The title of this post is a slogan that my dad said when we were younger when we would ask "are we there yet?" Today CIEE (my program) went to a place on Rio de la Plata called El Tigre (the tiger). We knew very little about what to expect when we went, but of course I had my expectations. I knew it was on the river so I was thinking "alright, there will probably be a boat tour to look at nature and then probably a town to walk around, go to a cafe, and do some shopping." Not exactly.
To get there (to the "destination") we first took the subte to a big train station called Retiro. Then took a train for an hour out to a little town, and then got on a boat for another half an hourish (one thing I was right about: a mini boat tour). I was expecting to arrive at a little town but instead we arrived at a recreational camp. "oooook? what now?" Immediately we smelled all kinds of meat cooking (kind of like meat night at Chop Point Camp but more).
The directors told us we had a few hours before lunch so we could use the pool, walk around, or just explore. We had the place to ourselves (all 80 of us). I ended up playing on the park that was there. Then getting up the guts to play soccer with all ten boys on our trip. Soccer was so fun, but I realized that not running these last few weeks has put me a little behind the 8 ball to play soccer effectively, but it was so great to get back to playing soccer after 4 years. Finally we had the most delectable (sp?) meat lunch. We had steak and chicken and something that tasted like refried beans but was actually meat. Then we went to the pool where Christa and I spent most of the next 4 hours getting to know our new friend Sam. She is a student from Texas A&M and one of the people we tried to go to church with on Sunday (she is the one in the last of the pictures below). We had some quality talks with her while taking in the sun.
So I said this post was about the journey, not the destination. This goes along with my new slogan on life (see a few posts ago "Just go with it"). Even though no one expected what we got at El Tigre, this trip was an opportunity to meet new people and just relax after the first few weeks of classes. On the initial train ride, Christa and I talked with two other girls from our program for a little while; I played soccer (wasnt expecting to do that anytime soon); got to talk to Sam a lot while at El Tigre; and also got to take in some authentic Argentine meat cuisine. Finally, the boat ride allowed us to see the beautiful houses lining the water (see first picture above). Also, we did not have to spend ANY money for this trip (it was included) so that was a plus. I think some people were disappointed with the trip, but even though the destination was not as I expected, I think I made the most of the journey regardless.
In life we can't always be looking to the next thing or be disappointed if expectations are not met. We just have to enjoy each day for what it is and thank God for every bit of it.
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