Today the students of Norfolk Academy spent the full day at Holy Trinity College, shadowing the classes of the seniors at the school. I attended mathematics for the first hour of my day and all of my companions and I were far more advanced in the math material (which was polynomials) that the students were learning. The second hour we had chemistry and besides the first 5 minutes nobody from NA understood anything that the teacher was saying nor the material that was displayed on the board. After chemistry we had a chance to meet the founders of the school by talking to them for 30 minutes in their office. They asked us about the ancestry of our individual families and the similarities and differences between Virginia and Mar Del Plata. We then ate an American lunch of hot dogs, chicken nuggets, and French fries. The best part of the day came when we got to play soccer with all the juniors and sophomores from Holy Trinity. What the Argentinians lacked in skill they made up for in enthusiasm. The students from Mar Del Plata would go into every play not caring if they accidentally injured one of the people they were playing against. After my team lost in fútbol we were given the chance to play rugby and I must say it is not the most graceful sport in the world. We just tried to tap the other players out in rugby while not being allowed to tackle them.
– Keivan Mohammadi
Today was our first full day of school. They split us up into four different groups to attend classes. My group had Literature, History, Chemistry, and Math. During the math class, we had to work Algebra problems on the board and on a worksheet. The worksheet was all in Spanish, but we were able to comprehend enough of it in order to answer the problems. After lunch, we joined the students in PE class. The guys played Rugby and soccer, and the girls played field hockey. Since I have not touched a field hockey stick since November, it was fun to play with the girls from Trinity. During the PE class we also worked on our conditioning by running and doing ab and leg exercises. Senora Fox even joined us! After school, my host mom picked me up and we drove back to our house. There, we had an afternoon snack and tea. In Argentina most families will have tea around 5 which keeps them full until dinner around 9:30. Later, some of us, with our hosts, went to Playa Grande and hung out on the beach, watching the surfers in the ocean. Before dinner, I bonded with my host family by playing with them outside, in their beautiful back yard that has a small soccer field and pool. The food here is delicious and the culture is exciting!
Caio!
– Coralie Liberto