By Peter Morrissey, SIP Argentina 2019 (Harvard '21)
On my last night in Buenos Aires this summer, my host parents invited over all of the extended family one last time for a sendoff dinner in the apartment. After dinner, 9-year-old Belisario went over to the home computer, typing away at something. Maybe twenty minutes later, while I was in the back bedroom watching How to Train Your Dragon for the second time with my 29-year-old host sister (Angie) and the grandkids, Belisario ran in to deliver me a paper. Without waiting for me to open it, he hurried back out of the room and down the hall. I unfolded the unexpected delivery, unsure whether it would be a silly joke for his sister or perhaps the latest draft of his dinosaur encyclopedia. I was not expecting a simple, yet extremely thoughtful, farewell letter: “We going to miss you a lot PJ!!!!!!!! Chau PJ te vamos a extrañar un montoooooooooon!!!!” Up until that point, I had not realized how upset I was to be leaving Argentina and the people who I had come to love. Yet from the moment I read Beli’s letter until the following afternoon when I stood hugging my host mom, Gini, in the doorway, both of us crying, I knew how lucky I had been to have experienced something so special.
For the duration of the eight week internship program, I was ceaselessly enamored with Argentina. The first week included orientation activities led by our coordinators, Maria José and Mili, who proved to be not only capable mentors, but also some of the most caring and deeply loving people I have ever encountered. During orientation week, I got to meet and become friends with the other 19 Harvard students on the program (of whom I only knew two prior to the trip). We explored Buenos Aires and began to understand the regional accent. After the first week, a much more regular schedule emerged. We worked at our internships between Monday and Thursday, had group outings each Friday, and weekends were left to travel or relax.
My internship was for the infrastructure team within the Subsecretary of Management Coordination at the Provincial Government of Buenos Aires. The work was deeply engaging and meaningful. My project was to research the Argentine economy as well as their water and sewage systems, and then put forth a proposal for how the province should modernize the supply of these services and their respective tax systems. It was both saddening and motivating to see that very basic needs remain a challenge in developing countries such as Argentina. While I was constantly engaged by the work, my favorite memories from my internship relate to my coworkers. The office of roughly forty had incredible energy and not a single person over the age of 35, much to my surprise. I reported directly to Matias, the leader of the infrastructure group, as well as to Amparo, who worked closely with him. I could not have asked for better mentors. Mati was kind and always helpful, but never overbearing; Ampi made me feel valued and had the unique ability of being able to help me with grammar and spelling without ever making me feel embarassed. Beyond them, there were countless others who made the internship unforgettable: Denise, who tried earnestly to pronounce the name of my hometown (Naugatuck, Connecticut); Ari, who bought me Starbucks during my first week and went out of his way to include me in conversations; Martina, who called out “Peeeeeee Jaaaaay” whenever I passed her desk; Magde, whose sweet nature was infectious; Emmanuel, who, despite being the subsecretary himself, made time to talk to me about my life and career interests. Quite honestly, I miss them all a lot.
The fact that I am having so much difficulty deciding what to include in this reflection makes me realize what an amazing program I got to experience. Although there is no space to mention my adventure hitchhiking down a 12 kilometer ski mountain access road during a no-power blizzard in Bariloche, or wandering around a deserted Montevideo during a crazy wind storm (coincidentally, also with no power), or even searching for a sunset in the ecological reserve with my new friends from Harvard, the treasured memories I made will stay with me forever. I would strongly recommend this program for anyone that may be considering it; I can not say enough about it.