Submitted by Olivia Kerlin on the 2023 winter session program in Buenos Aires, Argentina…
This past week has been a blur for me. So much has happened in the span of six days that I don’t know where to begin. Buenos Aires has been such a welcoming city and I can’t wait to spend a whole month here! While I’ve been spending most of these first few days just getting adjusted to temporarily living in a foreign country, I also have been going out every day to explore different parts of the city. This Friday, I went with a group of friends to La Plaza de Mayo, a square in the center of Buenos Aires. There are so many places to go in the square. We went inside La Catedral Metropolitana de Buenos Aires, which is the main Catholic church in Buenos Aires. The art there is absolutely beautiful and I made sure to take my time to look at everything I could. We walked by the Casa Rosada, which is the office that the President of Argentina works in. It is named after the pink color the building is painted. After doing some sightseeing, we decided to take a break and sit down in the shade. It was relaxing to sit in the square and watch people go about their lives in the city. Before we went back to our hotel, we decided to visit El Obelisco de Buenos Aires, an extremely tall obelisk statue a few blocks away from La Plaza de Mayo. It was extremely impressive up close, and I made sure to take plenty of pictures of it. Afterwards, we began our walk back. I really enjoy walking in this city. There are many people here, but it hardly ever feels too crowded. There’s also so much to look at. I’m already planning to visit a few places that I walked by yesterday! Even though I was exhausted after the trip to the plaza, I had an amazing time and am looking forward to trying new things and exploring new places these next few weeks. (Submitted on January 7, 2023)
For our second weekend in Argentina, the entire study abroad group took a weekend trip to Puerto Iguazú, most known for its famous waterfalls. We had to take a short flight to get there, and afterwards we took a bus to our hotel. The hotel is so nice! It also isn’t too far from Iguazú National Park. After everyone got settled into their rooms, we took a boat tour on the Iguazú River Friday evening. The river borders Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay. It was so amazing looking just across the river and seeing an entirely different country! The boat ride itself was very knowledgeable and fun. I learned a lot about the river, and I also listened to good music and danced with friends. On Saturday, we took a day trip to Iguazú National Park, where we hiked to go see the waterfalls. I’ve never seen a waterfall up close before, and I’m so glad that this was my first experience. The weather was perfect: it wasn’t too sunny and there was a nice breeze. The walk to the falls was exhausting, but the view was definitely worth it. It was absolutely breathtaking. But the falls weren’t the only good part of the trip. On the walk through the park, I saw so many beautiful lakes, trees, and flowers. The wildlife was gorgeous too! The butterflies were so colorful and vibrant, and the lizards blended in so well with their surroundings that I felt proud when I managed to spot one. We were also lucky enough to see some monkeys high up in the trees. This weekend has been so incredible. Getting to see Iguazú Falls was a once in a lifetime experience, and I know I’ll be thinking about this trip for a really long time. (Submitted on January 14, 2023)
This Saturday, I went with a small group of friends to Gualeguaychú to attend the Carnival. It’s similar to the Carnival in Brazil, but on a smaller scale. The main event isn’t until February, but they have a series of smaller events leading up to it every Saturday in January. We decided to go to one of those. We took a bus to Gualeguaychú from Buenos Aires. It was about a 3 hour ride, but the time passed by quickly. Once we arrived, we got a ride to the main city. Gualeguaychú is a lot different from Buenos Aires. It’s a much smaller city and is less crowded. We spent our time walking throughout the city and taking in the sights. Gualeguaychú is by a river, so we saw many small beaches while there. We spent a few hours sightseeing, and then it was time to get in our seats for Carnival. We got there about an hour early. Outside of the entrance, there were several vendors selling fun things like masks, flower crowns, masks and more. My friends and I decided to get in the spirit and get our faces painted and buy some flower crowns. Once we got seated, it was a while until Carnival started. The main event was absolutely incredible. It felt like one big party! It was similar to a parade, with floats and people in costumes. The music was catchy and the energy was infectious. Their was dancing and singing and it was so much fun. We stayed until around 2 in the morning, when we needed to leave to catch our bus back. The Carnival was still going when we left. It was around 6 in the morning when we got back to Buenos Aires. I was exhausted and immediately went to sleep when I got back to my hotel room. Going to Gualeguaychú was so fun. I’m so happy me and my friends decided to go! (Submitted during Week 3)
