We’ve finished our time in Valle Grande and returned to la capital, Buenos Aires.
Our last week in Valle Grande was bittersweet. We saw the end of our greenhouse project, hanging up the wire structure and special agricultural plastic designed to trap solar energy. The kids and the community were excited to see the completion of all of our hard work. “I felt very accomplished and was proud of myself,” said Miranda Kalvaria of New York, New York, “because I had never done anything like that before. You could tell that everyone from the village that we working with was really excited and that got me more excited. I felt like we had really made an impact on the community. Looking out at the mountain and the completed structure, I remembered everything from the beginning—how we had started from nothing. I hope that it really benefits the community because I know that I always remember doing it.”
Students also finished up independent projects. Austin King from Lexington, Massachusetts, selected to build a fort for local children to play in and had this to say: “The fort consisted of several different types of materials that I collected from all over Valle Grande. I used thick branches as stakes for the fort, bamboo as the roof, wire to string together the bamboo, rocks to piece together a 3 foot rock wall around the perimeter of ‘Fort Austin,’ and machetes, pickaxes, shovels, and rakes to piece everything together. My independent project was ambitious, but I knew if I completed it, I would have an incredible feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. I thoroughly enjoyed spending my time on this project, and I really hope that this structure will help out Valle Grande.”
Another student, Sam Pottash from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, learned to play a traditional folklore song from the Jujuy Province, Soy de Jujuy. “I wanted to translate the lyrics so I could bring a little of the culture back home,” said Sam. According to Sam, although he didn’t speak much Spanish, he was able to communicate with one of the community members through music. “When I was performing, I was surprised to see that the community was so flattered that I would learn one of their defining songs.”
We enjoyed our last few days, participating in some impromptu performances, heated volleyball matches, and some shared moments with the community before our departure on Saturday morning.
“Leaving Valle Grande was both sad and satisfying,” said Nat Epstein from New York, New York. “I was sad to leave the people I had gotten to know over the course of the month, but I was satisfied to know that we really did help out the community and that they will remember us in a positive light.”
“I thought I was ready to leave Valle Grande, and then I heard 3 young children that we had gotten very close with call our names as we were leaving,” said Ali Gumberg of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “They asked us when we were coming back, and it was then that it hit me that we weren’t. It made me sad, and I also realized the depth of the impact we had had on the community, and the community had had on us.”
We arrived in Buenos Aires on Monday and have been enjoying all that the city has to offer. We’re all looking forward to seeing our friends and family soon.
Con cariño,
Brenna and Zach
