A small town and cold greenbluey water

We arrived in Rawson pretty late on Sunday night and were dropped off at our host home. Our host mom, Gladys, was there to welcome us with open arms. She asked if we were hungry, and once I answered in the affirmative, she gave us empanadas. They were quite delicious. While we were eating, she asked us about our families and ourselves. So this is what immersion feels like. Lauren and I went upstairs to our room and went to sleep only to wake up a few hours later for class. Gladys walked us to class the first day and we took so many turns that we were sure we would never make it home. I know that Robert Frost advised taking the “road less traveled by,” but when it is moderately important that you make it back home at a reasonable time for lunch, I’m not sure it’s quite as necessary. Class went well, and surely enough we made it home just fine.

We met up with Leslie and Stephanie to go to the beach. Once we arrived, we were taken quite off guard. The beach was beautiful. Instead of sand, Playa Unión was covered in small pebbles similar to Nice. The most overwhelming part of the beach, however, was undoubtedly the waves. Little red flags lined the beach warning beachgoers of the dangerous rip tides. When we were just standing to our ankles in the sea, a huge wave would suddenly come and we would be thigh deep in water. We chose an uncrowded spot to sit and relax about a dozen feet from the sea. After we were sitting for a few minutes, a wave came about four feet from us. I halfheartedly said “Oh man! It’s going to happen again” while I slowly gathered my bag, towel, and book. I zipped away at the lost moment more out of procrastination than ignorance of what was to happen. Evidently, the others did not hear what I said and were soaked! After an hour or so, we met up with Hallie, then Bryan. It started out as a sunny and beautiful day, but the wind had stirred and it became cold, so we went back home. For dinner, we had pizza, which was muy rico. We chatted with Gladys, and her 16 year old son Nico for a while, but eventually went upstairs to go to bed. The next day after class, we decided that a siesta is quite necessary. We wake up at 8AM and dinner doesn’t finish until midnight, so we knew the long days would catch up to us. We had tango in the evening, which was fun. After tango, a few of us headed to the bus station to go to la Playa. It took us a while to get there, but once we did, it was quite nice.

Thursday was a very exciting day. I knew it was going to be a good day because Lauren and I started off the morning with dulce media lunas. We spent the first hour in my class talking about Argentina’s political and economic status. It was fascinating to hear Mila’s perspective as an Argentine. Our classes talked about the differences between our current and home countries. I believe that when you travel, it is important to develop more appreciation for your home while recognizing its flaws. I think that a beautiful aspect of enhanced global awareness is the willingness to see greatness and weaknesses wherever you are. Stephanie’s host family took Stephanie, Chas, Adam, Bryan, Lauren and I to El Dique Ameghino. It was absolutely incredible. The dam was massive and there were mountains! The most impressive feature, however, was most certainly the water; it was crystal clear yet somehow deep. The water was such an incredible color. When I asked Nico what to call the color later on, he said verdeazulado or greenbluey. I like that answer. We climbed the rocks and canyons for a couple hours, which added more excitement into my life than the small town of Rawson could give. When we were by the lake, I put my feet in the greenbluey water; it was freezing. I was shocked that water could be that cold without freezing! We wandered around for a while longer, had a picnic, and then went home to prepare to leave for Esquel!