Upon leaving I wanted to share some final lessons learned:
No matter how much you enjoy something, never verbalize it. For example, I told Patricia I really liked Dulche de Leche. She brought out the tub from the fridge with every meal, insisting I eat some. Then she bought me Dulche de Leche candy to take with me.
Argentinians drink TONS of carbonated beverages and eat more chocolate and sweets than any other culture I have EVER seen. Coke and chocolate. Coke and chocolate. Coke and chocolate.
Take your watch off before you arrive. Time is of the essence, and attempting to push that is a futile task and in the end, a big mistake. Just go with the flow. That in-between flex time ended up offering some of my most memorable moments. To note, that flex time increases as you travel further north. When we were in Humahuaca, which is just miles from the Bolivian border, the school had a room for students to hang out in when teachers “just don’t show up” or are “really late.” The culture show started two hours later than we had expected. If you know me, you can imagine how many times I asked if something was wrong.
Somehow, the Argentineans managed to cram another hour into the day! See below…
It’s not that they don’t have hot water anywhere, it’s just that it comes out of the right tap, not the left. Yeah, not my proudest moment(s).
Sometimes a 16-year-old might be driving you around in a large van with broken windshield blasting Beyonce while winding up the side of a mountain. Just breathe.
Finally, They LOVE “High School Musical.” I mean, obsessed. 100,000 people bought tickets to see them perform in Buenos Aires. I even saw them on MTV in Humahuaca. The one girl said “the best part of being famous is that a lot of people care what you have to say.” Um, I don’t. I care what the girls who started their own recycling center have to say though. How about we put them on TV, in magazines and on stage? But maybe that’s just me…
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