Our Final Day

Friday, January 11 came way too soon. It was to be our sixth and last day in Argentina and I don't think any one of us were ready to leave. Despite our best wishes, our final day had to happen. 

We woke up bright and early (which was a feat, considering we had finished supper the night before at 1:30 a.m.) to begin our tour of Buenos Aires. Since Argentina is inhabited by a wide variety of cultures, the architecture varies from one block to the next. One moment we could see architecture that was textbook French and the next we awed at a building that was obviously Italian influenced. 

The Obelisk, so affectionately named

Our tour took us around different parts of Buenos Aires; the rich, the poor; the clean, the dirty. We stopped at the Plaza de Mayo, where many a protest takes place. This is also where the Casa Rosada (Argentine version of the White House) sits.

Casa Rosada with political protest signs in front

After Plaza de Mayo, we ventured down to La Boca to check out the shopping and unique culture of the area. This is one of the poorer neighborhoods of Buenos Aires, but has a lot of culture. 

Some of the colorful buildings and shops of La Boca

In stark contrast to La Boca, we went to a different part of the city which boasted clean, fenced parks, huge exquisite buildings, and the technologically advanced flower statue, whose petals open and close in response to light. (I didn't capture a picture, but I so would have if I could.

We left the city after our tour and left for our lunch venue. Our lunch would take place at a replica estancia (or ranch) where gauchos (Argentine cowboys) greet the guests and women in old-time estancia garb serve the food. We were treated to grass fed beef steaks and wonderful Argentinian bread. After our meal, one of the gauchos got out his accordion while another plucked the guitar. Not soon after, two dancers started to tango and pretty soon the whole place was filled with people dancing. 

The next experience we were treated to was a gaucho show. The gauchos herded horses and caught rings hanging from an arch while riding top speed on their ponies. Soon after the show, our group had the privilege of riding some of the horses. 

One of the gauchos, posing

Me, on horseback!

After our estancia experience, we ventured back to the city and went to one of the more fashionable malls.Way too expensive for my tastes. The airport was our next stop and after three hours waiting in line to get our tickets and to exit the country, we hopped on our plane to get back to the States. After more than twenty four hours in planes/airports, I stepped out onto the jet bridge to Hector International here in Fargo. I was welcomed by a true North Dakota sight: snow in the jet bridge. 

Typical ND. 

I am so thankful that I had the opportunity to travel to Argentina with FFA. I gained so much insight to agriculture in another country and I am inspired to learn more about it. I have been blessed with new friends from across the country and cannot wait to see them again and to see what they accomplish in the future. I want to thank the North Dakota FFA Foundation and the North Dakota FFA Association for helping to support me financially on this trip. Also, thank you to the many family members that have supported me in the same way. I encourage anyone who is presented with the opportunity to go abroad to take it. You might have to forgo other things back home, but what you learn abroad will make up for it in a different way. 

I want to also thank anyone who has been following along with my blog posts. I truly appreciate it and I hope that you learned a thing or two along with me as I traveled to Argentina. I love sharing my story and I hope to inspire others to share their own. 

Thank you and Happy Monday.

Jodi 

Iguazu Falls

Now that I'm back here in the states, I finally have some reliable WiFi and will use this time to recap what happened our last two days in Argentina.

On Thursday, January 10th, our group visited the Argentinian side of Iguazu Falls. The falls are formed by the Iguazu River and its tumble over the Parana Plateau. Words cannot describe how gorgeous and awe-inspiring the falls really are. I will post pictures, but the pictures won't even come close to the real life experience of viewing the falls.

Our first view of the falls came after we took a 0.8 mile walk across the top of the Parana Plateau. First we trekked through the subtropical rain forest and then crossed shallow river water that allowed trees to grow out of seemingly nowhere.One of the reason the trees seemed to grow out of seemingly nowhere was because there had been a considerable amount of rainfall in recent days, causing the river height to be higher than normal. (This also caused the water to look a  brown color). When we reached the top, this is what we saw.

This picture just doesn't do justice. 

After our first walk, we continued our journey around Iguazu. Along the way, we saw many different plants, animals and insects. I am very thankful for the different fauna because they sure do make some great stories. For instance, around the park there are cute little coatis, animals that resemble the raccoon. 

A coati scaling the railing with no fear of humans

They look cute and adorable, right? Wrong. As we were walking to another part of the park, we entered a path canopied by trees and shrubs. Besides just the group, there were some other park visitors mixed among us. One of these other park visitors had a bag of chips in a plastic bag she was carrying on her back. Out of nowhere came one of these coatis and with sharp claws and teeth, broke through the plastic bag and swiped the chips. Not soon after, twenty other coatis came out of the trees and a feeding frenzy began over the chips. The look that they had in their eyes when they grabbed their prized chips? Evil. Pure. Evil.

Besides coatis, we saw an alligator, napping monkeys, large birds, and many different reptiles. 

We continued our trek through the park and witnessed so many gorgeous views of the falls. 

After we ventured around the park for a few more hours, it was time for our boat ride. This wasn't just any boat ride, however. It was a boat ride around the bottom of the falls. I can honestly tell you it was one of the funnest things I have ever done in my life. We boarded the river with life jackets and dry bags and held on for dear life. The churning river, along with the maneuvering of the boat by our captain, caused torrents of water to crash into the boat. At times, when we got extremely close to the crashing falls, it was so misty that one could not see what was going on. All one could do was enjoy the cooling relief of water in the hot humid jungle air. 

Our boat took is down the river away from the falls. On either side of the boat was a different country. To the south was Argentina and the north, Brazil. Cliffs with bright green flora towered over the river as we floated down to our next destination. Best boat ride ever.

We climbed up the cliffs and boarded a jungle buggy (it probably has a different name, but I feel my term is fitting as well) to take us through the jungle back to our bus. I felt like Indiana Jones. As soon as we got to our bus, we drove straight to the airport so we could board our flight back to Buenos Aires. The Falls and jungle were amazing, and I hope to come back another time in my life. 

If you are ever in Brazil or Argentina, go to Iguazu Falls.

Jodi 

Argentina Days 3 and 4

As I write this post, I am in our hotel in Iguazu, close to Iguazu Falls in north eastern Argentina. Since I didn't have access to internet last night on my computer, I will do a recap of events that took place yesterday and today.

Yesterday, we started out in Rosario in Santa Fe province, the second largest city in the country. Since Rosario sits on the Parana river and therefore a hot spot for barge transport and is in the heart of soybean country, it boasts the highest concentration of soybean crushing in the world. We had the opportunity to visit one of the largest crushing facilities that morning, Terminal 6, owned by Bunge. It was extremely interesting to see just what they can do with plain soybeans.

Soybean meal being loaded onto a barge

After we toured the facility, we took a boat ride up and down the Parana river to look at all of the different ports on its banks. It was a great, relaxing three hours in which we enjoyed delicious pizza (way better than pizza in the states) and huge barges, floating down the Parana.

We drove back to Buenos Aires after our boat ride and went out for supper as a group.

This morning, we started off the day with a tour of Mercardo de Liniers S.A., a livestock market. The facility was started in 1901 outside of the capital city. However, the now eighty-four acre expanse is located in the middle of the city. Auctions take place here every day and about 140,000 animals are sold here every month.

Some of the cows waiting to be sold at market

Our next stop today was Bosch Palace, the residency of the United States ambassador to Argentina. Melinda Sallyards, FAS agricultural counselor, was kind enough to hold a briefing with us in the ballroom of the palace. We learned a lot about the problems that the government of Argentina causes for farmers and other industries inside its borders.

Once our briefing was finished, we drove to an airport in Buenos Aires to catch our flight to Iguazu. I literally walked through a metal detector and put my bag on a conveyor belt for the security check; it took about twenty seconds in total. It was definitely less thorough than security in the states. However, I can't say anything bad about the security because our group arrived in Iguazu unscathed.

As we drove from the airport to Puerto Iguazu, we watched a beautiful sunset take place over the subtropical rain forest. It was so humid that the windows on the bus had condensation on the outside. This humidity however creates the perfect habitat for numerous species of plants and animals. I hope to see a lot of them exploring Iguazu Falls tomorrow!

Until next time,

Jodi

ILSSO 2013

On January 4th, 2013, I embarked on a journey of a lifetime. That morning, I hopped on a plane to Miami, FL to beginning orientation for ILSSO 2013. ILSSO stands for International Leadership Seminar for State Officers and this year our global experience is taking place across Argentina.

Before we embarked on our ten and a half hour flight to Buenos Aires, we had the chance to meet and get to know all of the other current and past state FFA officers from across the nation. We also learned some of the ins and outs of travelling through Argentina, all while enjoying the beautiful Floridian weather.

The night of January 5th, all 76 of us hopped on a plane headed south. After many miles and not so much sleep, we landed in Argentina. After we landed and made it through customs, we boarded a motor coach and headed to Pergamino for our first farm tour.

While on the way to Pergamino, I noticed just how much the Pampas of Argentina looks like the landscape back in North Dakota. Soybeans, corn, and wheat stubble covered the landscape and advertisements for chemical and seed companies dotted the highway ditches. I will grant that Argentina has a lot more trees (and a lot more exotic ones at that!)

One thing that was really different, however, is the different growth stages of the crops grown. There is corn here that is sprouting and corn that is tasseling. There are beans that are at cotyledon stage and beans that are already flowering. Why, you ask? Argentina has a climate similar to North Dakota's (except for opposite seasons; right now in January, it's summer!) However, they have milder winters. Our guide explained to us that they have summer, a mild fall, and a mild spring. No winter. What this allows farmers to do then is plant crops all year long. Because of this, farmers can stagger planting times and have a better chance at optimal chances. Basically, farmers are make sure that all of their eggs aren't in one basket.

About twenty minutes outside of Pergamino, we stopped at our first farm tour. The farmer is an agronomist; grows corn, soybeans and wheat; and raises both red and black angus cattle. He explained to us some of the practices he uses on his farm. We were also served a meal on the farm with four different courses!

We after our first farm tour, we headed to Melincue, a small town in a different province to stay the night at a resort. The sunset reminded me so much of home. 

This morning we toured a dairy farm local to Melincue and a ranch that raises sheep for meat. Every farmer we have had the opportunity to talk to has been exceptionally courteous and accommodating  I cannot say enough about each and every one of them!

After today's tours we ended up in Argentina's second largest city, Rosario. After navigating downtown and buying a meal here, all I have to say is I am incredibly thankful to have taken Spanish classes in high school. 

Tomorrow we are headed to different agricultural facilities in the city and then Buenos Aires, so hopefully I can write another update tomorrow.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my post,

Adios!

Jodi 

Welcome

Welcome to my blog, Northern Comfort Zone!  Inspired by Brad Paisley's song, "Southern Comfort Zone," a love of my home state of North Dakota, and a passion for travel, agriculture and photography, I have decided to start this blog as a place to share my experiences with family, friends and curious internet surfers.

"And I miss my Tennessee home, but I can see the ways that I've grown. I can't see this world unless I go outside my Southern Comfort Zone." Every time I hear the chorus of Paisley's "Southern Comfort Zone," I can't help but shiver. Despite the fact that my home is North Dakota and my 'comfort zone' is a bit more northern, I can't help but think of all the parallels in my life. I love being home in North Dakota with the wide open spaces and the friendly faces, but I can't learn and see the world without leaving home every once in a while. Whenever I go someplace else, I develop a new appreciation for my home state and its quirks and eccentricities.

Those eccentricities, life lessons, travel experiences, and beautiful sights are what this blog is for. Enjoy!

Jodi