IFS: Argentina

Friday morning I woke up around 5:30 am to double check everything one last time and make my trek to Logan Airport. I arrived a little early, which gave me plenty of time to check in, go through security, and grab some much needed coffee at Dunkin' Donuts before my 10:30 am flight. I had a quick flight to JFK airport in New York, where I stopped for a glorious ten and a half hour layover. I spent a lot of time walking around, calling a few friends and family, and doing several sudoku puzzles. Around 8:30 pm one of my classmates arrived from her connecting flight and we grabbed a quick bite to eat before boarding around 9:30 pm. Once we took off, I took advantage of the on-flight entertainment, viewing both Jeff, Who Lives At Home with Jason Segel and Ed Elms and This Means War with Reese Witherspoon. Finally, around 1 am I was tired enough to fall asleep on the plane.

Our flight landed in Buenos Aires early Saturday morning around 9 am. My classmate and I made our way through customs and baggage claim before meeting up with a couple other peers who arrived around the same time. We then found the booth of the travel company arranged to transport us to our hotel, Loi Suites Recoleta. It was so nice to see some friendly faces on arrival! My roommate and I made our way to our room to freshen up and wash off nearly a day of travel before our 1 pm welcome meeting. Prior to the meeting we were treated to delicious coffee, juice, and pastries. In the meeting we were given a packet that contained all of the information needed for the trip, contact cards for our wallets/purses, and met our guides for the next few days.

Shortly after, we all met in the lobby for a city tour. We started with a tour of the Recoleta Cemetary, where we saw several mausoleums, including the oldest, the most expensive, and the most popular - Eva Peron. We then all piled on the bus for a full tour of the city. Unfortunately, before we were able to leave the parking spot, a classmate severely cut her finger, causing her a trip to the hospital for stitches - barely two hours into the trip! Yikes! After wishing her luck, we continued with the tour, visiting places such as the Plaza de Mayo and La Boca. All of the places were beautiful and had interesting histories, but I was far too tired and jet lagged to remember most of what we were told. Following the tour, we had a short break at the hotel before gathering for a group dinner at Juana M. We had a wonderful meal that included pasta and beef options, a salad bar, wine, and dessert. I enjoyed a giant plate of spinach gnocchis and caramel panqueques (similar to a crepe) for dessert. After the meal, meany of us stayed to chat and just enjoyed each others company. Finally, after a long two days, we headed back to the hotel for bed.

Oldest

                                                          

Most Expensive

Eva Peron

Sunday morning many of us woke up early for the optional visit to Estancia La Candelria, a traditional Argentine estancia. We enjoyed a leisure day of horseback riding, bike rides, ping pong, soccer, and beautiful scenery. Some of us also toured the first level of a castle on the property that has been turned into a hotel. We were also treated to a traditional Argentine BBQ full of chicken, beef, salad, french fries, and dessert. Definitely a great start to the trip!

The castle!

Once back at the hotel, we broke off into groups to finish our group projects. We were all divided into groups prior to the trip to create a presentation on bringing a chosen company into either Brazil or Argentina. My group chose Rent the Runway, a website that allows women to rent formal dresses and accessories for events. After a couple of hours and run throughs of the presentation we ventured off for dinner. I don't remember the name of the restaurant, but it had a wide selection and a variety of food to choose from. With all the food we ate from the BBQ, a few of us skipped dinner and ordered dessert (Tiramisu, chocolate lava cake, and an apple rum crepe-like dessert) while the others enjoyed pasta and chicken kabobs. Delicious!

Monday was the start of our business visits. After a heavenly breakfast of assorted pastries, fruit, and coffee at the hotel (which was repeated for the rest of the trip) we started at the City of Buenos Aires IT District, built by the government. They currently host over 80 high tech companies and are rapidly growing. It was interesting to learn what the government is doing to improve and spruce up the area of the city the IT District is located in to make it more attractive. Following the IT District, we made our way to the Universidad de San Andres, a small, private university. We first had a quick tour, focusing mainly on the library, followed by lunch in the cafeteria. Professor Daniel Friel gave us a lecture on doing business in Argentina (very different than doing business in the U.S.!) before the group presentations. The judges were a little rough on us, but we did a fair job given the amount of time we were given. That night the majority of the group went to dinner at Siga La Vaca, an all you can eat buffet of chicken, beef, and pork. In addition to the buffet, each person gets either a bottle of wine, a pitcher of beer, or a pitcher of soda, as well as the salad bar and dessert - all for roughly $30 USD! We had a great time getting to know each other (remember, online and part time students also attend the trip) and enjoying the local culture!

At Siga La Vaca (picture courtesy of Tanushree Baidya)!

Tuesday was our final full day in Argentina and one of my favorite days. The first visit of the day was to the American Embassy to hear from the U.S. Commercial Service (CSA). They focus mainly on exporting U.S. goods and services and the protection of U.S. businesses in the country. We got a quick tour of the building and were treated to coffee and snacks before a presentation on foreign trade in Argentina and opportunities for future entrepreneurs. It was extremely interesting to hear about what companies do to abide by the foreign trade policies set by the government. After the presentation we headed over to the Escuela Argentina de Sommeliers for a history lesson, lunch, and wine tasting. The first portion of the visit was a history lesson on the wine industry, recent developments, challenges and opportunities facing Argentina in the new world wine market. Immediately following, we were served a handful of different types of wine, appetizers, an entree, and dessert. It was all so delicious! We even got to meet the chef before leaving! The school was located near a touristy shopping area, so we were given about half an hour to walk around before the bus left to head back to the hotel. Afterwards, we had a couple hours of downtime at the hotel, which was great the tight schedule over the last few days and the night ahead of us. 

 

At the Embassy (picture courtesy of Hani Mansour)

                          

With the chef (picture courtesy of Simran Kahlon)!

We all gathered in the lobby around 6:30 to leave for tango lessons, dinner, and a tango show at Viejo Almacen! We first watched our instructors demonstrate a typical tango routine, followed by step by step instructions, and then attempting with an actual partner. It is much harder than it looks, but it was so much fun! In between lessons and the show we walked across the street to the restaurant for our last dinner in Argentina. We all enjoyed personal appetizers, entrees, and desserts. I was quite happy with my mozzarella rolls, sorrentini stuffed with ham and cheese, and ice cream. After dinner we walked back across the street for the show. A handful of couples, two singers, and a live band performed for nearly two hours - it was beautiful! Instead of me trying to explain it to you, here is an example from a show last year.

(picture courtesy of Simran Kahlon)

Wednesday morning we were up early for our final visit in Argentina - Staples. This was the only visit of the trip (Argentina and Brazil) where we visited a familiar company. It was interesting to learn the history of how it was once a small office supplier that was eventually purchased by Staples, and even though it operates under the Staples brand name, it has the freedom to do what works best in the Argentine culture. After a quick presentation and tour we were back on the bus. The rest of the morning was spent packing, checking out of the hotel, and quickly grabbing lunch before heading to the airport for part two of the IFS trip: Brazil. 

*The views expressed in this blog are not necessarily those of Northeastern University, its staff, faculty or affiliates and are solely the opinion of Keri Deming