Today around 11 after a long and tiring flight we landed in Buenos Aires. We could see the Andes mountains below us as we flew, but only for a few seconds because Lauren didn’t want light in her face even though it was 8 in the morning. We got off the plane and went through passport check and customs, which seemed to be a lot simpler than I thought. Until I realized that I would have to actually speak Spanish in order to communicate. I got up to my booth where Wyatt had this look of utter confusion across from me and a frustrated look from his person helping him with the passport. My Spanish wasn’t so good either, but the person in charge of my booth motioned and honestly that was enough. Customs was simpler as we just had to put our bag through a scanner, which was easier than going through TSA since I wasn’t selected for a random pat down and my peanut butter wasn’t thrown away. We then met up with our tour guide, who was very nice and pushed us to practice our Spanish. While I was nervous at first, being in a country where I have to use Spanish to communicate instead of using it as a choice has actually been less nerve wracking. People tend to be more patient. Our tour guide gave us a new Argentinan treat to try, which in English is called a cone. It is a cookie with dulce de leche covered in chocolate. We were taught that Argentineans love sweets and have incorporated a sweet taste in even some of their savory foods. We then arrived at la Bistecca, a buffet-like restaurant. Also, this was the nicest buffet restaurant that I have ever been too. There was a bottle of wine at the table (even though we can’t drink it) the waiters were in a suit and tie, it would be an understatement to say that we we’re underdressed. Something that I noticed that doesn’t happen in the US is the waiters brought out a bottle of water and then a cup. It is seen as tacky to drink out of the water bottle and it is expected that we will pour the water in the glass. We then realized that the music playing overhead was actually popular 80’s music and the same women singing it acoustically. Throughout today, I have heard a lot of popular music from the US, such as Katie Perry and Ariana Grande. It is safe to say that there is a lot of US influence in their music. After lunch, we walked around for a bit and saw la casa roja, and a government building that acts as the country’s Wall Street journal. At a glance, the landscape and architecture looks a lot like Raleigh, but you can clearly see the history through the buildings. There are a lot of differences and unique things about Buenos Aires, and the more you stay the more you seem. For example, we spotted a McDonald’s, something too normal to the United States, but it only sold McDonald’s deserts. Not even a block away there were more sweet shops. We then headed to the Teatro colon, which was built in 1906. The architecture was very antique and beautiful, and all of the decorations were gold plated. By this point, all of us were exhausted and didn’t have much energy left, and after the tour we left to the bus for an hour ride to go meet our exchange students at the school. I’m excited for the rest of the trip and what I will learn!
–Maddie
After a sleep deprived 12 hour flight, we landed in Buenos Aires and soon after, were given our first taste of dulce de leche (milk+sugar)on the tour bus. On our way into the city, we saw many famous historical landmarks such as La Casa Rosada, the executive office of the president of Argentina. My host family tells me its pink hue is rumored to be the result of being painted with white paint mixed with bull blood. We also passed the monument of Juana Azurduy, a famous warrior whose statue is a tribute to her revolutionary work to help liberate Argentina from the Spanish.
The first official stop was La Bistecca—an Argentinian buffet where we had our first taste of asado as well as other native dishes such as flan, a custard dessert. After the meal, we got to walk around the city and saw parrots perched in trees along the sidewalk, seemingly as commonplace as robins in North Carolina. We also came across a historical boat on the water next to the street of Juana Manuela. Named after former president Domingo Sarimiento who founded the Argentinian naval academy, the frigate was a renowned hallmark of the Argentinian armada and is now a museum ship people can visit to learn of its past.
Next came the highlight of the day—a guided tour of el Teatro Colon. Globally recognized to have some of the best acoustics, this theater’s architecture is also reflective of its history. While it had been rebuilt and renovated on several occasions, its storied past lives on in its current state. Composers such as Mozart and Bellini whose music has been played at el Teatro have been carved into the framework outlining doorways of the building. The theater has also been a venue for performances of famous musicians like French composer Saint-Saens.
After the tour, we drove outside the city to el Colegio de North Hills in Pilar where we met with our exchange students for the very first time. From there, we went with them to have dinner and meet the family.
Overall , it was a great first day in Argentina.
–Kathryn
Today we spent the first half flying on the plane from Houston to Buenos Aires. I got stuck in a middle seat in the airplane because I didn’t ask to switch with one of my classmates. It was uncomfortable in the moment but it’s all better now that we have landed and are walking around. We got our bags and went through customs, we waited for a little bit until our bus arrived and we took off from there. It felt good to finally be able to rest and have leg space. While on the bus, our tour guide was telling us all about the different buildings as we drove past them. We first stopped for lunch at a very nice, all you can eat restaurant called ‘la bisteca’. I could have eaten much more than what I did eat but I was not very hungry coming off the plane and bus ride. However, the food I did eat was high quality and tasted really good. From the restaurant, we drove to teatro colon and had a tour of almost the whole place. Every aspect of the building was magnificent. There wasn’t one area of the building that wasn’t done with simple designs, every place was unique and grandiose. The tour guide spoke fast Spanish so it was hard to understand and concentrate on all of the different new vocab and speed at which we were hearing it at. After the theater, we drove around the city for a while to see some of the major land marks like la casa rosada and el obelisco. Our tour guide was telling us about all of them and some of the history behind each one. Finally, after a very long day, we drove home. Almost each one of us fell asleep on the bus for a while before reaching the school. When we arrived at the school, all of our hosts and their families were waiting there for us. My family took me home and we stayed home which I’m kind of glad for because I was already very tired. I showered right when I got home and then just relaxed. My host and I played video games together for a while and then we ate empañadas for dinner, played a bit more and then went to bed and slept like a rock until the next morning.
–Quinn
