- If I hadn't attended an Arizona Sun Chapter meeting in 2005...
- I would have never met Judy Gareis
- If I hadn't met Judy, I would not have been sitting next to her at the AHSGR Convention in Hays, Kansas in 2007 listening to Isabel Kessler
- And then Judy wouldn't have turned to me and said, "We need to go to Argentina!"
- To which I replied, "I'm not going to Argentina!"
Well, only a few short months later, there I was, seat beat buckled soaring my way on American Airlines to Argentina. It was not a quick decision, however Judy was passionate about the journey. She knew she had Gareis relatives there because her grandfather corresponded with relatives there. With her magical ways of persuasion, Judy convinced me we would have an adventure. And it didn't hut when I remembered that Isabel Kessler mentioned that the Argentine village of Valle Maria was settled by families from Mariental, my paternal ancestral village. Adventure and potential relatives? I was hooked. There was no turning back.
This tour was coordinated by AHSGR and led by Isabel Kessler and Jerry Siebert. From Buenos Aires to Rosario, from Paraná to Misíones, with visits to Gualaguaychu, Olivarrría, Coronel Suarez, we were welcomed with hugs and greetings we didn't always understand, but welcomed we were like long lost family. We sang German hymns, we danced, we ate, we shared Pleve charts, and we connected. This trip surpassed my expectations, as I built friendships which continue today.
So, obviously, after such a fantastic visit, one trip was not enough. Details to follow in the next post of how I returned with a small group of friends in 2013. Stay tuned...
©2019 Anna Dalhaimer Bartkowski
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