El Bolson
El Bolson means big bag... it is a small town in the valley of the Andes, south of Bariloche.... and now that is also the nickname for my suitcases... 2 of the biggest bags that we have on our trip... what can I say.. i have to carry about 80 lbs of work items and need to have a balance of my own stuff as well!! Hey I am a girl, who is working with a bunch of guys... one man who I think has worn the same outfit the ENTIRE week. The real El Bolson is a place of hippies, peace, love, art, & music. We took a break for lunch and there is a Feria (artisan´s fair) in town... we found homemade jams, flowers, leather, wooden carving, etc. There is a jazz festival currently happening, but we were not able to go to any of the concerts. A man in the hotel is famous Luthier, ie musical instrument maker. One of my co'workers plays guitar so they got to talking and the man invited us to the exhibition of the handmade instruments. My coworker got to play the guitars and had a little jam session. Then the next day, we took a drive to Lake Puelo, and visited a Pediatrican in his home, who brought us some of his patients. More guitars, an accordian, and churango appeared and more music and singing happened over tea, mate and cookies. Also we visited the in'laws of the Pediatrician who is driving us in his white van.... his in'laws grow lavendar on their farm. It was beautiful! I recieved a small satchel of lavendar from the farm...( the men didn´t get any :) not even for their wifes. They deserve it... Alex went to get us empanadas ( a small pastry filled with meat, ham and cheese, or vegetables, chicken etc). I requested the one with spinach and cheese, becuase I have eaten a whole cow here.... Alex came back with all beef empanadas. He said it was a machismo restuarant and he couldn´t even bring himself to ask for the vegetable empanada.....
The White Van Diaries
I think i´m offically in the middle of nowhere... It really does seem like Che expedition in the Motorcycle Diaries. We move to a different place every night. Our van has broken down about 5 times, it was pretty funny at first, and thankfully it started back up every time. We are in the state of Chubut... and there is no one and nothing around but mountains and the land is very arid and has very low vegetation. We were moving on to the next town, after just having tea in a small Welsh community.... I thought if we never made it to the next place, there aren´t any bushes to squat behind! But we made it finally to a dusty little town El Maiten around 10 pm. this afternoon we left there, and drove 200 Km to Ingeniero Jacobacci on another dusty road. We, the cars, and all of our luggage was covered in a layer of dust. My hair is matted and so dirty right now... and we have to see more patients. Right now it is about 8: 45 pm & we are still at the hospital... it is bright as day. It hasn´t really gone completely dark until after 10 PM. I have to go now because i got the 5 min. warning. Our last group of subjects has arrived and hopefully we will be done here by 10 PM!!!
check back and hopefully I can write some more about the white van diaries...
un beso!
En Buenos Aires
Hi Mom & everyone,
I am here in the house of Guadalupe, actually in Fernando´s parents house where I am using the internet. The flights went well, and I sat by some friendly people. I managed to sleep thru'out the flight and everything was smooth. Yesterday we did some sightseeing and shoe-shopping. Today we´ll probably do more of the same.
More later!
A Thankful rant...
so what am I thankful for.... I can think of a lot but this morning I was really thankful for my car.
my '99 jetta has nearly 90,000 miles and I am feeling kind of attached after my experience yesterday. I've been putting off getting a new catalytic converter for Ms. Jetta, and finally I broke down to do it before the car did. After leaving the car in the shop, I waited for the bus to go to work. Yesterday was definitely the coldest morning so far this year! I ended up waiting outside for over an hour. I decided they really should have the PAT phone number on the bus stop signs! No buses came past in that entire hour, even though 5 were listed on the sign. I could take partial blame for not doing my "Ride Gold" research before setting out to do this! However, being 9 AM, I thought and hoped there would be something going in to Downtown! Around 10 am, I spotted a Yellow Cab, got the phone number from their decals, (they are obviously smart enough to provide their phone number!) and resorted to call a cab!
After another 25 mins, the cab came and we were on our way. After another $25, I made it to my office. The cabbie proceeded to make fun of me, saying where I was is "the suburbs and there ain't no buses out here" Well! I guess those silly blue signs that say "bus stop" are really fake. I emailed PAT just to make sure and they are checking on it for me.
So I happily got in my car this morning, and drove to work! Forget about saving the environment and the ozone layer, isn't it just more convenient for me to drive myself around?
OK, I am
really an environmentally conscience person, but when it comes to physical discomfort (cold!) and long waiting times... I was really thankful to get to work in 20 mins & the warmth and convenience of my own car this morning! And if the buses ran on schedule.. I don't mind that either!
More traveling
It has been a very long time since posting!
I am going to try to find some time again to blog.
In August, I had the opportunity to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina with my church & dear friends Fernando and Guadalupe, who are from Bs. As, but are currently staying in Pittsburgh. I spent 2 weeks with the team and many people from the local church doing outreaches in the parks, school, & orphanage in the city. We spent afternoons doing kids ministry with puppets, skits, games, prizes. In the evening, we had special services at the church, where we invited many people who we passed by on the streets and in the parks. We were blessed by the new friends at the local church, and God was with the work that we were doing there. There was a special connection to begin with ... Ferni and Lupe - but having spent time there, we began to realize that our churches are similar, not only because our sanctuaries look nearly the same! Between the churches there is now a bond that unites us, even though we are a hemisphere apart. We bonded over tea time, ping pong, stomp, and everyone's favorite... huevos revueltos. After returning to Pittsburgh, we receive emails from our church family in Buenos Aires.
Shortly after returning from this trip, I had a meeting with my boss where she asked me if I would be available to travel to Patagonia for a job assignment. For the geography geeks, Patagonia is the southern part of Argentina & Chile... So in amazement I found out that within 6 months, I would have another opportunity to travel again, and back to a place I just had made some new friends! I am pretty amazed at this opportunity and how fast it really came together. God reveals plans for our lives in ways that we can't even imagine. I found out the dates for returning to Argentina for work, and this overlapped with Guadalupe also returning to Bs. As. for her medical school! Also I will get to attend the church where I spent 2 weeks! Following a short time in Bs. As., I will travel to Patagonia for work. We will be traveling between 4 towns with a group of researchers & doctors who study birth defects.
I look forward to traveling becasue it will be warm there!! August in Bs. As. was wintertime, and now with traveling further south, it's great to go in December. And the soon coming winter in Pittsburgh, I will get to escape for a few weeks!
