Day #21, August 15

Departure day. I woke up early even though I went to bed so late. Nerves, I am sure. Finished packing and closed my suitcases. Miguel and Marce took me to the airport and waited until we boarded the plane.

I had a wonderful experience with these people in this country. I have learned a tremendous amount about the value of relationship in education. I am sure that as I continue to process my experiences I will discover even more lessons I have learned. Thank you to Fulbright for this wonderful experience!

Day #20, August 14

I started the day by going shopping. Marce took me downtown and I saw the shopping district which I actually enjoyed. It was a closed pedestrian walkway that ran about 8 blocks. I bought a bunch of souvenirs to bring back for friends and family.

We went back to Marce's school where I said farewell to all the teachers and classrooms. Marce took pictures of me with all the classrooms.

After bidding farewell to all the students in the morning and afternoon shifts, Marce took me out to eat. We went for a typical Argentinian parrillada. It is like Fogo de Chao, the Brazilian restaurant in Chicago, but much better. We were served a continuous stream of meats right off of the grill. We ate off of a cutting board that we shared. What a delicious treat!

In the evening Marce put together a WONDERFUL party. She invited all the people who I had met while in Cordoba. About 25 actually showed up. Her mother made empanadas. We sat up until 3 AM eating, drinking, laughing, and even dancing. Nestor showed me how to dance cuarteto. It's just like Mexican merengue. I got it right away. Nestor looked surprised and asked me, "Apoco eres de aqui?" (Are you from here?)

Day #19, August 13

Today we will be tourists. Marcela and Miguel took the day off from work in order to take me to some towns in the hills outside Cordoba. We first went to Villa General Belgrano and the small village next to it, La Cumbrecita. These towns have a very Germanic atmosphere because of a group of immigrants that arrived during World War II. What I was told is that a German war ship was sunk off the coast of Argentina. The young sailors on the boat were imprisoned in a camp near Villa General Belgrano. After the war, the boys were sent back to Germany but because many of them had Argentinian girlfriends or wives, they returned to live in Argentina. Ashamed of the past, the Germans lived very private lives. In fact, few knew of their existence. They made their living selling German sausage and cheese. About 20 years ago, after getting so many requests for their German foods the towns decided to capitalize on this ethnicity. The two towns now look like Bavarian villages and are lined with German restaurants and gift shops. Their main festival is Oktoberfest.

I found both villages to be quite charming, La Cumbrecita moreso than General Belgrano because it is less touristy. The countryside is spectacular - forests covering dramatic hills. We went to see a waterfall, but there was barely a trickle of water because of the season.

Driving back to Cordoba we stopped in Alta Gracia. There we saw another estancia of the Jesuits as well as the boyhood home of Che Guevara.