Today had been much awaited. It felt so great to wake up and know that we'd have no school. Instead, we we're going on a tour of a mate factory and then having a BBQ for lunch. After breakfast, Sarah and I returned to the now empty dorm and chilled for about an hour. That meant semi-cleaning our rooms, brushing our teeth and doing whatever else while listening to the Frozen soundtrack. At 8am, we met at the library to board the bus that would take us an hour south to Taragüi, a mate factory.
Okay, so mate here in Argentina is like coffee in the US. But up in northern Argentina, it's basically a religion. There are a plethora of different mates (pronounced ma-tay in English) to pick from, and according to some families, the blend they drink is the only "right" blend. There is also tereré which basically mate with cold water. But the flavor is slightly different. It's kind of like hot chocolate vs. chocolate milk.
Anyhow, at the mate factory, we were introduced to a number of different blends and also mate tea. Then we were shown a 15 minutes video on the history of Taragüi. After purchasing some souvenirs at the store, including some mate, we were given a tour of the factory. The first half was on foot, the seconds half was by bus, as we toured the drying building, the greenhouses... and the third half - just kidding. (Thanks, CarTalk) And last on our field trip was lunch at an typical Argentinian BBQ. At first, the vegetarian in me protested against this decision, but after having some wonderful beef filled empanadas, I allowed myself to try some lamb, as well. (I had already had chicken on the plane rides.) While we waited for the adults to finish dessert, we young ones amused ourselves with capturing and torturing some of the couple hundred flies. 'Cause what outdoor BBQ is complete without flies. (Grossest thing ever!)
As we approached ISAM once more, we were told that sophomores from a nearby SDA academy were here to check out our school. And while they were given a tour, we English speaker were supposed to circulate and let the kids practice their English with us. The students we met were really nice! Some of them spoke excellent English! After supper (which was empanadas again), we had to dress up for vespers, as Wednesday and Friday night vespers are in the church. Once vespers was over, the visiting students went up to the parque. Some of our students went up with them, but us international students stayed to ask some of the seniors some questions ... because we've been invited to join them on their senior retreat; a sort of senior survival ... except that we're just camping behind the school and still eating here for meals. Sounds like this will be interesting!
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