We write this following a wonderful and relaxing first week in Buenos Aires. We stayed in a hotel suite right in downtown for 4 nights as our apartment wasn't available until the 23rd December. It gave us a chance to explore downtown at leisure. Our first day was a Sunday so everything downtown was closed. The place to go was San Telmo and to get there we took a grotty train from a grotty subway station - it made London's underground look clean & modern. San Telmo is an historic area with the most amazing and huge antiques and crafts Sunday [View Full Entry]

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Street Corners 1 Calle 6 / Avenida 51 La Plata (Argentina) 15 November 2009 16:20 I had spent the afternoon exploring the plazas and churches of La Plata, the state capital of Buenos Aires province. I was now beside a bench in the Plaza San Martin. In front of me were the main government offices, housed in an ornate whitewashed building decorated with sme occasional reddish brown brickwork. The construction was fairly recent, but its formal aspects of pillars and roofing were drawn from the European Renaissance while the elaborate and more unusual features around the windows were dist [View Full Entry]

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This Sunday I decided to go to La Plata, the capital of the province of Buenos Aires to visit my friend Santiago, who was the one that taught me the basics in Argentine Spanish about 3 years ago. La Plata is 45 minutes away from Capital Federal- the city of Buenos Aires and has a somewhat different feel from the megacity (Capital Federal). The people there seem nicer and less hurried, and many young people from the province of Buenos Aires and other places go to La Plata to study. (there are several universities and colleges in La Plata) I first [View Full Entry]

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Greetings Readers, Today I finally arrived at my last week and have had quite a week. I converted to Catholocism this week and solidified contacts in the University of La Plata. I have gotten many gifts departing including a diccionary of Lumfardo from my aunt, various religous texts, and I CD of over 40 tracks of Tango Music. I am truly happy with my experience and hope that one day I can return here to revisit all of the family that have made my months here so meaningful. I have aken away a more free conception of time (although sometimes I [View Full Entry]

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Dear Readers, I write to you on a sleepy saturday afternoon to tell you about the week that I had. On Sunday I had a nice chat with the Mormon missionaries that Manuella invited to her house to speak about their religion (of course we found many things in common, but some disturbing theological and worldview differences between us). They kindly offered the Book of Mormon and Pearl of Great Price an English Translation to be given to me later in the week. Never refusing a souvenir especially a signed one, I accpeted. We then went to Mass and I was [View Full Entry]

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Dear Readers, The last article you read was rather frusturated as the news of the school closures and my frustrations with conceptions of time domintated that blog. At that time the governement was starting to shut down the essential institutions of Argentina due to the swine flu, something that is never seen in the US. A good example of this difference of style is a message I recieved from the embassy stating that US citizens in returning to the states in time for the fall season should stay in good health, along with various messages about washing your hands and which [View Full Entry]

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Greetings Readers, Last week I went to school like normal. English was absent and I met the priest for my weekly meeting on Wednesday. On Thursday I was sick and thus I stayed home from school and then went to the doctor to get a prescription. I did not go to any activities and missed a football game. Friday I stayed up late doing nothing but talking with my family and slept until 9:00 on Saturday when I woke up to go to a friends house fro German lessons in the morning (the grammar and explanations help my Spanish). Saturday I [View Full Entry]

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Dear Readers, I write to you today from a different household of residents. I have officially joined the ranks of the 10 percent who switch families every year. This time however, it was not me who facilitated the change, but a strange phone call from my host mother to AFS saying that "they could only keep me to the end of June" because of plans that they had in place before I arrived to invite guests to stay with them. In light of this call Monday (five days before I wrote my last blog) AFS started searching for a new host [View Full Entry]

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Greetings Readers, I write to you today in the morning before school, because it is the only time I am really sure I have the computer. This week has been a very strange week indeed, with some strange feelings. As June completes its first weeks, I am staring the trips mortality in the face, all the while reaizing that the trip still does go on. Right after I wrote to you last week, a friend called me to say that at a local (and very beatiful church) there was a choral concert (the YALE chior). There I met many of my [View Full Entry]

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Dear Readers, The last time I spoke to you I had reached my half way point. Now another two weeks has passed and June awaits at the end of this next weekend. None of the months have gone as quickly as May, and I am advised that the weeks will only go faster. I have encountered a few bumps in the road, continued petty conflicts with my older brother (do we not all have them), and down days, but for the most part, I have established a routine, and am learning new things everyday. To list a few: 1. I played [View Full Entry]

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