Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Okay - I´m warning you now that this is gonna be a stream of conciousness post . . .

I am on a computer now, but I don´t know how much time I have, so here we go. I now live with an Argentine family. The father is the director of Kairos so we live in a house behind the center. I brought a couple pictures from home to show them and I was embarassed to show them a picture taken in our dining room cause it is the size of a couple rooms in their house. The house has hot water and I am safe and loved. There are 2 children - Juaqin (don´t know how to spell it) is a 6 year old little boy and beautiful Julieta is 5. They are so sweet and adorable - well behaved and loving. Julieta holds my hand whenever we go anywhere and oh, I just love them. My parents, Ariel and Nancy are incredibly hospitable, loving, and caring. They worry about me while I´m at school during the day, and are just so kind. After dinner, which is anywhere from 9 to 11pm, i stay up and talk with them about everything. They are amazing. I go to class at the Instituto Biblico Buenos Aires in the city Mon-Thurs. We learn Spanish with other Wheaton students and professors. It takes me over an hour by bus to get to school. The transportation system here is incredible. I took 4 different buses just today to go various places in the city. It´s really cheap though. I eat lunch for, like, 2 bucks sometimes. Lots of meat. Coffee. Dulce de Leche and Matte. If you don´t know what these are, look them up - very interesting cultural. The people here are so nice - we have to talk to random people often for assignments, and they are so kind and love to talk. My Spanish is improving a lot, but I still have a long way to go. It is easier to undertand and speak as well. My parents here are very helpful. We have a lot of homework - the afternoons involve exploring the city and we write a lot of papers. This city (the capital) has incredible culture and history. I have a lot to think about. Some people from our group are living with families who have opened up their homes, but have no hot water, little food, 2 rooms for a house, and live in very dangerous neighborhoods. I worry for the girls placed in these neighborhoods. This is life for so many, though. I am so blessed to be where I am now with a hot shower every day, plenty of food and a loving family in a safe neighborhood. The gender issues with this culture are very different from the US. I have had a couple uncomfortable occasions with the men here. I stand out with blonde hair and imperfect Spanish. I hate how some men treat some women and that women in this world ever need to be scared. My family takes care of me, and the boys in our group help and I am safe, so don´t worry, but it is something i need to think about. The city is beautiful, very European, but I am not only learning about Argentina and Spanish, but about life. If you are reading this, you are blessed. More so than MANY people. This is an incredible experience and I am learning so much. On Saturday, I will be going to the huge soccer game between Argentina and Colombia. It´s a big deal. Soccer is a religon here. I am excited. I love you all. Thank you for being in my life. Congrats on getting to the end of this. : ) Till later, me.

3 comments:

  1. hey you!
    thanks for the sweet txt the other day..it was a nice surprise :) i was at work and im busy planning a bridal affair [its an expo where you have tons of vendors come and of course engaged ppl] im in charge of everything from designing the invite to keeping track of the vendors..its pretty crazy. i miss you much though, theres a bible study every tuesday and i wish you were there with us. it is good to know that you are safe and having such a wonderful time. i enjoy reading your updates and we are for sure BLESSED!

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  2. Michelle, Thanks for the update. One of the dads from Daniel's Pyton team just got back from 6 days in Argentina, He is a wine buyer,He said the Argentinian wine country is in a desert area, not how I pictured Argentina!!!Unfortunately the Pythons were not too activie tonight!! I think about you each am and evening on the bus and pray for you. Love Mom

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  3. Your family sounds amazing! I bet that you are really going to miss those kids come the end of the summer. Ah! I can't wait to see pictures of everything. I'm praying for you. Keep learning and thinking!

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