At the very tip of the South American continent one will find a scarcely populated island just south of the Straits of Magellan. A sliver of this island belongs to Chile and is relatively barren, while the rest makes up the Argentinian province of Tierra del Fuego. On this island there is a small city called Rio Grande and in this city resides a family of great significance to me.
Since my arrival in Argentina almost 6 months ago, they have showed me nothing but kindness and have been welcoming in every way. The father of the family, Marcelo, possesses a calming presence and exudes an aura of kindness. It is obvious that he is an intelligent man of impressive accomplishments, but he doesn’t carry himself in an arrogant manner. The three sons all are highly intelligent and thoughtful people, yet they do have strikingly different personalities. The youngest Fabrizzio has a remarkable intellect which makes him fascinating to converse with. He is both book smart and street smart, ergo he is a force to be reckoned with. At only 17 he already has well informed world views and I look forward to witnessing how he improves the world later on in his life. Tomas is the middle son and was by far my favorite person I met in Buenos Aires. He has a cool guy exterior, but it doesn’t take long to see that he is incredibly thoughtful. He has the strongest whit amongst the bunch and has the ability to make anyone laugh. Nicolas is the eldest. One of the things I noticed first about him was his strong moral compass. It doesn’t matter if it has to do with global politics or making sure we paid enough at a grocery store, he will always do/support the morally correct action. He is more introverted than his brothers in some ways, but when he does speak it is well-thought out and meaningful. He has inherited many of his father’s traits and this may be one reason why I enjoy his company so much. Last but not least is their mother Alejandra. She is a hard-working and doting mother who has done an excellent job raising three sons. She deserves a lot of credit for making sure all three boys speak English fluently. Thank you Alejandra for welcoming me into your home and for all the thoughtful gestures (especially in the food department).
Thank you for accepting a strange estadounidense into your family. I am very grateful.
