May 17th, 2013 – So, how was your trip?

I cannot believe that I leave tomorrow. Today is my last full day, and therefore, last blog post of this trip. I woke up this morning, went to breakfast, and took another nap before leaving to see my host mom for the last time. B and I went over for lunch and stayed for a few hours, chatting with our host mom, her sister, and her son. It was so great to see her again. I will spend the rest of the day hanging out with everyone, and I want to put my computer away until I get home.

So this is it. I am excited to go home, but I know it will be yet another difficult transition. That’s what this program is: one big, ongoing transition. I am still not sure how I am going to answer the “so, how was your trip?” or “so which was your favorite country?” or “tell me something you learned?” line of questions, but I will try my best. My answers will probably be “do you have 5 hours…I would love to tell you all about it.”

Thank you to everyone who made this trip possible. It has truly been a once in a lifetime experience, and I am so lucky to have had the privilege of going. See you on Sunday!! 

May 16th, 2013 – Extremely Upsetting Petting Zoo

Woke up and went to breakfast at the hotel. Then a bunch of us decided to venture to the extreme petting zoo that is outside of the city. We first took a bus to plaza italia, which was a mistake because there was so much traffic and we should have just taken the subte. Then we ran to catch another bus, but realized that it was the wrong one. Then another bus came and motioned for us to go 2 blocks to his stop, but when we finally ran and caught up with the bus it was the wrong one. After lots of failed running attempts, we finally found the right place, waited in a huge line for the bus, and then tried to get on but it was 15 pesos to get on and we had to use our subte cards and couldn’t pay in cash. So then we had to go refill our subte cards and wait for the next bus. When that one came a half hour later, he said it would take 2 hours to get to the zoo. At this point, we would have a 2 hour ride there, 1 hour at the zoo, and then 2 hours to come home. Not worth it. So after our extreme fail, we decided to walk around the city. Lucy and I got pizza and walked all the way home, shopping and chatting on the way. It was a beautiful day, and we made the best of it.

At around 6, we got some ice cream to tie us over til dinner. At 7 we met with 2 of our faculty members who leave a day early, so this was our chance to say goodbye. We went to a bar, said goodbye, and headed out around 9 30 for dinner. 3 of us went to this amazing Italian place for dinner and wine. We stayed til the restaurant closed at like 11 30, came back to the hotel, and continued to drink wine and hang out with everyone. 

May 12th, 13th, 14th, and 15th – And the tears begin

On Sunday, I woke up and got ready to head out for our retreat. We had one last breakfast with our host family, and our mom made us omelets and got us croissants with dulce de leche. Then her son and her took us to the hotel to meet the rest of our group, which was so nice of them considering that most other people just came by cab. We said a tentative goodbye but are going to try to see her again when we get back to BA. After getting a quick bite of pizza, we boarded a five hour bus ride into the country side.

We got there around 8pm and ate a delicious dinner of polenta and salad. Then we put our stuff in our rooms and hung out for the night. The ranch was beautiful. We were all living together one last time, with no real schedule. We made a bon fire, talked, and went to bed late. The next day was a very relaxed day. We played some volleyball, talked, walked around the enormous property, and played with some cows and sheep. The meals on the ranch were delicious, and it was so much fun being with everyone. The faculty was grading papers all day, so we got some quality “us” time. I started getting sick though…just a cold.

The next day was similar. We didn’t have anything scheduled for the morning, so I went for a long walk with some people, ate breakfast, and relaxed. After lunch we had our last learning synthesis, and after that, a bunch of people went into the surrounding “town,” but I stayed back with others because my cold got worse. Couldn’t go anywhere without tissues and had a major sinus headache. So we sat by the fire in blankets and watched movies. At night, a singing group came to perform. Lucy and I decided that we were going to make paper plate awards for everyone, which are kind of like superlatives. So we worked on that for a lot of the night. Then when everyone stayed up late I forced myself to go to bed early because I was still feeling under the weather.

On Wednesday we woke up early for one last learning community. After, we took a group photo and hopped on the bus to go home. We stopped in “town” on the way and bought “toms.” Funny story about toms – they were based on gaucho shoes in Argentina, which is why the Argentinian flag is the logo of Toms. So I bought a pair of the shoes that they were based off of. Five hours and a brief stop later, we got back into the city. We checked back into our hotel and unpacked a little. Then we went to an amazing pizza place around the corner. After showering and relaxing, a few of us went out for ice cream…incredible. Just relaxing some more before bed. I feel a lot better, and am looking forward to our last few moments together!!  

May 11th, 2013 – Las Personas que no les gustan chocolate…locas.

Woke up around 12 today and walked to our favorite weekend brunch spot. A lot of us all met there and had another amazing brunch. Then we walked around Palermo, where there are tons and tons of markets. And then we walked to Recoletta which is another market that I went to last week. It was so beautiful out and we wanted to stay outside all day for our last full Saturday. Then I came back home around 7, packed (SO CRAZY) and ate dinner. Amazing chocolate cake again for dessert. We gave our host mom our little presents and she almost started crying. Gonna miss her so much!

Then we went out for the night. Last chance!! Ended up going to a fellow student’s home stay house that had a rooftop terrace for the night. 

May 10th, 2013 – Volcanitos

Today was the last 16 presentations in the morning. We got to school around 9 and had presentations until 1pm. Then we had an amazing lunch at the school, homemade Argentinean traditional cuisine. Delicioso. Then a bunch of us went to a near by park and sat and talked because it was so beautiful outside. And then my friend and I decided to walk all the way home from school – something I had wanted to do since the beginning of this program. It took us about an hour and a half, but it was a great walk.

Then I came home, picked up my laundry, relaxed a little, and ate dinner. Our mom made us the most amazing mini chocolate volcanoes for dessert. I told her I need to get the recipe and make them at home. We all went out at night, met up at a bar, and hung our for a few hours. One more week to go!! 

May 9th, 2013 – Weddings, Weddings, and More Weddings

Today was my final presentation! B and I woke up around 9, finished our papers, finalized our presentations, and headed to school (we didn’t have to be at school until 1). Then we had 16 presentations (each taking 15 minutes) straight until 5pm. Long day, but finally done!! After school a few of us went to say goodbye to Lucy’s parents at their hotel. Then I got home and relaxed for the rest of the day. Ate dinner with our host mom, showered, relaxed and celebrated being done, and went to bed early.