Random Observations

Food:

Argentineans eat what we Americans would consider Italian food (pasta, pizza, lasagna, etc…). Whereas, I would have guessed that it would be more Mexican fare (rice, beans, tortillas).

Carissa tells me they don’t have marshmallows in Argentina.
That’s too bad. Since they stand around the campfires every night … they might like s’mores.


Weather:

We who live in the Pacific NW have about 4 months of shorts-wearing weather.
This part of Argentina has about 4 months of non-shorts-wearing weather.

I traveled to Ghana in their hottest part of the year, and now to Argentina in their coldest part of the year. (I wish my kids could plan their lives around warm weather for mama.)

I have always thought of Central and South America as hot-weather continents.
Carissa tells me, however, that the Southern tip of Argentina is the closest country to Antarctica. And … they have penguins there. Sounds cold to me.

It is COLD here … COLD to the bone. Before packing my suitcase, I checked the weather reports for the next 10 days. It said that yesterday and today would be 50F – 60F, and that next week would be mid 70’s F. It also mentioned that the nights would be cold (28 F). However, I expected that we would be inside when it was cold outside. Wrong! Even though they have very cold winters here, the buildings are not heated. Oh dear! I did not pack a coat, a hat, or gloves. And, my 2 layered zip-up hoodies aren’t doing very well at keeping me warm. I hope the weather forecast for next week was correct.

I spent 4 hours standing by the outside fire this evening, listening to all kinds of interesting Spanish conversations. Now, I am in bed with my winter pajamas layered over my clothes. I have 1 blanket under me, and a comforter plus 3 blankets on top. And … it’s still COLD. I can barely keep my fingers warm enough to type.


People:

I assumed that, in general, the people of South America look like Mexicans.
(I guess this assumption comes because they speak the same language.)
However, Carissa looks much more “Argentinean” than many of the native Argentineans.
(Her Greek complexion and dark hair fit right in.) Seriously, it can be hard for me to discern who might be native Spanish speakers and who might know English.


Facilities:

There is electricity here, but it went out last night for about 45 minutes.

There might be hot water in my cabin sometime … but I have not had any yet to take a shower. Now, cold showers were fine in the heat of Africa, but if I took one here I’m afraid I would turn into an icicle. Up at the front end of the base, there are showers, but I would need to go stoke the fire for quite some time to heat up the water. And, all of the young adults wait their turns so patiently, that I think I’ll just wait for hot water in my cabin.

There is no internet on the base. However, I told Carissa that I believed this to be very good for all of the young people here. It can bring such a distraction into their lives, that it is good to be able to focus more on what the Lord is trying to teach.

There is cell phone reception, so the Argentinean young adults are almost as attached to their phones as the American young adults that I know. This does, however, make it difficult for the non-native students, as their connection to home (the internet) is not available, while the students from South America have lots of communication access to friends and family.

Now, I am not at all complaining about the facilities … just explaining. Again, I believe that lacking some of the amenities that our young people get used to, can be part of their maturing process. They can better understand how much of the world lives.


The City:

I am sitting in a very modern coffee shop in Mendoza. Free wi-fi ... delicious food ...

The downtown area of Mendoza seems just like Seattle ... very modern ... very diverse people walking the streets. I don't feel out of place at all.

We're having fun!