Today was a busy day from start to finish. I woke up at 6:45, got ready, ate breakfast, and arrived at school at 7:45. To start, my group gave a presentation about North Carolina to a younger class. It was fun being able to answer their questions and to talk about where I am from.
After, we made alfajores in the school kitchen for a trip later in the day. We took two small cookies, put dulce de leche in the middle of them, like an Oreo, and finally, we rolled them in coconut. Then we had a Spanish class where we learned about short stories. My group wrote one about Godzilla using his fire breath to cook marshmallows. The class challenged us to use our Spanish in a creative and abstract way.
For lunch, around 40 of the exchange students went to a restaurant called La Bodega. I had risotto, and many other people had milanesa. We had ice cream and celebrated Abe and Candela’s birthday too.
In the afternoon, we visited a school in a less fortunate and underserved area, where the kids were between 3 and 6 years old. The kids were incredibly friendly, excited, and full of energy. They performed dances for us, and then we spent time with them while they ate the alfajores we made earlier in the day. I met a little boy named Felipe, and while we could not understand each other much, we had a ton of fun playing games and arm wrestling each other. That part of the day was my favorite, and it reminded me how important simple moments are.
After we returned, Agustin and I had a snack at home and then we went to a friend’s house. We hopped in the pool and quickly got out because it was freezing cold even with the pool being heated.
To wrap the day up, about 20 of us went out to get sushi for dinner. It was a perfect way to end a fun-filled day. -Vinay
First, we woke up bright and early and went to school, excited for another day immersed in the life of an Argentinian student. We started the day with a presentation to the class of our exchange students. My group talked about sports in the United States and at Cary Academy. After a short presentation and some Q&A, we went over to the kitchen to make alfajores for the students of Cristo Obrero. We spread dulce de leche between the two cookies and then rolled them in grated coconut on the outside. After we used up all of the cookies, we cleaned up and went back to the school for a literature class. We talked about short stories (microrrelatos), and we used randomly chosen prompts to come up with impactful and short pieces to share out with the class. After the literature class, it was time for our midday break. During our two-hour lunch break, we all went to a restaurant together and we all bonded even more. We also got to celebrate Abe and Cande’s birthdays at the restaurant.
We returned and had another presentation and Q&A time with the younger students. It was fun to bond with the other kids that we didn’t know that well. After that it was time for the big event of the day. We took a bus over to Cristo Obrero, a school for children that live very humble lives. It was an amazing experience that made me more grateful for the opportunities I have. I met a young student named Renata and instantly connected with her. She had a heartwarming smile and so much energy that it would drive anyone else insane, but I loved her. I spent the afternoon sharing the alfajores with her and lifting her up in my arms, listening to laughter fill the room. She felt like my little kid, and I was heartbroken to leave her. When we left all of the kids were hugging us, sad to let us go. Our trip to Cristo Obrero was my favorite part of the trip so far and is an experience I will never forget.
After school ended, I went with a group of friends to Vicente’s house, a friend of my partner and myself. He told us that his pool would be warm, but it was like an ice bath. Still, all of us got in and played through the bone chilling cold of the pool. Here I grew closer to all of the classmates of my partner that were not members of the exchange like Garnacho, Dante and Pola. After the pool, we enjoyed a mind-blowing magic trick performed by Noha’s host father and then we left for sushi with the whole group. Since my partner and I don’t particularly like sushi, we decided to go to Mostasa, a fast-food restaurant similar to McDonalds. After we ate, we returned to the group and people grew even closer. It made me realize how close and social Argentinians are in comparison to what I am used to. There is still a lot of time on the trip, but I am dreading the day that we have to leave. -Kash
