What we'll miss about Argentina

COUNTRY: Argentina
PROGRAM: GapBreak
PROJECT: Care Work
WRITTEN BY: Anna Craven

I can't believe I'm saying this already, but our time in Argentina with Antipodeans is at an end. In 3 months, we've seen the most incredible things, met the most wonderful people, and shared experiences that only we can understand, because to explain them is beyond impossible.

Our final two weeks have been filled with returning to favorite foodie hang-outs including our favorite cafe Casa de Gretha, best frozen yoghurt bar Frenzy, juiciest parilla La Cholita, yummiest and cheapest ice creamery across the road and our sweet little veggie shop on Ecuador. Of course, we've revisited the metallic flower, the markets at Plaza Serrano, the Recoleta markets, our regular bars and clubs, being Sugar, Milion, Jobs and Terrazas, and seen Casa Rosada bathed in neon pink lights at night. Sophie's soaked up her final days in her beloved Botanical Gardens and did a tour of Teatro Colon, and Jess went on a brief visit to Iguazu and Rio, and a few of us visited the country town of Pilar. Jess and I finished our final Spanish lessons and said goodbye to our wonderful teacher Yani, and we've all soaked up our time on the residence terrace, the couches in the common room, the ever-busy kitchen and the beds that have become our own.

Today we volunteered for the last time, and we're ll caught off guard by the emotion that hit us when it came time for saying goodbye. With brave faces and big grins we drew our last drawings and cards, packed up the Lego, found the soccer balls that always go missing, counted the number of skips each kid can muster, and snapped photos of the cheesy grins we've come to love. It wasn't until the van ride home that we realized how much we're going to miss these kids, and tears were shed the whole way back to Recoleta.

Over the next couple of days, we're all saying our last goodbyes to the roadhouse and heading our separate ways. Sophie and Jess are making their way back home, Kelly's traveling in Europe, Nat's heading to England, whilst myself and Em are off to explore more of South America.

I really will miss all the little quirks that come with living in BA and the roadhouse, like the smell of 2 peso pastries from halfway down the street, empenadas for lunch every day, the constant sound of voices from the common room, David and Christian's (our security guards) smiling faces as we burst through the front door, our naps in the van on the way to volunteering, the ever-lingering smell of parilla in the air (and on hair, clothes and most foods), the public holidays that occur at least every two weeks, the protests that are guaranteed to occur every few days, dulce de leche flavored everything, Sophie's smiling face in the morning, ridiculous attempts at Spanish, the dog walkers that walk no less than 15 dogs at a time, meeting new people in the house every week and yes, even the taste of a hot slurp of mate.

We can't thank Antipodeans and Road2Argentina enough for such a wonderful 3 months and each of us know that we will return one day soon to see and do it all again. It really has become our home away from home. Te amamos Argentina, y saludos for the last time.

- Anna (Em, Jess, Kelly, Sophie, Nat)