I had a really great experience in my breakout room with the students from the Catholic University of Salta. Our prompt was to talk about a time you either felt very connected, or very disconnected from your nation. The two UCaSal students, Antonieta and Pia, shared the same story—when Argentina won the World Cup in 2022. They described how it united the country in a time of great disconnect. Economic and political unrest were put aside, for just a moment, as people rejoiced in their nation’s victory. Pia described an image depicting two men hugging, one in a River Plate jersey, the other in a Boca Juniors jersey. These two Argentinian club teams have a fierce rivalry, but they put aside that difference in celebration. I shared a similar story, of how I felt when the U.S. Women’s National Team won the Women’s World Cup in 2019. I described what it meant to me, as I had spent so much of my own life playing soccer. This victory was definitely not celebrated to the magnitude of the Argentinian victory, mostly because of sexism in the United States, but it meant a lot to me and my friends. We would joke that rooting for American teams in the World Cup and the Olympics were the only times we felt patriotic. Antonieta and Pia agreed, and we discussed how sports can create a sense of belonging, and how they can unite people, while politics do the opposite.
They were very interested in the stereotypical American sense of patriotism. We considered the differences between the 4th of July in the U.S., and how Americans celebrate it, versus the 9th of July in Argentina. According to Antonieta and Pia, the Argentinian Independence Day is not that big of a deal for them, especially compared to the U.S. Antonieta had visited the U.S. during that time, and witnessed the great displays of fireworks and barbecues and cheers for America. I explained how personally, holidays like that are more about the traditions. Fireworks are pretty, barbecues have good food, and the Fourth of July is in the summer, so everyone enjoys being outside. For me, it is not really about my pride in America.
We also spent time discussing when we felt disconnected from our nations. I described many political issues, specifically mass shootings and Trump’s presidency. I explained January 6th to them, which they had never heard of, and they were amazed that something so awful and chaotic could happen in America. They also described Argentina’s struggle for political and economic stability and told me about their personal struggles affording school tuition and apartments. It was valuable to talk to students from an institution that is so different from both Wesleyan and AUC. At a more privileged institution, it is a lot easier to ignore certain hardships that students may face, and there is a lot of value to interacting with people who have led very different lives. It is important to learn about these differences, to recognize my own privilege but also to validate the diversity of the student experience across the world.
