Pheonix Pittman

IES Abroad: Take us back to the beginning of your study abroad experience. What made you want to study abroad? Why Buenos Aires? How did your journey begin?

Pheonix Pittman (PP): When I was in middle school and preschool, actually, I lived in Germany because my dad was in the Army. So, after I had lived abroad, I knew I wanted to study abroad in college.

Then, I knew I wanted to go to Spanish speaking countries because that was the language I was learning. I choose Buenos Aires because I had not been in South America. I really wanted to explore something new. And then the city of Buenos Aires specifically because I had talked to some other Spelman students who had gone abroad. They had a lot of positive things to say about their experience there.

IES Abroad: You mentioned in your application that you were passionate about maternal health before leaving to study abroad. What sparked that passion for you? 

PP: So, I actually went to a talk on campus where we had some midwives come and speak about maternal health in the black community specifically. And so, that is when I first learned about the disproportionately high maternal mortality rates for black women in the United States. The discussion really stuck with me. And there is a lot of women in my family who have had issues with reproductive health.

Later in an international studies class, I did some research on maternal mortality in Argentina, and I found that they have higher rates than their neighboring countries, Uruguay and Chile. I really enjoyed learning about the social factors, like race and gender that caused a lot of the poor outcomes and maternal health.

So that’s kind of what sparked my interest to do that service abroad. I wanted to see it sort of on the ground and see it from more perspectives than just the hospital setting.

IES Abroad: Could you elaborate a little bit more on what those factors were, particularly for black women in the United States, and what you learned about Argentina in you research?

PP: In the States, what is interesting is that your economic class does not really improve your maternal mortality outcomes for black women. A lot of people think that it is because majority of black women are in more poor situations. And it’s just not the case.

So even when women have degrees and they have more money, there is still bias with doctors. They do not care for black women in the way they are supposed to. They do not believe them when they say that they are in pain or that their pregnancies are high risk. And so, then they just sort of fall through the cracks.

When I did my research in Argentina, I also found research that there is lots of proven methods to fix a lot of the issues that women were coming into the hospital with, but doctors just would not implement them.

[This was connected to the] machismo culture of men thinking that they know more than women or not listening to women when they talk about their bodies. Women not even knowing going into the doctor’s office what could possibly be wrong and how the doctor is supposed to treat them. And so those social factors of race and gender—race here in the States and then gender in Argentina—are really what kind of make these issues arise.

IES Abroad: How did your study abroad experience influence this passion?

PP: My work with [Fundación Pilares-CONIN] really helped me to learn more about other aspects of maternal health issues beyond just the birth. So, poverty and access to medical care look very different in Argentina and the United States. But my service that I did in Argentina really helped me see that mothers in both countries are facing a lot of the same problems and it made me eager to learn more.

IES Abroad: You also shared that you are passionate about seeing more black students decide to study abroad. This encouraged you to share your experiences studying abroad as a black woman through your IES Abroad blog, Instagram, and as the first Study Abroad Ambassador for HBCU Pulse. What did you feel was the most important thing for you to share through these platforms?

PP: In my blogs, rather than focusing on the sights of the city that I was seeing or parts of my every day to day life. I tried to focus a lot on how I was feeling at different points in my study abroad experience. I also put my Instagram link on there and opened up my DMs so that so that people could ask me questions directly if they wanted to.

This was very important for me because I think one thing that blocks a lot black and HBCU students from studying abroad is money. But other than that, I think a lot of people are really daunted by the idea of going to a new country alone and without the community that they are used to having in their classrooms.

I felt that if I was open about how I was feeling during my semester, future students might feel that they had someone to relate to, ask questions to, and eventually they might feel empowered to go abroad as well.

IES Abroad: You wrote that sharing your experiences in these ways was an “unexpected joy” – tell us more about that.

PP: So, knowing that I had to write blogs about my experience forced me to be more present in each moment and to survey myself and how I was really ingesting everything that I was experiencing. So then rather than just going through the motions of going to class and travelling on the weekends, in everything that I did I was always thinking, "How does this make me feel? What lesson am I learning from this?" things like that.

Living day to day with that mindset and then getting to share the results of that sort of thinking with others gave more meaning to my study abroad experience. And I really enjoyed that.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about the world through your experiences in Buenos Aires?

PP: Surprisingly, I learned a lot about the perceptions of citizenship and nationality. Buenos Aires is a city with a long history in immigration, especially from Europe and then now sort of within South America as well.

One thing that was really mind-blowing to me was talking with my host mom and her family. Most of them have citizenship in multiple countries, which is just something that is almost unheard of in the United States. But it is very common in Buenos Aires.

It was just striking to me how much focus we put on citizenship in the States, how hard we make it to be a citizen, and even people who could be citizens of other countries through their ancestry and just do not even think about it. It was just really eye-opening to see how fluid the idea of citizenship and nationality can be in other places in the world.

IES Abroad: What did you learn about yourself?

PP: I learned a lot about the type of service that I do not want to do in the future and how to deal with stressors that come my way. When I was working with Pilares, I was primarily doing childcare for toddlers. And while I really enjoyed being in that environment and learning, I also learned that I do not really like working with toddlers! …I think that was something that was a good learning experience that I can use in the future.

And then I was able to travel a lot while I was abroad. And so, there is nothing like traveling nonstop to make you realize what stresses you out and learn how to deal with it really quickly. That was a good learning experience for me as well.

IES Abroad: How has your study abroad experience shaped your future? What’s next for you in the short-term? What kind of world do you want to help build in the long-term?

PP: My study abroad experiences really gave me the space to think about what is really important to me. It gave me time to think about prioritizing my mental and physical health above sort of the accolades that it seems you always need to be chasing when you are on campus. It really helped me reevaluate some of my goals and prioritized myself more.

And so, in the short-term, I'm going to be graduating next spring and after that, I plan to get my Master's in Business Administration. So, I will be applying to grad school within the next year.

In the long-term, I would like to build a world in which people are not shocked by the diversity within racial and ethnic groups – and that's a lot to ask – but I think that if travelers went to a country without the limiting expectations of how they'd be treated. And if the local people had a more open mind about the types of people that they might encounter that are coming to visit, then everyone would feel more comfortable in this process of going abroad to other countries, and just in our more interconnected world.

IES Abroad: Thinking about yourself and your peers who will be graduating in the next year or so, what do you think are some of the biggest challenges you anticipate facing?

PP: I think that my peers and I have spent most of our formative years in a very polarized world. And I can be guilty of this myself, and there is some issues that I do not believe that there is a lot of room for compromise.

But I think that in general, the unwillingness to get to know someone and their views before we decide to cancel them will end up really hurting us down the line. I hope it is something we can work through.

IES Abroad: What do you think are some important skills and qualities that you and your peers will need to carry with you to face these challenges?

PP: I think the most important thing is to be willing to apologize when you have done or said something wrong or offensive to someone. And to actively listen to others with an open mind, rather than just passively listening so that you can form a rebuttal response to them.

I think that studying abroad is a great way to build on those skills because you are really forced to put yourself in an environment where you might not agree with everyone and have those conversations.

IES Abroad: You are a student that has inspired us through your application and your story. Who is a peer that inspires you? Whether that is someone you know personally or someone you look up to from afar.

PP: Someone that inspires me is Jayden Smith and that is because he is really a model of doing what he can from where he can. And there is Toni Morrison quote, "Do what you can from where you can."

One thing that he did – I guess kind of recently – was intervene in the Flint Water Crisis. Which is still going on and has been going on for years; the government has not fixed it. He had the means and ideas to go in and make an intervention that is really helping lives. Without having the degrees or having a whole organization, he is just doing what he can from where he can. And that is something I really admire.

IES Abroad: If you could give one piece of advice to future study abroad students, what would it be?

PP: My piece of advice would be do not forget to rest and do not think that you have to push yourself too far. Because it is very easy to get caught in the hype of traveling and feeling like there is always something going on that you are going to miss out on. But if you do not take the time to rest, you will not be able to really enjoy anything.

IES Abroad: Any final thoughts you want to share?

PP: Well, I am really excited about the award because I think when people think about studying abroad, they don't necessarily think about doing community service. But I think that is something really important to any abroad experiences; going in thinking about the people that live there and not just what you can get out of it.

Through doing service, you also get a lot out of it personally. And that was my experience and so I hope other people decide to do it as well.