We got on buses at 9AM and traveled about 2 1/2 hours in double decker coach buses to this little town. When we got there we had a big lunch at a place with a basketball court and tennis courts (which I didn't get to play on but still excited me--basketball is much more popular in the Provincia). Then we went outside in our smaller groups and did a few icebreakers, but not the typical, obnoxious ones; for example we played Taboo in Spanish instead of passing around a ball and saying each others' names. After that we learned about the interest groups we can join. I'm joining the soccer club that takes us to various soccer games in Buenos Aires and acts as a team that plays once a week at night. They also taught us how to prepare mate, which was useful since at the end of the trip they gave us our own mate gourds (although made from metal) that had "CIEE-FLACSO Buenos Aires" and our names engraved in them.
After that we went to the hotels which were really more of hostels though none of us cared. We drank some wine before going to dinner and then took over a restaurant with our hundred people. Afterwards people did a number of different things. Since there was so much wood in the town I suggested we start a bon fire in a fire pit by the hotel, which some of my roommates in La Naranja Hoteleria did. We hung out there for a while and then I headed over to the main bar in the town where a bunch of people from the group were and listened to a live band playing all '60s and '70s American music. It felt great to take a break from drowning in Argentine Spanish and know every lyric to every song (Beatles, Pink Floyd, Beach Boys, etc).
Naturally according to the Argentine schedule we had to wake up a few hours after getting back from the bar so we all got up exhausted to find that the town had no water. Apparently the inundation of 100+ students used up all the small town's water supply and broke their system. Between that and one of the double-decker buses hitting and breaking a power line, I felt awful about the impact we had on the place--but we did spend a lot of money there which makes me feel a bit better about it.
Anyway we ended up going to an estancia (ranch) that although now meant for tourists showed us a bit about the Gaucho (sort of cowboys from the Provincia) life. When we got there they basically told us to walk around and do anything we wanted which was great since we just wanted to relax. There were a couple hammocks people napped on, a bunch of games (the only ones I knew were croquet and bocce) for people to play, lots of food, and a bunch of horses. So I can now say I've rode a horse...not incredibly exciting but it was fun to try. Then I played soccer on one of the large expanses of grass with a bunch of people until we popped the ball.
The people working there continuously brought out empanadas and choripan (chorizo and pan [bread] that's a typical sandwich) that were really good and of course we ate far too many of them before our massive asado lunch/dinner. They had a large fire with meat hanging over it and a huge grill full of meat all of which was served to us with sauteed onions, potatoes, and a big salad.
After the food we went outside and listened to a couple guitarists sing a couple songs...anyone recognize this authentic Spanish tune?...
...I did say it was meant for tourists. That said there were a lot more traditional components to the day. After a couple songs two dancers came out and danced in a very old-fashioned style. Of course we were then brought up to dance. I and the girl I was sitting next to were actually the first two called up but they called up a number of other people to do it with us so it wasn't too bad. They did a little Samba and had two people in our group improv samba next to the dancers and the two people that went up were hilarious together...quite a sight to see. And of course out of everyone there the woman dancer decided to choose my terribly dancing self as her partner for one of the last dances.
Lastly we watched the Gauchos play some traditional campo (country) games and horse tricks. Easily my favorite of these is Pato, which means "duck" because it used to be played with a duck as the ball. They now play with the equivalent of a very heavy, slightly smaller soccer ball with 8 handles, and the object of the game is to get the ball through a circle (think of a slightly larger basketball rim perpendicular to the ground on wither side of the field). They play on horses and pass the ball around, a lot like water polo but obviously out of the water. Some people in the group (I wish I'd been able to) played on foot but things got pretty physical and injury-prone fast.
Martin (one of the Gauchos) as Zorro.
Definitely was a great trip and I got to know a number of people in the group a bit better. I'm still really impressed at how organized CIEE is and how well they've designed the program in a way that suits what we want to do.
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