Get creative
Organize your art supplies and get to crafting! Break out the watercolours and use these examples of famous Buenos Aires street art for inspiration. Then, show your students how to make yerba mate, the Argentine tea that kick-starts the country’s mornings – some even call it the healthiest drink on the planet.
Need more inspiration? Check out this 360 virtual tour of Buenos Aires!
Pick a film
Watch a movie that relates to your destination. Some ideas for Argentina include:
- The Motorcycle Diaries (2004)*
- Evita (1996)
- Imagining Argentina (2003)*
*Rated R (may not be suitable for all students)
Learn some history
Dive deep into the history of specific sites you’ll visit on tour. You can learn about Argentine cowboys known as guachos, take a virtual tour of the Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (MALBA), or learn about Argentina’s most historic power couple, Evita and Juan Peron.
This animated short gives you a four-minute rundown of the history of the country, if you’re looking to skim.
Choose a book
Read and discuss a book that takes place in your destination or describes the local culture. Pick from titles like:
- The Argentina Reader: History, Culture, Politics by Gabriela Nouzeilles
- The Guacho by Martin Fierro
- In Patagonia by Bruce Chatwin
Fill up your plate
Argentine food is pretty unique from other South American countries. The country is famous for its beef, and the traditional meal of asado or parillada features a spread of different cuts of beef, pork and sausages, fresh from the grill – a true carnivore’s dream!
If you’re craving something sweet, take a bit out of some alfajores, delicious cookies filled with ultra-sweet dulce de leche.
In a rush? No worries – the Argentinians specialize in grab and go options. You could try a traditional choripan sandwich, which features beef or pork chorizo in between crusty bread, topped with the herby dressing known as chimichurri. Another favourite is the empanada – check out this video tutorial to see how to make some empanadas con carne!
Learn the language
The popular DuoLingo app is a great way to brush up on your Spanish and learns some new words/phrases. However, if you really want to feel like a local, you’ll need to learn a little lunfardo, which is the Argentine dialect of Spanish. It can be quite different than the Spanish you learned in a textbook. Check out this video to learn some lunfardo slang words.
Did you know?
Both the hottest and coldest temperatures on record in South America occurred in Argentina!