Roadblocks & New Friends

Hi everyone! This will be out first official post from Argentina. As I write this, I’m sitting in the lobby of the Hotel Vaness in Mar del Plata, a beach city south of Buenos Aires. To say the start of our adventure was eventful would be an extreme understatement.

We began our journey at the American Airlines counter in Boston Logan airport at 3:30pm on May 23^rd. By the time everyone had arrived and checked in it was 4:30pm, plenty of time for our 6:30pm flight—little did we know just how much time we had ahead of us. Due to inclement weather in New York and Boston, our flight was delayed and by the time we finally departed for JFK airport it was 8:30pm. A delayed flight generally proves to be slightly annoying and inconvenient, but when you are trying to catch a 10pm flight to Argentina it is unsurprising that we were all pretty nervous and unsure as to whether or not we would actually make the connecting flight. We knew that there would be a short window of time to sprint to the next gate, so when we finally landed and got of the plane at JFK we made a mad dash across the terminal. After what we decided was more like an obstacle course than anything—absurdly long escalators and long stretches of people movers—we arrived at the Argentina gate just on time.

Safely on the plane we were all able to relax and attempt to sleep through the 10 hour ride. We arrived in Buenos Aires at 10:20am on May 24^th sleepy but very excited to get started on our real adventure. However, more obstacles awaited us at customs. After an hour of telephone calls to a less than helpful bank, we finally arranged a way to pay for all 20 of our entry visas into the country—they charge Americans extra because we charge them to enter our country.

Finally free of airports and planes, we finally had mostly smooth sailing all the way to Mar del Plata.

After 5 hours at Logan airport, a quick sprint through JFK, a 10 hour flight to Argentina, 1 hour stuck in customs, and a 4 hour bus ride, we had finally made it to our first destination. I have to say that I was extremely impressed by everyone’s patience and ability to turn our roadblocks into good experiences. We played name games, cards, got to know each other, and generally kept a positive attitude during times that could normally be accompanied by whining and groaning.

Once we were finally settled into our hotel, we went out for traditional Argentinean pizza at the famous Manolo and learned that hard boiled eggs can actually taste pretty good on pizza. We had a great time laughing about our travels and discussing our plans for the coming days. We finished off the meal with some gelato, and some people got to experience the well-known Dulce de Leche flavor for the very first time. To digest before heading back to the hotel, we walked along the beach and took in the Argentinean air, making sure to take a good look around at the beautiful city of Mar del Plata. Back at the hotel, we went around in a circle saying our high points and low points for the day, and one thing we all discovered was that all that time spent waiting was actually very helpful in jump-starting our group bonding.

Going to bed after our first day already full of adventures and with a stomach full of delicious Argentinean pizza, I know we have a lot to look forward to—both in terms of getting to know one another even better and in terms of working with and helping the Jewish community here. I am positive that I, along with the rest of the group will sleep soundly tonight and will wake up in the morning fresh and ready for even more adventures.

Stay tuned for even more exciting tales

¡Buenos Noches!