One final update! My apologies again for being so terribly slow with these last few posts – life gets busy!

I am back home in Massachusetts now and have had some time to reflect back on my final week in Tucumán. If I had to choose one word to describe how I feel about this experience as a whole, my word would be GRATEFUL. I am so thankful for all of the support from my family, friends, professors, the office of Mission & Ministry at PC, and the Smith Fellowship donors for allowing me to embark on this life-changing trip, and for the sisters, who opened their home and hearts to me for six weeks.

A brief summary of and some photos from our last few days in Argentina: Tuesday was Sister Cynthia’s birthday, so we had a nice dinner at home with her family and friends. I LOVE Cynthia’s family – they are all so friendly, talkative and unbelievably intelligent. She has five siblings, and I got to meet four of them, as well as some of her many nieces and nephews. Trini, the youngest of all the nieces, is my age and is an amazing musician. She played guitar and sang for everyone after dinner, and I could tell that Cynthia was absolutely elated. Cynthia’s birthday party was a huge success, and it was an honor to enjoy her special night with her family.

On Wednesday night I ventured out to the Santa Rosa school to meet up with some volunteers from the area at their bi-weekly meetings for faith formation. I attended the meeting with Vicu, Martina and Luniu, three volunteers who I met during my first week in Tucumán. The purpose of this meeting was to discuss the value of friendship and the lessons that we can learn from the Gospels about how to be the best possible friend. We chatted, made posters, had some membrilla cookies, and of course passed around mate to share. As much as I loved this meeting, I was sad when it ended because I knew it would be my last outing with the volunteers who I had grown to love so much!

As sort of a final celebration, we went out to eat that night with Soledad’s nephew, Fede, as well as Vicu, Martina and Luniu. We went to a small pub-like place in the center of the city that I had never noticed before and enjoyed a good meal and conversation. I am so grateful to have met such kind, smart, driven and funny young people in Argentina!

Thursday was our last day of volunteering, so Soledad planned a little “see-you-later ceremony” for us in the primary school patio at Yerba Buena. The kids all lined up outside and sang an adorable song called “De Ellos Aprendí,” which means “I learned from them.” I almost started crying because of how cute and heartfelt the ceremony was. Soledad also presented us with posters that had pictures of Trevor and I working in the classrooms and traditional Tucumán ponchos to take home with us. I was so touched at all of the effort that Soledad and her fellow teachers put in to giving us a send-0ff.

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The funniest part of the ceremony was when some of the younger children in primary school swarmed around Trevor and me waving paper and pens and yelling “¿puedes firmar?” (Can you sign?) I thought it was hysterical that the kids wanted autographs from us. I asked them “Saben ustedes que yo no soy famosa, ¿no?” (You guys know that I’m not famous, right?) They didn’t seem to care! Kids crack me up.

In the afternoon Trevor and I met with Vicu and Martina one last time to say goodbye and enjoy a Tello ice cream together. As much as I miss Tello Rocher ice cream, I miss Vicu and Martina so much more! I am so thankful that I can stay in contact with them, though, and they are hoping to someday soon come to Providence so that we can have a reunion.

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Thursday night was (sadly) our last dinner with the sisters, so we took a picture to commemorate. Just missing Eugenia, who was on a school trip to Salta and Jujuy, and Gladys, who went back to Buenos Aires for more treatment on her knee.

Saying goodbye to the sisters on Friday afternoon was really hard. They had become like my family over those six weeks, and it was hard to think that I might not get to see them again, at least for a very long time. I am lifted up by memories of shared meals, funny stories and some great photos that I took along the way, though. I am so grateful for the sisters’ welcoming spirits and the way that they made the convent feel like home for me. I miss them all so much, but I am glad that we are staying in touch on WhatsApp and Facebook. Sending all my love to las hermanas – les amo mucho!

We had some mild flight trouble on our way home because of a strike in Buenos Aires, but Bob Pfunder at PC, who is the wizard behind much of the Smith Fellowship, figured everything out for us. We ended up flying through Miami instead of JFK, which I actually preferred. It was a 9.5 hour flight to Miami instead of an 11.5 hour flight to JFK – my legs and back certainly appreciated the slightly shorter flight!

As sad as I was to leave Argentina, I was really excited to be home and to see my family. My mom put a cute sign on the fireplace at home, which made me smile so much! I was so grateful to be back home with my people, and of course with my dog, Spot.

Now that I’m back into the swing of regular life – studying for the LSAT and working as a waitress at a country club – I can’t help but notice that everything feels easier compared to life before I went to Tucumán. This is not to say that life in Tucumán was hard on a day-to-day basis. I mean to say that Tucumán challenged me for six weeks, and in that time it made me a stronger, more confident person. I spent so much time out of my comfort zone – in a different universe than my comfort zone, really – that everything here at home feels so within my bounds of capability. I don’t feel like I have to doubt my abilities as much anymore. After all, I rode a horse up a mountain for seven hours, spoke a foreign language for six weeks, and did a million other things that were new and scary but SO worthwhile. I came home with an unexpected sense of confidence that I did not expect to find, which is just one of the reasons that I am so grateful for the Smith Fellowship.

There are so many people to thank, and a quick note on this blog won’t do them justice. Still, I’ll thank some of my favorite people here. First, to my parents for agreeing to send me across the world, for talking with me on the phone all the time, and for being so excited when I came home. To Father Orique for preparing me for this trip, both inside the classroom and out. To Heidi Fraitzl, Lisa Medeiros, Bob Pfunder and Father Cuddy for being the brains behind the operation, making everything go smoothly, and preparing all of the fellows for the trips to their respective locations. To the donors who chose to support the Smith Fellowship – I promise that your gift is invaluable, and I will be sure to share with my professors and fellow students how worthwhile this program is. To my recommenders and my friends, who talked me out of my fears before leaving the U.S. and who welcomed me home when I returned. To the sisters for being my far-away family and home-away-from-home. To Soledad and all of the English teachers for sharing your wisdom and organizational skills with me. To the friends I made in Argentina for making a foreign city feel like home. Thank you all.

I am so blessed to have a big, loving support system in my life. My heart grew a million times bigger in Tucumán from all the love I received, and I can’t wait to share all that love, knowledge and gratitude at PC in the Fall!

Ciao y gracias. Te amo mucho, Tucumán!

Hola! Here’s a quick update about our weekend in Tafi del Valle and our Monday afternoon visit to the Santa Rosa sugarcane factory in Monteros.

After sleeping VERY well in my bed at the convent on Thursday night, Sister Eugenia brought Trevor and me to her family’s vacation house in Tafi del Valle, which is in the mountains about two hours from the city. Her sister Carlota, five-year-old niece Guadalupe and their Shiatsu Frida also joined us for the weekend.

The ride up the mountain is not the easiest on the stomach, especially for people like me who tend to get car-sick. Sister Eugenia preemptively gave me a Dramamine pill, which made me really tired but also kept me from losing my breakfast on the climb up to the house. The same can’t be said for poor Frida, though. She projectile vomited all over the front seat, which was quite tragic.

Along the way we stopped at a cute little blueberry farm and bought some alfajores, which were the best I ever had. Upon arriving at the house, we spent the afternoon enjoying some sunshine, a siesta, and humita, which is a traditional Argentine dish made with choclo (corn) and zapallo (squash). Here are some photos I took!

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On Saturday we ventured out into the center of town to do some shopping and visit the historic Jesuit house. Tafi is a bit touristy, so some of the artisan goods were more expensive than they would be in the city. Still, they were very beautiful and fun to look at. We stopped at a cheese and salami shop where I learned that people do indeed eat llamas. Even worse, they eat llamas in the form of salami. A vegetarian’s nightmare!

We took a tour of the Jesuit house, which I absolutely loved – visiting museums is my favorite pastime! The museum included not only artifacts and artwork from the Jesuit mission, but also from the indigenous communities who originally inhabited the valley.

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There was a small artesanal store next to the museum that had handmade goods sold by local women. I bought a couple of cute and reasonably-priced gifts for my family.

Our next stop was Las Carreras, which is a cattle ranch, cheese shop, hotel and restaurant on the outskirts of Tafi del Valle. This was my favorite part of the weekend because we got to see so many cute, fluffy animals and share a delicious lunch together.

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We returned to San Miguel on Sunday morning, which happened to be the Feast of Corpus Christi. After having lunch with students, parents and the sisters at Yerba Buena, Sister Vicky took Trevor and me to the outdoor mass at la Plaza de Independencia. There were TONS of people there, all waiting to celebrate the feast and enjoy the unseasonably warm day. There were students from each of the schools in Tucuman there holding flags to honor the country, the province and the Vatican. I tried to take a good picture, but there were so many people there that I couldn’t see over the crowd! It was a great way to celebrate Sunday mass and a clear example of the dedication that Tucumanos have to their Catholic faith.

After a couple days of relaxation we went back to work in Monteros on Monday. Since this would be our last trip to Monteros we spent some time visiting classes that we hadn’t met before and chatting with the students in both English and Spanish. We had a discussion period with the sixth-year students about the songs from The Greatest Showman, the movie that we watched with a group a few weeks prior. The students made some great comments, worked on understanding the meanings of different metaphors in the songs, and then talked about how the themes from the songs could provide relevant life lessons. I think this final visit at Monteros was our most productive day there so far because we had the chance to meet so many students and help them not only with their English classes but also with their catequesis lessons.

After finishing up our volunteering at Monteros we took a tour of the nearby Santa Rosa sugarcane factory (no relation to the Santa Rosa school). Trevor, Sister Carolina and I were accompanied by two teachers from the school in Monteros who were also curious about how the sugar industry operates. Our tour guide was actually the chief engineer at the factory, which was a unique experience considering he usually doesn’t give private tours. We had to wear earplugs during the tour because of how loud the machinery is, so I really couldn’t hear much of his explanations about the process and had trouble understanding a lot of the vocabulary that he used during the few minutes that I could hear. Nevertheless I enjoyed looking around the factory and seeing all of the different machines that handle the sugarcane in different stages of the refining process. The coolest part was the microscope lens that allowed us to look into one of the refining tanks toward the end of the process. We could see the individual grains of sugar beginning to take form in the heating tanks! There were also swarms of bees throughout the factory because of the sugarcane honey produced as a byproduct of the granulated sugar process. The bees are so interested in the honey that they rarely cause problems for the employees.

While bees aren’t a big threat to the employees’ safety, there are tons of other hazards for the laborers in the factory. One of the administrators informed us that injuries and illness are quite frequent at the plant, mostly from heat stroke, dehydration, falls and especially burns. There is a small hospital ward on the property to treat minor injuries, but more severe accidents require emergency room visits and the occasional hospital stay. The sugar industry is a dangerous business! This tour provided me with a much deeper understanding of this vital Tucuman industry and a greater appreciation for the sugar that we consume nearly everyday.

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That’s all for now! My next (and final) post will be about my final week in Tucuman, lots of “see you laters” and the trip back to the good ol’ USA.