October 2012: Mark Teshirogi

On a Thursday afternoon, a few hours before the start of a long holiday weekend, I asked TEFL and Spanish student, Mark Teshirogi, some questions about his stay in Buenos Aires. Here you have his answers.

Tell us a little about yourself

I recently graduated from the University of Southern California with a degree in English and a degree in Fine Arts.

Which course did you take at BridgeArgentina and why did you decide to take this course?

I took the TEFL certification course. I’ve been interested in pursuing teaching and I saw the TEFL certification as a great opportunity to gain classroom experience. I also see myself traveling in the future and I think having the TEFL degree will prove useful if I ever hope to teach internationally again.

Why did you decide to come to Argentina?

I came to Argentina for a number of reasons. Some of it stems from curiosity—I had never travelled to South America before and wanted to visit a place that I thought would be an exciting and challenging place to live. Having heard so many positive things about the country, I was already enamored with the idea of traveling here. I must also admit that my recent interest in Latin American writers, Jorge Luis Borges, Roberto Bolaño and Gabriel Marquez has played a role in getting me here.

What do you like/dislike about Buenos Aires?

I have mostly a positive outlook on the city. It’s far bigger than I had imagined, and having been here only a month, my scope of the city is rather limited. But what I have seen and what I have done thus far, has been great. The food, the atmosphere, the attractions… it’s endless. I love just walking around the city and taking in all the sights.

Where did you stay (host family, hostel…) and how was the experience? Was it different than what you expected?

I stayed in a hostel for a month, which was a unique experience in itself. At first I enjoyed the social atmosphere of it, but as the weeks wore on, I think the constant socializing grew tiring. As a long-term resident at the hostel, it was somewhat frustrating when the people you meet ended up leaving the next day. When I had initially chosen to live in the hostel, I hadn’t considered that the hostel functions primarily as a transitional space—this was something that proved to be difficult to cope with.