This morning, we had some time to form small groups and explore Igauzú. Some of us took this time to sleep in. Some of us took this time to go shopping. And some of us took this time to go check out an interesting sight, which was only two blocks away from our hotel. Just down the road was the river that separates Argentina from both Brazil and Paraguay, and standing on the riverbank you can clearly see all three countries at the same time. Here you can see the land of Argentina in the front, Paraguay on the left, and Brazil to the right.
The rest of the day was primarily devoted to travel. We took a flight at 2:10 from Igauzú to Buenos Aires. This was actually the first flight we have been on that has not been delayed!
A quick story about something that happened in the airport…
For the past week we have been carrying around two extra bags with us—one for the missionaries we have met, and another for CDs, recording equipment, and other supplies. Since the airlines only allow for one checked bag per passenger, we were worried that we would have to pay a fee in order to check these extra bags. Luckily, none of the airlines have made us pay this fee yet. For various reasons, today we were going to have to. All this changed when we got to the airport, though. Little did we know that in line behind us, there was a family of Baylor graduates. One of the family members noticed our president, James Neese, using a Baylor pen and the man asked if we were from Baylor. We said yes, and he explained to us that both he and his wife are alumni as well as all of their kids, and their kids spouses. Among their family, the only had two checked bags for four people and they were kind enough to check our extra two bags so that we would not have to pay the expensive fee.
What are the chances that we would run into a family of Baylor alumni in the small town of Igauzú? Standing right behind us in line, no less! How’s that for flinging our green and gold afar?? Sic ’em Bears!! Anyways, in order to thank them for their graciousness, we sang one of our a cappella pieces for their family as we were boarding the flight. They loved it, so we sang one more piece. There was much discussion on what our encore should be, and after very little convincing, Dr. Bradley agreed to let us sing “That Good Old Baylor Line.” The family was quite a bit ahead of us in the line so it was a surprise for them, but as soon as they heard the first few notes, they all put their “sic ’em” high in the air and sang along with us! We were all proud to be Baylor Bears!
After getting to Buenos Aires, we had some time to settle in the hotel and then we were off to dinner. The restaurant we went to was a very nice buffet in the heart of downtown Buenos Aires. There, we met the man who planned our next two concerts. After eating, he spoke to us a little bit and then we headed back to the hotel. We are looking forward to the next two days as we sing for many of Argentina’s political leaders at the capital and other venues. On Friday night, our concert will be broadcast on national television, and you will be able to watch it over the Internet. Tomorrow we will post a link to the website where you can see us. See you then…
Clint Kimmel
Aaron Kelley