The following is written by Anna Brush, Norfolk Academy student participant on the exchange:
We started off the day at 9:00, meeting up at the Mar del Plata navy base to see the tall ships docked there. The ships, with flags of various South American countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and of course Argentina, bustled with young cadets busy at work. The cadets take shifts either taking care of the impressive frigates, which require a huge amount of labor to maintain, or studying for school. We were taken on the Argentinean frigate, Libertad, first and were given an in-depth tour of its deck and rooms. The commander, our guide and also a father of students at our sister school, Holy Trinity College, explained to us in Spanish how the ship and its operations worked, while Señor McMahon helped us out with further explaining (it helped that he had such extensive knowledge of naval workings, as well). We went to the Chilean frigate next, Esmeralda, and were given another tour before walking back to the front gate to meet up again with our host families.
Then my host, Paz, and Arielle's host, Emilia, brought us to Mar del Plata's harbor area called La Puerta de Los Pescadores, or the port of the fishermen. We explored the fish markets (and were bought snacks called 'alfajores,' a cake-like confection with a dulce de leche filling--and a personal favorite of mine) and saw the harbor full of docked fishing boats. Then we drove to the point of Mar del Plata to see big, fat seals lazing on the beach ('lobos de marina' and 'elephantes de marina') and also take in a beautiful view of the city and ocean. After that, Paz and I returned home for lunch and a quick nap. We are about to go out to another friend's house to watch a movie. Then tomorrow, we begin our first day of school and of touring classes at Holy Trinity College.
We started off the day at 9:00, meeting up at the Mar del Plata navy base to see the tall ships docked there. The ships, with flags of various South American countries like Colombia, Ecuador, Chile and of course Argentina, bustled with young cadets busy at work. The cadets take shifts either taking care of the impressive frigates, which require a huge amount of labor to maintain, or studying for school. We were taken on the Argentinean frigate, Libertad, first and were given an in-depth tour of its deck and rooms. The commander, our guide and also a father of students at our sister school, Holy Trinity College, explained to us in Spanish how the ship and its operations worked, while Señor McMahon helped us out with further explaining (it helped that he had such extensive knowledge of naval workings, as well). We went to the Chilean frigate next, Esmeralda, and were given another tour before walking back to the front gate to meet up again with our host families.
Then my host, Paz, and Arielle's host, Emilia, brought us to Mar del Plata's harbor area called La Puerta de Los Pescadores, or the port of the fishermen. We explored the fish markets (and were bought snacks called 'alfajores,' a cake-like confection with a dulce de leche filling--and a personal favorite of mine) and saw the harbor full of docked fishing boats. Then we drove to the point of Mar del Plata to see big, fat seals lazing on the beach ('lobos de marina' and 'elephantes de marina') and also take in a beautiful view of the city and ocean. After that, Paz and I returned home for lunch and a quick nap. We are about to go out to another friend's house to watch a movie. Then tomorrow, we begin our first day of school and of touring classes at Holy Trinity College.