Fourth and Final Week

It has been quite a memorable last week in Argentina. I left off explaining that the bus companies were going on strike AGAIN, but fortunately, they reached an agreement and ran for brief periods throughout the long weekend. On Friday, I was able to go to Cordoba to teach my adult English class. It was the birthday of one of my students so we had cake and sang and everything! I spent the next two days wandering through central Cordoba, exploring everything from Parque Sarmiento (kind of like Central Park) to the Evita Fine Arts Museum.

Monday was another holiday (Flag Day) so everything was closed and there were no classes to teach. That morning, I happened to wake up with a horrible fever, so I stayed home all day. I realized that I would have trouble passing the swine flu inspection points at the airport in four days if I still had a fever, so I decided to see a doctor. On Tuesday, I went to a private clinic in Cordoba. The doctor confirmed that I did NOT have swine flu and he wrote me a note to take to the airport certifying that I was swine-flu free. I hope it helps. I REALLY do not want to get detained on my way home.

Although I did not feel any better on Wednesday, I went to work anyway because I refused to miss my last day. My job makes me happier than anything else here, and I did not want to leave without saying goodbye to everyone. I brought the students lots of stickers and colored paper as gifts and they could not wait to use them. My fellow teachers also made me a lemon pie and a goodbye card! I had tons of fun that day (despite my fever) and I was SO sad to leave.

Today is my last day in Argentina, and I am currently at the airport waiting to board the plane (my first of three). I will be flying back to Santiago, Chile, then to Miami, then to Chicago. I am not exactly looking forward to spending 24 hours in airports, but I am looking forward to seeing my family and friends. At the same time, I am going to miss so many things about Argentina. The people here are the nicest I have ever met, and I admire the perspectives they have on daily life.

Hopefully, I will soon be able to update you on how my flights went. The next time I write will probably be from the comfort of my own home, and since I will have so many hours of down time at the airport to think, I am sure I will have new reflections about my trip to report.

See you soon!