My analogy of studying abroad

If I were to explain my experience in Buenos Aires without using clichés of what studying/living abroad is, this is how I would describe it. Keep in mind no analogy is perfect.

It is watching a really profound, enthralling movie. First, you sit down in your seat and you are really excited because there has been a lot of hype about the movie. The synopses you have heard and reviews you have read do not tell you much other than that you must see it yourself. The movie begins and you start soaking in visual and aural stimulation and you understand that you are watching a movie. You are a little detached because you do not fully understand what is going on or what it is all about.

After a while, you stop noticing the chair spring that has been poking you in the back and the fact that the floor is sticky because the action and dialogue start to truly captivate you. The movie’s reality steadily becomes your reality. You become so engrossed in the movie that you begin to feel like part of the movie. You see the characters develop and grow and change and the scenery and setting start to become familiar and home-like. You get lost in the movie. Have you ever watched someone watch a movie? You will not quite understand how engrossed you are watching a movie until you watch someone else’s face while he or she watches a movie.

Towards the denouement, you begin to understand that the movie is coming to an end. You can feel things winding down. You slowly gain objective perspective again of that in which you have just involved yourself. You might even feel a jerk in your heart because you want to see what happens to the characters after the movie is finished, as stories like that cannot and do not just come to an end. The storyline is wrapping up and you are wondering if you put enough quarters in the parking meter. Also, you really have to pee.

Then the movie ends and you leave the theater feeling you finally understand what the hype was about. You have gained a new perspective on just what a movie can be and how it can relate to real life. What you saw was visceral because there was a surfeit of content and aesthetic pleasure that will stick with you. In addition, time was irrelevant because you were so lost in the movie. In the hours it took to watch, you wonder how the little hand on your horologe made so many revolutions. You know you will see it again, but when you feel ready to absorb all that information anew is uncertain territory because it was so beautiful and gratifying that it would not do the movie justice to watch it twice in a row. You have other movies to watch, books to read and music to listen to. Also you spent your last $20 on the ticket and Milk Duds and popcorn to mix together so you get chocolate, carmel and salt all in one bite.

There are no leaks of this movie. You cannot pirate it. You must see it on the big screen with strangers in the theater who will share this movie with you even though you may never see them ever again in your life.

You will return to that theater some day when another movie is worth seeing because as much as you would like to, you cannot spend all your money and time going to the movies. You will bring a friend next time so that you can share the experience together because telling someone about a movie he or she has not seen, no matter how great it is, is about as interesting to the listener as handwriting class in grade school.