Wow! Que loco, nuestro fin de semana! I am so glad that we arrived when we did, because this would have been a crazy weekend to miss out on. We kicked it off on Friday by taking a “walking tour” of the city that our program leaders scheduled for us. While I am very glad that we did it, and thankful that it has helped me grasp the layout of our area a bit better...it was also not my favorite way to introduce myself to the locals. We constantly discuss how we are trying our very best to fit in and not stand out as foreigners...well lets just say that a group of 45 young people trailing behind someone uttering broken English into a headset, isn’t exactly our quickest route to quietly blending in. However, the final stop of the tour made the whole two-hour trek worth it. We stopped at a little hole-in-the-wall house that ended up being one the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. Inside the “museo”, there were probably about 7 rooms...each one filled with incredible European architecture, and immaculate Victorian age furniture and decor...a little European treasure indiscriminately hidden away in South America. (And of course, we weren’t allowed to take pictures..so you will just have to come see it for yourself! :) ) Oh, almost forgot -- during the tour, there were a few middle school aged girls that kept following our group and giggling...so, I finally decided to just go talk to them! It seems they were just genuinely interested in who we were and what the heck we were during. They told me that they have lived in Rosario their whole lives, and that there are NEVER tourists in Rosario, only in Buenos Aires. I cleared the air, and let them know that we aren’t technically tourists...we are students! (clearly.) I had a great time with my new 14 year-old friends that day...they followed us for awhile, and they enjoyed sharing with me the few English phrases they had learned in school. :)
After our formal introduction to the city, we “ran some errands” on Cordoba street. Some of the girls I was with still needed some school supplies, hairdryers, cell phones, etc. This ended up being a good way to continue our little tour of the city...we discovered that Cordoba is very action-packed, and always filled with people..muchisima gente! The closer we were to the river, the more I realized that this was a part of town very different from that where the university (and my apartment) are located. We decided to eat dinner in a semi-fancy cafe/bar/restaurant that was nearby, and had our first experiences with the Argentine definition of a “tortilla” -- something more like a quiche, and of “un cafe” -- a straight up espresso shot, with nothing added. While we enjoyed our meals, and choked down our beverages, several little boys and girls periodically entered the restaurant and dispersed little hand carved trinkets on tables throughout the room. After allowing their potential customers about 30 seconds to take a look, they systematically returned to the tables and asked: “Quieres comprar esto?” (Do you want to buy this?) Gazing upon the torn clothes and mangy hair of these poor little children, selling wooden owls for less than one U.S. dollar in a PUBLIC (and semi-fancy!) restaurant reminded me how far I was from home...
After dinner, we walked back down the the Flag Monument, directly next to the Rio Parana to try and grab seats for a concert we had heard about earlier that day. Turned out, the whole population of Rosario, and about half of the rest of the world, had also heard about the concert! :) Even though we were almost an hour early, even standing room was pretty much non-existent...so, joining a group of local teenage girls, and a few other young kids, we decided to climb up onto one of the huge monument statues. Luckily, our last-minute seats ended up being some of the best seats in house..we had a beautiful view of the river, part of the city, the whole crowd, and the entire stage. The classical concert was awesome -- complete with a full orchestra, “Mission Impossible” and “Indiana Jones” theme songs, huge fireworks, and a VERY excited crowd of Rosarinos. Thank goodness, we made the decision to take off early, or else we might still be trying to make our way through the masses of people to leave...
After the concert, we made our way over to Nikki’s apartment. Spending about five minutes at the hallway door, laughing loudly as we tried to figure out the keys, we ended up waking her host mom, Stella. :-/ What started as a slightly awkward introduction, turned into one of my favorite moments of the my time here so far. In true Argentine fashion, we all sat down to have tea and just talk away our lives together...Stella told me her opinions on just about everything she has an opinion on. :-) We talked about issues within Argentina’s education system, the laziness of the younger generation in Argentina, the importance of fully adapting to a culture when attempting to gain fluency in their language, the lack of global teaching we apparently receive in the U.S. (I of course set her straight, telling her about my experience in IHS...), and much more. As an extremely opinionated, but also gentle and caring woman, Stella was very fun to chat with...she offered an interesting perspective on her home country, and also allowed me plenty of language practice! We have learned over and over in Argentina that eating or drinking something, especially if it’s coffee, tea, or mate, is not solely for nutrition or for a quick caffeine kick, but rather an opportunity to discuss the world, to get to know someone better, to relax, and enjoy one’s surroundings. I have yet to see a to-go cup or a drive-thru in the entire city...
No hay comentarios:
Publicar un comentario