Last winter, Penn Charter welcomed nine students from Escuela Martín Buber as part of an Upper School foreign exchange student program organized by PC’s Language and Culture Department. This summer—or winter in the southern hemisphere—a group of seven Penn Charter students, along with three faculty members, visited Argentina to complete the exchange program.
After their 10-hour flight, the group arrived in Buenos Aires on June 16, where they were greeted by their host families and enjoyed a welcome reception at Escuela Martín Buber. During their two-week stay, students had the opportunity to visit several culturally significant places, including El Rosedal (the Rose Garden), Museo de Arte Latinoamericano de Buenos Aires (Latin American Art Museum), Teatro Colón (an opera house), Club Atlético River Plate (the home of one of Buenos Aires' professional soccer teams), La Casa Rosada (Argentina's equivalent of the White House), La Plaza de Mayo (a central square dedicated to Argentina's independence from Spain) and El Parque de la Memoria, which honors those who went missing during Argentina's military dictatorships.
Most mornings, students attended various classes and assemblies at Martín Buber. During one assembly to celebrate the school's reading week, PC students Olivia Thomas and Ross Lee read excerpts from Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street, and London Marshall performed a song, receiving a resounding ovation from her peers.
Students also visited Tigre, a town outside of Buenos Aires at the confluence of several rivers that feed into the Río de la Plata, where they enjoyed shopping and experienced a boat tour of the surrounding area. Exploring beyond Argentina, students ventured across the Río de la Plata on a ferry to Sacramento, Uruguay, where they toured La Plaza de Toros (a historic bullring), enjoyed lunch and explored the town.
Thank you to the faculty leaders Señor Flynn, Mr. Moy, and Dra. Ramírez, as well as our gracious hosts at Escuela Martín Buber, for supporting this exchange program and providing our students with this transformative cultural experience.
