Day 3: La Boca

Today the teams went out and started accomplishing their tasks from the Buenos Aires city game. My team spent a lot of time in the neighborhood of La Boca which is a colorful market of shops and dining experiences. Art covers the walls and we saw people dancing together in the street to music. We went into a small shop and met a woman working from Venezuela. She spoke great English and was eager to practice speaking it with us. She explained to us the ingredients in the famous tea of Argentina, yerba mate, and gave us all a sample of it. It was quite bitter and tasted a bit like green tea. She explained that many people will add sugar to sweeten it because alone it is too strong of a flavor. They drink this for its caffeine and also is detoxifying and immune building properties. While the majority of our visit was spent talking with her we also walked through the other shops on the street and took lots of pictures. 

Much of the artwork that we saw was either graffiti on the walls or it was hanging in displays like this. It didn't always specify who the artist was and it didn't appear to be on sale either. People just left their art for others to see. We really liked this because in the U.S. we don't often see public art with such a display. It is usually in the form of graffiti which is sometimes wanted there and other times the owner of the building does not want it there. It seemed that here they all embraced the graffiti and the art and wanted to show it off to others. 

We never actually got to see them dance but they were taking pictures with people as they walked by. Sofia (our guide for this trip) warned us before we went to La Boca that everything has a price there. We noticed that around certain things like the big pictures of tango dancers with the faces cut out you'd have to pay to take a picture. We watched someone that didn't speak Spanish take a picture with the dancers and then the man demanded that they pay him 30 pesos. We found it odd that sometimes you would just take a picture and have no idea you were paying for it until a large man comes over and demands money. At that point as a tourist they don't know what to do and they just pay him. We were not sure if the tango dancers were actually going to dance at some point or were only there to take pictures. 

Day 3: Trip to La Serenisima

Group photo with guide Matias after a great tour.

Today was our first business trip in Argentina. We had an early wakeup call and a long ride ahead of us, but it was all worth it. On our way to the plant we drove out of the busy city, we were look at the suburban areas around us. As we drove past, Sofia mentioned that a lot of immigrants live in this particular area. They are renovating the road so they are all able to attend schools and rebuilding all the houses so they are livable. Once we arrived at the plant, we were greeted by our tour guide Matias. He took us to a little screenings room where he gave us a quick introduction and showed us a very informative video on the history of the factory. He has worked with Bryant before so we were very pleased to have him showing us around again. Matias told us he has been with La Serenisima for about six years. Before working at the plant, he worked on a cruise ship and learned to speak English very well. Matias was very passionate about his job and very attentive to our group and all of our questions. The video was not very long, but very informative. The company was founded in 1929 and family run up until recent management change. They have over 4,000 employees working at all different levels of the company. La Serenisima has five different classifying plants and seven manufacturing plants. Although there are only a few companies that produce milk products in Argentina, they are one of the largest. Their values are very important to them and want to make sure they send out the highest quality of products in every shipment.
 

Students getting ready to watch the video all about the company La Serenisima. 

La Serenisima produces a large variety of products. From regular milk products to powdered goods. They also do butters, creams, many types of cheeses, and dulce de leche. They buy milk from over 724 certified dairy farms. In their plant, they personally evaluate all the milk to make sure it is the highest quality for their products. La Serenisima is not wasteful with any leftover milk, they have a secondary company that produces less expensive product so everyone can afford milk products. After watching the video, we were able to walk though he factory and actually see how everything was produced. John and many others were saying how mesmerizing it is to watch the products being created and packaged. In the specific plant we toured, they produce they top selling products and they specialty products like lactose reduced products.

Machines at work producing the dairy products. 

Matias was explaining to our group how the company will be changing in a positive way due to new management. He explained that big things were coming with new products like vegan milk and a few others he could not share with us. As our tour came to an end, we were able to try some sample of the products. Courtney and others agreed that their yogurt is a lot creamier. A lot of our class enjoyed the Caramel like substance called dulce de leche. Overall the visit was a huge success and a lot of fun for all.

Group of students enjoying the samples of the products at the end of the tour. 

Matias explaining the labratory and its importance. 

Sunday: Buenos Aires City Game!!

Today, we were lucky enough to do a city game of Buenos Aires! We were provided with pesos, a map and sports to visit. The rest was up to us how to complete the task! This allowed us to explore the city by foot and car. While interacting with locals, we practiced our Spanish skills and shopped around for new souvenirs. This game brought us around to a variety of important spots in Buenos Aires. First off, we went to La Boca. After a brief visit on the tour, we were excited to further explore these streets. The culture is so unique, and the locals were happy to interact while we were there! We were so excited that buying Alfadores was on the list! It was another excuse to eat the delicious treat. Next up, we went to the Plaza with the Church and Cemetery. The cathedral was breathtaking, and gives homage to the dedication to religion that many people have in Buenos Aires. Catholicism is the primary faith practiced here, and this was reflected in the beauty of this Church. The area is open and without traffic, making it easy and pleasant to explore on foot. After this, we walked nearby to the graveyard. The tour guide spoke yesterday of the symbolic importance of this graveyard, and its intricacies show how dedicated families are to loved ones passed. The mausoleums have been around for decades, and are in impeccable shape to this day. There was a solitary atmosphere in this area, as people wandered around the area. Throughout the day, we took photos with people wearing soccer jersey. It was a great talking point to begin conversing with locals. We experienced a variety of taxi drivers who were happy to talk with us about our trip. The first man shared that he was "in a local rock band that performed around the city". It's a great way for him to socialize with other people his age! The next driver was talking about "how different driving is here versus America. While it is much easier to get a license here, operating primarily stick shift vehicle in boisterous traffic can be challenging." While the driving was a bit reckless, we lived to tell the tale.

Carol adds another picture to the collection with a soccer jersey!

We found that the culture is much more relaxed than in America. Everyone was very willing to participate in our game and help us to practice our Spanish. As long as we were willing to put in the effort and engage in conversation, they were very happy to help. The culture is so unique, and almost bright as the sunny skies we had this afternoon.

This cross was a part of the Church that we visited. Religion is a very large part of the culture here.

Driving around the city today, we noticed many Catholic churches around. This seems to be a widely practiced faith, and the taxi drivers shared a bit of their passion for it. It was interesting to see how similar Churches are in both America and Argentina.

These are the prestigious gates of the cemetery. The area is very well maintained, and symbolic of the respect that Argentine's have for those passed.

Tomorrow we are looking forward to completing the rest of our challenges and exploring more of the city!!

Day 2: An Informative Q&A and a Beautiful City Tour

This morning the Bryant SIE crew had an informative Q&A session with Matt Moran, a former world bank consultant living in Argentina. Matt talked to us about the business and social culture of Argentina as well as helpful advice for what to do and what not to do while in the country. We covered topics ranging from getting a drivers license in Argentina to contract laws of and how they make it difficult to trust even your strongest business acquaintances. His stories grabbed the attention of the group and the advice he gave to us was priceless. The whole Bryant crew is extremely grateful to Mr. Moran for taking time to come and teach us about this wonderful country.

After we separated for a quick lunch, we got back together for a bus tour around the city. At first, we passed beautiful churches as well as Universidad de Buenos Aires, a free university that is extremely selective on who they accept. Throughout the whole tour we marveled at the beautiful architecture that the city possessed. The tour next brought us to a farmers market where we saw several small huts set up with different knickknack type objects for sale. Next to the market was an indoor shopping plaza with different bars and restaurants. Upon leaving there, we traveled to La Boca, a section of Argentina with vibrant colors and shops lining the streets. Blue and yellow walls lined the streets as we browsed the many shops and stores in the area. Perhaps my favorite part of the day was when we saw a group of about six or seven dogs available to take pictures with. There was no fee to take the pictures, however if you took a picture with them it was recommended that you make a contribution to the rescued dogs to hopefully find them homes. To find a picture of one of the cutest dogs, follow the Snapchat account we created for the trip @sie_ac2019. Here we will post updates and pictures relating to this once in a lifetime trip that we are currently on.