Hi! My name is Abhi, and I’m a rising senior at McMurtry College! This summer, I traveled to Buenos Aires, Argentina to work with Enseñá Por Argentina (ExA)!
Traveling to Argentina has been among my most rewarding life experiences! While in Argentina, my learning extended beyond the practical use of my Spanish language skills. I found myself engaging with the culture, bonding with my team and others over our differences along the way. In doing so, I’ve made life-long friends and connections!
FOOD:
Before traveling to Argentina, I had a fear: I heard before that Argentina is often considered the meat capital of the world, and some even call it “La Tierra de Carne” (the land of meat). Indeed, this seemed to be true the first day I got here. I quickly learned just how integral milanesas were to the Argentine diet! There is no good comparison to Milanesas in America; in other words, there really is no singular food that, by itself, is eaten with such frequency here in the U.S.; while burgers, for example, are popular, it would be far-fetched to say that most Americans eat burgers several times a week. Milanesas, however, are eaten several days a week in many Argentine households and work environments. Beef, more generally, is a staple in Argentina, so much so that it was not uncommon to see restaurants simply named Res, meaning beef, or some variation of that.
Being a vegetarian initially seemed to be a daunting challenge in Argentina. Countless questions asking for vegetarian options, however, quickly turned into me discovering a truth about Argentina: there’s always a way. Shortly, I discovered that Argentina was also home to tons of vegan and vegetarian options, and that people were always willing to accommodate you, just as long as you made an effort to connect with them. I also realized that several members of my team at ExA were also vegetarian/vegan, and that Buenos Aires is home to one of the largest growing vegetarian communities in the world.
With time, I was trying vegetarian milanesas and guiso (a traditional meat stew, which I substituted with beans). I also tried locro, a traditional potato stew from the North of Argentina eaten on May 25th. In Argentina, the 25th of May has historic significance. This day marks the start of the May Revolution of 1810, in which Argentina’s first national government–the Primera Junta–was formed. 6 years later and in July, a formal declaration of independence from Spain would take place. It is tradition in Argentina to eat locro on May 25th, as during the revolution times, this was all that people could afford. Keeping with traditions, I also ate locro on May 25th!
My favorite moments food-wise, however, were in the office as we worked. Each morning, several members of the team would bring snacks into the office – anything from Argentine croissants to cookies to cheerios. The very first day, in fact, they brought in churros! Another time, one of my ExA teammates brought in these special alfajores (cookies with dulce de leche filling) from a company called Capitán Del Espacio. Needless to say, they were very good!
There are tons of elaborate murals across the city
Posters and murals of Messi are everywhere!
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES:
My dietary restrictions actually led to another discovery of mine: while religion and politics are often shied away from on first-encounters in America, they are often discussed in Argentina. It was always interesting hearing the political views of those around the office. It also always amazed me to see how open the team was to learning about my culture.
Another cultural difference was how common yerba mate is. Yerba mate, more commonly known as just mate, is a tea drunk in Argentina. Small cups called “mates” are filled with yerba (herb) and hot water, and to drink it, a metal straw is used (called a bombilla). The tea is shared amongst team mates and passed from one to another. Mate is an integral part of Argentine culture and the Argentine experience. When walking around town, it is common to see people carrying their mate as well as a jug of hot water with them, regardless of the day. At the airport, for example, I saw people drinking mate just before going through security! Even when walking through markets or on the streets, people would carry their mate in one hand and a jug of extra water attached to a strap and wrapped across their body.
Dinner with one of our coordinators!
Getting dinner with one of the coordinators who helped organize the fellowship with ExA was also a fun time to get to hear more about Argentina’s history, our cultural differences, and have some fun discussions about fútbol, all over some great food!
TOURING THE CITY:
At ExA, they always made an effort to include us in on activities to learn more about Argentina and explore its rich history. One of those activities was the opportunity to tour the city of Buenos Aires on one of our free weekends. During the visit, we learned more about how literature and the city’s architecture intersect.
A famous poem inscribed into a building in Buenos Aires!
We started from la Plaza de Mayo before using the subway system to get around the city and see some historic sites. However, more interesting than the historic sites were the everyday buildings that were seamlessly tied to the country’s history. Argentina itself has a large influence from countries like Italy, and in Recoleta, there is a larger influence from France, at least in terms of the architecture. For example, many of the buildings had mansard roofs.
French-influenced architecture on the streets of Buenos Aires
More French-influenced architecture
We finished off the cultural tour with a group picture, after which we explored the local market and had a picnic!
A picture of our team hearing from our “tour guides” (other members of the ExA team) during our cultural tour of the city!
A TRIP TO RIVERDAR:
Beyond our cultural differences, my biggest surprise was the River DAR schooling system.
Can you imagine a middle and high school in America that’s main purpose is to turn out super stars in football? Or maybe a school focused entirely on tennis or baseball or basketball? That’s exactly what River DAR is. River DAR is a specialized school in Argentina that operates with the main goal of turning out some of the best fútbol stars, all while providing them a well-rounded education in math, the sciences, literature, language, and more.
One of my favorite moments from the RiverDAR visit was getting to speak with the students. As a group, we went into several classrooms to watch the professors teach, with many of them formerly part of the ExA team, to see how we could integrate what we learned from the visits into our office work.
When we entered, within minutes, I was seated at the students’ tables. “¿Cuánto cuestan los botines en Estados Unidos?” How much do soccer cleats cost in the U.S.? “Y la comida y ropa?” And what about food and clothing? They were a little surprised to learn that food at restaurants sometimes costs quite a bit more here in Argentina than in the average American city.
It wasn’t long before they asked me, “River o Boca,” referring to the historic rivalry between the two best soccer teams in the country (and among the best in the world). I must have answered correctly with River (given that we were at River Dar, the school affiliated with the River Plate soccer team), as they went cheering upon hearing that!
Our team picture at River DAR
My favorite question, however, was from Leo: “Sabes la respuesta correcta?” Do you know the right answer? They were doing a unit in their science class about how common recycling was in the United States. With a little help, he got a 10 out of 10 on that assignment!
It was incredible hearing more from the students about their interest in soccer and their goals. I learned that River DAR was also a boarding school. When I asked the students where they lived, they said in the stadium. In the stadium? Yes, quite literally in the stadium. I questioned further, and they showed me photos of their dorms around the interior of the stadium, with their windows facing the field.
When I asked the students where they were from, I realized that a good portion were from nowhere close to Buenos Aires, with some from rural cities near Patagonia (the very South of Argentina) and others from Salta (the very North of Argentina). Most of the students’ stories were incredibly different, but the one unifying factor was that their soccer talent was recognized by River DAR, and they were given scholarships to attend the school, all with the hope to one day don the Red, Black, and White of River Plate’s official team.
CLOSING THOUGHTS:
In short, I am so grateful to my incredible team for having given me this unforgettable experience in Argentina. I have never felt so immediately included into a new working environment as I did in Argentina. I am appreciative for all the small little conversations, charlas, here and there, that taught me so much about Argentina and its rich history. What I’ve learned here in Argentina will undoubtedly continue to inform my life in the future.
Argentina, I’ll be back shortly!