{"id":39788,"date":"2024-06-12T19:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-06-12T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/?p=39788"},"modified":"2024-06-12T15:49:52","modified_gmt":"2024-06-12T19:49:52","slug":"fancy-being-a-traveler-heres-a-sinclair-student-that-treats-globe-trotting-like-fine-art","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sinclairclarion.com\/home\/campus-life\/2024\/06\/12\/fancy-being-a-traveler-heres-a-sinclair-student-that-treats-globe-trotting-like-fine-art\/","title":{"rendered":"Fancy being a\u00a0traveler?\u00a0Here\u2019s a Sinclair student that treats globe-trotting like fine art"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Summer is a time where most of us fancy ourselves globetrotters<\/a>. It\u2019s that period where many of us take to the skies and get away from the things that tie us down the rest of the year. Oftentimes, especially when coming back, we wonder just how awesome it would be to live like that all year-round. Neon Nation, despite being a young 32 years of age, doesn\u2019t have to wonder because that\u2019s been his life since leaving Jamaica<\/a> as a teenager. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first 18 years of his life were spent on the island nation before he decided to study in Argentina<\/a>. It\u2019s been an unending adventure ever since and the Sinclair<\/a> student couldn\u2019t be happier. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGo with an open mind, a clear schedule or planner and experience it as a local.\u201d<\/p>– Neon Nation<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m a nomad<\/a>. Home is wherever I am and wherever my wife and kids are. Home has been many places. I like to tell people that I was born in Jamaica, grew up there and in Argentina,\u201d Neon told The Clarion in an interview. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That first trip was spurred, like most adventures, on a whim. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the time I knew nothing about Argentina except that they spoke Spanish. All I knew was that I signed up for this university and that I was going there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Image provided by Neon Nation<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Starting in the rural area of Entre Rios<\/a>, six hours from the capital Buenos Aires<\/a>, he would have to learn quick. The language of instruction was Spanish and he had just two weeks after landing before he would have to take his entrance exam. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI took Spanish in high school and thought I knew the language. Then I landed in Panama<\/a> on my way to Argentina and realized I didn\u2019t know anything. In Argentina I would also encounter the Castellano dialect<\/a>, which was even harder for me to understand than the Panamanian<\/a> one. I crammed and do everything I could. I had to learn Spanish,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Image provided by Neon Nation<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Those early days would serve as the foundation for over a decade in the Argentine Republic. After the entrance exam he had three months before classes started. Within a year he was fluent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo do that I stopped hanging out with anyone who spoke English except my wife, who was my girlfriend at the time. I spent my time around Spanish speakers, engaged in debates with them, and memorized words and phrases by association. Starting with \u2018quiero\u2019 and \u2018como se dice\u2019 I\u2019d use sign language to point something out, then parrot what was said. I listened to music, watched movies, even did my devotions in Spanish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While he would leave Entre Rios and its Universidad de advantista de la Plata<\/a> after a year for courses in Rosario<\/a>, he left with many friends and fond memories. In Argentina, the youth that left Jamaica became a man. His first daughter, one of two with his wife, was even born there. After spending over a decade there, its no wonder he thinks of the country as home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPart of my goal was to live there as long as could and then eventually live in Europe, maybe Spain or Italy. I\u2019ve always wanted to live in different regions and continents,\u201d he said. <\/p>\n\n\n

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Image provided by Neon Nation<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Strangely enough, the pandemic<\/a> would make that dream reality. A visit to see his sister in Dayton in 2021 would serve as a catalyst of sorts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRegulations were changing all the time. Argentina was letting people out but not letting anyone in. However, I thought by the time my trip was over flights going to the country would have normalized. I even had a flight booked. So, I was stunned when I left Dayton only to be told in Miami that my Bolivian Airways flight had been cancelled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week later things still hadn\u2019t changed. In fact, to make matters worst, flights to the country were shelved indefinitely. On the invitation of his sister he returned to the Gem City, bumping into hundreds of Argentines stranded just like he was.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy wife was pregnant at the time and we decided Dayton was a good place to figure things out. It seemed like the perfect time to go back and finish my degree. I\u2019m not a fan of debt, so I chose Sinclair,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He and his wife welcomed their second daughter in Dayton but neither is ready to hang up their travel boots. They\u2019ve got around seven countries under their belt and look forward to traveling again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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