Goodbye Argentina

                      Speaking for the group I believe I can say that this past month has been an experience none of us will ever forget. For me, the people of Argentina are what made the trip so special while the food and sightseeing  are only a great bonus to the trip. Whether we were at the school or home with the family the one thing that was a common sight was the happiness of everyone you came in contact with because of their being content with the little things. There was such a strong sense of family and friendship in everyone I encountered. Time was not spent in front of a TV nor computer but instead spent at 11 o'clock around the dinner table with aunts,uncles, and cousins. Weekends and afternoons were spent with friends enjoying the city and the countless things to do.

                      During our time in Argentina we experienced the culture and saw many beautiful sights. During the month we went to The Recoleta Cemetery and saw the burial place of Eva Peron. We visited the Gauchos and had a glance into the life of an Argentinean "Cowboy" and then spent a couple days in the mountains of Mendoza. The Pink House and the Boca neighborhood were other stops on our trip that I am sure no one will soon forget. We spent a day helping the poor at Obra San Jose and witnessed the strong sense of community the people of Argentina have. The sights were great but the most real and authentic experience of the trip came while attending classes with our host brothers and being with their families.

                    The hospitality each one of the host families showed was evident at the airport when every single one us wanted to stay longer in Argentina and no one wanted to say their last goodbye. During the month our host brothers showed us the city that they love and call home and made sure we had an experience we would never forget. The host families did everything to make us feel at home half way around the world. Not only were relationships formed with the host families but bonds were made with many students from the colegio as they also welcomed us with open arms. The strength of these friendship was seen on our last day at school when most of us voluntarily showed up to say goodbye. Like said in a previous post the people people of Argentina are the most passionate people in the world and they channel their passion into love and happiness.    

        It felt like just yesterday we were all arriving to Argentina to begin a new experience in a completely different culture and today I can look back and say that this has been one of the best months of my life.The last day of the trip was filled with so many emotions because of the reality that we needed to say goodbye to a place that felt like a second home. I am sure I can speak for the group when I say that what we will miss the most are the people who made our trip an experience that we will never forget. We take back to the states the amazing memories of the food, the sights we saw, and most importantly the relationships that we formed. I knew when I was saying my goodbyes at the airport that this would not be my last time in Buenos Aires and one day hopefully in the near future we would all return to the strong friendships and relationships formed on this trip. There is not much else I can say except "Thank You" to all the people of Argentina who made our time so special and made us all have a home thousands of miles away. 

 

Matt Doyle

Last days

             As my time in the wonderful country of Argentina is coming to an end I am left with mixed emotions. I am excited to get home because I miss my friends, family, and my dogs, but at the same time I am dreading the fact that I have to leave. I have made amazing friends because as others have pointed out before me the people here are very warm and welcoming. Along with the friends I have found a family that has welcomed me into their home and made me feel as if I am actually a brother or son. I cannot believe how fast the time has flown­; it feels like just last week we arrived at Colegio Del Salvador basically sleeping as we were all exhausted from the flight, and now we are leaving tomorrow and my bags are basically all packed.

            I am in charge of writing about our last weekend in Argentina, so here it goes. Friday morning we arrived back in Buenos Aires after an excruciating 14.5 hour bus ride from Mendoza. It was not as bad as the bus ride to Mendoza because I was exhausted from hiking and riding horses in Mendoza so I was able to sleep almost nine hours. Once we arrived at the bus terminal a few of the host mothers picked us up and we took taxis back to the school for a closing ceremony with Eugenia(the head of the English department), Ricardo(the president of the school), and Jorge(the head of the Secondary School). At the ceremony we received certificates for completing the trip and we talked about our experiences and our favorite parts of the trip. When we finally got home we had lunch with only part of Nacho´s family because the rest were at school or work, and then I took a much needed siesta. At dinner when almost all of his family was home I was able to tell them about our trip to Mendoza and show them all of the pictures I took.

            Saturday we went to Nacho´s grandmother´s house for lunch with one of Nacho´s brothers and his girlfriend from California who just arrived in Buenos Aires and is staying for about a year. After lunch the four of us went to Avenida Florida because I had to buy some more presents and we just walked around since it was Quiquin´s(Nacho´s brother) girlfriends first time walking through the city. On Saturday night we went to a fiesta as most of us were doing other things Sunday so it was our last night to go out with friends we have met down here. It was an emotional night for most of us because we realized this may be the last time we see many of the people at the party, hopefully not the last time for me.

            Sunday we woke up and went to Nacho´s country house for a big asado with his whole family and his sister´s friend, Quiquin´s girlfriend, and his father´s cousin and aunt even joined us. After the asado we just hung out all day and night playing fútbol and checking out all the animals he has like geese, chickens, horses, dogs, rabbits, baby rabbits, and wild animals that live on the conservation land behind their property. The majority of the group from Boston went to a Tango show during the night, but I was at Nacho´s country house so I do not know anything about the show. Well I will see all of you in just two days; it saddens me thinking in less than 48 hours I will no longer be in this country.

Chau,

Nick

La Boca, Obra San Jose, and Calle Florida

[Note: Due to travel, etc., we are slightly behind with regard to blog posts.  We just returned today from our excursion to Mendoza and will shortly be uploading posts about Mendoza.  Ameer's post refers to the end of last week.] 

Greetings and salutations to all the families and friends back in Boston! I personally hope that everyone is well and enjoying their summer. I certainly know that I am. Buenos Aires is an amazing city and every day I learn new stuff about Argentinean culture. I can´t believe we are almost at the end of our trip time has truly flown by for me! I´m sure I speak for all the guys when I say we will sincerely miss everyone we´ve met here as well as well as the amazing sites of the city. (On a personal note I would like to add that I will also miss the four meals a day and the aflajors.) However, I shall digress since I´m sure my parents won´t be happy in hearing about my reluctance to come home. Here is a recap of what the group did on Thursday and Friday of last week.

  On Thursday the group took a trip to a neighborhood known as La Boca and also stopped at Boca Juniors Stadium. La Boca has many different colored houses as well as many different shops that advertised many different types of Argentina products. Some examples of the products that were most frequently seen were mate cups, mini tango statues, and Lionel messi jerseys (I bought one of those). Also in La Boca, there were models of 1920s Argentina houses that we were able to walk through and look at. In addition to visiting the neighborhood, we also stopped at Boca Juniors Stadium, where the Boca club plays soccer. Now if you read the last blog by Trevor Schramn, then you know that you represent either Boca or River. Seeing as my family loves River and despises Boca (like Trevor´s family) I thought it was interesting to look at the enemy’s territory (On a side note River´s stadium is better. Go River!!). After visiting the stadium and the neighborhood we all stopped for lunch and had some French fries and meat (big surprise there right?). To sum it all up it was a very enjoyable day of sightseeing (I took about a 5 hour nap after.)

 On Friday the group went to Obra San Jose to help out at a shelter and then afterwards we went to a place called Calle Florida. At the shelter we were split up to help the volunteers do various jobs. Some of us served food and drinks to the homeless while others of us cleaned dishes and helped fold napkins. I thought that it was an interesting experience because it allowed me to see the similarities and differences between the poor in Argentina and the poor in Boston. For example here people are more apt to ask for help. They have no problem coming up to you and asking you for assistance. However in Boston, at least in my own experiences, people kind of just keep to themselves.  They won’t really approach you for help. I thought that was pretty interesting. After Obra San Jose the group went with Mr. Rakovec to Calle Florida. Calle Florida is a closed off street with many different shops and malls that you can visit. Needless to say, the street is usually quite crowded and busy. We all walked around for a little bit just admiring the various buildings and sites and then after we took the train back to the school. It was once again another great day (I took a 4 hour nap here.).

I am personally having a great time in Argentina and looking forward to our next big excursion (Mendoza) tomorrow. Once again I hope everyone is well and I will see you at Logan Airport in about two weeks. ¡Adios!

-Ameer Phillips

At Boca stadium

Argentina: Home of the warm spirited

As we have almost reached the half way part of our stay here in Buenos Aires, what I have come to realize is that it is not so much the actual city that captivates me, but rather the people who walk its streets every day. Do not get me wrong, I do find the cobble stone streets and the European architecture very appealing. However, the people and the way they carry themselves through their day to day existence truly enthralls me. They are a people living life with much passion, whether it is a soccer match, a dinner time conversation, politics, or relationships. They are all in on life. With that being said, I find Argentinians to be a very content group of people. I noticed this while hosting Pato Bradley. He never seemed bored nor rejected anything. I noticed this about the other Colegio del Salvador guys as well. Now let’s take a trip to Buenos Aires.

            Monday the 25^th started out like any other Monday, except we are all in Argentina. As my host Pato and I made our twenty five minute journey through the still dark streets, down into the subway, and into the welcoming doors of El Colegio del Salvador, I was relieved knowing that I was not the one taking exams or having homework due for that day. Sorry Pato. As Pato departed my side and headed towards classes, I eagerly made my way to the cafeteria where my fellow Eagles and a nice warm croissant waited my arrival. After crumbs were the only thing that resembled my croissant, and small chat began to sound repetitive, we made our way to our classes, which are mostly all in Spanish. Although often difficult to understand and follow, being in these classes allows us to not only visualize another culture, with a different student-teacher relationship, but also see our Jesuit identity in action thousands of miles from Morrissey Boulevard, which to me is pretty remarkable.  Once the bell sounds, a stampede of eager boys race to the gym for soccer. I occasionally join them, but more often stay on the side lines chatting with my new international friends. Like Trevor Schramn said in the previous post, these guys are all extremely welcoming and warm, a feeling not typical to BC High. It will definitely be difficult to leave them.

            Later in the day, we had the opportunity to visit Colegio del Salvador’s future leaders. We met students of six and nine years of age. After the group said a Hail Mary in front of all these little niños, we made our way to the class room, where we truly were treated like celebrities. Being bombarded with questions, high fives, nouns, adjectives, and verbs, this experience brought on feelings of nostalgia back to my early elementary days where life was so simple. I remember the feeling of awe looking at an older student, wondering what lay ahead in the future. Once the bell rang, and the day ended, leaving was not an easy process. Five minutes of giving every kid a high five, and double checking to make sure I did not miss anyone. We then met with our host brothers and departed to home.

            At home, once I awaken from my lengthy siesta, I feel more than welcome sit down, and participate in a Spanglish conversation with any of the family members. There is the mother, Pato, and Patos two sisters Lucia and Dolores. They all have very bright personalities and seem to constantly have a smile on their face. No joke. I have become more accustomed to their eating habits, usually not eating dinner until 9:30.

            As I reluctantly awoke, it was the morning of June the 26^th, I rushed into the normal routine of the morning walk and bus ride. Today, the group started the day out with Eugenia, the head of the English department here at Buenos Aires, to learn about Argentinian culture and history. I was captivated by the story of the military conflict between the local Montoneros and el gobierno. Afterward, the group boarded a bus and headed to La Casa Rosada, Argentina’s version of the white house. It is a melting pot for much political tension and turmoil, as the current president of Argentina is doubted by many of her fellow Argentinians. Always politically-interested Trevor Schramn was enthralled in learning about Argentina’s president and her credibility. He found similarities in Cristina to that of Barak Obama. To how much I agreed with him, I am not sure.  However, it was interesting in seeing some members of the group compare and contrast the two governments. La Casa Rosada is painted with a salmon, pink color, with a waterfall and statue guarding it from the front. The surrounding area is decorated with amazing European architecture. From there, we made our way to the Catedral, a jaw dropping church with prominent gold pillars and walls. Through the many churches we have visited during the trip, it is clearly evident that religion, especially Christianity, is deeply ingrained in Argentina’s culture. After the Catedral, we made our way to the Manzana de las Luces, one of the most historical spots in Buenos Aires. Although looking at the building one would not believe it is one of Argentina’s most historical buildings, behind the brick walls the Jesuits made their first presence in South America. Underneath this building are elaborate tunnels used as escape for the royal family. It is indeed a very ominous building that never seems to end with secret doors and hallways. We then returned for to our host brothers and made our separate journeys to our homes away from home.

            Today, June the 27^th, it was an average day at school. However, we once again visited our six year old friends in the elementary school part of the building. We are making friends of different nationalities and ages here in Buenos Aires! Sometimes I wish I could go back and have the same amount of energy that these kids have. Truly an inspiration.

Speaking to an English class.

In front of La Casa Rosada

            Well before I go, I would like to give a couple of shout outs. First off my dogs, Gretta and Tessa, keep holding down the fort while I am gone. Mom, love you. Jay, keep it real. Thomas, miss you bro. Dad, hows it going? Hi Shawna! Ok, everyone goodbye for now. See you in two and a half weeks. 


-Teddy Patsos