Pilar, Argentina

With three alarms going off in a row at 6:22, 6:30, and 6:35, my day started off like any other in Pilar. I was almost able to forget the impending goodbyes when I sat down for a typical breakfast of medialunas — the Argentinian version of croissants, and my favorite of the plethora of dulces and pastries here. As always, my host family laughed and joked with each other even before the sun rose, which always erased my morning grumpiness. There was always a strong and perpetual undercurrent of love and care between every interaction in our household, whether it was while my host dad prepared hot leche con chocolate with extra sugar for my host sister or the kisses constantly showered on each family member.

After I triple checked that I had everything (including my precious cargo of dulce de leche and multiple pounds of yerba for mate), all five of us piled into the car and we drove out of their gated neighborhood into the sunrise. As we sped past the fenced houses of Pilar del Este and wide fields blanketed in early-morning fog, I took a moment to reflect on the past week with my host family. From the first day, the tight-knit family of four treated me as a third daughter and gave me an invaluable insight into their daily lives. I got to know their “normal,”–their routine and culture– something that I never got to understand by just visiting Buenos Aires as a tourist.

Once everyone had lugged their overpacked suitcases into the auditorium, we headed to the second floor of the school to give group presentations we had prepared about topics such as North Carolina, Cary Academy, and Sports in North Carolina to the 1st years (equivalent to US 6th graders). After the presentations, our group walked to the other side of the school to a room full of kindergarteners (“munchkins,” as Vic would say), much to our delight. Their teachers led the kids in a rousing “Hello Song” to welcome us. Then, the Americans formed small groups with the tiny Argentines to draw the flags of Argentina and the US. The kindergarteners I grouped up with shyly introduced themselves, but then they warmed up when I asked them which flag they liked the best (Argentina, obviously!). After taking a group picture with everyone and their artistic interpretations of the flags, we Americans relaxed and hung out with our buddies and the rest of the students in the schoolyard until our final North Hills lunch.

My favorite part of the day came after lunch, when I laid out in the sun with a big group of friends and just soaked in the moment while watching people play basketball, kicking around a ball, and chatting with friends. I am grateful that I was able to experience a normal day in Argentina. For a moment, we were able to have an ordinary routine of going to school and spending time with a family and experience what “normal” is in another country. I will cherish the smallest moments forever: the giant asados on the side of a busy road, a runaway horse and its baby leading the police on a chase next to the Pan American highway, a man walking through the busy streets of downtown Buenos Aires with a full pig carcass draped over his shoulder, passing yerba mate around with North Hill students. These are the memories that will only make the trip grow fonder in my mind. The most “normal” moments–the connections and friendships formed, the smiles and the cross-cultural understanding–are the ones that made our exchange an experience that we will never forget.

But for us, today was anything but a normal day. When the time for final goodbyes approached, time seemed to stretch–hugs were elongated, and I think I said goodbye to everyone at least three times. We finally tore ourselves away, teary-eyed but smiling, and made our way towards the bus, trying to come to terms with the fact that we might never see some of them again. But as we turned the corner with our luggage in tow, the Argentinian students were waiting for us, forming a walkway and a chance to say one last goodbye. Our crowd of goodbye hugs and kisses trailed along the side of the school, until we were embracing our newfound friends through the thick metal school gate. This final goodbye will forever be engrained in my memory: two schools separated by 5,000 miles and a continent but brought together by this exchange and the resulting friendships that will span the distance. –Eliza

Today was a somewhat exciting but emotional day, being the last full day we will spend in Argentina with our new friends. I woke up late in the morning, still recovering from the party on Friday night that wrecked all of our sleep schedules. We had breakfast and relaxed, and at lunch time headed over for an Asado (basically a giant barbecue that is common to do on the weekends with friends or family) with everyone from the exchange. Once there, everyone was treated to a wealth of snacks, and drinks. Some people played Truco, an extremely difficult to learn card game popular in Argentina, some played soccer, and others just talked. About halfway through, many of us went out to to the neighborhood soccer fields to play. Once we returned we ate and hung out some more, and eventually parted ways. A couple of my friends and I then went out shopping at Las Palmas where we quickly stopped by a couple stores and bought last minute souvenirs. We then headed back to the neighborhood club house and met up with a bunch of other people to play pool and eat dinner. Overall, today was a memorable last full day in Argentina.   – Ethan W

This Sunday was everyone’s last full day with each other, so we had a lot planned. From what I heard, everyone woke up around 10-12 and did things individually with their host families. I woke up at around 11:30 and had some food with Joaquim before we left for lunch at 1. CA students, NH students, and the host parents were all invited to the lunch. Everyone brought lots of food and drinks, and the lunch lasted till about 5. It was an Asado lunch which is a common get together meal in Argentina consisting of lots of different types of meats. In between eating and talking we also played soccer and Truco (card game that is very common in Argentina). It was a great time but then everyone went home at 5. After everyone left, all of the boys in the group and some of the girls went to Joaquim’s neighborhood club house to have dinner. It started at 8 and went till about 11. It was a lot of fun and we played some pool and talked a lot before we ate. After that everyone parted ways and got sleep for Monday, our last day of the trip. –Chris

The first day of our last weekend in Argentina was very fun for me (and hopefully everyone else). Even though we were up until 4:30 last night because of the party, I woke up at 11 A.M. to watch the Manchester City vs. Manchester United game and then I went right back to bed (very happily because the team I support won). At 2:30 or 3:00 when I woke up for real, we had a nice breakfast/lunch. Tomi and Pepo’s parents made us burgers and fried eggs, and I never expected this combo to work out, but it was delicious. Everything was on the grill, so we ate outside where there were a lot of mosquitoes, but the food was too good for the mosquitoes to bother me. After we finished eating and got ready for the day, we went to a big mall called Unicenter. This mall had almost everything you could imagine, including big stores from every big sports brand (like Nike, Adidas, Puma, Under Armor, etc.). I was very pleasantly surprised when I saw Chikezie and his buddy Alexis at the mall because they were on a different trip than us, and we caught each other up on everything that was happening in both exchange groups. We ended up having a lot of fun even though I didn’t buy that much, and I met Spider-man and Batman as well as a few kids who admired us Americans before getting pushed around in a shopping cart by Ben and Martín. We took a cramped 4-seat taxi home (there were 6 of us + a driver). After a few of our friends from the neighborhood came over for a bit, we went to bed because it was almost 2:30 A.M. and we had to wake up early the next day. I am already getting sad imagining having to say goodbye to these people that I probably won’t ever see again (but hopefully I will).      -Alex

Today was Saturday, so my entire family slept in late and we started the day around lunch time. My host mom made homemade cheeseburgers, which I learned are a common food here and not only in the US. After lunch, we hopped in the car and headed to Buenos Aires to walk around the city, visit some museums, and have a merienda. The drive to the city was about half an hour, but the drive back was double that or more. The problem was the traffic from the soccer game at the stadium where Taylor Swift is going to play when she comes on tour here, but I don’t really know anything about the soccer. From the city, my host and I went straight to an outdoor mall to shop and have dinner with some other girls and their host students. I bought a ton of dulce de leche and alfajores to bring back for my family! –Mirella

Today was a wonderful day to wrap up our last full day at school! We started off our day with some time to continue practicing our presentations that we will give on Monday to the first and second years. After that, we had an art related activity with 8-year-olds that was a truly wonderful experience. We then had a small break where some of us ate snack and others played basketball with students from North Hills. Next, we continued crafting our presentations regarding the USA, and finished up just before lunch. Lunch consisted mainly of pizza which I had missed while being in Argentina. After a sleepier than usual morning, lunch provided everyone with a much-needed energy boost before the afternoon activities. Then, after lunch, we spent some time with our exchange students and their friends before going out to experience a typical P.E class. It consisted of basketball and running. That concluded our last full day of school, and we returned to our houses to prepare for a small Friday night party. When we arrived, we were greeted by flashing lights and a collection of Argentinian music. We all danced the night away finishing around 3:30, which would end our last Friday in Argentina.       -Dax

Hoy fue, sorry, today was a great day. After oversleeping my alarm by 40 minutes, I started my day off with some dulce de leche to cancel out the six hours of sleep that I had been living off of. Our first activity of the day was haciendo choco torta- making a cake that alternated between layers of chocolate cookies and a dulce de leche spread. To make it truly Argentinian, we added more dulce de leche than we were supposed to; this resulted in 9 layers of chocolatey (and dulce de leche-y?) goodness. After an activity designed to teach us how to replenish our energy, we practiced some fútbol. Did you really think that we would go a day at North Hills without playing soccer? Having well deserved lunch, we were treated to a homey rice and stew. We finished off the day with an art class with the 8th graders, and then finally, much needed time to construct presentations about the USA.

Perhaps the most important part of the day came after school, however. After playing some Truco, we went to capital-downtown Buenos Aires- for an amazing dinner and view of the Rio de la Plata. Today marks a very important day for me, as today, amid devouring steaks and ribs as big as my head, I found out that the best thing about the USA is the free refills.

Overall, while there were many fun activities today, and some really fun activities, this day helped me expand my sense of cultural appreciation and allowed me to continue fostering a new and improved perspective with which to take on challenges. In the case of Argentinians, that would be head on, except for during Truco, in which case lying is encouraged. –Ethan B

Today was a regular school day as we did some activities with some students from Colegio North Hills, and we learned some proverbs in the morning. Later in the morning, everyone played football with the Argentinian students until lunch. After lunch, we met some of the younger students and had some interviews with them and then afterwards played more football till the end of the day while also talking with our host friends and other north hills students. –Mukundh

Today was our first day at the North Hills School! We started the day with a field trip to Austral University where we took a class from the department of international politics on populism and how it relates to democracy, specifically in South America. Afterwards, we toured the university, including the classrooms located in the hospital building on campus where medical students study. We got to look in various classrooms where students were working and learning. When the tour was finished, we returned to North Hills for an activity from the counseling staff at the school where we got to learn more about our Cary Academy classmates. After this activity, we had a yummy lunch and got to socialize with other students from the school who were not a part of the exchange trip, including some excited and eager younger kids. Following lunch, we learned Argentinian slang from 3rd year students (8th grade equivalent) and ate some sweet baked goods including medialunas and alfajores. We also got to try Mate. Lastly, we learned about Argentinian folklore, where we played a card game called Truco and learned a dance with year 4 students (9th grade equivalent). After school, I went with my host to a restaurant nearby for tea and medialunas – I got one with ham and cheese. Tonight, I ate dinner with my host family. We ate gnocchi because it is a tradition in Argentina to eat gnocchi on the 29th of the month. –Brooke

After dinner on Saturday, a few of us went to a neighbors house where we stayed very late, so we were actually there until today. While we were there, we learned a lot about Argentina through conversations. For example, “metas” is a slang word they use. It directly translates to “goals”, and they say it when something is very cool. We also learned a card game that is common in Argentina, Truco. Learning this game was difficult, as the deck of cards they use here is completely different than what we have in the United States. It involves a lot strategy and bluffing is a key part of the game. The word truco actually translates to tricks. I still do not completely understand it but I have a general idea of how to play. After we woke up, we had asado (barbecue) and then went to the mall to hang out. –Ben

Today we woke up late and had lots of toast and pastries for breakfast. One of the pastries was a normal looking frosted donut but on the inside there was dulche de Leche. I liked this new food but I would not say that it is better than an American donut. Then we went to the capital where we got lunch, shopped and went to China Town. After lunch we stopped for ice cream at a place called Lucciano’s  which was very good. At the end of the day we went to and Asado which was similar to a Barbecue. Everyone helped make the meat and we ate all together. Afterwards we played soccer. Today I had many great new experiences and I can’t wait for what is next to come. –Grant