Argentine Adventures #15: Finale
Saying farewell to dear friends and heading home
Aussie culture
Córdoba was lovely, but a whirlwind, so I took a day to rest and prepare my presentation for Ezequiel’s (year 7 equivalent) society and culture class. The photos were almost all mine—from all around Australia, my neighbourhood, and of food and people.
I shared observations about Australian, Argentine, and Southeast Asian cultures. The presentation included a script with as much Aussie slang as possible.1 First, they tried guessing, then I offered a full ‘translation’. It was good fun doing that with Ezequiel and Lilén, too. Overall, the kids were pretty engaged.
A thank you dinner
Skipping back to Tuesday—I took the Andrés family out to dinner at a nearby place with an art deco vibe.
After this, they kindly shouted me gelati helado. Us three ‘kids’ had 250g each, which cost $8.000ARS ($10AUD). My three flavours were banana split, passionfruit, and a berries and cream-type thing. The first was my favourite.
We took these back to the apartment at about 11pm. And then I stayed up talking to my brother and sister about language, names, and other things. Went to bed at 12:30 after calling Jon.
Museo de Arte Latinamericano de Buenos Aires
…aka MALBA, is half price on Wednesdays, as I found out when I bought my ticket. It had a fantastic collection; I’m so glad I went!
There were original Frida Kahlo pieces, but my favourite thing in the museo was a work of a skull—quite unlike me, I know. Every inch of it was covered in tiny pictures, and all made from plasticine. Astonishing. I stared at it for ages and kept noticing more and more.
Miss Venezuela
I left the museum and walked for about forty minutes to the ‘Miss Venezuela Teatro Bar’. Oscar, Cristina, Katy, Kevin and I all had an excellent Venezuelan feast! It was an all-you-can-eat buffet for only $18.500 ($25)!
But I didn’t pay; they shouted my cost among them, which was very kind. These friends have all become so precious to me, and I think me to them, too. I have no idea if or when I’ll ever see Cristina and Oscar again. At least Katy and Kevin are visiting Australia over the summer.
They’re all so lovely and kind! I’m so grateful—God has provided me with many beautiful people and memories.
Sitting in the sun
It’s a beautiful clear day here in Buenos Aires, so I’m soaking in the sun and the company on my very last day.
I had a lovely long lunch with Lilén and Ezequiel in the sun room / balcony. We talked about history and culture, technology and monasticism, and more. Ah, it would be delightful to stay here forever. But I must go home.
My heart is full. Thank you, Jesus!
Ciao, mi familia!
Apart from a brief walk around the block, I did no more adventuring. I just wanted to spend time with my Argentine family. Cried a little as Lucio prayed for me and they sent me off. Katy kindly rode with me in my Uber to the airport. Ah, I’m going to miss these people!! God has been so, so kind. I do hope I get to see them again.
Caught my first flight without a hitch. Made friends with the Argentine couple I sat next to. They spoke no English, but we could understand each other in Spanish ok! They’re going on holiday to Japan and were taking the same next flight as me, travelling via Melbourne, to get there.
As we flew over the Andes, I could just see snow glowing off the mountains in the darkness. Very cool.
The final stretch
Thankfully, getting from one gate to the next at Santiago airport was straightforward. So I didn’t need the visa I’d fussed over at all! But it’s good I had it, just in case.
Decided again to be brave and ask the girl next to me where she’s from. I’ve been getting bolder on this trip. Turns out, she’s from Chile, only eighteen, and this is her first ever flight. Well, what a long one to jump into! She’s moving to the Gold Coast for a year to learn English at a college. I shared a little about Aussie culture with her, mostly in Spanish. I know my sentences are often incorrect, but she spoke so slowly that I understood most things.
The flight itself went well. Again, I didn’t sleep, but hibernated. This final plane was the nicest yet. We even got three meals! Luxury.
Home
Our flight came in an hour and a half early—there must have been great headwinds! Poor Mum didn’t get much sleep, but kindly came to collect me at 4:30am. We drove home through quiet roads; there’s no traffic at 5am on a Saturday.
So I’m back! Here I am, home, after a whole month on the other side of the world. I’m already missing the people and speaking my particular dialect of Spanglish, but happy to be back and doing the next right thing.
Here’s the ‘Aussie slang script’, for fun:
We’ve got the rellos coming over this arvo for tea, so I sent my hubby to the big smoke to fetch some tucker for the barbie.
I was cranky before brekky and my ciggy, so I told him he looked daggy in his tracky-dacks, flannie, and thongs. He wasn’t rapt, but knew I’d been feeling crook and needed to veg out by the telly with a doona in my ugg boots.
He drove off in the ute to grab avos, snags, lollies, and a chook from Woolies. The bloke’s a hoon, nearly hit a roo and almost got caught by the coppers! At least we live in the bush, so things aren’t choc-a-bloc. He filled up at the servo, did a quick Macca’s run, and then grabbed a cold one at the Bottle-O and ice for the esky.
‘Good on ya, love, I hope they don’t bail again’, I said when he returned. We cleaned the dunny and put out some bikkies. Fair dinkum, I’m stuffed! Well, no worries, I reckon she’ll be right, mate.
Absolutely adore the slang !!!
Drawings are so cute 🥺