La Bombonera, Life on Hugos's Farm, and the Homestay

Hello all!

Putney Language Learning Argentina apologizes for the blog hiatus! We have been BUSY, folks--last weekend we went canoeing on the Rio Tigre, saw the Phantom of the Opera in Buenos Aires, did a walking tour of Boca and San Telmo, and we got a tour of Estadio ´La Bombonera´ that even the non-soccer fanatics amongst us could appreciate (fun trivia: the stadium is called La Bombonera because one of the stadium engineers was always popping bon bons on the work site, and the stadium itself is said to resemble a box of chocolates--now your kids can win big money on Jeopardy! one day, courtesy of Putney). We ate an incredible meal against the glowing green harpsichord-like bridge in Puente de la Mujer in Puerto Madero.

We returned to the Villa Maristas on Monday and went directly to work on Hugo´s finca in the pueblecito of Carlos Keen, which we all agree is a storybook-idyllic place--Hugo and his wife Susannah are the defacto parents of a group of abandoned boys ranging in age from 8-20. We are working alongside the boys (who live on the farm) and even though we´ve only been on site for a week, our students are forming incredible friendships with them. Not only is everybody´s Spanish improving, we are also learning tons about working on a farm and in the adjacent kitchen and restaurant. Every day we collect the new words we´ve learned, which includes such specific vocabulary as nonato, the word for a stillborn calf, and apicultura, the word for bee-keeping. One of our favorite quotes from the trip so far came when a student told us the following about his new friend from Carlos Keen:

"Yeah, Gino is the MAN! We bee-kept together."

Every day groups of our students rotate to help out with cooking in the kitchen, lay down tile, assist with the herding of cattle, sow and harvest in the fields, feed the rabbits and sheep, and assist with other farm duties (and play futbol games with the Argentine kids, and eat heaping plates of spaghetti and gnocchis that we help Susanah and the chefs to prepare at crazy velocities). We´ll be working there all this week from 9:30-3:00, and in the afternoons and evenings our students will be with their homestay families in Lujan. In fact the group will be meeting their families in just half an hour--we are all excited for Homestay Week! This is the week where we typically see the most language growth (and personal growth), and students often tell us that it´s the highlight of the entire trip.

Here are some highlights from our last week in Lujan, and our weekend trip to Mar del Plata and Buenos Aires:

1. On Wednesday we had a Dia de Cabalgatas, where authentic gauchos put ponchos on our Putney students and taught them how to saddle up and ride! We got to watch the moon and stars come out on a genuine pampa while eating heaps of delicious asado.

2. On Thursday after working at the farm we went to Zoo Lujan, a baffling place where chickens roam free lording their mobility over the caged toucans and lions and the organizing principle is a mystery shrouded in time--why did we see classic cars cordoned off in between the amorous monkeys and tigers? Why did the miniature choo-choo circumnavigate what appeared to be a junkyard with a liberal spattering of confused and angry looking lions? Group reactions ranged from Huh? to Hooray! as we each took a turn riding camels and elephants and taking pictures on old train cars. We loved it.

3. Friday we woke up in the freezing dawn and headed out to Mar del Plata (which one of our students inaccurately yet hilariously translated as Ocean of Dishware), a gorgeous town on the Atlantic coast about five miles from Lujan. Had a bit of a grey day but when things cleared up we were able to see a sea lion preserve and a museum of sea shells, and eat incredible seafood at Pulpo Gallego.

4. Saturday and Sunday we spent in Buenos Aires, getting a second helping of incredible food and culture--a group went dancing on Saturday night and we all enjoyed a drumming show at the Japanese Gardens on Sunday, followed by the MALBA art museum and a stroll through the Feria de Recoleta and a great dinner in Palermo Viejo.

5. And now, onwards...to the homestay! Stay tuned and un beso enorme desde el grupo Putney LLARG. Matt and I feel like we have won the lottery--we have a fantastic group down here and we can´t wait to share more of our adventures with you.