentina’s political history, and therefore a clearer comprehension of the current political and economic difficulties faced by Argentina today.  I can relay how my Consumer Behavior marketing class provided a fascinating opportunity to compare the consumer psyche of an Argentine with my notions of an American consumer, and how it has sparked my interest in the marketing field.  However, I must say, perhaps my most important “academic achievements” came not from the third floor of the Economics Building, nor from the Social Sciences Faculty, but from my everyday interaction with the Argentine people outside of the classroom.  I learned so much about Argentina and its people, history, and culture, by making every possible effort to immerse myself as deeply as I could in their culture.  I never spoke English.  I hardly ever saw Americans.  I tried to meet and chat with any and every Argentine I could—including Ana Maria, the homeless lady who had claimed her “spot” at the end of my street.  My interactions with the Argentine people and the friendships I’ve made over the past 9 months have deepened even further my appreciation for the value of cultural exchange and understanding.  This lesson will help me in every aspect of my life, even if it’s to strengthen my relationship with my next-door neighbor, helping me to be a better person.

If I had to choose a single most important academic accomplishment for my 2002 Ambassadorial experience, I would have to say the improvement of my Spanish language skills.  I feel infinitely more confident in my abilities to communicate and understand the Spanish language, both written and orally.  A year ago, I was proficient.  But today, thanks to Rotary, I am a fluent speaker and writer.  Ever since I studied abroad in Spain three years ago, I have had a passion for the Spanish language, and I don’t take my newly acquired fluency for granted.  I hope to incorporate Spanish into my profession eventually—(I’m exploring the idea of entertainment law and/or intellectual property law, both of which tap into the Hispanic markets, both in this country and internationally).  But even if I don’t end up using Spanish professionally, I definitely would like to use it to serve my community in my free time.  (In college, I volunteered as a translator at a free medical clinic, and I’m sure that similar opportunities will exist elsewhere.)

Before I began my Rotary experience, I really did not know what to expect about Argentina.  Just weeks prior to my departure, the political and economic troubles I had been monitoring via the news reached their climax.  Near the end of December 2001, about 20 Argentine citizens lost their lives in a violent protest in Buenos Aires’s main government plaza, which catalyzed the renunciation of the Argentine president.  Within days, Argentina went through FIVE different presidents, as banks froze and people began to speculate on the devaluation of the Argentine peso (which had been pinned 1-to-1 with the U.S. dollar for the past 10 years).  Honestly, I was very reticent to pack my bags and head off to what seemed to be a nation boiling with turmoil.  However, after much correspondence with Evanston and their on-site contacts in Buenos Aires, I finally made the decision to stick with my original host selection—Ultimately, I thought, the Ambassadorial Scholarship is about fostering international understanding and cultural exchange, and what better a place and time to pursue these goals than in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 2002, as its citizens set about the task of picking up their nation and getting back on the right foot.  History would be made, and I could be not only a witness, but also a participant.  So, just days before I stepped on the plane, Rotary and I made the final arrangements for Argentina… 

I couldn’t have made a better decision.

Yes, Argentina was in crisis during my Rotary term.  And yes, I noticed the symptoms of a nation shaken by political and economic troubles.  But the amazing thing was that the Argentine people, as they struggled to cope with and adjust to their new reality, seemed even more open and willing to talk about their culture and lives.  In an effort to confront the new hardships they faced, nearly all of the Argentines I met were very eager to share their experiences and anxious to hear my own perspective as a foreigner.  I couldn’t have asked for a better opportunity to work towards the mission of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Program.  By immersing myself as much as possible, by meeting and conversing with as many Argentines as I could, I learned more than I could have ever expected about the Argentine culture and its current political and economic situation.  And to top it all off, I have a handful of very dear Argentine friends with whom I will stay close for my entire life.

Not only was my experience beneficial in that it exposed me to the Argentine culture, but it also provided the unique opportunity to examine my own culture.  It is my opinion that to truly know and appreciate one’s culture, one must distance oneself from it, to have a point of reference.  To be honest, I really didn’t recognize certain aspects of American culture until I moved away from it for so long.  By trying to immerse myself as much as possible in the Argentine way of life, I developed a far keener sense of what my home culture was like.   And of course, hearing various Argentines’ perspectives on America and its culture and politics was certainly enlightening.  In summary, I found my experience in Argentina to be a true cultural exchange, the very essence of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Program.

How have I contributed to The Rotary Foundation’s mission of world understanding and peace?   Most effectively, through dialogue.  Constant dialogue and exchange of ideas and perspectives, with as many different Argentines as possible—with my host counselor (and great friend) Hugo, with my USAL classmates and professors, with the friends I made all around the city, with the taxi driver and the homeless lady down the street.  There is no substitute for the sharing of experiences and viewpoints, and I cannot express to the Rotary Foundation my gratitude for such a wonderful opportunity for personal growth and cultural expansion.

This is a very difficult question to respond to.  I hesitate to cheapen the role of a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar by siphoning over 9 months of service down to a few specific examples how I promoted the Rotary Ambassadorial mission in Argentina.  The following are a just a taste of my overall experience as a Rotary Ambassador of Goodwill, and I want to stress the point that being an Ambassador of Goodwill abroad is constant responsibility.

One of the best examples of how I served as an ambassador of goodwill is through my interaction with my host Rotary Club of Villa Soldati, in Buenos Aires.  I remember my first meeting with my new Rotary family like it was yesterday (and I wish it were!).  I was of course very nervous about speaking in front of these new, foreign faces, in their language, which I was not overly comfortable using.  All throughout the meal my nerves were stirring, up until el Presidente told the group what a special treat they were about to have, to listen to their American guest scholar speak.  As I opened my mouth and the first Spanish syllables spurted forth, I looked around and noticed the many eyes all fixed upon me, and it dawned on me just what a privilege it was to be representing the United States to the Argentine members of Rotary.  The importance of my Ambassadorial mission strengthened my courage, and I settled into the comfortable realization that these people were holding onto every word I spoke.

After my speech, the President opened the floor for questions.  The first question impressed me greatly:  With all of our [Argentine] troubles and the many-leveled crises that are ongoing in our country these days, why in the world did the United States send you here, of all places, to study our politics and economics?   I thought for a moment, then responded that, first off, the U.S. had not sent me to Argentina; I chose to come.  And secondly, I chose to come not in spite of the current Argentine reality, but because of it.  I relayed my earlier determination that since Argentina was going through troubled times, I deemed it all the more fitting a forum for fulfilling the Rotary mission of increasing international understanding and world peace.  The Rotarian seemed more than satisfied by my answer, and, in fact, he and I had an exceptional relationship during our subsequent months together.  My first Rotary meeting was perhaps my first major contribution as a Rotary Ambassador, and it was then that I realized the full significance of my responsibility as a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar of Goodwill.  I never took it lightly.

Another similar example comes to mind, this time outside of Rotary’s meetings… An Argentine friend of mine, Fede, had invited me to visit his family in Mar del Plata, a beach city about 5 hours away from Buenos Aires.  We were hanging out with one of his high school friends, whom he had not seen in a long time, and whom he had described as very close-minded and rather ignorant to the world outside the walls of his father’s shrimp factory.  Well, Fede’s friend, Ariel, seemed to act very coldly towards me when I first met him.  As the three of us played Pictionary (in Spanish), Ariel kept making overtly critical—and very uninformed—comments about the United States.  I tried to respond to him openly and respectfully, offering my perspective on the issues he was bringing up.  At first, Ariel fired back a load of aggressive counterpoints, which I attempted to respect and appreciate.  Later in the night, I saw Ariel opening more and more up to me, and as Fede and I left his house at the end of the evening, Ariel actually apologized for “jumping to conclusions” about Americans and being so aggressive.  He admitted that he had never really spoken with an American before, and he said I wasn’t at all what he had thought Americans to be like.  I told him no apology was necessary—It was great to hang out with him and dispel whatever stereotypes he might have held about me and my country.

As far as making a difference in someone else’s life, I feel I have made a positive, lasting impact on the lives of a number of people in Argentina—the handful of my great Argentine friends, with whom I will stay close for my whole life.  These same friends, in turn, have made a huge difference in my life.  I am sincerely grateful to the Rotary Foundation for giving me the opportunity to meet new people and forge such lasting friendships.  

I would describe Rotary as one of the most worthwhile organizations on the planet.  Just go to Rotary.org to see discover the difference that the Rotary Foundation is making worldwide.  Perhaps the most striking example of Rotary’s importance is its mission to eradicate polio and the incredible impact that the Rotarians around the world have made along this front.

If you’ve heard of Rotary, chances are you are aware of its accomplishments in this area. What you probably don’t know, however, is that a small, impoverished community of Buenos Aires, Argentina, called Villa Soldati, just recently received its first fire trucks EVER thanks to the Rotary Foundation.  For years, the people of Villa Soldati were forced to rely haphazardly on the small volunteer firefighter fleet from nearby districts—until the Rotary Club of Villa Soldati linked up with an American Rotary club in Chicago to provide 3 state of the art fire trucks.  I was there to witness the bestowal ceremony, thanks to the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Program.  Not only is Rotary making a difference in the international community through direct service like it’s global polio eradication efforts, or the donation of much-needed firefighting machinery in Villa Soldati, Argentina.  But the Foundation also recognizes and appreciates the impact that cultural exchange and international understanding brings.  For this reason, Rotary International has long been a strong supporter of the Rotary Ambassadorial Scholarship Program, in which Ambassadors like myself move to a foreign country to live and study for an academic year, all the while serving as a representative of their host country and an instrument for spreading goodwill internationally.  During my time abroad, I learned so much about my host country (Argentina)—its history, culture, politics—but also about my own country’s cultural values and politics.  I have a far deeper appreciation for the value of international understanding and cultural exchange as a result of the Scholarship Program, and I would consider myself a better citizen of the world after serving my term as a Rotary Ambassador of Goodwill.  I cannot begin to relay adequately my appreciation to the Rotary Foundation for such an amazing experience, nor fully express my hopes that this extremely worthwhile program continues for many years to come.

The orientation training, along with the Ambassadorial Scholar’s Handbook, and the advice of my sponsor Rotarians were certainly sufficient preparation tools for my time abroad.  I had studied overseas in the past, so perhaps I knew what to expect to a certain extent.  But I feel I would have been comfortably ready without the earlier experiences abroad.  I really have no suggestions for improving the orientation process.  I would like to stress the positive impact of the journaling seminar—I hope that future scholars receive the same encouragement to keep journals of their experience as I did.  I was very impressed by the advice, and it proved extremely worthwhile.

Quite simply, IMMERSE YOURSELF as much as possible in the host country.  If you’re going to a country where a different language is spoken, do all you can to improve your language skills.  And try as hard as possible to avoid the temptation to go the easy route of speaking English.  Don’t underestimate the value of conversing with the people of your host country—Try to have as much interaction as possible with them.  Listen carefully to what they have to say, and don’t be afraid to share your own perspective…Cultural exchange works both ways.  Keep a journal—it’s a daunting task at times, but you’ll thank yourself later.  Lastly, recognize the importance of your position as an Ambassador of Goodwill, and don’t take for granted the AMAZING experience you are about to embark on!

I have a deep respect and appreciation for the Rotary Foundation, and I hope to stay involved with the organization that has offered me such a wonderful and unique opportunity.  I will be speaking with my sponsor club in the coming weeks, and I am looking forward to sharing my experiences (and appreciation!) with them shortly.  I would be happy to assist the Ambassadorial Scholarship Program, whether it be recommending candidates or assisting with orientations.  And I would certainly accept the honor of becoming a Rotarian in the future, once I have established my career.  Again, I am truly indebted to the International Rotary Foundation, and I struggle to find the words to express my gratitude.  I offer you my deepest and sincerest appreciation for such a once-in-a-lifetime experience!