The Tables Turn . . .

This morning we arrived in Boise with the GSE team from Argentina. It was a terrific flight - lots of fun with our new friends, Gabriel, Luciano, Laura and Miriam. I noticed in the airport one big difference between the welcoming we received on April 1, and that our new friends received. Our families were all anxious to get our baggage and get us home, and had just enough time for a quick good bye for each other - friends who have been almost inseparable for a month. We were all a little sad about leaving each other, and felt a little responsible for making a comfortable transition for our Argentine friends. However, as with much in this program, the details are not in our hands, as their families were anxious to get them home as well.

After three days in Argentina of fairwell dinners and other goodbye rituals (which included my donating my curling iron to my host mom who noticed it in the bathroom and fell in love with it - she wanted to pay me for it and I was grateful not to have one more thing to pack!), we were anxious in the airport to get through security, get our tax rebates on the purchases we made, exchange pesos for dollars, get something to eat, etc. Our send off committee wanted, it seemed, to have another long goodbye and were a little put off by our anxiety. They didn't understand the rush. As it was we just barely had enough time to get on the plane after all our errands.

My impressions of the Group Study Exchange program are very positive. About two weeks into our trip, I was sure that a month in Argentina was overkill, now I'm not so sure. We made tremendous contacts with new friends, and will continue to converse with them. We learned a lot about what is important to us as indiviudals and what we can appreciate about our way of life. We learned a lot about the role our country plays in the world. Some of what we learned was pleasant, some not so much so, but the experience has had an impact and I hope each of us has the opportunity to share the knowledge we have gained with others here and in Argentina.

Bienvenidos to our new friends the Argentinians in Idaho. I hope they have a wonderful experience here and grow to love our lindo estado as much as we all have grown to love their beautiful country.

It is now 10 p.m. and I had dinner hours ago and am about to go to bed. I'm sure I'll be able to return to that way of life much easier than the transition at the beginning of April!

Ciao!
Beth