Buenos Aires Experience
Sydney Avery
Our trip to Buenos Aires was one for the books!! We were there for approximately five days, and we were slightly overwhelmed with what we should do to maximize our time. Kalley led the group, with research on what spots were the most sees, and at times we even asked locals where we should venture to. We saw it all, name a place, and chances are we fit it into the schedule. I remember multiple times when my jet lagged body was craving a good old nap, but my curious mind wanted to grasp the culture of the Argentina lifestyle. Out of all the sights that we saw, the Recoleta Cemetery was my favorite. I was so intrigued by the architecture, the way that you could peer into the graves, and see the time that has passed, evident from the spider webs and debris accumulated on the ground. Each grave was unique, some superior to others. The cemetery was also a maze, and we found ourselves turned around a number of times. Aside from the cemetery, another spot that we seemed to have to make a daily stop at was Tufic, a gourmet gelato shop a block away from our hotel. What luck!! We would indulge in gelato, sampling every flavor ensuring we were selecting the best flavor for ultimate taste bud satisfaction. We would then sit outside, appreciating the summer temperature and people watch, fascinated by the culture differences that we observed. All in all, this trip was such an amazing experience. It was fulfilling to see the reaction of Animana to the extensive research we had done, and to see our hard work having such a profound impact.
Argentinian Culture
Salma Youseff
The city of Buenos Aires was truly captivating, and I enjoyed experiencing the culture, food and geography. One very important aspect of Argentinian culture are the tango shows. The tango shows are exceptionally entertaining; the dancers were full of passion and skill. The female dancers dressed up in beautiful dresses, while the male dancers dressed in suits. The dancers were twirling and spinning which was very interesting to watch. There were also singers during the performance, both of whom had incredible voices. Additionally, the food tasted amazing and had a lot of variety. Beef and dulce de leche are very popular in Argentina. Many of the locals eat dulce de leche cookies called alfajores. They also add dulce de leche filling in a lot of their desserts, such as donuts and croissants. Furthermore, Buenos Aires was possibly the greenest city I have ever visited. The cobblestone streets were lined with large green trees looming over pedestrians. There were a lot of modern and hip coffee shops and boutiques as well. I absolutely enjoyed traveling to Buenos Aires and experiencing Argentinian culture.
Animana Store Experience
Julia Herold
One of my favorite aspects of our week in Buenos Aires was our experience with Adriana Marina, founder of Animana, in her store. The store was located a few blocks from our hotel in Palermo. The building itself was tidy with subtle colors, allowing bright red, purple, and teal sweaters to illuminate the space. On the last day of our trip, we had the opportunity to hear the story of Animana and NGO Hecho Por Nosotros in Adriana’s words. As Adriana introduced us to the products, she affectionately stroked intricate alpaca throws and encouraged us to feel everything. While sipping on the local tea speciality, mate, we experienced Adriana’s passion in action. It is one thing to read and research the production of sustainable fibers in Argentina yet a completely different experience to see how Adriana’s industry knowledge and creativity has produced a company that provides for her community.
Sustainable Fashion
Kalley Kenny
With Sustainable fashion consisting of man-made, natural, organic, and recycled items, each of these items adds to the overall growth of the industry. In just a 10 year span, the market size is expected to nearly double. As an industry, Sustainable Fashion is projected to grow by over 20 billion dollars in the next four years. Sustainable Fashion, specifically in the United States, has garnered popularity in the past couple years due to the recognition of climate change, an increase in pollution and unfair treatment of employees. As consumers become more aware, they want to purchase items that are longer lasting and use less resources to make. Small, medium and large companies have begun to adopt sustainable practices as their consumers and the state of the world offer them a will to change.