Visiting “La Perla” concentration camp 1

Today we went to La Perla on a field trip with the students at San Martín. For those who don’t know, La Perla was a prison and execution camp of innocent citizens and political prisoners of Argentina’s past dictator, Videla. On the field trip we walked around the compound, saw photos of the “disappeared” people (people who were assasinated and who’s bodies were not returned), and listened to a guide give us a history lesson about La Perla. He talked very fast, but luckily we had already learned enough about the topic to understand the basics of the presentation. We also got to talk to people from another school who were also on a field trip there! After the tour, we went to a lake, where we ate, danced, and listened to music (both from the U.S. and Argentina). It was a fun AND educational trip!

Addie

It was a very moving experience, seeing where the people were kept, tortured, and killed. The most powerful part of the museum in my opinion was the wall of the photos of Los Desaparecidos. It was incredibly sad to see the smiling pictures of the victims juxtaposed with the harsh and awful reality of their lives in La Perla.

Tara

Today at La Perla, I had the amazing opportunity to learn more about “los desaparecidos” through their photos, timelines, and stories. Being at La Perla today showed me not only the harsh living conditions to which people were subject but also the healing and compassion of the community through commentary and art. “Su dolor, nuestra lucha.”

Alexa

It was very interesting to build off of the work that we have done this year both in spanish class and in Argentina meetings. I learned a lot and was able to compare different types of dictatorships that I am familiar with. Overall, it was an amazing and thought provoking experience. Furthermore, it was very stimulating to discuss the topic of dictatorships with our new friends!

(From an anonymous contributor... Kids don’t always write their names on tests... Or blog posts!)

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day 2: finally in Argentina!

Finally arriving at the Buenos Aires airport at 3:00 am, our hotel at 4:30 am, and waking up at 9:45 am (some of us), our long awaited trip finally begun. We walked to the pizza place, Las Cuartetas, had some trouble first ordering in Spanish, and tried to down five whole deep dish pizzas. pizzas galore! four hours of sleep, no problem. Very cheesy, very dense, and very hard to keep eating. After leaving two whole pizzas left and feeling extremely bad about it, we walked down to the metro for our first Argentinian subway ride. We spotted a girl with her notes looking quite fretful and Profe. Levin wished her good luck, teaching us a valuable lesson about being nosy in a good way. We met Mariana, the director of the travel agency Lunfarda, who took us around the city and spoke to us about the history. First we went to a church, Basilica Nuestra Señora del Pilar, where Mariana talked about the European immigration and influence in Buenos Aires, including aspects like architect...

Day 5: Los Porteños!

On Thursday, we started our day with a swift breakfast in the hotel and a short walk to the Casa Rosada--workplace of the Argentinian president--where we began a scavenger hunt that was organized by an Argentinian travel company that we have been working with so far on this trip. As we split into groups (los carpinchos, los chocotortas, y los empanadas), we began to walk around the city and complete tasks along the way. These challenges often included talking to friendly strangers or organized actors and asking many questions regarding the daily lives of Argentinians. For example, we asked an actor (our previous tour guide Fernando) and other locals (pedestrians, workers, police officers, etc.) questions about Argentinian football. In turn they taught us facts like how fans of the team River Plate are called “Los millionarios” (the millionaires) because their home stadium, which is el estadio mas monumental of South America, is located in a wealthy neighborhood. In addition, we we...

Day 1:the good, the bad, and the "Is this really our gate?"

Through red eyes and heavy eyelids, our Poly Panthers have kept their good spirits. We have seen five different sets of passengers come and go, flying off to Madrid, Cusco, Paris, and other beloved cities, while we patiently wait for our final destination. We're set to leave for Buenos Aires by 8:25pm. Of course, we can ignore the ill-fortune I welcomed yesterday. As Profe likes to say, "we'll turn these lemons into lemonade." Naps, snacks, a soccer match, and sharing facts kept us busy during our fifteen-hour layover. Jaunts up and down Lake Avenue surely prepared our Panthers for languid walks around Lima's International terminal, where they even had the chance to catch the Portugal-Spain soccer game--Nico commented, "40 years old, and Ronaldo is still winning championships." Of course, occasionally, the boredom prompted some silly requests: "Is it okay if we play Hide-and-Seek around the terminal?" Parents, not to worry, students have been ...

Poly GIP Argentina 2023-25

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