Saturday School and Kitchen Table Church

Saturday School

Estancia Jesuítica de Jesús María

This weekend has been full of new experiences and getting the most out of my time here in Argentina. Saturday the 14th (Valentines Day) was spent with my classmates and culture professor. We met up early at my university and took a bus to a Jesuit estancia about an hour outside the city. A lot of the tutors (Argentine students) came as well. We spent the morning touring the estancia, looking at artifacts and learning more about the Jesuits. This week we have had multiple classes, watched two documentaries and visited multiple historical sites to learn about the Jesuits arrival and expulsion in Cordoba. We have to turn in a paper about the Jesuits in Cordoba this upcoming Wednesday, in Spanish of course! I think I have had enough history about the Jesuits to last me a very long time. At least I can say I have learned a lot in my first full week of class!

Inside the courtyard of the Estancia 

Saturday afternoon we went to a "country club" nearby that had a pool, an area to play sports, and a large room where we were served lunch. It was fun to be able to have free time all together and a chance to hang out with some of the Argentine students. Now that we have been here for a week and a half everyone's Spanish has improved and it's easier to hang out and chat with the Argentines.

Exchange students form US, Japan and Canada with some of the Argentine tutors 

Kitchen Table Church

Late Saturday night it started raining heavily and has continued throughout Sunday. It was raining so hard Sunday morning that the roads were flooded and it was unsafe to drive. With my host family's church only having 15-20 people, they made a few calls and cancelled service. Instead of going to church my host parents, host aunt, a neighbor and I had church around the kitchen table. They sang several songs, picked a passage and prayed together. If I thought last week at church was different from what I am accustomed to, I was clearly not prepared for this week. Their expression of faith is completely different from what I have grown up around but I can benefit by learning about their dedication to what they believe.