Day 13 Update: Recoleta Cathedral and Cemetery & Museo de Bellas Artes

Today we went to the Recoleta Cathedral and Cemetery. Both were
beautiful sites with deep-rooted history. The Recoleta Cemetery is
made up of Mausoleums and graves of some of Argentina’s most memorable
people, such as Evita.

After visiting the Cemetery and Cathedral, the group walked over to
the Museo de Bellas Artes. The museum is considered to be one of the
best in Argentina, and it houses a wide variety of art from a number
of well-known artists.  The museum also had a gift shop, and some
students decided to buy a book or another souvenir after touring the
museum.

Once we had finished our visit to the museum, we all decided to head
over to the Hard Rock Cafe.  Everyone was reminded of home and people
ordered American food such as milkshakes, fries, onion rings, cookie
cake, and mozzarella sticks.

Sam and Tory

Day 12

Today we visited some of the most significant historical sites in
Argentina.  Our first stop was the obelisk where the Argentinian flag was
raised for the first time.  Although the obelisk is not quite as big
as the Washington Monument, it definitely adds to the city.

After the Obelisk we went to the Teatro Colón. The theater is not only
considered to be the best in Buenos Aires, but is also one of the top
five in the world! It was beautiful and had the most amazing
architecture.

Next we went to the Gallería Pacífico.  Although it was smaller than
the Houston Galleria, it still had a wide variety of stores and
restaurants.  Everyone had a good time buying souvenirs and getting
authentic Argentine snacks, and then we headed out to another one of
Buenos Aires' top attractions.

After Gallería Pacífico, the group headed out to Calle Florida, a long
strip of road filled with an assortment of stores and no cars.
Everyone bought an assortment of items ranging from leather goods and
mate to t-shirts in probably the best t-shirt store in Buenos Aires.

-- Sam and Tory

  ¡Hola! This weekend we took a short trip to the Estancia La Juanita, a
ranch in the Pampas region about 3 hours away from Buenos Aires. We
arrived at noon on Saturday, and with lunch at two, we had time to
relax in the beautiful weather. Many of us chose this time to play
soccer, read a book in a hammock, or swim. At 2 pm, we had a typical
Argentine lunch, complete with chorizo (sausage), pollo (chicken),
ensalada (salad), and of course, carne asada (steak)! After lunch we
continued to relax and bask in the sun. Many of us chose to swim, ride
horses, and take a carriage ride. Some also used this time to bike
around the property.

A little before sunset, many of us decided to
kayak, and the view of the lake at sunset was amazing! For dinner we
all gathered in the dining room for homemade pasta. The aura of the
dining room, the old portraits, and the completely homemade meal made
us feel like we were in 1920's Argentina. It was a really cool
feeling! After dinner, we all played a card game and we ended the
night listening to Argentine music and watching the stars. Needless to
say, it was a really fun day!

The next day many of us decided to wake up early and bask in the great
weather! We continued with the previous day's activities and many of
us chose to swim again. For lunch, we had pollo (chicken) cooked on an
outdoor grill, and for desert we had a flan with dulce de leche!
Unfortunately, our visit soon came to an end. We were sad to leave the
peaceful estancia, but also excited to return to our host families and
the hustle of Buenos Aires!

Rohan and Paul

Two links to separate student blogs have been added to the page.  Follow these blog postings during the last week of the trip!

Click here to follow student Ross Eastman's Argentina blog.

Click here to follow student Megan Pearson's Argentina blog.

Today we went to the zoo! It was called Temaikén. We had to drive for a little while to get out there, but it was well worth it. Although there was a little bit of rain, it was only a light sprinkle, and it was so nice and refreshing- especially after all of the hot weather we have been having!

Before we did that, we attended class. We invented things that could be used every day, such as flying shoes, and then we had to create an advertisement for them. Then, we presented them. In addition to that, we listened to the song "Que Bueno, Que Bueno" by Jarabe de Palo. Then, we watched an excerpt of a Spanish movie and then played hangman with Spanish vocabulary.

The zoo was so much fun! We saw many interesting animals such as wallabies, meerkats, sharks, turtles, and flamingoes. When we first arrived, we went to a bird demonstration. We got a really good picture with the bird- it was so interesting to watch it fly! After that, we went to go see the hippo. We watched the hippo swim, eat fish, and he even gave us a kiss! It was very cool. After that, we enjoyed a little bit of time in the gift shop. We had a lot of fun looking at all of the toys. 

The zoo was such an amazing day filled with fun adventures!

-- Courtney

Click image below for more photos.

Day 5

Today was a very exciting day for the Argentina group. We started our
morning by going to class to practice our Spanish. We played fun games
(such as Spanish hang man), and watched a cultural video.

Later in theday we headed off to the Malba Museum of Modern Art. We had a quick tour, where we saw and learned about paintings from artists like Diego
Rivera. All of the pieces were very unique. Including one painting that changed color, depending on how close or far you are to the art. There were also many walks in art rooms, where the walls would change color. Color was a very big aspect of the art in the museum.

Everybody had a wonderful fun time at the Malba!

-Samantha and Caroline

Day 3 and 4

This weekend we went to Deltaventura and on a city tour!!

On saturday our group headed off to the train to go to Deltaventura.
While we encountered a small problem with the train all was well and
we arrived safetly at El Tigre. From El Tigre we loaded onto a boat
that traveled down El Tigre river that took us to Deltaventura!!!! At
Deltaventura we ate a a typical meal of Argentina, meat! While waiting
for lunch students played ping pong, soccer, looked at horses, or
relaxed. After lunch students either went on a walk, ziplined, or
canoed down El Tigre river. We spent a nice relazing afternoon there
and at the end of the day loaded back up on the boat and went back
home.

On sunday the group loaded up on a bus and toured the city while
learning about Argentina's most famous and well known sites. We went
to La Boca (a famous neighborhood in buenos Aires), La Casa Rosada, El
Recoleto cemetary, and many more, todas son lindas!  Throughtout the
day we stopped at small markets to shop and watched people tango on
the street. Everyone found an assortment of items, all wonderful. For
lunch we went to this amazing pizza place called Guerrin. It is said
to be the second best pizza place in the world! After all this we
safetly returned home to our houses.

RTS

Day 2

Today we went to the botanical garden and el Museo de Perón. The
botanical garden was really neat--they had samples of coniferous and
yerba mate plants, among other things. El Museo de Eva Perón helped
us understand why the Argentineans revered Eva so much and continue to
like her. She was a central figure in helping the conditions of
laborers improve among other things. It was an enlightening
experience, to say the least.

Ciao ciao de Buenos Aires!

--M.P.

We arrived in Buenos Aires Thursday morning around 10:30 and met Julia, our guide for the entire home stay. She's very friendly and outgoing, and quickly helped us make our way to our host parents, who were all very excited to meet us. That evening after having lunch with our host parents and getting situated, we all had a welcome dinner with all the families and students at LPI, the place where we will take our Spanish classes in the morning. It was a great start to the trip, and we're all very excited!

Ciao de Buenos Aires,

M.P.