Before leaving on Global Semester, many friends and family asked which country I was most excited to visit. Although I was incredibly optimistic about the experiences we would have in each unique location, I landed on Buenos Aires, Argentina as the place I was most looking forward to. My reasoning for this answer was as follows: I was confident I would love the art history class we would take, the weather would be warm and sunny, I studied Spanish in high school so I would feel more confident with the language, and hopefully in our final month the group would be most cohesive, creating a fun and comfortable environment. So far, I think all of these things are proving to be true. On top of this, another factor I could not have anticipated is helping Argentina make its way to the top of my list. In a devastating turn of events, I was injured in Tanzania while playing frisbee and badly sprained my ankle. Consequently, I was on crutches, unable to walk or participate in many outings throughout the majority of the semester. I am incredibly happy to report that since moving to Buenos Aires I have permanently ditched the crutches, and am finally starting to walk without my ankle brace. I could certainly write a whole separate blog post about accessibility issues related to traveling the world on crutches (and maybe I will when I get home), but the last thing I will say about that here is that I continue to be appreciative beyond words for the peers and leaders on this program who have physically and emotionally carried me this semester. I am forever grateful for the support.

The last couple days in Buenos Aires have been both eventful and relaxing. On Thursday we took a bus through the city to Villa Ocampo, one of famous Argentine feminist intellectual Victoria Ocampo’s homes. Ocampo was a writer born in 1890 to a wealthy family in Buenos Aires. She is known for opening the publishing house and journal Sur, for inviting well known intellectuals from across the world to her home to speak and share ideas, for being one of the first women in Argentina to drive a car, and for being very outspoken about the rights of women. The home we visited was ornate and beautiful, and was donated by Ocampo to UNESCO. We enjoyed the chance to tour such a fancy home, filled with artistic furniture, thousands of books, and lovely balconies overlooking flowering gardens. Near the end, the women of the global group took a picture on the back steps, recreating a famous photo of all the first ladies from the G20 Summit in 2018 standing in the exact same spot. It was a very cool outing.

On Friday, we had a full day visit to St. Mary’s School, a private pre-K through secondary school about an hour outside Buenos Aires, to interview students, sit in on classes, and tour the facilities. When debriefing the visit in class today, Johnny Goodson commented on how happy it made him. Happy is the perfect word to describe the day. The students and teachers all seemed so joyous, and there was this beautiful chaotic energy on the school campus (probably influenced by the fact that their school year is coming to an end, with summer break only weeks away). As one of the few students in our group actually studying Education at St. Olaf, the school visits have been one of my absolute favorite parts of the semester. This specific school operates under the International Baccalaureate Program, and offers classes in both Spanish and English. There is a strong emphasis on music and arts, and we had the privilege of sitting in on an orchestra class which blew me away. The quality of the music was fantastic, and again, students seemed genuinely so happy to be there. In the afternoon, we had a tour of the building from 5th grade students, who were bubbly and energetic and loved quizzing us on our limited Spanish vocabulary and giggling at our butchered pronunciations. I left struck by how amazing this school appeared, with many impressive resources and such positive student-teacher relationships. It also left me wondering about the disparities between private and public schools, and saddened by the knowledge that St. Mary’s and private schools like it are only accessible to a certain type of student who can afford it. I continue to learn from each and every school we visit, and know when I become a teacher with my own classroom in Minnesota, wisdom from teachers in each country we visited will help shape my own pedagogy.

Our weekend was ridiculously blissful. Many times throughout this semester we have had outings and events planned for us, and we go along with it without fully understanding what is happening or why we are there. Saturday was definitely one of those days, when we got on a bus and were taken out to San Ceferino farm and resort in the countryside for a day to lounge by the pool, bike, play tennis, ride horses, eat amazing food, and get hour-long massages. We were all kind of in awe at how idyllic the day was, perfect weather, a lovely setting, and some much needed relaxation. Sunday we had a free day to explore, and many of us started this off with an amazing brunch at La Panera Rosa (shoutout to Zibby for continuing to be a committed vegan foodie who finds us incredible restaurants to try). After brunch some of us headed to the nearby Recoleta Cemetery, which is unlike any cemetery I have ever seen. Ornate coliseum-type tombs tower over winding paths, and the prominent structure of Eva Peron’s grave is a must see in this place. We then took the bus down to San Telmo, a bustling area with a sprawling outdoor Sunday market. I really enjoyed having such a relaxed day to meander through the market, find some gifts for people back home, and observe the vibrant culture of the San Telmo neighborhood. 

On Monday morning Elijah noted that this was one of the first times on global it really felt like a Monday, alluding to the fact that we haven’t had many relaxed weekends like the one we did this week. It was a blessing to get flexible time to explore and rejuvenate in such a beautiful city. Monday was fairly representative of a typical weekday at CIEE, with education class in the morning, a guest speaker who was a private high school teacher in the afternoon, and then a class outing in the evening. After dinner we hopped on a bus to see Bomba de Tiempo, an amazing improvisational drum group. It was a super high energy concert and we all enjoyed the chance to get out and dance to the music.

It is really starting to set in that we are going home in a couple weeks. I personally am so thankful that Buenos Aires is our final destination, and that we have a pretty laid back schedule to take in what we are learning through experiential outings and time to really settle into the city. Each place we have visited holds its own unique set of experiences, and I honestly have loved specific things about each country and culture we have had the privilege of seeing. But because of many factors, including the sunny weather, the familiarity of the language, the incredibly interesting art history class, and the fact that I can finally walk again (!!!!) Buenos Aires holds a special place in my heart and is becoming a highlight of the semester.

— Annika Peterson ‘ 21