Today was a fun day exploring the historical parts of Buenos Aires! First, we walked around some of the oldest parts of the city, seeing pretty buildings that used to be by a river that is now found in tunnels under the street!! After seeing those parts of the city, we walked through a lovely park in a square and saw some pretty green spaces. Then, we were able to learn even more history, walking through the Cemeterio de Recoleta. So many important Argentinian figures were entombed there, including Eva Peron, Juan Manuel de Rosas, and many more! My favourite (but also the most tragic) story we heard was of Rufina – la niña que murió dos veces. Rufina was in a cataleptic state and her family thought she was dead, so they put her in their family tomb. Soon after, people heard movement in her grave, and the family thought that the grave was being robbed. They looked, and she was dead again, but it was clear she had been trying to escape her grave. This was a really sad and interesting story, and it really stuck with me. After that, everyone was hungry, and we had a delicious lunch of empanadas and pizza. Then we were able to walk around the Japanese Gardens – the largest in the world outside of Japan! They were gorgeous and we got loads of pictures! Then, we went back to the hotel and napped and got ready for our exciting night out! After getting all dressed up and many elegant pictures, we arrived at Mansion Tango for our dinner and to watch the tango performance. The tango was amazing – it was so cool how the people were able to tell such a definitive story without saying anything at all, just through dancing. There were a few moments when collective gasps went up because of how cool the moves were! It was amazing to be able to see so much of Argentinian culture today, from the traditional food to the traditional form of entertainment!
–Harper