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Photo provided by Anika Voth.

Exchange student, Anika Voth returned from Argentina in July, having spent the better part of one year living in and loving the South American country.  She arrived in Argentina in August 2018 which is the end of summer in the southern hemisphere.  She was one of only two girls from North America who were on exchange in the Mendoza District.  Tall, blonde, and blued-eyed, she immediately stood out among the native population.

During her exchange, Anika attended a private Catholic school and happily wore the required uniform.  “School there is so much different from the US,” she observed.    Class size is small, and teachers, not students, move from class to class throughout the day.  There were 13 different subjects taught on various days of the week, with individual classes ranging from 45 minutes to 90 minutes each in length.  Anika especially enjoyed the one-on-one relationships she was able to have with her teachers, contrasted with the more distant, technology-driven teacher-student relationships she was accustomed to in the US.  A typical school day began at 7:30 am and ended at 12:30 PM.  She quickly fell into, and enjoyed, the routine of a homemade lunch at home followed by a long siesta.  “All the shops and stores were closed from 1 to 4 PM,” she commented, “and we usually ate dinner at 10:30 PM.”

One of the highlights of Anika’s exchange was travelling to Parque Nacional Los Glacieres, a national park in Chile known for its beauty and glaciers.  She also attended a grape harvest celebration in Mendoza, known for its wine industry.  When asked what she misses most about Argentina, she said “I miss the physical closeness of the relationships.”  In Argentina, friends and family typically greet each other with hugs and kisses.

Anika is considering several options for her life after high school graduation next spring, including going directly to college or community college or taking a gap year teaching English in Argentina.  She and her mom, Kari will visit Argentina after Christmas in December.