A WHIRLWIND FINISH

With a great flurry of activity, the semester and academic year is over!! We are back in Colorado, and it is time for the final post for Swartzendrubers in Buenos Aires. There will be some additions of pictures to the estudiantes pages, so be sure to look them over a few days from now. In addition to all of the usual end-of-semester academic activities of tests and papers, I was also priviledged to say a few words at the last convocation of the year and at the final banquet which was held at the Madero Tango facility. Thus, the closing entry will be a replay, or a close facsimile, of my comments to the students. First - my comments at convo, which preceded the last group dinner and a student-organized after dinner celebration for themselves, with a color theme of Black and White:

Although I have a white shirt on, rest assured that I am not coming to your party - from some of the rumored activities, it is probably best that 'adults' stay away! :-) However, the theme of black and white fits well with what I want to talk with you about this evening - decisions. Oh, it would be so nice if all of the decisions that we faced were indeed black and white; it would make things so much easier. Unfortunately, most decisions that we make are not so clear cut, and there are often many shades of gray to consider. When Rafa says, "Don't be stupid, or I will kill you!!!" what is he really saying?? Yes, he is saying "make good decisions," because who we are and how others see us is based on virtually all of the decisions and choices that we have made in our lives. The choices you make about language, humor, behaviors, alcohol, drugs, sex, and on and on, tell others who you are. Trust me - we, me included, have all made poor choices!! And both our good choices and our bad choices are quite transparent and readily observed by others - even if you believe they aren't - again, trust me, they are. In the Hebrew Bible, the Preacher writes "I put before you good and evil - life and death - choose life!! In the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Indy and his nemesis find the room of the Holy Grail, only to be confronted with hundreds of grails from which they must choose only one from which to drink. When Indy's adversary proclaims "Truly the cup of a King," makes the wrong choice and is destroyed, the elderly guardian knight simply says "He chose poorly." When Indy chooses the Holy Grail, "the cup of a Gallilean carpenter," the knight says "You chose wisely." But what does it mean to choose life and to choose wisely? For me, the key is to try to make all decisions based on building up rather than tearing down, affirming, not degrading, and filled with justice, kindness, love and mercy. Considering these things will help us make good choices, and will also help us overcome some of the bad choices we have make in the past. May your choices be wise and life-giving, and as we begin to say our farewells, my wish for each of you is that you fare well.

And my final comments to the group at the Banquet {with the opening and closing in Spanish}

My dear students, faculty, Pepperdine employees, families and friends. You are a very special group, and you will always live in my heart. Thank you for the gift, and what I would like to give to you are a few words of wisdom from a couple of old songs. In 1973, Jim Seals and Dash Crofts recorded a great song "We May Never Pass This Way Again." At first, it could be taken as a bit melancholy for indeed, in this life, we will never pass this way again. However, the song is about looking forward, not back. Because we may never pass this way again, we should live today and each day as best as we possibly can. And how can we do that? Another great songwriter gives us some advice. In one of Bob Dylan's songs, he writes "May you always do for others, and let others do for you." What great, gospel-like advice for living. Dylan continues with what is one of my great hopes for each of you - "May you build a ladder to the stars, and climb on every rung. And may you stay forever young." So dear students, I now say chau, blessings, and go with God.

POTPOURRI

This section will contain a salmagundi of pictures and commentary. The first picture is of a very common site in Buenos Aires - a dog walker. We have seen as many as 20 dogs walking in an orderly pack. There was one dog walker that simply had all of the dogs tethered together and was leading them only by voice command - no leash. Virtually all of the dogs here are well-behaved and seem to take the crowds and the traffic in stride. Most of the doggie groups are heterogeneous like this one, but occasionally there are single-breed packs.

The next picture is of a street vendor located about two blocks from the Casa. Even though there is a Coto grocery store in the same block, steet vendors of fresh vegetables and fruits are very common.

Not too far from the Casa is a large park that is great for walking and running, and there is also a lake for paddle boating. On the weekends, there are often special events such as races, concerts and as shown below, car shows.

Before Rhonda headed back to Colorado to be available to help Nick, Jaime and Silas as they prepare for their second child, we were able to spend a long weekend in Mendoza, the center of wine country. We toured two very nice bodegas and also took a tour along the old route from Argentina to Chile through Villavicencio, which is a nature preserve, historic villa, and the site of one of the largest natural water bottling plants in Argentina.

We visited the bodega y cavas de Weinert and the cavas de Don Arturo. Both were very interesting, and very different from one another. Interestingly Don Arturo does not market its wine in Argentina other than at the bodega. They ship to the USA and Europe, and their five dollar wine [a great Malbec] sells for $85 in NYC restaurants.

Vieja Ruta 7

The Chapel at Villavicencio

While walking through our neighborhood looking for a church with a Christmas music program, I happened upon an LDS church and two young missionary boys. The music program had just concluded, piped in via satellite from the Tabernacle. What I did learn is that the church has a basketball court that is open for our use!! So, often on Saturday evenings a group would play for a couple of hours, and the picture is at the end of one of our outings, courtesy of Randy Kunkel.

In addition to basketball, another regular outing was to the bowling alley on Cabildo - Monday nights, after home-stay dinners, which means that it usually got started around 11:00 and often went until closing at one.

Nick picking up the spare

ESTUDIANTES III

Stacey, Chenese, Jasmine & Jen

{nice book!!}

Louie & Lauren

Our Colorado Kids - Teige, Cody, Hayley & McClees

The Intrepid Glacial River Kayakers - Liza, Kat, Jasmine, Britney, Amanda, Chenese, Britney, Max, Louie & Te'Aira - and a sprinting Aaron!!

The "Smiths"

Emily & Brett

Alto y corto

Brett, Sami, Cody, Mandela & Rob

The Boyz

Nick, Pascal, Garrett, Brett & Tim

Kelly & Kelsey

Sean, Elliot, Jared & Brad

FRIENDS AND RELATIVES IN BUENOS AIRES

One of the pleasant things that is making this semester seemingly fly by is the coming and going of a variety of folks from 'back home.' I think that what I will do is edit and update this post as each of our visitors make their way to BsAs. Our first guest of the spring semester was Doug Miller, a first cousin of Rhonda's on her mother's side. Doug lives in Maine, so the warm weather was a welcome respite from winter in the northeast. We had a delightful time, and it was great for me [and Rhonda too I believe] to spend time with Doug and to learn to know him much better. Doug visited the Estancia Los Patos [see our earlier post regarding our visit to Los Patos - and for the Miller relatives - ask Doug about his driver, Victor!!], toured the city, and joined us for great meals and a bit of shopping. The three of us also took a trip to Montevideo, Uruguay, traveling by buquebus across the Rio del Plata. Travel time is about three hours, and the boat carries several hundred passengers plus many autos. We explored the beaches, walkways, feria and restaurants, and had a very relaxing long weekend. I believe that Doug thoroughly enjoyed life at the Casa, and being able to get to know some of the students. Toward the end of Doug's time in BsAs, another of Rhonda's first cousins, Rich Miller arrived from Chicago. However, Rich's focus for his time here was tango - lessons during the day and dancing all night! Rather than staying at the Casa, Rich lived in a hotel close to many of the dance clubs and all of the activities associated with the annual Tango Festival. We were able to see where he was staying, and he visited us in Belgrano, of course with his tango shoes in hand. Several blocks from the Casa, down 11 de Septiembre is parque Barrancas de Belgrano with a large gazebo. And, on every Saturday and Sunday night, there is a milonga in the gazebo. While the music played through the sound system, Rich explained many of the details of the tango, the music, and the rituals of the dance partners before, during and after each song. It was great to have such a knowledgable commentator.

Our next guests were Douglas, Nick and Silas! We were anxious to hear about how Silas made the trek from Boulder to Argentina and to see how he would react to all of the folks speaking a language that would not make much sense to a 3-year-old. First, he is a very good traveler, and second, he did not seem a bit fazed by the language. He quickly got right into the swing of things with Sponge Bob and other cartoon characters speaking Spanish. And he even managed a gracias or two by the time they were ready to head back home. He enjoyed chatting with Mommy on Skype, and got excited to go home when he heard that there might be a new toy awaiting him! [I earlier mentioned Jaime's pregnancy - they are expecting their second child early in May, and thus she could not make the trip] We did many of our usual activities, and we were also able to take care of Silas while Nick spent some time studying for the final portion of the Colorado Bar Examination. Although Silas is a real trouper, Nick got a lot of exercise carrying Silas since we walk a lot and ride the subte - Silas even fell asleep once while we were all riding the subte! In addition to our regular restaurants, sights and activities, Douglas, Nick and I made a trip to the Puerto Madero Casino. I had heard students talking about it, but had never been there, so when the boys said that they would like to see it - off we went. The casino is actually on two boats, and they have the ususal machines and tables. We mainly watched, and since I did not know anything about roulette, Douglas explained it to me. Then, to demonstrate, he put his bet on 27 [his birthday day], and the ball landed on 27!!! Pretty good payoff, so he put some of it back on 27. And again, the ball landed on 27. He figured that twice was enough good luck, and we went to have a sandwich :-)

Our next visitors were Randy and Leslie Kunkel from Colorado Springs, who were making a trip to Argentina part of their "extended honeymoon" having recently been married! I have known Randy since the time of our turning 50 [last year??] and becoming members of the Grand Masters old guys running group :-) Leslie and Randy arrived toward the end of our week-long spring academic field trip to El Calafate [details to come], and thus were welcomed to the Casa by Alejandro and some of the Pepperdine staff. And even though we arrived at Jorge Newberry airport quite late, Alejandro, Randy and Leslie were there to greet us. We did many of our "standard" activities - eating at Maru and other great places, riding the buses and subte, visits to Recoleta, wandering the neighborhood, shopping at Coto, Saturday night basketball at the LDS church, and of course, experiencing helado. Randy and Leslie really enjoyed interacting with the students, and a real highlight was Randy's presentation at convocation. Much of Randy's vocational career has been the qualitative and quantitative study of human performance and achievement in all facets of life, from business to athletics to academics to relationships, and he generously offered to give a mini-seminar on the characteristics of high achievers who sustain excellence. His presentation was very well-received by the students, so much so that I must say it was the most attentive that I have ever seen them at convocation. Afterward, many of the students wanted to chat and to have their names added to Randy's list for his e-newsletters. It was great to be able to spend some time together, and I do believe that they thoroughly enjoyed their time in BsAs - they might be back some day.

As Randy and Leslie were preparing to leave Buenos Aires, Steve Heller, a first-cousin on the Aschliman side of my family, arrived with former spouse Marilyn and their three twenty-something daughters Larissa, Brigitte and Aimee, all from Indianapolis. They spent a couple of days at Iguazu Falls before returning to BsAs for the remainder of their visit. They had done a lot of homework regarding the things that they wanted to see and places they wanted to go, so I showed them the bus stop, the subte station and the main roads, and they were off and running. After a city tour, they made it to the city center, Recoleta, Palermo, San Telmo, and Boca. They experienced shopping at Coto and having helado at Persico. We enjoyed numerous fine meals, and tried to make sure that Steve fufilled one of his goals - to have a nice steak each day! Steve also visited my classes one day, and as some of you would know, he had his camera with him. So, Aschliman family, don't be surprised if there are a few pictures in the next family newsletter. Hopefully one of the pictures will be of Steve and his tango partner in Boca! The girls got a taste of the Argentine night life on their last night in BsAs. Along with a group of Pepperdine students, they left the Casa at around midnight. However, the first stop was not a club, but rather a restaurant close to the Casa. Why, you might ask? Most clubs do not get rolling pretty well until 2 or later. So, at about 6 in the morning, I was heading out to the airport to meet Kay and Anna at about the same time the girls were returning to the Casa :-) Needless to say, they spent a portion of their final hours in BsAs sleeping soundly.

As mentioned above, as the Hellers were on their way out, my sister and her daughter, Kay and Anna Montgomery were on their way in from Los Angeles. Kay and Anna enjoyed many of our standard BsAs excursions and restaurants - city tour, Belgrano, Recoleta, Coto, Maru, el centro, el parque, Florida, Persico for helado, and Forest Gump, as well as a meal at Palacio de Papas Fritas and an "interesting" evening of tango dance and music. I will defer to them to tell you the details :-) Kay and I also took the train to Tigre, and we explored the feria, had a nice lunch, and took a one hour boat ride on the Tigre delta - a very interesting look at life on the river delta. Kay and Anna joined the Pepperdine group for our usual Tuesday night dinner, and Anna met some of the students who were planning on going out to some clubs. Suffice it to say that Anna quickly became immersed in the BsAs night life, enjoying clubs that open at 2:00 am. I do believe that they both very much enjoyed the city, the culture and people, and of course, the shopping. Kay and Anna's visit overlapped one day with the visit of another of my cousins and his family, and together we enjoyed breakfast at Maru, and outing to Recoleta, and a great dinner of assorted cuts of beef at Kansas - an Argentine version of a US restaurant, i.e. they have honey mustard salad dressing!!

As alluded to above, Mark, Patty, Kate, Anna and Sam Aschliman arrived the day before Kay and Anna departed. Their oldest daughter Beth did not make this trip - she went to Spain instead! Again, many of the 'standard' activities were enjoyed by the Aschlimans as well as a couple of new ones. On a Wednesday, the family planned an excursion out to the country to visit an estancia. And it happened to be the only day during their visit that it rained - and rained really hard. So, when they arrived at the ranch, the road was so flooded that they decided not to try and enter, but rather chose to visit a nearby small town. In the end, it was a fine days outing. They were also here for the end-of-semester convo sushi dinner at the Casa. The guest speaker was Anthony Wayne, the relatively new US Ambassador to Argentina. Suffice it to say that the unanimous decision was that the Ambassador's presentation paled in the brilliance of Randy's convo presentation!! However, the sushi and stir-fry were great. Another interesting tidbit was the family's visit to the local milonga-tango that happens every Saturday and Sunday night at the Glorieta Gazebo. As we all were lined around the edge of the gazebo, watching the folks dance, a young Argentine gentleman swooshed in and asked Kate to tango. Gamely, she joined in, and made about one complete circuit of the dance floor before parting ways. At the Casa, Sam and Anna took advantage of computers that do not monitor their on-line time; computers and Pizza Bum - what more could one ask for? One small-world tidbit: Mark and the family are from Wisconsin and have a lake home on Lake Geneva. At the Casa, the family met many of the students, and one of them also has a lake home on Lake Geneva - on the same street!! The Aschlimans, like many visitors to Buenos Aires, were quite surprised with the 'european' nature of the city and the people - but remember - it is the Paris of South America!

And finally, here is a Buenos Aires Reflection by Anna Montgomery:

Mom and I arrived in Buenos Aires the morning that Steve Heller and his family were packing up and saying goodbye. I could tell by their sentiments that it was hard for them to leave. The week unraveled and mom and I understood completely how you would become attached to that beautiful city. The air was cool and humid, the city was green and plush, and the people were beautiful and friendly. We were surprised by the European feel of the city, and most taken by the comparisons we made to Los Angeles. Being that it is slightly larger than Los Angeles, the hustle bustle of the city had a different feeling to it- more relaxed. You didn't hear horns honking, people shouting, or see anyone rushing, even. As we made friends with natives and started enjoying the night life, we realized that time is a completely different entity there. Siesta's are a very real thing... a work day might be followed by a nap, and then a 10pm dinner, then maybe even a nightclub until wee hours of the morning (for the youngsters), where another nap is squeezed in before work or class. There is not a hurry to do anything, time does not equal money, etc. I was most taken by this as I stood in a 30 minute grocery store line and never saw one person itching with impatience. We enjoyed all that Doug had told about in his blogs... Asado's (BBQs), the bakery across the street from his casa (most amazing pastries and quiches), a gorgeous cemetery where Evita is buried, filled with incredible mausoleums and great hovering statues of angels, the downtown shopping where you can find everything from fine leather items to boutiques reminiscent of Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, and my favorite, the Recoleta Market which was a huge park near the town center filled with artist vendors and yummy fresh meats, cheese and cakes for snacking. Mom and I caught some Tango, and she and Doug took a day trip to El Tigre which is a town on the Delta where they went on a boat trip. Near the end of our week Mark Aschliman arrived with his crew and it all began again for Doug. What a host. He was gracious and never tired of showing us around, and the word from the Pepperdine students is that they absolutely adore Rhonda and him. More than one girl told me she cried when Rhonda left. Well done, uncle. Thank you for a truly wonderful vacation and life altering exposure to a part of the world I always wanted to see. I'm sure mom, Steve and Mark's family would all agree- we left a little part of our hearts in Buenos Aires.

HIJA Y YERNO

Hija y Yerno

Well it was quite an ordeal, but Rachel and Jonathan finally arrived in Buenos Aires on Christmas morning. A huge winter storm moved into Denver on the day that they were to depart DIA. They made several valiant plans to get out of town, including driving south and east to Dallas/Fort Worth to catch a plane to make their Miami connection, but each plan was thwarted by the weather. As flights continued to be cancelled, and all of the roads out of Denver eventually being shut down, it became clear that they would be delayed. Some quick calls were made, and they were confirmed on flights three days later, albeit Denver to Las Vegas to Miami to Buenos Aires. It was great to see them waiting for us at EZE.

Although we missed out on a few days, we got to do much of what we had hoped - the subte to downtown, the bus to Boca, a car trip to Pinamar for a couple days at the beach, a day trip to Adulam, relaxing at Casa Holden, and of course, many fine meals at some of our favorite places as well as a couple of new ones. One of the new restaurants specialized in cuisine from Southeast Asia, and how we found out about it was a most interesting multicultural experience. Background - Rachel and Jon both did service work with the Mennonite Central Committee, Rachel in Nicaragua and Jon in Viet Nam, and thus learned the respective languages. Jon also studied in Spain, and thus speaks some Spanish as well. And, the Viet Nam Embassy is just a few blocks from Casa Holden. So, on one of our neighborhood walks, we approached the embassy as a car with several Vietnamese was parking. As they got out of the car and headed toward the embassy, Jon addressed them in Vietnamese. Needless to say, they were a bit taken aback!! After chatting for a bit, they invited us into the Embassy for tea and more conversation, mainly in Vietnamese, with some Spanish and English thrown in now and then. The four members of the diplomatic service did not fully endorse any restaurant, but they did give us two suggestions. Quite a memorable experience!!!

SUMMER/WINTER

The beginning of summer here could not be much better - sunny, cool, slight breeze - and the beginning of winter in Colorado could not be much worse! Rachel and Jonathan were scheduled to leave Denver this morning, headed for Miami and then on to Buenos Aires, arriving early on Friday morning. Well, that didn't happen! On Wednesday morning, it became clear that the winter storm warnings were accurate, and that the blizzard was on its way. The airlines at Denver International Airport started to announce mass cancellations in the morning, and a complete shutdown was inevitable. Rachel and Jonathan worked diligently on alternatives - drive to Las Vegas to catch a flight to Miami - too much snow in the Colorado and Utah mountains; head south and then east to Dallas/Fort Worth airport - Colorado Highway Patrol closes Interstate 25 from Denver to the New Mexico border. They had to settle for rescheduling for the coming weekend, arriving in Buenos Aires on Monday morning, Christmas Day. And, although it is very disappointing that they will not be arriving tomorrow morning, it is good that they have secured alternate travel plans leaving from and returning to Denver. We will miss the bistro dinner tomorrow night at Maru, but we will no doubt make up for lost time when they arrive! And to all you blog-readers: Feliz Navidad, año nuevo próspero, bendiciones y buena salud

THE FIRST SEMESTER IS HISTORY

In whirlwind fashion, finals were completed, stacks of term papers were graded, the final banquet was enjoyed, and the students scattered hither and yon. Rhonda was a great helper as we carefully graded 30 ten page essays, twelve by the students in human genetics and eighteen by the students in science and religion - interesting reading, but none escaped the reviewers' sharp pencils! Finals ended on Wednesday afternoon, and the Banquet was Wednesday evening. There was a grand buffet, tango demonstrations by the students who have been taking lessons all semester, singing, awards and recognition, videos by Joe and Skip [check out the link below], and an audiovisual recap of the jam-packed fall semester. Goodbyes were exchanged, especially with those few students who will not be coming back for the spring semester. After a Thursday afternoon asado, the Casa quickly emptied as the students headed back to the states, or to Peru and Chile, or to . . . . .

Scott & Joe

Britney, Brittany, Britney & Brittany

Joe & Skip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YA2vhJcORxo

LAST WEEK OF CLASSES

It really is hard to believe that the semester of classes is now over. Rather than closing down the Casa from midnight until seven, we are keeping the Casa open straight through the weekend as the students prepare for their final exams and complete term papers. There was academic action all night long, with at least five students crashed at various places around the Casa when Rhonda and I made our "rounds" this morning. This last week of classes was not all about school however. The final Wednesday night group dinner was a sushi and stir-fry fest; Thursday was Step Forward Day - a Pepperdine University tradition of a day of service by the students, faculty and staff to the local community; and Friday afternoon we had a lovely tea and snacks with Glen and Gloria Holden. Glen is a former Ambassador to Jamaica, and a polo enthusiast; hence their annual visits to Argentina for the beginning of the polo season. As some of you know, the Holdens are the benefactors of Casa Holden. As I am typing this entry, I note that some students are needing a break from their studies and are heading out to bowl "just two games!" It is six o'clock now, and the bowling should wind up by seven, which gives the students plenty of time for a bit more studying before their 9 pm dinner time with their host families. Most will be back at the Casa by 10, order some more food by midnight, and hit their stride at about two am!

THANKSGIVING

THANKSGIVING

El dia de accion de gracia

Oh, God, when I have food,

help me to remember the hungry;

When I have work,

help me to remember the jobless;

When I have a home,

help me remember those who have no home at all;

When I am without pain,

help me remember those who suffer;

And remembering,

help me to destroy my complacency,

bestir my compassion,

and be concerned enough to help those who cry out

for what we take for granted.

Amen*

Thus began our Thanksgiving Meal at Casa Holden on Sunday

With careful planning and everyone's willingness to contribute, our Thanksgiving meal at the Casa was a great success. All of the students helped out in one way or another, from moving furniture to setting the tables to preparing dishes reminiscent of Thanksgiving day in the States to cleaning up. The kitchen at Maru Botana prepared four turkeys, two hams and some appetizers, but the remainder of the cooking and baking was directed masterfully by Ms. Ivy with the assistance of numerous students and Mrs. Rhonda. Stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, sweet potatoes, macaroni and cheese, pasta, rice, corn, peas, cornbread, date pudding, pumpkin pie, banana pudding, cookies, red velvet cake, and a last-minute fruit punch concoction - all made for a very satisfied, and thankful, group. Special kudos go to Ms. Ivy for staying up all night on Saturday, cooking and baking for her amigos.

Ms. Ivy

*Prayer attributed to Samuel Pugh.

ESTUDIANTES II

Andy & Amigo

Megan

David and Chaz

Alicia

Stephani and Britney

Jon

PJ - aka - Pato

John and Hayley

Max

ESTUDIANTES

I thought that it might be good to post some pictures of our "family" and thus I will try to get all of our group on the blog sooner or later. Here is the first round, beginning with the "parents" and followed by some of the "children."

Doug and Rhonda

Jen & Jasmine

Andy and Jordan

Kat

Zach

Daniel

Tiffany and Jamie

Aaron and Liza

Erica

STREET MEAT

"Watch for the places where the taxi drivers congregate." This was the advice we were given regarding street vendors who daily set up their grills and offer up chorizos, hamburguesas y bife sandwiches. So, on the first walk from the Casa to classes at Universidad Catolica Argentina, http://www.uca.edu.ar/, I noted the taxis gathering at a spot near the UCA Agricultural Campus building. It was not too long before many of the students and I became 'regulars' at street meat - a nice sized choripan for two pesos, or about 65 cents - best deal in town!

You can see that I did not sneak up on Hugo! When I got closer, he jokingly started singing the Star Spangled Banner and wondered if I was going to send his picture to Bush! Te gusta Bush is a fairly common question here, and I will spare you my spanglish response and a political rant!

Here is Hugo at the grill. My first class at UCA is at 9:00, and Hugo is usually at his spot awaiting the delivery of his grill and all of the fixings. He has his charcoal grill fired up with meat ready to serve by around 11:00, and generally closes down by 1:30 or thereabouts. He has a couple of choices of bread and sauces including a mild salsa, chimichuri, mustard and mayonaisse. Since our arrival in Buenos Aires, Hugo has added some facturas, breakfast pastries, to his 'menu.' His amigo Gabriel helps with drinks and odds and ends. I have to wonder if Gabriel is an apprentice, looking to open up his own operation some time!

Hugo and Gabriel - Kings of Street Meat

OPERA PAMPA

I am still bummed about not having our camera. And, I just learned that the fine print on the Limited Warranty says "US Only." I do believe that a letter to Sony will be forthcoming. So, as a less-than-satisfactory substitute for personal pictures, take a tour through http://www.operapampa.com.ar/ Last Thursday nights group dinner was at Opera Pampa, which is not so much an opera, but a grand outdoor venue show about Argentine history and culture. There was a pre-show reception, the well-presented show with singing, dancing and horsemanship, and an after-show asado. There is an interesting side-story regarding a person who was a guest of several of our students - the following is lifted directly from Stacey Gallarde's blog on her Junior Year Abroad website - www.nbc4.tv/jya

Boy do I have a story to tell.

Two of my friends and I had lunch with an American actress this weekend. Yes, in Buenos Aires.This is how it happened. So Britney, Stephani and I were at the subte stop just sitting and talking (in English) when a woman walks up to us and asks us (in English) where we were from. Steph says she's from San Jose, and the woman says, "Oh, I'm from LA". Then all three of us tell her that we actually go to school at Pepperdine in Malibu. The woman replies, "I live in Malibu!"

Ok, first off this is crazy enough! Malibu only has a population of roughly 13,000 people. How is it possible its few inhabitants run into each other in Buenos Aires, Argentina?

Back to the story. So we get to talking (her name is Jamie) and she tells us where she lives in Malibu, why she's here in Buenos Aires (for tango dancing) and how long (9 days), etc. Anyway, in the end, Jamie takes us under her wing (even calls us her daughters) and goes on our city outing with us. She takes us out to lunch, and during our conversation we find out that she is an actress! Most of her work was done in the 80's because she is now focusing on being an acting teacher. She was on the show Falcon Crest, had her own TV show for awhile, has worked with Clint Eastwood, Billy Bob Thorton, Johnny Depp, and my favorite, The Olsen Twins (Holiday in the Sun)!

TIME FLIES

When you are having fun, eh? Much has transpired since our last entry, including the usual, such as classes, convocations, asados and group dinners, and the very special, including the visit of Arlene Cook from Colorado and a weekend spiritual retreat with the students. Arlene and Rhonda are great friends, having first met while teaching elementary school in Colorado Springs. I don't think that I can recount all of the adventures - the six days went by much too quickly. Rhonda and Arlene were out and about while I was teaching, visiting various barrios and the musuem of fine arts, taking a boat across the Rio de la Plata for a day trip to Colonia, Uruguay, and of course shopping! The three of us were able to enjoy an opera at the Teatro Colon, shopping on Florida, the Recoleta cemetery and nearby street fair, and dinners at places like Siga de Vaca, Forrest Gump, Maru Botana and Kansas. Don't let the norteamericano names fool you - each is distinctly Argentine. We introduced Arlene to subte linea d, bus linea 67, and long walks, and she adapted very quickly. I know that all of the students were delighted to meet Arlene, and that Arlene also appreciated the chance to meet and chat with the students. All-in-all, we had a wonderful time, and we look forward to other family and friends visits to Buenos Aires.

A few words about the spiritual retreat. This is an elective event for the students to spend a bit of time away from the city, to reflect, to re-create, and to re-energize for the remaining month of the fall semester. Over forty students participated. We traveled by bus to the Estancia Ternura, the Tenderness Ranch, which is probably a name that I would not have chosen for a country estate - sounds a bit shady :-) Regardless, the estancia was a great place, with nice accommodations, recreational facilities such as a basketball court, soccer field, pool and spa, and stables. I particularly enjoyed playing some basketball and riding along on the tractor with a farmhand who was mowing a hay field. More importantly, there were times for selah, for singing, and for hearing from the student retreat organizers and from Diego, the weekend resource person.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER

A Typical Week - Although it could be said that in an international program, there is no such thing as a typical week, there is a bit of a routine for each week. I teach two classes, and the Human Genetics class meets on Monday, Tuesday and Friday mornings, and the Science and Religion class meets on Tuesday and Friday mornings and Wednesday afternoons. After classes on Wednesday, everyone meets at the Casa for convocation [usually a time of worship songs and a presentation, e.g. the US Ambassador will soon be coming to a convo], and then we all go out for a group dinner. Dinners are at various restaurants and thus far have included Greek with a dance show, Italian with an operetta show, International with a tango show, and Norteamericano with no show - just great food and swift service. Thursdays, I do not have any classes, and there is a noontime asado at the Casa for everyone. On Thursday evenings, volunteers go to a Catholic church facility to prepare sandwiches for the families of hospitalilzed children. There usually are about a dozen students who show up - Rhonda and I help out at the church, and then the students take the food to a hospital and meet with the families, sing songs and play games. Many of the weeks are punctuated with special events, such as sports days with some of the local schools, long weekends for travel time, field trips, and a spiritual retreat that is coming up this Friday through Sunday. When I am not grading homework and tests, or preparing for classes, we try to get out and about to explore the city, visit various barrios and browse at the many ferias. Rhonda has been doing a "good job" of browsing rather than buying :-) She has time for reading, Sudoku, and the internet. She also is 'mother on call' for the 51 students, and is a real heroine when she whips up some homemade dishes and desserts to share with the students and staff. "Mrs. S., you are soooooooo awesome" is a common quote when Rhonda is working in the kitchen.

Cultural Adjustments - Some folks have asked us what we miss, and aside from the obvious such as family and friends, it is not that we are missing a lot, but rather it is getting used to a different way of life. Such as no car. When we left the USA, we got out of the auto market [no insurance payments, no license fees], and here, we get around almost exclusively by walking and riding the subte. This past Sunday, we rode the bus, and last Friday evening, we took a taxi to the Teatro Colon. And, it was not really a 'taxi' but rather was with Andres, a driver who does a lot of hired driving for Pepperdine in Buenos Aires. For example, we hired Andres to take Rhonda to the airport last Thursday to pick up our good friend Arlene Cook from Colorado Springs, and we will probably hire Andres to go to the airport when our kids come to visit. Rhonda recently noted that "riding in a car is like a special treat," although we certainly do not need and indeed do not want a car. One of our car-savvy students notes that there are models here that are not available in the USA, e.g. the Toyota Hilux truck and SUV, the Mercedes 200C and A class, and the Chevrolet Astra, Vectra and Corsa.

One interesting difference that we noted rather quickly was that there are no window or door screens at the Casa, and possibly in all of Argentina! It is great to have everything open for the buenos aires, but it is thus also open to the pests, notably the mosquitoes [totaly random aside, speaking of mosquitoes and 'good air' what disease was named after 'bad air'?]. Another thing that we noted was the large number of stray cats and dogs, and the large number of dogs with owners. All of this makes one very conscious of where one walks on the sidewalks and in the parks. It is also very clear that we are living in a very large city - about one third of the 39 million people in Argentina live in Buenos Aires, or as it was originally known, Ciudad de la Santísima Trinidad y Puerto de Santa María de los Buenos Aires, "City of the Most Holy Trinity and Port of Saint Mary of the Fair Winds." The population of 13,000,000 places Buenos Aires in 12th place among the largest urban areas in the world, and thus there are all of the attendant mega-city characteristics, good and bad - the "Paris of South America" with all of the cultural amenities; street trash and noise around the clock; great public transportation; poverty; and the list goes on as you can imagine.

Skype - Thank goodness for Skype! This free voice-over-internet software makes it possible to talk computer to computer for free, and from our computer to USA phones for 2.1 cents per minute. And, the quality of communication is generally quite good. So, between Skype and the internet, we feel like we are fairly connected to the folks back home. And, of course this blog helps us to connect to those of you who take a moment to read it!! Drop us an email sometime, and buen dia.

SONY DIED

Well, the Sony camera is not totally dead, but it is off to the repair shop to see why its screen went blank. Without our camera, we were not able to get any pictures of Mar del Plata, the oceanside city where Rhonda and I spent a very relaxing three day weekend. If you link to http://www.hotellasrocas.com.ar/ you will see where we were and a bit of local scenery. There is a long walkway along the ocean, going past very rocky shores that transition to large beaches. The surf was about 4-5 feet, and there were a fair amount of surfers - no bathers however since the water is still pretty chilly. Mar del Plata is a beach town more like Atlantic City than Malibu, and thus the next time we head to the Atlantic, we will probably search out a small community. Also on the long weekend, the students headed out of town and most of them traveled to Cordoba for Fiesta de las Cervezas, better known to us German-types as Oktoberfest. Their bus rolled back to the Casa at about 5:30 am, and my biology students hastily prepared for their quiz at 9:00!

Since our camera is on the blink, I have added a few more whale pictures from our trip to the Valdes Peninsula. You can see how close to the whales we were at times, and also you can get a glimpse of one whale's tongue and baleen - a sight we were told that is fairly uncommon. And to give proper credit, these four photos were taken by our good friend and colleague Lee Kats who was able to join us for a portion of the educational field trip.

EAST IS EAST

And West is West, but what about North and South?? I am not sure of the source of my inner desire to know the N-S-E-W orientation of my whereabouts. Maybe it was growing up in Northern Indiana where nearly all of the roads run North-South and East-West, with some notable exceptions like US33 through Goshen to Elkhart, or SR 119 from Goshen to Nappanee, or the county roads that follow the rivers and races like around Bainter Town. Maybe it was living in Colorado where the Front Range is always to the West, or living in New Mexico where the Jemez are to the West and the mountains of Santa Fe and Taos are to the East. Maybe it was living by the ocean where the Santa Monica Mountains are to the North and the Pacific to the South.

But here in Buenos Aires, there are no helpful visual cues - no mountains, no oceans. In our neighborhood of many high rises and big trees, it is often difficult to see the location of the sun. Not that it would help me much since I have to stop and think "It's October, but we are in the Southern Hemisphere which means it's not fall heading to winter, but rather spring heading to summer which means the sun is heading South of E-W rather than North....." Oh, to have those Elkhart County even-numbered roads for a reference that when west-bound at the equinox, the sun was setting right in your eyes, with winter sunsets far to the South of West and summer sunsets, far to the North of West. Also, not being able to see much of the sky means that you cannot tell when 'weather is coming.' For example, in Colorado Springs, it is pretty easy to see what is in store weather-wise.

Of course there do not seem to be any roads here that run straight N-S-E-W. When we go out the front door of the Casa on to 11-de-Septiembre, I have to think "It's kinda South and the road runs kinda East-West" but in actuality, the front door pretty much faces SW, which means the road runs NW-SE. And, to top it all off, many of the maps and guide books do not have North at the top of the map!!! Thankfully, the subte map is "correct" :-)http://urbanrail.net/am/buen/buenos-aires.htm

STUDENTS ARRIVE!!

Well, the halcyon days at the Casa are over - our 51 ninos arrived on Tuesday morning. The students had the same flights that we had from LA, and thus arrived in Buenos Aires at about 7:30 in the morning. Considering that they had flown all night, and changed planes in Lima, most of them were fairly chipper. The morning air was brisk, which seemed to come as a shock to some - hey, it's winter here! After Luz, Maria and Rafa greeted everyone and checked them in, we boarded two buses for the trip to the Casa. Similar to the busy first day that we had, the students' day was filled with paperwork, orientation, and of course an asado. The real highlight of the day began at 5:00 when the homestay parents started to arrive to pick up their students. It was interesting to watch the level of anxiety rise as the time drew near, and I believe without exception, each student was feeling some apprehension. Many of the students had gone to a nearby vendor to get flowers as a welcome gesture for their new mommas and papas. And, without exception, all anxiousness disappeared as one by one, a host would be brought to the doorway, a student would be called forth, hugs exchanged, suitcases gathered, and the new family would head home. It really was exceptional, and exciting, for us to watch the beginning of what will no doubt be an unforgettable learning experience for each student.

One of the first things that the students have to adjust to is the daily routine of the Argentine families, e.g. dinner at 9:00 pm. The host families provide breakfast and dinner, and the classes are scheduled between 9 am and 6:00 pm. However, our classes do not begin until September 22. Until then, our time will be filled with an orientation tour of the city and our neighborhood, lectures on the history and culture of Argentina, and language 'boot camp' which is intended to get everyone beginning to think and speak Spanish, and to get accustomed to hearing the "zh_" pronunciation for the 'y' and 'll' words - cinco de Mazho (Mayo), Ozheros (Olleros), zho (yo), como se zhama - you get the idea. Thursday and Friday were filled with culture and language classes, and then the weekend - well, you can probably guess where most of the students spent some of their time on the weekend. Buenos Aires is rather noted for the club scene, and I think that most of the kids got introduced to the night life - a different type of culture and language experience! Monday and Tuesday will again be culture and language classes, and then we leave for our fall semester educational field trip to Ushuaia and the Valdez Peninsula.

Rhonda and Doug's weekend time was much more sedate - a run in the park, cafe y postres, riding the subte to different parts of the city to explore the shops, cafes, and mercados pulgas. We were told of a large antique market in San Telmo on Sundays, so we made our way there via subte and foot. We did not know exactly where we were going, but that usually does not stop us - and we indeed found it close to where we thought it would be! It was an impressive experience. It's Sunday evening now, and some of the kids are going to Rey de Reyes for worship, and we will gather here at the Casa with others who wish to spend some time in singing, reflection and prayer.

CASA HOLDEN

Here are two pictures of our apartment at Casa Holden - looking into the apartment from the hallway, into the sitting room which leads to the bedroom and bath. The sitting room ceiling is a very high dome with a lovely skylight. There is a balcony off of the sitting room, and the second picture is looking out to the balcony.





And, as I had previously mentioned, directly across the street from the Casa is Maru Botana!!