Contributed by Kathy Nguyen

Something that never ceased to fascinate me about Argentina was the assembly of artisans lined up and down the streets. Every weekend, Plaza Central in Mendoza would fill up with tons of artisanal booths. One time, I walked through the plaza alone and started looking at the booth of an artisan and his pregnant wife. What they had did not exactly match my criteria, so the man pulled out his tools and constructed a completely new piece right in front of me, with no extra charge. While he was doing so, we spent the entire time talking about random things, and eventually, as the man was finishing, the wife told me that I was going to be their child’s aunt when the baby was born.

Toward the end of my semester, I revisited the artisanal fair, and to my surprise, I ran into the man and his wife cradling their newborn baby. They remembered me just as I remembered them, and I took a picture with my new “nephew.” Not only were the fairs a fantastic way to showcase all of the talented craftsmen, but they were also a perfect example of how friendly Argentineans are and continue to be: even after having met just once.