Submitted by Alexandra DiDonato on the 2013 fall semester program in Buenos Aires, Argentina…
For the last couple of weekends I’ve been attending an Evangelical church here in Buenos Aires. I actually found this church by accident, but they say everything happens for a reason, don’t they? While a vast majority of Buenos Aires is Catholic, a much smaller portion is Protestant, Jewish, Muslim, or other types of religions.
The congregation has been very welcoming to me and other international students, and this past Sunday I was invited to join them in celebrating one of their youth’s birthday! It was a great opportunity to get an insight into the daily life of the youth here. They shared with me different South American slang words, games, and customs; such as the drinking of tereré!
Originally from Paraguay, tereré is a refreshing mix of the traditional beverage mate and juice! It’s not too common among people other than Paraguayans here, but on a hot day it’s a delicious alternative to traditional yerba mate (usually served with hot water). While drinking tereré (or just regular mate) there’s a certain way it’s served. One person, the preperador, is in charge of serving the mate. They pore the yerba mate into the cup, drink the first serving, refill and then hand it off to the next person. When that person is done the preparador refills it again, this time handing it to a different person, and repeats the process again and again until everyone has had their fill. This custom seems a bit weird to foreigners at first, but you once you get used to it, sharing mate becomes so routine you can’t imagine being at an Argentine get-together without it!
It’s from spending time with these kids that I feel I really learn the most about this country and its people. There’s just some things you can’t learn in the classroom, you have to go out there and experience it yourself!