5-28 Isla Martin Garcia And Our Little Friends

By: Tiffany Williams

Yet another successful day in Argentina! Though the 6:30 wake-up call was not appreciated by everyone, it led to an exciting day. Most everyone made it to breakfast at 7; yet everyone that did not, made it down to the lobby by 7:30 to catch the bus to Martin Garcia Island.
Today we once again traveled by boat; however today’s ride was much longer. We had a 3 hour boat ride!!! Once on the boat, a variety of activities happened among the students. Some students slept, while others played cards. When we stepped onto that boat, we had a surprise we were never expecting. There was another school group going to the island today, but they were all around 9 years old. On the ride over, we had some interaction with them, but most of us were into our own business.
After the grueling 3 hour boat ride, we were all a little slow to get off the boat. Once arriving we headed to lunch. We were served hamburgers, apples, and coke or water. After filling up on a delicious lunch, we then took yet another tour. We learned about the history of Martin Garcia Island, and its purpose now vs. then. The island was filled with birds and flowers that were unique. While walking around, we came upon something we [students] did not expect the island to have: an airport! Though it was just a runway and a small one room building, the fact that the small island had an airport was shocking to some. We took pictures in front of the airport sign, and we saw two personal planes. After taking pictures and seeing a single runway airport, we continued walking.
However, someone felt that he was not getting enough attention! About 5 minutes into walking, Max Henning realized that he had left his bag. This meant that the entire group had to wait for Max to run back and get his things. Some of us think that Max felt that he wasn’t getting enough attention, and he just needed some attention.
After concluding our wonderful tour of the simplistic island, we headed to a soccer we passed and divided into teams. We had lots of fun playing soccer, and playing against friends for fun was a nice way to relax and get some exercise. With teams divided and the soccer ball in play, the competition was fierce (just kidding). Though not everyone played, everyone had fun relaxing or playing. We had to go search for the soccer ball a couple time considered there was pretty much woods all 3 out of the 4 sides on the field.
We then headed back to the port and waited about 30 minutes before we could board the boat. While waiting, some people received a tango lesson from the tour guides. It was humorous to watch friends try to tango, while trying to be completely serious about learning it at the same time. It was then time to board the boat.
Once we boarded the boat, we began to talk to the little kids again. The entire way home, we had fun talking all about their lives vs. our lives. The kids were so nice, and so sweet. They wanted to speak English to us, and we wanted to speak Spanish to them. It was so cool to meet the kids, and learn about their life. Just talking to these 9 year olds for 3 hours makes me think that the exchange would have been really fun. Though the trip did not completely work out, it was so much fun to chill with the kids. When the children realized that we had gum, they went crazy!! They all loved the gum; they all wanted multiple pieces. While we gave them gum, they gave us candies too. The candies were delicious and were all different flavors such as orange, vanilla, and even strawberries. By the end of the day, the kids were chanting our names, such as “Paul, Paul, Paul,” or “Tiffany, Tiffany, Tiffany.” At one point, they were chanting, “Alex, Laura, Tiffany.” We made some friends, and it was so amazing to see their little faces light up when we gave them just a simple piece of gum.
Today was definitely a fun day! We had so much fun with the kids, and going to the simplistic island helped us realize that sometimes simple is better than complex. Tomorrow sounds like a fun day, and though everything hasn’t worked as planned, the trip has still been fun!
Love you Mom, Dad, and Kenzo!!!!