Tuesday by Jack M

 

We started the day a bit late, Diego, my Argentinian brother and I took an Uber into school instead of the usual walking after we finished our eggs and chocolate milk. Since we got in late, I missed the attendance but met Brenno and Tim in the stairwell and we headed down to the cafeteria together to get something to eat before going to Estancia.

The bus finally arrived and both BC High and Gonzaga students left school to go to the 'ranch.' After around an hour ride, we made it to Estancia and were greeted by the workers there who offered empanadas. As usual, they were very tasty. Once I finished eating, I took some time to look around. In the distance, I saw miles of grassy land filled with horses and cows. Right next to me, however, there were large buildings similar to farm houses. Inside some of these buildings was a shop, a room with over a hundred tables, a room with grills to cook the meat for asados, and also a small museum. All the kids from the U.S. had a lot of time before eating, so we found some things to do. These things consisted of going to the museum which showed what the rooms and clothes were like many years ago, playing football (soccer) with a ball we got from the people at the Estancia, and also going on rides around the property on horse carriages. I liked playing football as it warmed me up in the very cold temperature, and I also liked the horse carriage ride since I could see around the entire ranch and see all the animals that were there.

 After these activities, all the students and other visitors were called into the restaurant eating area for the asado. I and a few others showed up a bit late as we were looking around the museum, but we took our seats in time once we arrived. A couple of minutes later, the waiters showed up with the food. From Morcilla (blood sausage) to chicken, there were many kinds of meat to eat. I ate chicken and some other kinds of meat but did not try the blood sausage as it did not look too appetizing. What I did eat, however, tasted good but was not the best asado I've had.

 After eating, a man and a woman appeared and walked onto the stage that our tables surrounded and they began to dance. The two danced to many different kinds of music, and did many different dances, such as the tango. Soon after they started, another man in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat came onto the stage and began talking about and introducing the two dancers, and the music. He also sat down on a chair and with one other man, began playing the guitar. This part of the visit to Estancia was very intriguing. I liked listening to and seeing Argentinian music and dances in Argentinian clothing. All the people that were on stage were very talented and they made our visit much more memorable. Something I will also definitely remember is just before the 'show' ended, all of the guests were told to get up and dance to the music. This was a funny experience that allowed for great pictures and videos.

 After finishing up dancing, we headed towards my favorite part of our trip to Estancia, a type of horse show. All the guests were able to watch a lot of horses run in circles all together, and after, watch some of the men from the ranch ride the horses past a bar holding rings in the air, and the men would try and grab the rings as they went by. This experience was especially fun since I was able to take many different pictures of the horses running very quickly.

Once this activity finished, all of us students headed towards the bus to go back to the school. We made it back to school and went to the same room we had mate class in and all the students of Boston and their brothers sat in a semi circle facing our chaperones and Eugenia from Colegio Del Salvador. Once everyone arrived, students from Boston began receiving certificates from Colegio Del Salvador for the exchange. Following this was all the brothers from Boston and Argentina thanking each other for all the other had done and recounting funny and memorable moments both in Boston and here in Argentina. This part was very interesting as I was able to remember things I had forgot from Boston and learn what happened to others during the trip. Diego, my brother, and I talked about the time we encountered a German woman talking with the police when we were walking one day with one of Diego's friends, Traver, and Traver's brother Sam. The German woman and the police were obviously having some difficulty with communication as she was speaking English with a little bit of broken Spanish, and the Police were not very good at English. Because of this, Diego and Traver thought they'd be able to help with translations so they walked over and said they could help. Sam and I followed them over and watched as they began talking to the police and the woman and telling each what the other was saying. From the bits of English and the parts of Spanish I was able to understand, I found out that the woman, who was with her friend from Zurich, had 'lost' her son. While the woman and her friend were on a rooftop bar, her 12 year old son had gotten mad and said he was going back to their airbnb, which was 30 blocks away (around 3 km). This all happened when it was dark out and the son was only 12 and he was in a foreign country, all of which makes what happened even crazier. Once we helped all we could and the police understood all that had happened, the four of us continued the walk we were on.

This story surprised some of the people in the room, and made me laugh when I remembered it. Everyone else continued sharing stories and we eventually finished some time later. And after this, we all got pizza to eat while we waited for the Argentina vs Chile game. Once it was 10 p.m.  we put on the game on the board in the classroom we were in, and began to watch it. A memorable part of this is that some kids including me created beds out of the chairs that were in the classroom to lie down while we watched the game. I created a luxurious bed that was so comfortable that I actually ended up falling asleep and missing half the game. I was eventually woken up by the cheers when Argentina won, and everyone began to pack up. 

Once finally left the school, we went to one of the Argentinian's homes to celebrate Argentina's victory. Not too many people went but it was a fun time nonetheless and I was able to hang out with and meet some new Argentinians. We were there pretty late but at 4:30 a.m. we finally left and walked home. It was interesting to see the usually busy city so quiet at this time. Diego and I said goodbye to the others and eventually made it home, where I went to my room and fell asleep right away.