Hi everybody!
I recently got back from a 2 week trip to Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay with all the high school graduates of my town. It was a blast, and I’ve attached something that tells about it here.
Summer life here is nice and lazy, with school out and no chores or anything to worry about. I spend lots of time swimming in the river, laying in the sun, and just hanging out relaxing. It’s great here!
The rest of my vacation will have another trip in it for sure; my host family is thinking about going to Brazil, but I might go somewhere else in Argentina while they head north. I’d like to see Bariloche, and maybe further south to Perito Moreno and Tierra del Fuego. Also, I’ll probably return to Córdoba to see Ramiro, my host brother in febuary if he doesn’t come this way.
My 11 ½ months are almost halfway through already! I can’t believe it, time really flies. Oh well. I think I’ve made a very good use of my time so far and plan to continue doing so.
I hope everyone is doing great up there in the northern hemisphere! I’d love to hear from you guys if you have the time. Drop me a message at
jon_e_scoles@yahoo.com.-Jonathan
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The graduation trip
As the lucky exchange student who gets lots of exceptions, I got to go on the school’s graduation trip, even though I was still a junior! I scrounged up the fee, nervously shipped my passport off to the Brazilian consulate for the visa, packed my bags, then climbed on the bus with 40 other kids on Christmas day.
Boy, was that a long haul! All the way from Viedma, Argentina to Piriapolis, Uruguay with only 4 meal breaks. It took a full 24 hours to get there, and, guess what? It was raining when we got there! Raining! I couldn’t believe it. We had driven 2000 kilometers to get soaking wet in a city famous for it’s sunny beaches.
That night it was worse. A sub-hurricane (well, it seemed like one) brewed up and came thundering down on the hotel, banging shutters back and forth, breaking 2 windows, and leaving us all in the dark. On top of this, with the power out, our growling stomachs had to go hungry for another 2 hours.
Now let me tell you this: when a group of 45 teenagers have been stuffed into a bus for a full day, they’re not going to be very chipper when they get out. If they discover that there is no steaming hot dinner waiting and ready like they expected, don’t expect them to be very happy campers.
After ages, the lights flickered back to life and the mad dash for the bus began. We somehow crammed ourselves into the bus, which then slowly, so slowly, trundled off down the road. Finally we got to the restaurant, where the mood immediately lifted at the sight of food. We ate milanesa (Similar to chicken-fried steak) and french fries.
The next day was an even longer drive to Brazil. We went to Camboriú, a beautiful tourist city on a 7km-long beach. This is where we spent the majority of the two-week trip. Each day we had some destination to go to, and every night we went to a dance club.
One of the cool things we did was going to this fun park. It started with a stroll through a nice rain forest- knee deep in slimy gray mud! Everyone got covered from head to toe and had a blast. Next, we split into groups to play some games. First, we went to this pond that had a slippery suspension bridge over it. Two people, one at each end started scrambling towards each other, each trying to get to the other side. Most fell off before they even got close. Others met and wrestled to get past, then splashed down in a tangle of arms and legs. Nobody made it all the way across, but it was fun anyway.
Another day we spent the whole time at the beach. This day, the weather cooperated perfectly – blue sky, sunny and hot. Everything went nicely that day; the sand was white and smooth, the water clear and warm, and the entire day to relax. On the beaches there, you could by corn on the cob or churros from any roaming vendor. Speaking of vendors, there were a lot of them, selling jewelry, sunglasses, ice cream, crafts, blankets, and many other things. They tried really hard to sell us stuff, even followed us as we walked away saying no, thanks.
After a week in Camboriú, we piled into the bus for another daylong trip to Foz
do Iguaçu. Another tourist city, this one located at the famous Falls of Iguazú, a gigantic waterfall. We spent 2 nights in this area. The first day, we saw the falls themselves. At the Brazilian side, we walked all over the place and got the panoramic views of the Argentine side. After taking bazillions of photos, we went to lunch.
Then we went to the much more interesting Argentine side. Here, we started again by walking the trails and admiring the falls. We couldn’t see as much from this side, but we were up close and personal with the thundering cascades. Once again, we had to wait for the fun part to begin.
It started by climbing into a big 4x4 Mercedes truck with bench seats in an open bed. We had a guide, who pointed out all the interesting parts of the jungle as we clattered through it. We saw some impressive spiders and heard lots of bugs, but didn’t see anything all that interesting. The ride ended at the top of staircase leading down into the forest.
All dismounted, then started down. After about a mile, we got to the river, where 2 jet boats were waiting. Everyone eagerly clambered aboard, donned life jackets, and took their seats. The driver gunned the twin 150hp engines, and we were off, heading upstream. Soon, we arrived at some rapids, where the ride started to get rough.
Then we got a real surprise. The boat rounded a bend, and we found ourselves beneath a towering cascade of water. It continued heading right for the middle, right into the waterfall! We all got soaked (again). An older couple that was in the boat who wanted to stop interrupted our ride. Once more, we waited as we returned to the shore to let them off. Then, we went to the really big falls, San Martin. Here, we actually went inside of the cascade, with water on all sides creating a complete whiteout. That part was the best.
And all to soon, it was over. We dismounted, and began the long climb back up to the top. We wearily trudged over the steps, and somehow made it back, where we all collapsed in the bus and fell right asleep. I don’t think I’ve ever slept as well as I did that night.
The trip was already over! Well, almost. There was only a 36-hour journey left. I think I slept most of the way, because I don’t remember much. All I know is that it was quite a voyage, a very long and boring one. It took more time than it did to get from Seattle to Viedma. (27hrs) I hope I never have to do that again.
On second thought, maybe I would. It was an awesome way to celebrate graduation, even if it was very expensive. I saw new countries, another new language, (Portuguese in Brazil), and learned how to remain sane when in a bus full of graduates for days at a time. Yeah, I’d definitely do it again.