Day 8: Last Day of Service

Time to say Goodbye to Jardín Travesuras

Our last day of service began with our very familiar commute to José León Suárez. We got to the kindergarten and enjoyed some “mate cocido” and delicious fresh bread. We then got to work putting finishing touches on the fence and the brick garden. Some of us headed to the kitchen to help Lorena and Pía make empanadas and some of us helped Viviana sort donated clothes for either the local church or to sell to raise money for the Jardín.

After lunch Lorena showed us a book titled “Mujeres Argentinas,” or “Argentine Women” in English. This book is a collection of stories about the efforts and triumphs of exceptional Argentine woman, Lorena being one of them. The book detailed how she started the kindergarten and what her hopes are for the future. It was very touching to see the passion she has for what she does, and she even gave us her copy of the book! 

Lorena took us on a walk through the neighborhood so we could see how people really live in this area. As we walked, we were greeted by Lorena's neighbors and friends. She walked us through the trash dumping area, where small children dig through and sort trash day and night.  This experience made us realize how fortunate we are and made us want to help this community even more.

Soon, it was time to go back to the hostel. Lorena and Viviana presented us with gifts before we left. They had made little butterfly decorations out of recycled pudding cups and tissue paper. They were adorable! We took some more photos, hugged everyone goodbye and promised to come back to continue our work next year. We will miss the children and Lorena’s family and friends dearly and are excited to return to José León Suárez to see all the new friends we have made.

A Night of Tango

Once we got back to the hostel, we got ready to hit the town. We headed to Complejo Tango for a 3 course meal, a tango lesson, and the most amazing tango show ever.

Our instructor, Alejandro, was an excellent teacher. He was funny, but firm when teaching the complex tango steps we were learning. After learning the initial steps we began dancing with partners. We switched off often and danced with everyone in the room.

After our lesson, we sat down and enjoyed our delicious 3 course meal. Shortly, the show began and we were marveled by the ability of the dancers.

The show was a history of tango in 5 parts. It described the dance’s origins, and its progression to what it is today. They even danced to electrotango! The whole experience was amazing and I doubt any of us will forget the moves we learned tonight.