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| Tales from the Pampas professor, Matias, takes his students to view an exhibit about the famous Argentine writer, Jorge Luis Borges. |
After I made the decision to study abroad I promised myself that I would go all in and really make an effort to get out of my comfort zone. Visit new places, make new friends, try every food possible, speak Spanish whenever I could, and even try to ask for directions if I got lost (something that has always intimidated me). Despite the fact that I haven't taken a Spanish class in almost four years I really wanted to challenge myself, so of course I thought it'd be a great idea to take a class taught completely in Spanish.
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| In the contemporary art exhibit we found a small room behind a gold curtain, which had ropes hanging from the ceiling. Every time you pulled a rope, it caused the display to shift colors, sounds, and shapes. Que interesante! |
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| This room was filled with mirrors and optical illusions that made it look like you were in huge hallways and stairwells. Look there I am! And there I am again...and again |
The class is called Tales from the Pampas and it's all about Argentine literature from the 1800s until now. Reading literature from 1800s is difficult enough without it being in a language that you aren't nearly fluent in. However, our professor, Matias, who is also the CEA Student and Academic Advisor here in Buenos Aires, does a fantastic job reviewing the literature and engaging us in interesting discussions about themes throughout the stories.
We've recently started reading works from Jorge Luis Borges, who is arguably the most famous Argentine writer, and lucky enough for us, a huge exhibit dedicated to his work is being displayed in the centro cultural de Kirchner right in Buenos Aires. So on a Wednesday afternoon, instead of sitting in a classroom for an hour and a half, Matias brought us to this incredible exhibit to learn and explore.
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| This room was filled with works from Borges' early career. Even writings from the 1920s were on display! |
The exhibit is composed of over ten rooms and each one was dedicated to different subjects and mediums such as letters, books, newspaper articles, cinema, photography, travel, science, labyrinths, mirrors, math, art, and more. Some of the exhibits were visual while others were interactive. One of my favorite exhibits displayed an old type writer in the middle of the room, and when you wrote something on it, the words were displayed in huge neon letters covering the wall in front of you.
I could've spent a days wandering the colorful rooms filled with history, but unfortunately, the cultural center isn't open 24 hours a day. Being able to see Borges' works in person while looking at photographs of him throughout his life brings an incredible perspective and value to reading his literature in class. This was definitely a field trip that would give Ms. Frizzle, the queen of class field trips, a run for her money!
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| Matias couldn't help but leave his mark on the exhibit. CEA represent! |
Dominique C. is the Fall 2016 CEA MOJO in Buenos Aires, Argentina. She is currently a junior studying Broadcast Media Production at Champlain College.