Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Catty-whompus March 18



We stayed in Tandil after leaving the ranch in Maria Ignacia. I am staying with a host family- Osmar, Monica and their daughter, Dama. Very, very nice family. Dama can speak English, and she is just wonderful. We went to a city- Rauche- the next day. Visited with teachers from Rauche at an art museum. We discussed many similiarities and differences in our school systems. Melissa and I tried to explain the TAKS test to them. I found it interesting that one teacher told me she had read the book, “Freedom Writers”…I show that movie in my class during the semester to show that although we are all different, we still have many things in common. Went to see a recycling plant, a science lab, and a nursing home after lunch.
The next 3 days we stayed in Tandil. Melissa and I went horseback riding with Dama and a member of her church, Gabriel, in the evening. It was beautiful. You could see every star in the sky. My horse’s name was CiCi. Who would have thunk it?! The whole ride was so peaceful and amazing. Afterwards we sat around a toasty fire and listened to Gabriel sing and play guitar. He did wonderful! It seemed so surreal just relaxing and listening to the soothing music.
Melissa and I went to visit a private school in town. This school was so nice. 200 students in all grade levels 1st through 12th. The students study English everyday. We got to visit with the students and answer questions that they had for us. Learning that teachers here in Argentina work 2 or 3 other jobs to make enough money to live has probably been the most influential aspect of this trip for me so far.

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