We´re almost through. Last night we gave our final Rotary presentation. We were on the hot seat a bit when we were asked to give our spontaneous impressions of Argentina and our experiences (not that it´s anything new, just in a Rotary meeting, we usually have the opportunity to give a more polished – and practiced – version of our impressions). Everyone´s Spanish has improved dramatically, with Jen and Beth still feeling a bit challenged.
Most of the Rotary meetings have been in impressive buildings, but last night took first prize. We expected the Circular Militar to be another military museum, but actually it is a private club located in a palace built in the early 1900´s for a family of four (with 49 servants). Most of the first floor is in French Renaissance style, with ballrooms and six different kinds of marble in the entryway. The family moved after their finances dwindled, and left behind some of the paintings, sculptures, crystal light fixtures and statues. The woodwork and stained glass was incredible. The first floor costs about $1,500 american dollars to rent, and people have wedding receptions and parties there. The father of the family died two years before its completion. He had plans to become the Argentinan president, and so built in a number of balconies and other places for ´photo ops.´
Wednesday night was our send off dinner with host families, guides and the Argentina team in attendance. We were asked to give our thoughts and impressions here as well, but had been forewarned, so we had a chance to look up some words in the dictionary beforehand (Beth is getting tired of ¨bueno´ and ´lindo´ to desribe every experience of the past month). The whole group has been impressed with the amount of organization and energy put into making us feel welcome. Each member of the group has had a variety of acompañas for vocational days and tours, with varying degrees of fluency in English depending upon our needs. At every point in the trip we have had the opportunity to check back in with people who care about whether we are having a good time. It certainly makes us want to give more of our time as well to help others.
Last night Jen, Alecia and Beth went out with members of the Argentina Team coming to Boise next month to experience some of the famous Argentinian night life. Unfortunately, it was a Thursday night so things ended a little early with Alecia (grandma) going home at 3 a.m. Jen, Beth and Gabby drove around for another couple hours trying to find someplace to dance, but by about 5 a.m. decided to call it a night. Gabby apologized, ever since the devastating dance club fire in December where 200 people died, things have calmed down during the week, with clubs closing earlier and imposing maximums on the number of people in each club.
We´re looking forward to showing the Argentina team a good time in Idaho, as well, of course, to seeing our families and friends again. We´re going to be a little sad to leave as well. We have made fantastic friends here!
See you all again soon!
Beth, Bryan, Alecia and Jen
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