Waking up on Monday, the last day of the trip, it seems incredible that a trip that had been five years in the making had reached its end. After bittersweet goodbyes to my family and packing up my massive suitcases Valentina and I drove to North Hills for the last time. We spent the first part of the day in a language class during which we learned about the idioms of Argentinian Spanish as well as learning about the history of the language’s unique qualities. We learned about the heavy Italian influence that is very evident in Argentinian Spanish. We looked at a vocabulary list and a few examples where Argentinian Spanish is noticeably different from typical Spanish. We also looked at a popular Spanish rock song, Yira Yira, and we found examples of words that are unique to the specific language. Finally, we wrote our own short dialogues using some of our new vocabulary. I personally like the word Feca which is derived from the “normal” word café. Both words have the same meaning but the syllables are flipped. (Images: examples of vocabulary that is unique to Argentina and the song with vocabulary words underlined and defined.)
After our language course we went outside for a short break and a lot of goodbyes. The language class ended at 10:15 and we spent the rest of the day dreading our impending departure. Many of us purchased North Hills uniforms and bought plenty of Alfajores from the snack kiosk. We spent about 30 minutes with the students we spent the past two weeks with and said our goodbyes. Our last minutes at the school were spent with the students we had hosted prior to the trip. Both rounds of goodbye were incredibly bittersweet. At 12:30 we greeted our faithful bus driver, Sebastian, and boarded the microbús for the last time. We watched North Hills disappear from the bus windows and drove to the airport. Now the countdown starts for next year when we will get to see so many of our Argentinian counterparts again!
–Becca
