In honor of the first day of classes at Marietta
College, I have decided to make this the opening day of my blog; welcome. For
the next two and a half weeks, I won't have much revolutionary information,
except this: I am going to Argentina, not France as the McDonough website says. That brings me to my DISCLAIMER: As I will be in Argentina, Sarkozy
will likely not be the center of my Global Leadership dissection. (#Sorrynotsorry.) I think it will be more focused on Argentina's recently
reelected President, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner. (That had a twinge of
sarcasm: I am certain she will be involved...) Of the four bloggers for LEAD
203, I will be the only student living in a country with a female leader*. So this is an early shout out to my girl
Cristina (you are welcome to partake): Beyoncé's Run the World (Girls).
With the stereotypically reverse occurring in Argentina's government, female leader, I will also be reversing my seasons of the year; hence,
my semester starts in early March, headed off by an intensive month of Spanish
language classes starting in February. Basically, Argentine students are having their long
summer break during our winter break. Some things are a bit different below the
Equator; I will report back on which way the toilets flush later...
My goals for this blog are to record my
preparations, my arrival, my shock, my acceptance, my rejection, my
uncertainty, my leaps of faith, my revelations, my successes, my setbacks, my
opinions and my perceptions of life living outside the United States. My
journey is the most important aspect of this step in my life, and I
am ready to take it on. This thread of blog entries that is to come will
hopefully be an eclectic conglomeration of resources, photos, and stories. I
look to use video clips, English and Spanish, and photos - entries that are
full of color and description. To see the progression of my Spanish - speaking
and writing - will be undoubtedly out of this world, and likely something I
will laugh at in September and subsequent years when I look back at this blog.
If you have questions of any kind, pertinent or not
to LEAD 203, don't hesitate to ask. Everything is relevant when it comes
to uprooting yourself and living in another country.
This was a futile first attempt at packing:
you can imagine why they suggest packing and repacking a few times before you
really give it a final go.
...thinking I had this in the bag...
The explosion from the first removal of
everything from my suitcase plus more from my closet and shopping bags that can
be seen strewn about the room.
After meticulous repacking (time
#2 and INVENTORY of everything I fit, simply so I can take it apart and redo it
again.)
So far, what I have packed (my
life in 6 months) is in this green suitcase. Handily, it doubles as a backpack.
Surprisingly it wasn't that heavy to put on, as you can see. (Yes, that
is a onezie, zip-up, fleece, footie pajama.)
*The term leader (here)
is used relatively loosely, stemming from the skepticism that comes from open
discussion in Leadership courses.
Here's the food for thought with that: Cristina
Fernández de Kirchner won her reelection with a margin of over 40% of the
popular vote. Does this reflect support for her leadership style, her
accomplishments and her goals for the country? It would seem so. Leader was
used loosely in the above paragraph because the leaders of other
countries can be of questionable power and nature (benevolence? opportunism?
paternalism?) (cough cough, Russia's change of power...), but does that
mean they are not a leader? (Does a leader have to be good? What is good? And
what about the greatest good for the greatest number of people? What about
Machiavelli and the ends justifying the means?)
Author's Note for 203: I rather like the idea of an
asterisk in my blog. I may try to have one of these controversial and
stimulating rhetorical question sessions at the end. You need not respond but
you may if you like. I have found they are generally good fun. Cheers, until next time!
Angela
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