Author: palmer_seeley

Today is our last day here.  In the morning, we gathered for the last time with all of QHS in their morning assembly, and then we very anticlimactically had one more class of shadowing.  In literature class, we continued previous discussions about the story “The Illustrated Man” by Ray Bradbury.  Some students obviously found the book to be an interesting one, as they asked some questions about the book (I have no idea what they were since their rapid-fire Spanish is all but unintelligible to me), while others took the class as a nice time to uninterruptedly nap.  After class, we had our usual ten-minute break.  As soon as break was over, we separated from our exchange students and went to participate in the General Knowledge Competition, of which the victor was Chelsea.  We also had the opportunity to make our own five-question GKC for Mr. Seeley, Señora Diez and Señor Pauni.  There wasn’t really a victor of that one, as it eventually devolved into just asking whatever we thought of that might even be considered “general knowledge.”  After this fun and exciting break from school, we met back up with our exchange students and headed over to La Plaza Seca to paint our hands onto the Tree of Friendship and to celebrate as a group.  Cakes were shared, the happy birthday song was sung several times in both English and Spanish to Ross, and good times were had by all.  After this party, we left with our exchange students to go have lunch.  Some students ate lunch as a group, while others ate lunch alone with their family.  Coming back, we went to the video room to watch a slideshow of all the awesome trips and excursions we made either as part of the CA group or the combination of both CA and QHS.  The slideshow was excellently made and was almost tear-jerking at times since we all knew that we were about to leave.  The celebration that followed, again in La Plaza Seca, was almost depressing.  Many tears were shed, shirts were signed, bodies were signed, hugs were given, and then some more tears were shed.  At the end of it all, we boarded the bus, gave our last goodbyes to our exchange students, and left for the airport.  At the airport, we met up with the Pilar group, checked our bags, got our boarding passes, and headed home.

-Ross

I woke up today at 10:30. I got up and watched some TV with Juan before having asado for lunch. I stayed at home for the morning but I know that some other exchange students went out to the fockey field to watch a fockey tournament. There was a farewell party at 3 pm. The party was in Victoria’s neighborhood at a clubhouse. There wasn’t a foosball table like usual so people brought skateboards and a soccer ball over. There were some soccer fields close by and some of us, me included, walked over there to play soccer together. It was very fun and I got to try and learn how to ride a skateboard there. There were lots of snacks and we ended up having dinner there as well. The dinner consisted of cheese pizza and hotdogs. At 7 pm, the teachers and parents arrived to join the party. That was also the time when we celebrated Ross’ birthday. The party ended at 8 pm and everyone went home to pack. Although the official farewell party would be tomorrow, it still was sad because it was the last real party among friends and families. It was the last party that we were kind of in charge of. Also the thought of going home to pack created an impending feeling of sadness during the party as well as during that night before going to bed. It would be our last night in Quilmes with your host family and everyone else there. It was a big thought that did not help me fall asleep that night.

-Thuc

Every Saturday, Emilia and some of the girls have field hockey games. Around 9:00 am I woke up ready to cheer on the girls but the rain got the best of us. This allowed me to get some extra sleep and watch The Vampire Diaries with Emilia and Valentina. At 12:45, I had woken up from a long and soothing nap. Valentina and Emilia were still sleeping so I checked up on social media during their slumber. Finally at 1:45, they woke up, but around that time I find out that their field hockey game is canceled. I’m sad that I won’t be able to see them play but at the same time I’m glad I will be spending the last Saturday with them. Around 2:30, Chelsea and Popi picked us up and we were on the way to Agustine’s house for a pre-party. There were darts, fooseball, and food. We even watched a scary movie called Dark Skies but it wasn’t very good. The acting was horrible and it wasn’t scary at all. After a few hours of the exchange students bonding, Emilia and I left around 7:30 to relax at her house before another party. At 9 pm we head out to an exchange student party hosted by Valentina. The party was really fun, I was able to meet more QHS students and dance all night.

-Kate

We started off our last Friday at Quilmes High School by shadowing our students, following them to their normal classes. The group that I was in got to see the computer room and the computer class.

Towards the end of the period, some of us were scooped out of our classes to go say hello to and answer some questions for some younger students (who would be 7th graders in the United States). They asked about everything from what we eat to what kind of video games we play. Next, we hung around and talked for a while whilst waiting for our Tango class to start.

Our tango class was taught by QHS’s dance teacher, and all of the CA & QHS students in the exchange participated. We started simply, learning slowly how to walk properly. We moved back and forth across the floor in rows, practicing both going forwards and backwards.

Next, we got to try our first “mock dance” with partners. We did the same walking exercises, except with another person. We practiced leading and following while simultaneously keeping rhythm.

After learning one more small exercise and practicing that with partners as well, we began to split into groups and learn our parts to our final product: the Tango.

Finally, we were ready to pair up one final time and dance!

After our tango class, we were pretty tired, but before lunch, shadowed one more class with our hosts. After that, we split off and had lunch. Immediately upon arrival to school, we had a specially prepared class about commonalities between the United States and Argentina. We learned a lot about how our countries histories are similar.

Next, before going to talk with and sing with children, we had a small break outside where we played “9 square.” It’s like four square, but with 9 squares and instead of hitting the ball with your hands, you use your feet.

After that, we walked across the street to “el jardín,” which is similar to our kindergarten/early elementary school. We sat with the kids, shared food, and sang songs.

We got back to the high school with a little bit of time to kill before school ended, so, naturally, more 9 square. We also helped some students a little bit who were making sleeping bags for homeless people by drying them.

All in all, today was a great last Friday, including learning, having fun, helping, and, well, having more fun!

-Ben

Today was the day we would finally learn to play the sport most of our exchange students play. Field hockey is a major part of Argentinian high schoolers’ lives, with long practices and games scheduled every week. Learning to play, connected us through competition and a new understanding of their important hobby.

As it was raining and cold this morning, we got to sleep in for a late start! We arrived to the Quilmes High School sports fields which is located on the shore of El Rio de Plata. This would mean that it would be extra cold and windy. That didn’t stop us from having a good time. Our first activity was Argentinian dodgeball, which we played inside the gym. This new version of the game for us was very confusing due to how you can play even when you get out. It was fun once everyone caught onto the rules, though.

Then we went outside to learn to play hockey. In addition to our partners who got out of class to learn the sport and play with us, some older QHS students who play on the hockey team came to accompany us. They taught us the various passes and the rules of the sport. Then we separated into groups to complete drills. This consisted of passing and dribbling around cones to shoot a goal. After completing these drills, everyone came inside the “quincho” (the field house) and had some pastries. We talked, listened to Spanish-language rock music and played card games. Some Argentinian students taught a group of us a game called “Chincho.” This game is very similar to spoons. After we were well rested we went outside to play an actual game of hockey. Some students stayed inside and played card games if they weren’t up to the challenge.

Soon it was lunch time: empanadas and, of course, Coca Cola were served. The rest of the day was relaxed, with students coming in and out of the building to talk and play some more hockey. Once everyone gathered inside in the late afternoon, we shared a round of mate–a traditional Argentinian kind of tea which is passed from person to person–and we got together with our exchange students and wrote a wish on a colored piece of printer paper. Valentina, Vicky, and I wrote about how we wanted to remain friends. Balloons were given out to tie our wish on and we released them into the air after a countdown. This was very nice because we had time to reflect on how much this experience means. Being able to make friends from different cultures and communicating through a common language is something not a lot of teenagers get to do. By letting go of our balloons, we let this trip that’s now beginning to come to an end remain a strong memory that will come back to us later in life. The time left at the sports field was spent playing games, and enjoying the company of our dearly beloved exchange students.

-Michelle

Okay, so I just couldn’t help slipping in a vocabulary lesson. On with the day’s blog post.

-Mr. Seeley

Wednesday started off as the coldest Argentinian day we had yet experienced. It was 8 degrees Celsius (48F), but the wind made it feel more like 5 degrees (51F). This was to be our first true morning at the school;  by this I mean we heard their announcement session as it is normally, rather than words alerting the school to our presence. Unlike or first experience with their announcements, this session lasted only a minute or so before ending. After Señor Pauni completed his remarks, we went inside the school for shadowing. I attended a business class. This was perhaps the most different thing between us from a school perspective. The closest thing that we have to it would be economics, but even that wouldn’t be a good description. While we focus on theory and economic systems, business class students study those and their more individual application, i.e., businesses themselves. While perusing their textbook, (which was thankfully in English) I noticed that they delve into every function of running a business. They focused also on the intricacies of leadership, of employee relations and the different types of businesses. It was something that I have never heard of happening in the US, but I found myself wishing that we have. Even in a very limited time, I learned a huge amount about the classification and functioning of business in the world–something I doubt I would have learned otherwise. Another thing that surprised me was how the class was run. Their class was less centrally focused than ours are at Cary Academy. By this I mean that there was a significant amount of discussion that did not involve the teacher. However, from what I could tell the majority of it was on topic.

After finishing with that class, we went to theater. After warming up, we spent most of our time acting out different emotions (which, apart from being fun, provided a welcome review of the language). We also acted out an eight-line play in pairs in Spanish. It was interesting and difficult to convey in Spanish emotions that we normally use only in English. Another interesting part about the play was that it was very broad in its script, i.e. there were no directions as to the actual environment we were acting out. Therefore, it was up to us to utilize our emotions and body language to create a scene and characters. It was very interesting to see what people did with this creative freedom. There are two teachers who help with drama, both of whom were very helpful in helping us figure out those problems before we presented our dramatic interpretations on stage.

A translation of the script:
A: Are you missing much?
B: No, no. It is here.
A: How lucky!
B: All is well, it’s already here. Give it to me.
A: You brought it.
B: No, you had to bring it.
A:  I can’t believe you, I didn’t bring anything.
B: This is crazy.

 The above is an embedded playlist of multiple videos. To access the list of videos and elect one to watch, click the button in the top left with three horizontal bars and a play button.

As students of QHS normally do, we split up for lunch. I went with several others to the house of a student where we ordered empanadas from a local restaurant.  after that, we returned to the school for the day’s Main Attraction: a trip by bus into Buenos Aires to visit MALBA (Museum of Art Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires). On the bus, the high school’s head of school Professor Pauni talked to us about the history and significance of Buenos Aires. One interesting fact that he brought up was that the casino is on a boat because it is illegal to have casinos on soil in Buenos Aires.

We then arrived at the museum. I have been the unhappy visitor of many art museums, but this one surprised me. Rather than being just modern art from across Latin America, it contained art and sculpture from Argentina’s long history. This made for a good experience in the museum before travelling back to meet our host families at 5 and ending another great day in Argentina.

-Jonathan

Today was our third time visiting Quilmes High School. We met up by the high school before going down the street to visit the Kindergarten. There, the children had a small assembly and rose the flag after the teachers announced our visit. We then split up into three groups and each joined a class, introducing ourselves to the children. Shortly after introducing ourselves, we left the classes to take a couple pictures with the heads of the kindergarten. After snapping a few photos, we headed back over to the high school and got on a bus to go to La Plata.

Once we arrived, we walked down a road with rows of particularly interesting trees with yellow leaves (ginkgo). Our destination was the natural science museum. We were welcomed by the columned Greco-Roman style edifice guarded by two statues of saber tooth tigers. We were given an hour to roam the museum freely. In the displays, there were plenty of taxidermied animals and their skeletons, as well as many artifacts from indigenous peoples of South America like the Inca and even some from way back to primitive humans.

Afterwards, we left for lunch at the Cathedral. The Cathedral was very beautiful and its French New-Gothic style architecture was very interesting. The inside was incredible and the stained glass and details on the ceilings and other objects were breathtaking. We later went on a tour through la Torre de Jesus (the Tower of Jesus) and the museum underneath the Cathedral. The tower was extremely tall and we visitors multiple floors of it. The view from the top of the tower was absolutely spectacular, from there we could practically see all of La Plata. After we went up the tower, we visited the museum underneath and learned all about the Cathedral’s history. Something very interesting about this cathedral is that it is one of few in the world that has a very special relic: a piece of the cross Jesus was crucified on. The Cathedral museum is also home to a gallery containing many paintings, some religious and some not. With that we wrapped up our tour and visit of the Cathedral. After finishing our trip we headed back to the bus to Quilmes High School. Once we arrived we gathered shortly until school let out and we headed back to our exchange students’ homes.

-Brandt

Today was our second full day at Quilmes High School. We started off the morning meeting in the lobby since it was drizzling and then headed across the street to the Primary school. We joined the students for their morning assembly, the whole school packed into one room. We sat in front of a sea of children and introduced ourselves one by one, in both Spanish and English. Three girls from the second grade then read a poem in Spanish about painting in front of us and all of their classmates and teachers. Afterwards there were three musical performances. First, the music teacher played the guitars while the students in grade 4 played the recorder/ flute. Afterwards the fifth graders and two soloists from their class played Ode to Joy on their recorders. Finally, the whole school and one brave soloist who volunteered from the crowd sang their school’s song of the year, Abriendo Puertas by Gloria Estefan. Afterwards, we were each gifted by the first graders a goodie bag filled with dulce de leche candies and alfajores. There was also a colored-in drawing stapled to each bag.

After the assembly, we returned to the secondary school where we joined a Spanish class. We learned about the original Brothers Grimm version of Snow White and all of the different re-tellings of the story. We watched scenes from the original Disney movie, Mirror Mirror, Enchanted, and Snow White and the Huntsman. After the two-period Spanish lesson, we joined our host students for a class. Those of us in class 4A participated in a geography class where we learned about public and private ownership of petroleum reserves in the world. Afterwards, we had an interesting discussion about the benefits and drawbacks to both. They had a short free response task afterwards and received their latest test scores. The bell then rang and we returned home with our host students for lunch. I had a delicious tarta de zapatillo, a quiche like tart with zucchini and butternut squash in it.

After lunch, we returned to school where we got ready to visit Jardin Cristo Obrero del Monte, a Catholic school for underprivileged young children in villa de emergencia. We each carried cartons of milk and loaded our handmade alfajores (from Friday) and other food onto the bus.

Once we arrived, we unloaded the food and entered the school. We sat on the floor and learned about the school from its headmistress and how it serves as a second home for many of these children, a safe haven of sorts.

We then headed upstairs to the classrooms where we split up between the 4 and 5 year old classrooms. In the 4 year old classroom we read a book about a bird trying to find its mother and finding a home with a mama bear. We then drew the bear and bird on a large sheet of paper and the children painted it.

After cleaning up the mess left on the tables and their hands, we all headed back downstairs to their dining area where we played games with each other and the children ate our alfajores and drank milk. Some of the kids spilled their milk, stacked their alfajores and played with our hands and our hair. We then headed out into the lobby where we all sang songs together, including children’s songs in Spanish and “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” When it came time for us to leave, we hugged the kids goodbye and helped them put on their coats before entering the bus and driving back to school.

Some of us then went to Alejo’s house where we ate food, played FIFA and watched Netflix. Others also went to Gina’s home or back to their own host families homes. Everyone then returned to their host families homes for dinner and for bed. Our second full day at QHS was eventful and incredibly fun. We learned a lot, met new people and made new friends.