A chap of 77 years; Mendoza-born; Buenos Aires bred; well-seasoned traveler; world-connosieur.
Nik and I met him over lunch our first day in the city of Mendoza, and for my LEAD readers*, this is what he said (translated of course):
"I have seen most of the world and if there is anything you can learn is to never give your opinion; you work, observe and listen. And when you are in a position of power, then you can [give your opinion]."
Qué piensan.
Angela
I don't think I can express to you how significant I think these words of wisdom are! This struck me particularly because of what I learned working with the Lakota people on ASB over spring break. Many of their famous elders wrote about the value of silence; of listening rather than speaking. We went hiking in the Badlands and we all were encouraged to go find a little space of our own, away from everyone else, and to simply be silent in that space. How different from our culture, where we're always encouraged to speak up and speak often. It's amazing how much you learn when you just observe and listen.
ReplyDeleteAngela,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Sydney, we do not appreciate how much you can learn when you simply listen to others. I would like to hear what you think about this quote since you have been around this culture for so long. Have you experienced this at all? I have enjoyed keeping up with your blog and am extremely jealous of all of your experiences. Savor the short time that you have left!
Katie Anderson
Hi Katie,
DeleteYou know it's actually kind of funny you ask that, because I feel like (in retrospect already) this is the theme of my trip, perhaps in a different light, but the essence it the same. Coming here I felt like a baby: the language skills were there but when it is the dominant language, all faults come to the forefront and it is a challenge. For me, the power that is mentioned above is the power of language - the power to speak. It also is applied when my hosts talk politics. I don't know that much about them down here, so a lot of the time it is me just listening to what they have to say. But as time goes on, and yes 2 months + already gone, I'm dominating the language more, so now my opinions (knowledge of political happenings is increased as well) are validated more.
However, in all the manifestations and student energy that is expressed through protests, it could seem that they aren't waiting for their power. Nevertheless, the power of numbers seems to work equally well.
I hope that was relevant.. :)
Hey Angela,
ReplyDeleteHope you are enjoying your time in Buenos Aires! I really like the quote that you shared. I feel as though traveling and experiencing different cultures first-hand allows one to learn to observe. One has the opportunity to take in all the new experiences. The opportunity to learn such things outside of a text book is remarkable. Maybe this quote has some truth to why there are so many problems within our world- people are too quick to jump in and give their opinions without cultural sensitivity. I think we can all learn plenty from this quote. We have talked about this topic a lot in class too, like how is it so important to understand the cultures that you work with. Thanks for sharing! Enjoy the rest of your time in Argentina learning and experiencing something new.
Take care,
Emily