WRAP UP

Here are a few pictures from the end-of-the-semester banquet held on the TST side of the Harbor. It is always a mixture of emotions as the time together draws to a close - glad to go home but realizing that we will not be seeing each other as we have for the past four months.

Andrew & Benyam

Brian, Leann & Kat

Maurice & Jackie

Cindy & Fabi

Rob & Nick

Evelin & Michael

Matt & Sarah

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.

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

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

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)!