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 warned that they will take the reigns starting tomorrow. We let them sit this one out. Travel-induced brain fog and all.

Here are some moments from this small hiccup in our journey:

Security Check Take 2

Cat naps are king.

...in which Olivia jots down thoughts on the very clean bathrooms.

(Not pictured: Profe Levin and Dra. Bernath fighting for a new, direct flight.)

Comments

JBracker said…

Thanks for the update and I am glad to hear you arrived safely...finally!

June 9, 2025 at 8:37 AM

Anonymous said…

Sleeping in an airport is character building. Soldier on!

June 9, 2025 at 2:11 PM

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 10: All Good Things

Tuesday, our last full day in Buenos Aires, was as packed as every other. After breakfast at the hotel buffet, we took the bus over to Palermo, where we embarked on a tour of street art and murals. We talked about the importance of street art to the culture of Buenos Aires, visiting murals ranging in subject from Frida Khalo to the LGBTQ community to soccer. It amazed us to see murals in many parts of the city, each symbolizing something different. Many of the murals wowed us with their intertwinement of 2D art with 3D art, incorporating aspects of the building’s architecture into the paintings. After the mural tour, we headed to another graffiti workshop, where we learned to paint a distinctive form of art central to Argentine culture. This style of art, called Fileteado, incorporates colorful components like borders to decorate parts of the city, including buses, signs, taxis, and trucks. At first, we attempted to mimic our maestro’s masterful paint strokes, but eventually diverged i...

Day 9: Day Trip to Colonia

Monday morning was wet and windy. We walked a short way to the ferry station where we caught a boat to Uruguay. Once on the boat, some of us chatted while others slept, and to our pleasant surprise, across the river, we found specks of blue and some sun. Profe. Levin crossed her fingers, hoping that the temperate conditions would hold for the day. Colonia was founded in 1680 by the Portuguese, and for much of its history, the settlement has passed from one controlling power to another. In the 18th century, the Spanish and the Portuguese fought for its possession, and in the 19th century, Argentina and Brazil became its new claimants. Finally, in 1825, Uruguay, along with Colonia del Sacramento, gained its independence. This history of hostilities had a hand in the settlement's design; the Portuguese surrounded the old peninsular town in a thick stone wall, whose battlements held cannons directed at whatever enemy the river might bring. We walked the cobble stone streets, whi...

Poly GIP Argentina 2023-25

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