Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Day 10: Back to the US

Don't Cry for Us, Argentina
It was time for us to leave Buenos Aires. We ate an early breakfast and took our bags downstairs. It was a quiet morning for all of us because we were slowly realizing that our time in Argentina was over. There would be no more empanadas, no more Milhouse Hostel, and we wouldn't be able to walk out into the street and see the building with Eva Peron's Face on it. 
We are going to miss everybody who made our stay in Argentina so wonderful. We have learned so much not only about the Argentinian culture, but also about ourselves. Mariano, Pedro, and Jimena stopped by the hostel to see us off and we said our goodbyes. As soon as we got into our airport shuttle, we immediately started planning our trip for next year. We can't wait to come back!
¡Hasta Luego, Argentina!

Monday, May 27, 2013

Day 10: Free Day for Shopping

Shopping in Buenos Aires
We had Sunday to do with what we wanted, so we decided to go shopping! In South America, Sunday is market day so we headed to the center of Buenos Aires to shop for souvenirs. The market was packed with people and with small stands selling llama sweaters, artwork, mate cups,  jewelry and novelty gifts. 
We met up after a couple of hours of intense shopping, our bags filled with trinkets and souvenirs for our families and friends. We loved the market! We found so many different, interesting items and traditional Argentinian gifts. 
After shopping, we went out to eat. We went to this cute, elegant looking restaurant across the street from the hostel. It was called Iberia and it had been in that location for over 50 years. The food was delicious and it was very interesting to watch people eat and converse in Argentine-Spanish all around us. When Porteños speak, they do so in a very loud manner that sometimes makes it sound like they are fighting. It took some time to get used to this, but now even we were yelling during dinner and using traditional Argentinian hand gestures when speaking. We can't believe we leave tomorrow!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Day 9: Tigre Delta

A Day on the River 
We woke up early and took the train all the way to the Tigre area. The Tigre Delta is a place where Argentinians can escape the hustle and bustle of the city and relax along the river. We all got so excited when we saw the river and the awesome-looking boat that was going to take us to the ranch where we were going to spend the day.
 We bought our boat tickets and boarded. There are hundreds of islands on this delta (which is bigger than I could have ever imagined) and the ferry boat is the only way to get to them unless you have a private boat of your own. The ferry acted as a bus, it stopped every 5-10 minutes to pick up or drop people off.
 After about an hour ride, we finally arrived to Bonanza Ranch. It was absolutely gorgeous! Roxana, the owner of the ranch welcomed us and showed us the grounds. There was an enourmous, 1800s-style house, horses, a zipline and ping pong tables. We ate the best barbeque ever (Argentina is famous for its meat industry, especially when it's grilled). The food was amazing and we even got to choose between chocolate cake, flan, and a fruit salad for our dessert.
After lunch, we each went off in groups to start our adventure on the delta. Some of us decided to go horseback riding, some of us ziplined, some canoed down the river and some chose to walk on the scenic trails. The horseback riding portion of the day was awesome! We were out for about an hour and got to see how huge the ranch was. Being in the ranch was so much fun. At about 4pm, we took the ferry back to the train station and made our way back to the hostel for our farewell dinner party.


Saturday, May 25, 2013

Day 8: Last Day of Service

Our Final Day at Los Pinitos
Today was our last day volunteering at the daycare. It was the last time we would commute and take the subway, the train, and the bus. It was the last time we would have a second breakfast at the kindergarten, and it was the last day we would be able to spend with Cecilia, her family, and all the children at the Jardín. We wanted to make sure everything was finished so we could leave Cecilia and Cristian with a nice backyard where the kids could play safely.
After our last second breakfast, we went straight to work. We cleaned the inside of the daycare (which is about the size of a garage and houses 40-50 children everyday), organized the toys, the puzzles, the crayons, the building blocks and the stuffed animals. We finished painting the back wall and the play set and finished mounting any remaining planters onto the walls.
Once we were finished with lunch, Cecilia told us how much she appreciated our help and how lucky she was to have us working at the daycare. We were all very touched, some of us cried, and we certainly all realized how much this experience has changed us.
We are all quite aware of how fortunate we are and how others don't have the same luck. As a token of her gratitude, Cecilia and her mother gave us each the most adorable clown doll that was full of Argentinian candy.
 Our last day of service at Los Pinitos came to an end. There were many hugs and kisses goodbye, and we promised to come back next year to continue working on the daycare. We said goodbye to the little children who hugged us and kept on asking us where we were going. It was heartbreaking to tell them we were leaving and probably would not see them for at least another year.

We will dearly miss Cecilia, Cristian, Liliana, Gonzalo, Samy, Micaela, Jenny and all the little kids at Jardín Los Pinitos. We definitely hope to see them all again next year.


Our Night Out in Buenos Aires 
After we came back from volunteering, we all showered, changed, and got ready to go out. Melisa, our favorite person in Argentina, was going to take us out to a tango show! We were all in the best clothes we brought to Argentina, some of us were even wearing heels. We took a hostel bus to Complejo Tango, which offers dinner, a tango show, and tango classes almost every night of the week. The evening started out with a 3 course dinner and wine. The food was absolutely spectacular.
After dessert, we went to our tango class. We learned all the basic moves and how to lead and follow. We paired up with each other and practiced our new moves. We got quite good very quickly!
Once we were done with our class, we headed back to our table and waited for the tango show to start. We were so excited! The show started out describing the history of tango through dance, and even had a live tango singer that walked around the room and sang to us.
The Tango show was incredible! All the dancers we saw were so talented and graceful. Tango is a beautiful dance that is so full of emotion and raw passion. We loved the show and we wil hopefully not forget what we learned tonight.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Day 7: Last days in José León Suárez

Empanada Day!
Our service project is ending tomorrow. We still have a lot to do, so Mariano and Pedro, who also works for Voluntario Global came by to help us with the heavy lifting.
After some of the cement dried, we painted the back wall of the yard white and finished decorating the playground. We put the finishing touches on the tire planters and finished the last couple of chairs that we had to clean, sand, and paint.
For lunch, those assigned to the kitchen used the skills we learned in our cooking class to make empanadas with Esteban. He thoroughly complimented us because our empanada folding abilities were top-notch, even better than his! The children loved the empanadas and most all of them asked for seconds.
Tomorrow is our last day with Cecilia and the children, hopefully everything will be done by then!

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Day 6: Making Buenos Aires our Home

From Tourists to Global Citizens
We had developed a routine in Buenos Aires. Our commutes were efficient and free of hesitation, we knew where to get on and get off, the names of all the trains, the order of the stops, and which bus we had to take to get to the daycare. We felt like Porteños (comes from the word "port" since Buenos Aires is a port city).  
The plan for the day was to sand, restore, and paint all the tiny chairs and tables in the daycare since they were rusting away. This was a harder task than it seemed.We sanded all the chairs and tables by hand, one by one. We later painted them and left them to dry. 
We also made the cutest planters from old tires. We cut them in half, cleaned them up, and painted them vibrant colors. The plan is to mount them on the wall in the backyard and plant useful herbs and flowers for the daycare. 
Esteban and Gonzalo began to set the cement in the back while we finished up the chairs and the tires in the front yard. It was so amazing to see how the backyard was transforming from a dangerous debris-filled area, to a safe and fun environment for the children to play in. We can not wait to see what it looks like once we finish! After an amazing work-filled day, we headed home for dinner. 
After volunteering, we all decided to explore the surrounding parts of the hostel. Melisa recommended La Continental, which is a famous empanada bakery just three streets away. We walked over and were overwhelmed by all the different options. People in Argentina eat dinner very late, so the restaurant was packed at around 10pm. We all ordered different types of empanadas and ate outside in the chilly, yet refreshing Argentinian night. We are about halfway through our service trip at this point and many of us have gotten used to and learned to love the Buenos Aires lifestyle. 

Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Day 5: Empanada Cooking Class

Day of Service
After our commute to the daycare and second breakfast, we went straight to work. There was still a lot to do in the backyard. Yesterday we focused on clearing garbage from the area, and today we are focusing on evening out the backyard by adding a rock layer to the back area. We will later add cement which will serve as a base for the playground we are installing. 
We took turns working in the kitchen, working outside, and working with the children inside. The daycare runs on parents' donations and can only survive because of the generosity of volunteers. There are 3 wonderful ladies who dedicate their time to taking care of the children cliclose to nothing-Samy, Jenny, and Micaela. Samy and Micaela also are in college (which is free in Argentina) so they are very, very busy all the time. 
We took turns touring the neighborhood in Cristian's car. Cristian and Cecilia grew up in the shanty-town on the other side of "The Wall." This wall was built to keep the poorest area from spilling into the neighborhood. Cecilia told us about her difficult childhood. She told us that she and Cristian grew up living in a cardboard box with their mother (who is the nicest woman ever) for years before moving to their current home. They come from deep poverty, so they felt the need to give back to the community by establishing this daycare center, which has helped so many. Cecilia opens her doors from 8:00am to 3:30pm, then goes to another daycare center (her paying job) until 11pm. The tour made us all realize how fortunate we are to have everything we have and how important the service we are doing is to the Jardín. 

Argentine Cuisine
After coming back from the daycare, we went to the Milhouse Hostel on Hipólito Avenue. We tasted Malbec wine and made our own empanadas. We learned about Argentine cuisine, the origins of it's famous wine industry, and the correct way of drinking mate. 

We even had an empanada making competition! We used all kind of fillings to make them: traditional ground beef, squash, and all sorts of other veggies. For dessert we had alfajores, Argentina's famous dulce de leche cookies. We ended our meal like true Argentineans with a cup of delicious mate and headed back to our rooms for a good night's sleep. 


Monday, May 20, 2013

Day 4: First Day of Service

Jardín Los Pinitos
We woke up at 6am and were downstairs for breakfast by 7am. Jimena came by after breakfast to pick us up and guide us through the city to José León Suárez, Buenos Aires. It was a 1.5 hour commute-first by subway, then by train, and finally by bus. 
Using the public transportation system made us feel like true Argentinians. Our long commute mirrors the journey many low income people have to go through everyday, especially those that travel to downtown Buenos Aires to work. This fact made us appreciate how lucky we are in Austin and realize that most us don't have to commute at all when we are back home. 
We pushed our way onto the subway, which was crowded with people heading to work. We stuck out like sore thumbs because of the bright colors we were wearing; Argentinians usually wear dark colors, especially in the winter.
Next was the hour long train ride to Retiro. The slow-moving train was like a tour of the outskirts of Buenos Aires. Some of us spent the entire train ride looking out the window, and some of us took advantage of the long train ride to catch up on our sleep. The last leg of our trip was by bus, and we soon arrived to "Los Pinitos" to begin our service project. 
As soon as we walked through the door we were kindly welcomed by Cecilia, the owner of the daycare center. She along with her brother Cristian, his sons, and local volunteers manage and run the daycare center. We also met the most adorable children we had ever seen. Due to the construction that is going on, only the families that absolutely have nowhere else to go are here at the daycare, which is about 15 kiddos. We ate breakfast (again!) and were told what we would be working on for the day. Our project is to clean up the backyard area and make it suitable for children to play in. 
When we saw the backyard, we knew we had a long week ahead of us. There was so much to clean up and so many things to build. Half of us worked outside clearing debris, and half of us stayed inside working with the adorable children or helping Esteban in the kitchen. After working for a couple of hours, we ate a traditional Argentinian meat and potato pie-yum. It was back to work after that for a couple more hours and then we had merienda, which is the meal after lunch but before dinner. Every meal in Argentina is followed by a "mate" break. Mate is a traditional Argentine tea that is drunk in a special cup with little or no sugar. Mate breaks serve as opportunities to socialize and relax before going on with your day. 
It was a wonderful first day at the daycare and there is still a lot to do, it will definitely be a busy week. We took the bus back to the train station, the train back to the subway station, and the subway back to our hostel. We had dinner and went to bed early because we know there is still a lot to accomplish at the Jardín tomorrow and for the rest of the week.