Yesterday was my first venture outside of the city of Buenos Aires. My program, IES, loaded us all on buses and took us to a traditional estancia. Upon our arrival, we were greeted with platters of meats, cheeses, bread and empanadas (sort of like Hot Pockets but infinitely more delicious). Thinking it the meal for the day, I had a little (okay, maybe a lot) of everything. However, I soon realized that these were only the appetizers to what would be the most extravagant feast I have ever eaten. Buffet-style salad and vegetables were followed by huge chunks of meat of every shape and kind. And of course, delicious desserts were included as well.
Once we were sufficiently bloated, they released us onto the estancia to roam as we pleased. Bike riding, barn viewing, horse-back riding, and playground-climbing made up a leisurely afternoon. And when my bike tire went flat somewhere out in the pastures, a fellow Northwesterner and I decided that the bicycles could be used for a spontaneous photo shoot instead and proceeded to shamelessly photograph ourselves amidst the pastoral setting. At least I was getting use out of my camera, right? The excursion felt like an expedition into the past with beautiful, rustic fields far removed from the sights and sounds of the city.
Maybe most important of all was my first taste of mate — a traditional tea-like beverage made from steeping dried leaves of yerba mate. I had some difficulty in not sucking up the leaf particles, but all in all the drink was pretty tasty. When the trip was over, I was definitely sad to leave the beautiful countryside, though I did have my first drawing class to look forward to.
Due to the trip, I arrived to my night class more than an hour late (whoops!), and completely unprepared. I’m guessing that paper here is really expensive, because I had a very difficult time acquiring a piece to use for the remainder of the class. I think I can attribute the dejection I felt walking out at the end to both my drawing that was considerably worse than I anticipated and to the lack of friendliness of the Argentine students. I guess I expected them to be curious about me, like I always am when a foreign student joins one of my classes. I imagined they would have offered up a pencil and sheet of paper, maybe even some pleasant chatter about my stay here so far. But unfortunately, they all seemed quite satisfied talking with one another and seemed to have little interest in the late, confused, and utterly-overwhelmed American sitting nearby. I can only hope that next week they will be a bit nicer, or I may end up with only American friends after all.
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