Argentinean Patagonia

Hey everybody!

Here we are, in Bariloche, enjoying our last hours in Patagonia. Yesterday (Thursday), we finished painting the center. Everyone was so happy about it, and I was very proud that the students could end their task so fast! Once the painting was done, we had home-made spaghetti with the local students and we left for our homestays to get ready for the big party held by the community.

Each of the students invited some members of their families and sat on a large table (we were around 30 people), there was music on, we danced a little bit, and then sat to eat the Cordero (lamb) and different sorts of salads. When there was no more food on the plates,the hostfamilies mingled with each other and they got a great card games going.

Later on, everybody left for home to get some sleep before leaving Junin. We woke up at around 7 am and we started picking up the students. From the van I could see how they said goodbye to their families and it was very emotional. Sonia Massini was crying and hugging the boys  so much that it seemed that she didn’t want to let them go.

The Breno family, who owns a bakery, gave their guest a package of pastries for all of us and the girls’ hostmother gave them handmade jewlerey . The other boys’ hostmother told me she would love to receive them soon again and keep drinking mate (herbal hot tealike drink) and teaching them more folcklore dancing.

After this sad goodbye, we started our journey to Bariloche. The landscapes were beautiful. Many students commented on how clear the lakes were.

We arrived at our hotel, changed quickly our clothes and got picked up to go to Cerro Catedral, one of the most important Ski centers. We couldn’t go biking as the roads were icy, but Cerro Catedral was a very good replacement. We did some sledding and had fun. The boys in particular, enjoyed themselves racing each other down the hill. It reminded them of the fun they had as young kids. Then, the students bought some souvenirs (mostly chocolates!) and drank hot chocolate.

We headed back to the hotel, rested for a while and we went downtown Bariloche to shop for more souvenirs (specifically mates, as they enjoyed it so much with their families). Later on we had dinner in a nice restaurant, where we chatted and reviewed the day with each other.

The group has really gotten closed, they have truly bonded. All of them are already thinking what to send to their hostfamilies as thank you gifts. We came back to the hotel and made sure everybody gets rest before our trip to Buenos Aires, which I’m very looking forward to as that is my home.

It will be a pleasure to show them the sites of my city. Surely, they will enjoy the Tango Show we will attend on Saturday night.The students are sorry that the trip is coming to a close and so am I..

Lucía

Hi everyone!

Tuesday we had our third day at the local center. As everyday, we were picked up by the van at 9 am, and arrived there at 9:30 am to start our day there. We were received by ten of the local students this time and we joined them in their Tai Chi lesson. So it was quite interesting to share this experience with them, the instructor explained every pose and all of us followed him, or at least tried! It got us concentrated to begin with the task of the day, which was painting the interior of the center. We were given old shirts so as not to get dirty, brushes, and she chose light green to be the new color of the center (before it was white). The group was divided and each of them had a special task: two girls started painting the walls with rollers, then another group of 6 split the windows frames that were painted in red, and 4 boys helped painting the higher areas of the walls.

After working hard, we had lunch specially prepared by the workers and volunteers of the centre. They prepared a special mapuche stew, which is made with dough, pieces of vegetables and meet. For dessert we had flan with dulce de leche (caramel milk).

Then, we got back to work and as we had to let the paint dry before we re-painted again we went on a tour around the town. We went to a Church and then to an art-craft fair, where the students could see the materials that locals use to make clothes, all of them hand-made. One of the boys bought Spanish cards, the ones that are used in Argentina to play “Truco” (trick) that is a game you play between either two or four people and each card has a special score. It is very traditional and family Massini explained the boys how to play it. Now they can take these cards to the States and keep on playing Truco!

Once the tour was over, every student was taken to their homestays and spend time with their host families. One of the homestays family invited friends and cousins to celebrate the Friend’s Day (an Argentinian festivity) and they had a great time, practising their Spanish. Two of the volunteers had home-made hamburgers so that they wouldn’t miss their country so much and they loved them and appreciated this gesture. Two of the boys’ hostmother drove them around Junin and she taught them about Argentinean politics. The boys staying at Massini’s had a party with neighbors and friends, including an Australian boy who is doing an exchange.

Yesterday, we snowshoed in the Lanin National Park, with beautiful mountains and lakes views. It was described as a virgin territory to us, and it could be clearly seen. There were not footsteps other than our rackets and Patagonic animals such as deers and foxes!

It was difficult but rewarding because all of them made it. We tracked four miles with experienced and nice guides, who were taking our lunch on horses. It was about 1 foot deep snow. Everybody helped each other through this experience as it is common to have little falls and it bonded the group even more. There was one boy who was a real super start because he volunteered to lead the way and to pack down the snow for the others (we were in a single file line). We showshoed for about 2 hours, had lunch in the middle of the mountains, specially prepared by the guides who made a fire and heat soup for us. Once lunch was over, we made our way back, which took approximately another 2 hours. When we finished the activity, we were greeted with coffee and tortas fritas (fried pastries usually eaten at tea time), and chatted by a wood burning stove before heading back to Junin. We could not resist the temptation of having a friendly snowball fight. It was really fun.Jesse is really happy with Neuquen province (where Junin de los Andes is located) and even want to stay more or come in the springtime. I can see that the students share anecdotes of their school and every morning that we see each other, they tell stories about their hostfamilies.

The Spanish speaking students  have enjoyed using the language and they seek out opportunities to converse in Spanish. The other students are interested in learning it, and ask for words everytime! (specially about the food… they really seem to like it!).

Today we are going to finish painting, we will have folkore lessons and also, we’ll make tallarines! (tagliatelle) and by the end of the day, at dinner time, we will have deer and asado (Argentinean barbecue) with the whole of our new family, the center, the students and their hostfamilies as a way to say goodbye to Junin and be ready to go to Bariloche tomorrow.

The work being done here is admired by every person I talked with as Junin is a very small town and it means a lot to the locals to receive such a nice gesture from people coming from another country. They even named us on the radio and explained what we were doing. The staff here are very thankful because the center doesn’t receive the attention of the authorities it deserves. So it is a very rewarding experience so far, for all of us. Hope you’re having a nice time as these kids are doing ,

Lucía.