Last weekend the group went to a city just outside of BsAs called Tigre. Tigre's location on the Rio Parana (no worries, there are no piranha!) makes it a delta. Part of the city has roads but many residents live on the river and depend on boats for transportation. There's a boat bus, a grocery boat, a police boat, a fire boat, a trash boat- boats for everything! We arrived at the boat station, boarded and set off cruising down the river dropping off and picking up people along the way. It was so neat! I'm sure there are places like this in the U.S. but I've never been so this was a new experience.
Collectivo (bus) boat
Grocery boat
When we arrived at our destination, everyone went straight for the coffee, maté and of course the hammock! One thing that I love about my program is that when we go on these excursions, we don't take the typical tourist approach. Having only 13 kids, our group is small enough to be accommodated and entertained by families. Our trip to Tigre was no exception. We spent the day with a family that one of our directors has been friends with for years. They taught us about life on the delta, fed us delicious milanesa sandwichitos, filled us with pasta frola and made us a part of the family for the day.
We also went rowing! Many people in Tigre row for exercise as well as transportation. Rowing is such a great work out! We spent an hour singing and racing down the river which ultimately led to sore backs, buff biceps and a few blisters!
Then we had a few hours of absolute nothingness. And it was GREAT! We sunbathed, swam, read, played chess, practiced Spanish and enjoyed maté. I've said it before and I'll say it again- nature takes on a new level of amazingness when you live in a concrete jungle! There were bugs! And dirt! And fresh air! And more bugs! And flowers! And a day with no schedule is beautiful! No racing to catch the subway, fighting for a taxi, dividing everything by 4 (peso to dollar conversion), hustling to university or dodging dodgy sidewalks and doggie gifts.
After rowing, we all learned a lesson about the importance of being prepared and why we should have paid more attention to those geography terms from third grade. In our pre-Tigre e-mail, we were given a list of things to bring that included long pants and water proof shoes. But what exactly qualifies as water proof? Flip flops are water proof. So are rain boots and my choice- Chacos. No, no, no. By water proof they meant mud boots. What we thought was going to be a walk through the woods and maybe splashing in creeks turned into mud up to our knees, blade grass battle wounds and a now-hysterical mix of paranoia, whining and giggles. How did none of us hit up Google before this adventure? When I think of delta, I think of foot-deep water that is neither ocean nor river (c'mon Ellen, this ain't Brunswick!) Not blade grass over my head, mysterious depths of mud and fighting for the life of my adidas. When we arrived back in civilization 45 minutes later, several people and most of our clothes went straight to the river for a bath. For every complaint there were at least 73 laughs- one of those, 'this will be funny one day' kind of experiences. Lesson = learned.
This is the BEST picture that has been taken so far on this trip. Danielle shrieked when here foot sank into a foot of mud and almost lost her shoe when she tried to pull her foot out. This IS teamwork!
Dressing in layers = always a good idea
This weekend we did an API sponsored service project. We went to a home for abused and abandoned teenage girls and painted the dining room, staff office and laundry room. The walls definitely needed paint and the girls were really happy to have our help and company. They loved the boys in our group the most but made sure the ladies always had music blaring to pass the monotony of painting!
It was hard work painting so many walls with so many corners and doors but there was plenty of choripan and alfajores to keep us happy! And of course, just knowing that we were brightening their day was enough! When we left, the girls screamed te amos and I love yous to the boys and when I kissed the house mother goodbye she looked at me with the sweetest expression and said 'muchissimas gracias mi amor!'
My time here in Buenos Aires is winding down. The reality of returning is starting to set in. It's a bizarre mix of roller coaster-like emotions. I've gotten everything I ever wanted out of Buenos Aires but I know there's more. So much more. I'm motivated to hustle through my last semesters, work hard, save hard, practice more Spanish and do whatever it takes to move on to wherever life may lead. I know the first couple of months back home is going to be hard. There will depressed days and separation anxiety. I know there are only a few people that can even remotely understand this experience. But I also know Buenos Aires will be as much a part of my future as it will be of my past.
No comments:
Post a Comment