Ugh...so it's been raining, cold, and overcast this whole week! I DO NOT LIKE IT and I am so over it...plus I may need to buy warmer clothes and better shoes for the rain...flip flops do not cut it...this sucks I hate weather like this and it makes me want to do nothing and stay inside the whole day. I had planned on going to the botanical gardens but I don't think I will enjoy it much in this weather...
Also, side note the teachers on on strike and because the government wants to change the whole public school system and have it run by local officials....yea sucks. This one guy emailed me back about teaching at an english teaching like institution and I emailed him back but haven't heard anything since. Blah...
So, my plan as of now is to go east to see the Itapau dam, Iguazu falls, Ciudad de Este and my hometown Hernandarias and there attempt to look for my birth mom. Then I think I'll go home, because I might as well be unemployed there...I trying but our bad economy and our bad pubic school system is like 10 fold bad here...
Oh I forgot to write about my other days in Argentina,,,let me try and remember...I ended up going to a Mennonite church which was interesting...there were like 30-40 people and one guy kind of led stuff but he was not the minister, no one is. They have elders who volunteer to lead. Then other people can talk about the bible and their experiences/problems and stuff. I would call that more of a large bible study group then a service but whatever they did sing songs too. I guess that is how the first churches started. Then we had a nice big lunch, and this 80 year old little man was like in love with me, it was funny. He was sweet not like a creepy old man, and he looked good for his age more like 60 haha. He asked me lots of questions and said I was beautiful :) Which was nice to hear. There was actually this woman from Indiana who was studying there, but she was a little weird and tried to hide the fact that she's American...lady it was still obvious! Anyway, Rosie from the student center came too. And Dan the Mexican minister who cooked us asado the other night. And Luchie's sister came too. I had a nice time and the food was bangin. Then I went over to Laura Sol's new apartment. It was really cute and they have a little balcony with a nice view. Some of the walls are lil fucked up and one room is a total mess but I know she'll make it nice. We had mate and chipa she made, and caught up. She got the apt with her boyfriend Lukas, who is Swiss. He is coming back next month to continue his studies. She showed me lots of pictures of them they look really cute together. And now she is learning German which she gets a lil confused with English now, it was funny. Then I went to this meeting with her that was pretty boring and Daniela was supposed to to meet us there but she didnt show up, she was cleaning up from the lunch. So, I took a cab home cause it was cold by then and I wasn't dressed in enough...like right now. Ugh I hate crappy weather...
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Day 2 in Buenos Aires
I'm breaking these up...so they are not insanely long to read...lol
The next day I was on a visiting Museums mission because they have a lot here. My Footprints on South America tour book has been really helpful so far, the maps were great in Asuncion. But here not as much. I guess because they change things here more than Asuncion. But the first Museum I tried to visit was not there anymore! The modern museum of art,,, Which was really annoying. So, I walked around for awhile and then stopped for some food. The waiter was very nice to me and my Spanish was good, I don't know if people are just being nice when they say that to me or if it actually is sometimes. It really depends on what people tell me. Anyway, then I went off to 2 other museums that didn't look that far on the map. The first one was closed, the second one was open but it was small and and a random assortment of old photos, costumes, and set designs. It was called the Museo de Teatro Nacional Cervantes. Basically, its an old theater. I was done quickly with it. So, then I went on a mission to find an adapter to charge the camera battery which had died. And it didn't fit into any of the outlets in the store. Luckily, I found one on the way to another Museum. On the way there I passed by Plaza de la Republica again and the Plaza de libertad. The nieghborhood the Museum was in was very nice and richy rich. Nice buildings with door men, air conditioning, and nice little shops, and resturants. Even a few embassy's. I passed by the Isreal embassy. I also passed by this really cool gallery. It had really beautiful comtemporay art. This one artist I loved her sculptures. Silvana Kelm. I made sure to write down her name so I could google her later...lol You should too! Her sculpture had dancers in movement and acrobats, and in the gallery they were hung in mid air which looked extra cool, it was like they were flying. Here is a website I found... http://www.silvanakelm.com.ar/
After, that I finally made it to a real museum! The Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano. It was beautiful. The actual building used to be a mansion of this rich architect named Martin Noel. It was called the Palacio Noel. It was white and big, with beautiful archways and high ceilings. There was also a garden inside and surrounding it. At little piece of quite heaven in the big city. A small church was also next to it that had beautiful tiling. The garden also had pretty benches that had pretty mosaic decorations. I was sad my camera had no battery. I might go back just to take pics. Inside the museum they had metal work in silver from Spain and Portugal, as well as beautiful leather and wood carvings in chairs and furniture. It also had a good amount of indiginous crafts of various tribes. There were also christian sculptures and paintings of the madonna and baby. It covered the history of pre Europeans to the early 19th century. There were 3 floors I had a fun time exploring. Downstairs I watched a movie loop of colonial dress, and one of the museum guys sat down and talked to me for awhile. He didn't speak much English though, so once the conversation a little confusing he brought in this women who helped translate a bit lol... She told me about the history of the house. Then it was getting late so I decided it was time to head back. There were also a bunch of other galleries but the road where my bus was, was far away Rivadavia, and I was on Arroyo...like 15 block and like 6 avenues... I grabbed an ice pop on the way it wasn't that great though, and this little poor kid asked for it on the street so I gave it to him. Poor people live on the Plaza on the benches and random dirty mattresses they picked up its sad. I got off the bus prematuraly though I had to walk an extra lie 20 blocks. I was exhausted and my feet were trobbing!!!! I finally made it back and Daniela was worried. She had called the students center a few times lol. I called her back took a quick cat nap and headed to her house for Asado,,,grilled meat! Yum Luchie's sister was there, and the man Daniel from Mexico I had a great time, drank wine and took a much needed load off! I slept like a baby on a sedative lol. This morning I was sore and my legs felt like jelly so I took it easy today. Oh I forgot I met up with Laura Sol this morning too for breakfast and another walk around town...lol. It was nice to see her after so long. We had a yummy breakfast of pastries.I'm probably going to see her tomorrow too. Now I have to go to Daniela's we're going to her brother in laws birthday... ciao!!!!
The next day I was on a visiting Museums mission because they have a lot here. My Footprints on South America tour book has been really helpful so far, the maps were great in Asuncion. But here not as much. I guess because they change things here more than Asuncion. But the first Museum I tried to visit was not there anymore! The modern museum of art,,, Which was really annoying. So, I walked around for awhile and then stopped for some food. The waiter was very nice to me and my Spanish was good, I don't know if people are just being nice when they say that to me or if it actually is sometimes. It really depends on what people tell me. Anyway, then I went off to 2 other museums that didn't look that far on the map. The first one was closed, the second one was open but it was small and and a random assortment of old photos, costumes, and set designs. It was called the Museo de Teatro Nacional Cervantes. Basically, its an old theater. I was done quickly with it. So, then I went on a mission to find an adapter to charge the camera battery which had died. And it didn't fit into any of the outlets in the store. Luckily, I found one on the way to another Museum. On the way there I passed by Plaza de la Republica again and the Plaza de libertad. The nieghborhood the Museum was in was very nice and richy rich. Nice buildings with door men, air conditioning, and nice little shops, and resturants. Even a few embassy's. I passed by the Isreal embassy. I also passed by this really cool gallery. It had really beautiful comtemporay art. This one artist I loved her sculptures. Silvana Kelm. I made sure to write down her name so I could google her later...lol You should too! Her sculpture had dancers in movement and acrobats, and in the gallery they were hung in mid air which looked extra cool, it was like they were flying. Here is a website I found... http://www.silvanakelm.com.ar/
After, that I finally made it to a real museum! The Museo de Arte Hispanoamericano. It was beautiful. The actual building used to be a mansion of this rich architect named Martin Noel. It was called the Palacio Noel. It was white and big, with beautiful archways and high ceilings. There was also a garden inside and surrounding it. At little piece of quite heaven in the big city. A small church was also next to it that had beautiful tiling. The garden also had pretty benches that had pretty mosaic decorations. I was sad my camera had no battery. I might go back just to take pics. Inside the museum they had metal work in silver from Spain and Portugal, as well as beautiful leather and wood carvings in chairs and furniture. It also had a good amount of indiginous crafts of various tribes. There were also christian sculptures and paintings of the madonna and baby. It covered the history of pre Europeans to the early 19th century. There were 3 floors I had a fun time exploring. Downstairs I watched a movie loop of colonial dress, and one of the museum guys sat down and talked to me for awhile. He didn't speak much English though, so once the conversation a little confusing he brought in this women who helped translate a bit lol... She told me about the history of the house. Then it was getting late so I decided it was time to head back. There were also a bunch of other galleries but the road where my bus was, was far away Rivadavia, and I was on Arroyo...like 15 block and like 6 avenues... I grabbed an ice pop on the way it wasn't that great though, and this little poor kid asked for it on the street so I gave it to him. Poor people live on the Plaza on the benches and random dirty mattresses they picked up its sad. I got off the bus prematuraly though I had to walk an extra lie 20 blocks. I was exhausted and my feet were trobbing!!!! I finally made it back and Daniela was worried. She had called the students center a few times lol. I called her back took a quick cat nap and headed to her house for Asado,,,grilled meat! Yum Luchie's sister was there, and the man Daniel from Mexico I had a great time, drank wine and took a much needed load off! I slept like a baby on a sedative lol. This morning I was sore and my legs felt like jelly so I took it easy today. Oh I forgot I met up with Laura Sol this morning too for breakfast and another walk around town...lol. It was nice to see her after so long. We had a yummy breakfast of pastries.I'm probably going to see her tomorrow too. Now I have to go to Daniela's we're going to her brother in laws birthday... ciao!!!!
Buenos Aires...
So, I've been here a couple days and I am really enjoying myself! :) It is a lot bigger of a city then Asuncion and much more developed. Also, it had a lot more people which I like. Daniela lives in an area called Floresta, which is a little ways from downtown, but there are a lot of buses here, which are also more modern than Asuncion, but don't have much seating. The first bus I took I tried to give the bus driver the pesos and he looked at me funny, but thats what you do in Asuncion!lol I was just getting used to guaranies and now I have to think in pesos...Anyway, what else? Oh I'm actually not staying at Daniela's but a student center a few blocks away. Daniela and her husband just moved, and they literally still have a room filled with boxes. The student center is not a hostel though, but similiar it houses students for cheap or free who are studying here full time. So, unlike a hostel they stay for long periods of time. There are mostly girls, but not that many. This one girl Rosie is from Honduras, another from Columbia, but she just went home. Another girl is Argentina but from another area. And there is one guy from Columbia Bernando. He showed me where to take the bus to Plaza de Mayo. And Mira showed me where the grocery store was :) They are all very nice and helpful. I have my own little room upstairs and free WIFI! Which is awesome :) I have a great connection here.
So, the first night I went to Daniela's place and had dinner with her and her husband Luchie. Luchie is learning English and he is a counselor from drug addicts. They moved to an apartment attached to a small Mennoite church. I didn't know this but Daniela's father was a mennoite preacher, and her great grandfather was too and came from Ohio. Ironically, Daniela is an atheist...lol. She even attends atheist group meeting. She also works in a christian organization doing administrative type work.Which I found to be funny. Luchie is also involved in the church. She said she likes the people in the church but so much the rest. Well to to each their own, I guess. They are going to be in NYC in a few weeks actually. She has family in Pennsylvania and other areas but they've never been to the city. So, I told her which sites to see. After dinner they took to the student center, and gave me my key there which has a Paraguayan key chain lol.
The next I went to the grocery store with Mira and Bernando took me to the bank, to get money and change for the bus. Then I took the bus to Plaza de Mayo which was really pretty and packed with tourist. One man offered to take my pic infront of the casa rosado, which is the presidents place. Then I walked around for a while and found this street called Peru with cool vendors and crafts people. I was super thirsty though so I had to stop and drink and eat. Then I walked over to the Plaza de la Republica and the Obelisk. The Obelisk looks exactly like that tall white thing in DC which I forget the name of hehe. Then I took the bus back, and suprisenly I got off the bus just at the right place purely on intuition haha. Then I took a lil nap and showered. Daniela picked Rosie and I up to go to Daniela's for dinner. Rosie's boyfriend Luciano joined us later. He is Argentine and works for a honey company the is called Organic World but he can't say world... Luchie is worse in prouncing it though lol. I guess it is a hard word for Spanish people.
So, the first night I went to Daniela's place and had dinner with her and her husband Luchie. Luchie is learning English and he is a counselor from drug addicts. They moved to an apartment attached to a small Mennoite church. I didn't know this but Daniela's father was a mennoite preacher, and her great grandfather was too and came from Ohio. Ironically, Daniela is an atheist...lol. She even attends atheist group meeting. She also works in a christian organization doing administrative type work.Which I found to be funny. Luchie is also involved in the church. She said she likes the people in the church but so much the rest. Well to to each their own, I guess. They are going to be in NYC in a few weeks actually. She has family in Pennsylvania and other areas but they've never been to the city. So, I told her which sites to see. After dinner they took to the student center, and gave me my key there which has a Paraguayan key chain lol.
The next I went to the grocery store with Mira and Bernando took me to the bank, to get money and change for the bus. Then I took the bus to Plaza de Mayo which was really pretty and packed with tourist. One man offered to take my pic infront of the casa rosado, which is the presidents place. Then I walked around for a while and found this street called Peru with cool vendors and crafts people. I was super thirsty though so I had to stop and drink and eat. Then I walked over to the Plaza de la Republica and the Obelisk. The Obelisk looks exactly like that tall white thing in DC which I forget the name of hehe. Then I took the bus back, and suprisenly I got off the bus just at the right place purely on intuition haha. Then I took a lil nap and showered. Daniela picked Rosie and I up to go to Daniela's for dinner. Rosie's boyfriend Luciano joined us later. He is Argentine and works for a honey company the is called Organic World but he can't say world... Luchie is worse in prouncing it though lol. I guess it is a hard word for Spanish people.
update...
I don't know where to start...the day before i left for buenos aires i visited the horizonte school in lambare the american woman started...I took right bus this time! lol That day I got lost Wilma told me bus 44,28, and 30 go to from downtown to the house...44 does not! Or if it does it takes an awefully long time to get there! I didn't risk finding out this time. Anyway the school was very nice and bigger than I thought it would be. Sue was very nice and ohio. She is middle aged, blond, with blue eyes. She said she ended up coming to Paraguay because she had a couple friends who were missonaries down there. They had invited her to come. She intended just to visit, but she ended up helping start this school and eventually became the director. Lambare is a fairly poor suburb of Asuncion. Like Asuncion it has nice areas too, but also a lot of poor areas. A lot of the students come from these poor little nieghborhoods that the government buys and sells them small plots of land to live on. The plots are very small and close together though. There is no room for them to grow fruits or vegetables on. It was sad to see. The school has been trying to bring the community together though, and get the parents involved in the students school. The school started in 2001 I think...and they want to develope more and add more classes and students. I was very impressed with the work they are doing there. As I mentioned before students usually only attend school half the day, which I found odd and so did Sue, so at the school they have extended hours. The school gets help from churchs and non for profit organizations in the US and in Paraguay. Its a well oiled machine. If they don't mind Presbyterian help, I will ask my church about helping the school when I get home. Sue was a little preachy about God but it is a Methodist school so...She invited me over for lunch at her house though which was very nice. We ate with her house keeper...ummm I forget her name, but she was very sweet. After that I went back and observed a class. The students practiced their English on me, it was funny. After the class I spoke with the teacher and we had a pretty functional conversation Spanish! She was from a town in the interior which she missed, but she said she liked teaching there. And I told her my whole little story, which she thought was cool. And she wished me good luck on my journey. Then I went back to downtown and attempted to check my email but the computers weren't working because of the weather which was rainy, overcast, and cool that day. So, I went back to the house and attempted to read my gmail there...which was not working on the house computer because it is SO tempermental and annoying! But I managed to read Daniela's email about her address in Buenos Aires.
Friday, May 22, 2009
en buenos aires...
hola amigos,
its been a few... i am now in argentina and having a great time :) I went and explored plaza de mayo, the presidents office which they call the casa rosado, the pink house lol like the white house... and walked along this street called peru with vendors and crafts on the street. I had to stop there for awhile though because i was really tired and i think dehydrated. i usually drink a lot of water and i hadnt had any by that point and it was in the middle of the afternoon. i guzzled down a bottle of water with a quickness. then i followed it up with a yummy empanada. i feel like i'm forgetting to write a lot ...i had dinner with daniela, her husband luchie, and this girl and guy and i forget their names,,,,i'm really tired now...so ima pass out...more lata...
its been a few... i am now in argentina and having a great time :) I went and explored plaza de mayo, the presidents office which they call the casa rosado, the pink house lol like the white house... and walked along this street called peru with vendors and crafts on the street. I had to stop there for awhile though because i was really tired and i think dehydrated. i usually drink a lot of water and i hadnt had any by that point and it was in the middle of the afternoon. i guzzled down a bottle of water with a quickness. then i followed it up with a yummy empanada. i feel like i'm forgetting to write a lot ...i had dinner with daniela, her husband luchie, and this girl and guy and i forget their names,,,,i'm really tired now...so ima pass out...more lata...
Friday, May 15, 2009
dia de las mamas y independia dia...
today is mothers day and independence day in paraguay... yesterday was also kind of independence day there was a small parade but the weather was crappy so not a lot of people went. apparently jaunjo marched it, i happen to come across part of it on my way to the post office.so there is another 3/4 weekend...once again i´m suprise at how much less people seem to work and go to school, its so freakin laid back. I guess its so shocking because NYC is so go,go,go and people work at least 8 hours a day i know other people who work 10hr or even 12/14hrs work days...I´ve worked 10-12hrs days! Which is a little crazy, but sometimes is necessary to get the job done, my friends like Lil work crazy overtime.And that just does not seem to be the mentalilty here at all which is refreshing and totally perplexing lol.NY is also so a 24hr city up and going never stopping and instead people here drink terere with family/friends and take a siesta from the heat. Even in humid hot august at my old job at hmf...my lunch break was still only half an hour with no siesta time...i had 2 15 min breaks, i could take or put together but that was it!After the quick lunch it was back to work pronto because orders had to processed, deadlines had to be met, supplies needed to be ordered, emails needed immediate respones, phone calls needed to be made.I´m still obviously trying to get used to this more relaxed way of being. Maybe thats why its been a little hard to get a job here...lol...speaking of job maybe i should have joined the peace corps, but they can´t guarentee the country of you choice...and for obvious reasons I wanted to come specifically here. Its more about putting you where you needed of course and you may get your region of choice like latin america...but that could be anywhere from mexico to chile! And the program is 2 years of service and I dont know if I could do that...2 years of my life...Honestly, some days I don´t even know if I can stay here a year...
Today I met Wilma other sister who lives in Incarnation...its south of asuncion a few hrs so she doesn´t come often her name is Gladys too. We had another asado with the rest of her family, her mom, her other sister who i forget her name. Her brother is in Italy and she has another sister in madrid! Big family and carlos is one of 7! Julia went to visit her sister and niece. I played with johanna the niece again she is so cute! Unfotunently, my stomach hasn´t been feeling great the past couple days so i couldn´t enjoy all the food as i would have liked. I think its from the salad i had the other day, i don´t think i´m supposed to eat that but i did... :( i think my stomach is calming down now though. Its also but cold today! At first I was regretting bringing sweaters because its usually so hot, but today I am happy I did! Anyway not much else much to report
Today I met Wilma other sister who lives in Incarnation...its south of asuncion a few hrs so she doesn´t come often her name is Gladys too. We had another asado with the rest of her family, her mom, her other sister who i forget her name. Her brother is in Italy and she has another sister in madrid! Big family and carlos is one of 7! Julia went to visit her sister and niece. I played with johanna the niece again she is so cute! Unfotunently, my stomach hasn´t been feeling great the past couple days so i couldn´t enjoy all the food as i would have liked. I think its from the salad i had the other day, i don´t think i´m supposed to eat that but i did... :( i think my stomach is calming down now though. Its also but cold today! At first I was regretting bringing sweaters because its usually so hot, but today I am happy I did! Anyway not much else much to report
Wednesday, May 13, 2009
Things I find odd/strange/weird and other observations here...
-They eat burgers and hotdogs with no buns or ketchup
-Instead they put this soy sauce tasting sauce on the bugers, and eat salsa with the hotdogs
-The ketchup is dark and sweeter here too
-In this house there are key in the locks of almost all the doors,cabinets, and dressers,and closets...why???Whats the point of keeping the keys in the locks...anyone can unlock them
-The country has a navy with no oceans,coast,gulf, or even reall a huge lake.There are 2 big rivers but it takes awile to get to the ocean on them...
-There is no hot water, lukewarm at best.Which is usually not a problem becuase its so damn hot, who wants to take a hot shower. But I worry about how sanitary things are especially the dishes...
-They put mayo on random things like salads, rice etc... but not on sandwiches
-People ride motorcycles without helmets and shoeless with babies and small children in toe...
-There is no law requiring helmets or seatbelts I think because Wilma rarely wears hers
-Wilma´s car has japanese writing in it, because they get there cars from japan via chile...its cheaper apparently
-They keep their dog Peco tied up in the back almost all day. He probably would be so hyper everytime he gets let free, if he was actually free most of the time...but I guess he´s luckier than the stray dogs walking around in a hungry daze
-People wake up freakishly early even on weekends
-They also don´t seem to be at work and school for very long, there day starts early and ends in the middle of the day
-There are 3 tv´s in the house in ppls bedrooms but non in the living room
-The outlet for the microwave is not like any other in the house, they use an adapter
-The phone in the kitchen can receive international calls, but can´t make them.There is no answer machine and its not chordless.It also has an odd low ring
-It appears people rarely wear contact lenses, because everyone asked me what they were when they saw them in my room
-JuanJo never goes out by himself or to meet up with friends that I know of. I´m sure he´s tired from being at military academy all week, but I find that odd
-I´ve realized since being here that I wear a lot of black, but maybe thats just the new yorker in me...lol people don´t wear a lot of black here.
And here´s a pic of me in my room bored...lol
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)