Monday June 23rd, by Jaisel

    Today was the ceremony for la dia de la bandera at Collegio del Salvador. The day before I was informed that I needed to where a shirt and tie because there was a formal assembly in the morning. As I was getting dressed for the day, I realized I had forgotten to bring a tie. I asked my host brother Lucas if he had an extra, but to my dismay, he did not. 

    We walked to school, and made our way up to the room that we normally meet everybody in and said a prayer. Afterwards, all the exchange students, from Washington and Boston, met in the cafeteria and made our way to the assembly room. We watched as students made their way down to the stage, holding an assortment of flags. Among them was the Argentinian flag, which was center stage during the assembly. We listened to students and teachers alike speak, and listened to the Argentinian National Anthem. 

    Afterwards, we made our way to Barolo Palace for a tour. But first, we stopped at a diner, where Luis, Denzel, and I order pancakes. However, these pancakes were subpar to say the least. 

    When we reached the tour, we listened to the tour guide talk about the history of the palace and the significance of the architecture. We made our way up the tour, which was very tall. At many points through the tour, I was taken aback by the sheer height of the building, being able to view the lobby from a small rotunda high above. We mode our way even higher up the palace, where my vertigo really started to kick in. 

    The elevator ride up was a bit stressful because of how much it shook. I was not alone in my discomfort, as a few other students shared it with me. We made our way to the top of the building, where the main line that house resided. The beam of the light supposedly reached 50 km, which was obviously not true. The light was not the only thing up there, though, as the surrounding view was a sight to behold. 

    We were able to see the state building, as well as the Obelisk and other surrounding landmarks. I took a few photos and then went back down. We then made our way through an old office used in the early 1900s, that was surprisingly small. We took some photos and marveled at the old pieces of equipment. 

    After the tour, we made our way back to the school to have some free time. The only thing of note was that we split up into some English classrooms to get interviewed by some students. After school ended, I headed back home with Lucas and just relaxed for a while.