Rotary District 7330 Argentina GSE Team

Pick-ups began at 10am from our homes in Rio Cuarto and by the time we got everyone on board the mini bus, we were out of town around 11am.  Since Beth went to Buenos Aires, our group was only 4.  We arrived to the Cordoba Airport around 3pm and boarded our flight home around 5pm.  We were all looking forward to coming home but will miss all of our new Argentinean friends and will never forget our experience. 

We were all individually transported to the Howard Johnson Hotel again for the final day of the Rotary Conference at 9:30 in the morning.  The rest of the conference went all morning and finished around 1:30pm with a short coffee break around 11am.  By the time the conference was over we were more than ready for lunch. 

We walked back to Luz and Fuerza for the final Rotary lunch and to say good bye to all of the other attendees.  Since we were in Argentina and since it was the last day of the conference, everyone was served asado.  Lunch finished around 3pm with dessert and began saying our farewell’s to everyone.  About an hour or so of good-byes we were starting to head for the door.  After another 30min of pictures and more good-byes, we were taken back to our host families to begin packing. 

This was our last evening in Argentina as a group.  Some of us met at the town’s central park for dinner and a beer and others stayed with their host family for dinner.  The Kansas GSE group and Beth had to leave at 2am to make their flight to Buenos Aires for a day of sightseeing before heading back home.  The rest of our group will leave Rio Cuarto at 10am to fly directly to Santiago then back to the US.  We’re hoping that all of our souvenirs won’t weigh our bags down too much!

At 9:00 a taxi arrived to pick us each up for the first official day of the Conference.  During the morning session we gave our presentation to approximately 200 people (mas o menos…..the Argentina term that is continually used to mean more or less).  We also met with and saw the presentation from the Argentina GSE team that has just returned from our Rotary district.  They showed many pictures of people and places we all know well such as PNC Park, Fallingwater, and Fort Ligoner.  The conference broke for lunch at about 3 o’clock and we walked to a near- by restaurant called the Luz y Fuerza for appetizers.  We joined the GSE team from Kansas and some other new friends to watch a soccer game and see the enthusiasm for this national pastime.  We then returned to our homes to prepare for the evening gala which began at 9:30 pm.  The dinner consisted of many courses of meals and many laughs, as both GSE teams as we were all seated together at the same table.  After dinner, a singer treated us to traditional Argentine pop music and then a salsa band played with the crowd dispersing at about 2 am.

We were picked up at our host families at 9 o’clock in the morning to go meet with the mayor of Rio Quarto.  We were ushered into the municipal conference room where the two team leaders were invited to have a private meeting with the mayor and we were served coffee.  The bus then transported both teams to tour the jail with a representative of the international rotary.  We were taken to the bakery and  carpentry areas of the prison that serve as a part of a rehabilitation program partially funded by the rotary.  We were then taken back to our individual homes for lunch, and for Beth a children’s birthday party. 

At 6:30 we met at the theatre for an formal opening ceremony of the District Conference.  The event included speeches by District Governor and a representative of Rotary International.  We were then treated to a performance by a very talented orchestra.  Afterwards Beth, Erin and Janelle were taken to the San Antonia Hotel for a dinner with about 30 Rotary Club members and Chuck and Todd were a part of a rotary dinner party held at their host family.  Dinner for both parties came to an end a little after  1 o’clock in the morning.  We were the only people that appeared to be tired! 

In the morning we were treated to a rare free morning.  Our group met with the president of the Rio Quarto rotary club for an unusual meal in Argentina- tacos!  The president took us to a privately owned ice cream shop that specializes in varieties of homemade ice cream.  We then toured the city until the next event in the evening.  At 7:00 we went to the Rotary House to see the orthopedic clinic.  The club offers walkers, crutches, and various prosthetics to the public at little to low cost.  We were then taken to Howard Johnson’s- a new hotel and casino for dinner and a little recreational gambling.  The night wrapped up around 1:00.

Professional Day for each of us.  Erin, Todd, and Janelle visited El Centro Empresario (which is comparable to a Chamber’s of Commerce in the United States).  Beth observed at a “traumatologia” clinic that is operated by a kinesiologist (similar to a physical therapy and chiropractic clinic in the United States).  In the afternoon Beth received a tour of the sierras.  After an hour of bumping along a private winding trail, suddenly a panoramic view appeared of San Louis in the distance valley.  Dinner was in the house of each individual host family.      

We were all picked up at our homes between 8am and 9am.  After we got the last person our bus headed to Rio Cuarto University.  This is one of the largest universities in Cordoba province with over 20,000 students.  Our first item on our agenda was to meet with the president of the university.  We talked with him about the school and learned about how the educational system works in Argentina.  After our meeting we were given a tour of the university and got to see a horse undergoing surgery in their veterinarian building.  We then toured the rest of the university.

After the university we were taken to lunch at a nice restaurant which had a very wide menu of food and wines.   After lunch we all got back on the bus and went to a large chicken processing facility.  They process over 70,000 chickens per day and employ 150 workers.  We all dressed in white suits to protect against sanitation and contamination.  After the chicken factory we went for coffee in the city and did some sightseeing.   That evening we all met for dinner at 9pm for asado with one of the Rio Cuarto Rotarian clubs.

Both GSE groups met in the lobby for breakfast and said our goodbyes to Maxamiliano, the organizer for Cordoba.  After we settled our bills, packed the bus we all left Cordoba at 10:30am to head to Rio Cuarto.  Since we didn’t need to be there until 8pm, we were able to stop off at several small towns along the way to break up the trip.  The first town we visited was Alta Gracia, about 40km away from Cordoba city.  This was a small town up in the hills and is where revolutionary, Che Guevara spent much of his adolescence.  After shopping and some ice cream we got back on the bus to our next town, Villa General Belgrano.  This town is a very small tourist town founded after World War II by German soldiers.  The town had a clear German feel to it and we had a traditional German lunch while sight-seeing and learning about its history. 

After lunch we got back on the bus for the final leg of our trip to Rio Cuarto.  We arrived around 7:30pm to meet with Rotarians from the town and all went our separate ways to our host families’ homes for dinner and to unpack for our final city.

The entire team was very happy.  Today was our first full day off!  Many of us took this valuable opportunity to catch up on some much needed sleep and phone calls back to the US.  It was sunny and clear all day today so walking around the city was a nice treat.  Cordoba is famous for many old cathedrals and is home to seven major universities.  Although many of the shops were closed today, many street vendors were out selling hand-made jewelry, pirated CDs, clothes and many other random items.   This evening our team began packing our things and organizing everything for the last town on our trip.  We leave for Rio Cuarto in the morning. 

Following the meeting we began driving into the mountains until we reach our second destination of the day, a very exclusive health spa and hotel.  We toured the facility and learned about its long history and types of activities and clinics.  After the hotel we continued to drive further into the mountains until we reached an old dam.  Built in 1902, this dam used to supply energy to the region until the 1960’s.  The old building had been completely restored and converted in to a museum.  Everyone enjoyed the views and old machinery. 

Following the museum, we drove for another 2 hours to meet another rotary club for lunch.  After a much needed lunch, we all got back on the bus and headed to the next town for a tour of an old winery.   At the end of the tour, everyone bought many bottles of wine and we got back on the bus to head home to the city. 

Once we arrived back to the hotel, we had about an hour to change clothes and get ready for a Rotary-sponsored fiesta.  Used as a way to raise money, the rotary club’s fiesta gave us all a change to relax and dance.  Like most parties in Argentina this lasted until about 3:30am.