El Tigre, Tuesday, August 6

BCS Argentina

Tuesday, August 6

El Tigre, Argentina

Parana Delta River Tour

A boat ride up the Parana river from the port of El Tigre (or “Jaguar”) to the delta village opened a whole new way of life to our singers. We started in the bustling city of El Tigre, where the narrow streets funnel rows of town buses and small cars into neat lines that wend throughout the city to a few wider thoroughfares. Here, there is not the proliferation of graffiti on the buildings that we saw in Buenas Aires; nor are there the tributes to the disappeared found on pot-holed street corners and under rusting bridges. Despite the poorer neighborhoods that belt the town, El Tigre seems a bit better off economically than some parts of Buenas Aires.

Our boat tour up the delta confirmed that suspicion. While once the domain of the sailors and dock workers who did not mind a lack of amenities, the delta is now a vacationland of modern houses bursting out from a landscape of barren, winter trees and tall reeds. The memories of the past still linger in the self-built wooden homes of elderly sailors and the stalwart year-round fisherman families. The older men gather on their porches, their fishing caps cocked against the sun, laughing and telling stories. Surely they are laughing just a little about the value of their land as the elite move in to build their casas blancas along the riverfront. In support of the small year-round community, the state delivers free services to the delta dwellers, including drinking water, heating oil, medical boats, taxi boats, and supply boats that carry loads large and small. These boats navigate the muddy river gingerly among the hulls of ancient, half sunken boats, occasional swimmers both canine and human, and the many canoes, kayaks, and motor boats that serve as the only form of personal transportation. The delta is like a major highway of trucks, buses, cars, bicycles, and pedestrians, all on water.

The river buses carry local year-round delta children to the state school at the mouth of the river. Our tour guide Susana confides that she teaches delta children on a volunteer basis and finds them “quiet and self-reliant.” She describes them as “good listeners,” and not noisy and rambunctious like the urban kids in Buenas Aires she teaches. There is something to be said for a physical, outdoor lifestyle, without much access to the Internet.

Some of our singers were less certain that this way of life is ideal. As attractive as it must be to wake up to a daily swim, the sense of disconnection from city life and activities is not high on everyone’s list. But those same singers paid attention when the boat passed by a beautiful French art nouveau style building that once served as the region’s casino. Now a cultural museum, the elegant columns and open plaza told tales of the region’s heyday in the 1920’s when opera singer Enrico Caruso made regular appearances.

Shift of subject now to the philosophy of Jane. Jane places high value on perfect behavior, sparing no one. She prizes self-reliance in singers and an ethic of “leave no footprint” except the kindness of your actions. She is backed up in her efforts by a talented coaching staff of Gillian, Kimani, and Tim, who lead conversations on strong social skills and a code of ethics that highlights empathy and compassion. On the bus trip home from El Tigre, Kimani led a conversation on the difference between empathy and compassion. Empathy, he said, letting his lilting baritone voice carry his words all the way to back of the bus, is the ability to put yourself in someone else’s skin. Compassion, on the other hand, is the desire to do so. Compassionate people go out of their way to understand someone else's positions and perspectives. He called on all of us to tap into our compassion for others during a trip that will keep us together 24/7, taxing our patience with each other and forcing us to adapt to situations we might otherwise avoid. The lyricism of Kimani’s words melted like butter into our thoughts, causing each of us to think about ways we might look out for each other on this trip.

These lessons are making their way into our singers’ daily habits. Hotel staff today commented on how gracious and respectful our singers were doing their stay. Singers clean up after themselves, they say “gracias” regularly, and they check in on each other’s well being. Sometimes it takes a reminder or two, but they are learning not only the beautiful harmonies of song but the harmony of a group on a grand adventure.

 
If this doesn’t sound like life in your own home, at least you know that your son or daughter can step up to the task. Life lessons are penetrating here in positive ways that will carry them through challenges ahead when no parent is on hand to smooth their path.