Oktoberfest

Group dynamics are always "fun" to navigate. So what do you get when you mix 20 recent U.S. college graduates who are all highly-motivated, high-achieving and strongly opinionated and throw them into 11 different Argentine provinces (17 distinct cities) with the task of teaching/sharing U.S. culture and the English language with future teachers of English?... Well, the truth is you get quite a variety of unforgettable life stories and acculturation experiences but you also get an occasional need to reunite, to use the colloquial words that make our use of the English language alive and organic (rather than dry and textbook-dictated), to laugh about how our use of Spanish is starting to interfere with our English-speaking abilities, and to enjoy some artisan crafted micro-brews. Last weekend was our shining moment as assistants to do just that, and include a few Argentine, German, and U.S. friends in the momentous reunion.

If you remember a little over two months ago I went with my parents to Villa General Belgano during their visit to Argentina. Last weekend I returned to this little village in the sierras of Córdoba to enjoy its annual, much-anticipated Oktoberfest festivities amidst the company of other Fulbrighters and their friends. I arrived at midday on Friday and made the short hike to our cabins at Aldea Champaquí 57. I don't think we could have asked for a more perfect setting with our cabin: space enough for nearly the entire group (a select few had a cabin just a block away), within walking distance from the center of town and Oktoberfest events (but not on top of any craziness that might accompany the festivities), a grassy back yard, hammocks and chairs to lounge in, and a quincho to have an asado. Our group poured into VGB throughout the day and, as many of us hadn't seen one another since our mid-term seminar at the end of June, spent the afternoon catching up on life and sharing stories. I also took a stroll through town with a few others and marveled at the time and energy that had clearly been invested to dress up VGB for these two weeks of cultural celebrations. Friday night culminated with an asado, well-executed by Brad (ETA in San Luis) and accompanied by Gillian (stationed in San Martin, Mendoza).  

Saturday started for me with a run and a hike- wonderful for my physical fitness, not so lovely for my allergies that reemerge with the arrival of spring. Our hike was to the top of neighboring hills, Cerro de la Virgen and Pico Aleman where we were treated after our rather steep climb to some fantastic views of Villa General Belgrano and the surrounding sierras and, for some fair-skinned individuals among the group, some rather piercing sunburn.

View from Cerro de la Virgen

We made it to the top of Pico Aleman!

The small statue in the bottom-left corner of the photo is the Virgen at the top of her hill.

Our hiking crew (LtoR: Grant, Brad, Gillian, Anna, Carolyn, Alli)

After our descent to the cabins and cleaning up, it was time to get down to business and check out all that Oktoberfest had to offer in town. I purchased the indispensable stein that would hold my adult beverages for the weekend and entered the Parque Cervecero, i.e. the beer garden. Throughout the weekend this space also housed the main stage where performances by troupes of dancers and music groups highlighted music and dance from a vast number of European nations. Saturday afternoon's events also featured a beer keg tapping at the foot of the stage which I initially decided I wanted to be a part of. However, after nearing the stage with fellow ETA Grant and realizing that I was amidst a large, rambunctious crowd of men, I quickly resolved to a return to the exponentially more peaceful location of my seat to observe the tapping ceremony. No worries though on how fast I was able to remove myself before the tapping started as, in fine Argentine form, the music to announce the keg tapping started nearly a full half-hour before the actual kegs made their presence on the stage. Having taken in our share of music, dancing, keg-tapping, and taste tests of a few beers, we headed back to the cabins for some fabulous empanadas made by Grant (who also blogged about the weekend here), pizzas and some charged rounds of Apples to Apples.

Main street of Villa General Belgrano and entrance to Oktoberfest

Main stage for performances

The crowd, and its craziness, for the espiche, i.e. keg tapping.

Some happy Fulbrighters and friends on a very sunny, Sunday afternoon

I didn't know Duff beer (from The Simpsons) actually existed. Apparently it does, here in Argentina.

The jolly old man with his beer stein whose face we saw on the primary propaganda flyer for this year's Oktoberfest.

If you look closely, you'll see the fake pretzels and beer mugs hanging from this elaborate wreath amidst some shops in town. The only thing that could have made my weekend better would have been a soft pretzel...

 Sunday was a welcome close-repeat of Saturday's activities with a run and new hiking adventure to Pozo Verde and Cerro Mirador. It would be a shame if I didn't note here that the weekend's weather was absolutely gorgeous. With abundant sun, a light breeze and comfortably cool evenings,we couldn't have dreamed of a better weekend for an unofficial Fulbright reunion. Sunday afternoon was spent again at Oktoberfest and Sunday evening, a significant portion of our group went to Viejo Munich, the restaurant of one of the well-known artisan micro-breweries in town, to wish Jen's (Villa Maria, Cordoba assistant) roommate, Alicia, a safe return trip to Germany. What a better way to send a German off with well-wishes than at a restaurant where she might enjoy some of the food to which she would soon be eagerly returning?! I was happy to be ordering beef stroganoff again, a dish that I miss occasionally from my mom's kitchen. Passing back through town just before midnight, Oktoberfest had arrived at its final minutes for the day. Nonetheless, the fact that the park would be closing in a matter of minutes certainly didn't stop us from storming in and joining a variety of other festival-goers on the stage for some rather spontaneous dancing.

Monday, all the "Fulbrighters & friends" gradually headed out of Villa General Belgrano and back to our respective provinces. If you had told me in June 2010 at our initial orientation in Washington, D.C. that our Fulbright group would become as tightly-knit as it is today, I might have rolled my eyes at you and said something like "Yeah, sure. We're going to be spread out for 8 months, over hundreds of miles, all over Argentina and you expect us to mesh as a sort of family?" But I feel grateful (and rather sappy) in sharing that this initially unimaginable group dynamic has come to fruition and that I'll dearly miss our Argentina Fulbright family when our grants end in November and everyone continues on their distinct life paths. At the risk of sounding cliché (ok, it's going to sound cliché whether I want it to or not), our Oktoberfest gathering couldn't have been a better final reunion. Besides, who doesn't love a cold micro-brew or two and a side of sauerkraut?