Maja and I in Buenos Aires

Maja and I in Buenos Aires
Originally uploaded by Turid&Isabell

just being ourselves in that big big city!

If you want to see more pictures just click on the slide show on the right hand side.

after spanish class and before diving class

Sitting in an internet café which is truly small, 3 computer, calmer than the other places... I like it. Mouse and chair are bad though.
Time has passed. I have been in BUENOS AIRES!
Friday the 26th we took a bus to Buenos Aires where I stayed until Monday. We met Olivia and Maja there and some touristic days. Walking in the centre, in some very beautiful parts of the city, looking at the old buildings, saw some Tango on the street and we went to different cafés and restaurants. The sun was shining every day but it was not too hot. Enjoyed being somewhere else, talking to the people, just waking up in the morning thinking: What are we going to do today? What do I feel like? We also met up with Daire who is volunteer in a different organisation close to Buenos Aires. On Monday we went with him to his place. After we survived Buenos Aires Subway during Rush Hour with all our luggage!!! Daire is working in a project that is called "Camino Abierto" it is a farm where a couple is living that adopted boys that were living on the street or in drug families. During the day the boys go to school and in the afternoon they help on the farm and in the kitchen. During weekends they run a restaurant and during the week they prepare everything for it. Making Empanadas, Ravioloi dough, killing some rabbits and a pig etc. At the same time some people from the village have found work on the farm. Everybody was very very welcoming to us. Rochelle and I stayed in one of the Cabañas they rent out for guests on weekends, very luxurious.
All the people at Camino Abierto were so welcoming. We just felt at home after some hours. The days were long, woke up at 6:30 to help milking the cows and during the day I was working in the the garden together with a german woman who fell in love with an Argentinian and is now living there. We talked alot (in german!) and I also talked to some othere people at the farm. The boys had very difficult "childhoods" and still need to see the psychologist but nevertheless they were very welcoming and most of them in a happy mood. It can just change very quickly because all the time new things are happening that change the mood and emotions. Some where talked quite openly about their families to me... It was indeed a special experience for me. ( Don´t know how to describe it in other words) We walked through the village, played soccer, learned how to make Empanadas, ate dinner with everybody, messed up the words gallina and galletita (chicken and cookie) and many more good memories... After 2 days we had to leave, we didn´t want to leave and they didn´t want to let us go. So we promised to come back and went with Gonzalez (he was the man I milked the cows with) in his car to Lujan, a town nearby. There we visited a famous Basilica and took the bus the Rosario. The ride is supposed to take 3-4 hours. It took us 7! The motor broke down! Rochelle and I found ourselves at a petrol station somewhere between Lujan and Rosario, eating Ice cream with Dulce de Leche, talking to a group of small boys that were to compete in gymnastics in Rosario and reading our books. Late we arrived in Paraná, city live beaming around us again. Took a taxi home, it was the birthday of my hostsister Clarita.
Since then I have been back to my old routine at Eco Urbano, Barriletes, classes and Paraná in general. Diving is getting more dificult and is maybe the thing I enjoy most these days. But hey, we are planning to go diving in Brasil the beginning of december and afterwads I will celebrate Christmas in Montevideo.
Anything else? It rained today. Before it was very hot. Now it is warm and humid.
We are fnished copying the book titles of the libary onto paper so now we copy the titles from paper into the computer.... hoping to finish in 2-4 days. And then? Back to cutting newspaper articles I guess.
Soon I will post some more pictures.

more pictures... some, just to make you a bit jealous

My bus station

Plaza in the middle of the school building where we have our Spanish classes

View from one of the classrooms. It looks nice. Horrible to study though because the cars on the road near by make a lot of noise!

Skyline of Paraná. At Thompson Beach.

Big dead turtle at beach. It was about 40 cm long... There is a lot of garbage at the coast and many fish are dying, too.

I saw that car today! Such things drive here!!!!

Peaches... In our garden. Not ripe, yet.

On a Tuesday afternoon.

It is Siesta time... Karl Oskar and I are the only ones in the office right now. At 16:00 we have Spanish classes. That is quite soon. haven´t finished homework. It is getting too much. I don´t find time to do the homework, or at least I don´t feel like spending the 1 hour after dinner and washing dishes before going to bed with spanish homework! I think I will complain today that is getting too much. We are having so many different teachers so it is a bit difficult at times.
During weekend I was sick. Had a fever and stomach ache. Now I am fine. During last week we prepared the "2 Fiesta Nacional de Reciclaje" painting huge carton stands and glueing letters onto them. So we got to do something else for a while... And the books could rest for a week. I missed the whole Fiesta since I was lying in bed. Keen to see some pictures at least. Many environmental groups had stands and talked about their projects. Today everything is normal again. Yesterday was good though. It was a Holiday. On Friday was " El dia de la Raza" and they have a law here in Argentina that if there is a holiday not the day itself is free but it gets transfered to the next Monday. Karl Oskar, Rochelle and I met up with a guy called Santiago and together we paddled to the big Island. At the beach we ran around, did some Circus stuff and later on we played some fotball in the sun. Very much enjoyable and holiday like!
I started a Diving Course! So far we are "only" practicing swimming but we are getting there. Next week we will start with snorkel and equipment and after some more weeks we will start practicing with the air bottles! We train 3 times a week! I like it so far and it is nice people, no problem for them that I sometimes don´t understand immediatley what they mean... It is good to have something else to do as well, having something to look forward to the coming weeks!

cloudy days

I just uploaded some pictures... They are not the most beautiful or touristic but I will provide you with that as well at some point!
What happend so far? I feel that I have a routine now. Getting up in the morning around 8:30, taking the bus an hour later. My breakfast is usually very calm, sitting usually outside, drinking tea with milk and eating some bread with Dulce de Leche. At Eco Urbano there is no stress... Usually I am checking my mails first and then start working with the libary. Alex and Karl Oskar do the same. Work here at Eco hasn´t changed much but I guess that we will finish copying book titles next week!!
Every Tuesday evening some engaded citizens meet at the Plaza in the centre of the city to discuss the future of their place. So we joined last time and got to meet some interesting people. Right now they are trying to convince the city gouvernment not to sell a park to companies that want to make a thermal, recreation and shopping centre out of it... We joined them the day after when they had an appointment in the municipality building. "We were the forgeigners that are concerned about the environment in Argentina writing articles about it in our home countries..."
We did not understand much during the discussion neither the argentinians, the sound was very bad. But I have got a catalogue of questions now... I would like to see the place now. Weekend was calm, distributed bags of compost for Eco Urbano and did some circus at Barriletes. Baked cake, Rochelle slept at my house because her family went to a birthday in another town. Yesterday, since it was the 3rd of October, I decided to bake again. Apfelstrudel! A lot of people have been asking me about it as it is apparently very german. It tasted okay but was verrry heavy, felt like I had a stone in my stomach. My hostfamily didn´t say anything but I guess they felt the same. Climate is getting more and more difficult. The days were sunny and hot. Now it is cloudy, warm and humid... On Sunday I was in the Park which resulted in 14 more Mosquito bites but a nice time with Mate and Empanadas etc. afterwards.
My Spanish is of course still improving, very slowly though. The books are not speaking to me... So the only time I really get to practice is in the evenings with my hostfamily before I go to bed.
Should do some work now!!

They are crazy about MATE here... Everybody!!

Que lindo...

Important men discussing the future of their city.....

View from the Municipality. The gate is the entrance to the " Escuela Normal" a beautiful old building where we have our Spanish classes every evening.

That´s what I see when I am standing at the bus stop in the morning on a clowdy day!

2 weeks in city

Well, I survived two weeks in a city! That is a record for me!!!
What happend last week? Mixted feelings, the work we are doing is fine, sorting the libary and cutting newspaper articles. Eco Urbano didn´t ask for us but got begged to take us. This doesn´t mean that they don´t have work to do, as mentioned above we have some projects but it is not that they need anyone and tell us every day that we shouldn´t worry if we don´t want to come that much since they do not rely on us. Fine with me. At the moment we work 4-6 hours a day which doesn´t feel much. Spanish classes are on as well, they are quite enjoyable, depending on the teacher for that day. Bruna is there all the time during classes, wonder where she get´s that time from...
I find the weekends most difficult because they make me realize that I did not grow up in a city! Partying in places where you can hardly find space for your feed and people smoke and drink. But since everybody seems to go it wouldn´t be social to stay at the house! I just see it as another class: "How to live in a city"
Yesterday was the best day so far: Came early in the morning and went with 2 people from Eco Urbano to a composting place where a school class (ca. 8 year olds) was waiting for us. We told them about separating the garbage and explained the procedure of decomposing... My job was to take pictures, I enjoyed it. It was my first day out of the city!!! The kids were nice and Eco Urbano can use the foreigner bonus to make the kids more interested. Fair enough... "Hola Alemana" "Que tal Alemana" and other things were they saying/screaming. Afterwads we visited a agricultural school and some of the boys showed us around, that was without the school class. Good to see some pigs, goats, fields etc. Walk on something that is not asphalt.
In the afternoon we went to an Island together with other environmental organisations to celebrate the 10th aniversary of a law that fobids dams in the river in this area. It is apparently the only place in the world where this law exists. It was a nice day, people ate and drank and we had the chance to walk around in the island, bading my feet in the water and enjoying some time of not having to talk to someone. This place is visited by tourists. Fishermen that do not find fish anymore (or not enough) due to overfishing and contamination take out the tourists with their old boats. Had the chance to kayak a bit and as well... The people with us were quite strange and at times and some drunk but all in all it was a peaceful day. Slowly I am able to orientate in the city as well and by now I am taking the busses on my own which feels good since I am bit more independant now. We are always looking for new work so maybe we are going to start cleaing up the island we visited yesterday... We´ll see! Now I am going to continue copying book titles of the libary onto a piece of paper and soon it is lunch time as well!!

the first week

Left Germany on MOnday and arrived in Argentina on Tuesday, took the bus to Rosario and met Bruna. We talked a bit (in Spanish...) and afterwards I went to sleep and slept and slept. On the next day I walked around in Rosario with Bruna and her daughter. Later on we visited the grandmother together with the father and Rochelle arrived. I was very tired again. Many new impressions, busy city life and speaking Spanish all the time...
On Thursday we drove to Paraná and together with Karl Oskar (Carlos from now on) and Alex I visited Eco Urbano. Made a good impression to me. During the first days Carlos and me are going to look through newspapers and find articles that have to do with an argument between Argentina and Uruguay regarding the construction of paper mills...
In the evening my host family came. They live in a nice house with maaany children. They welcomed me warmly. And: They do not speak a single word of English! It´s good because I need to practice all the time!! On Friday we had a meeting in the University with all the people that are involved with the project. We were treated like stars, the people, mostly English students, were very welcoming. In the evenings we are going to have classes, every day a different professor plus some assistants. On Saturday I visited Barriletes with Rochelle, we played with the children and did some acrobatics, juggling etc. It was a very good atmosphere, happy faces. I am probably going to work a bit with Barriletes as well. During the weekend I walked a bit around in the city, spent time with my hostfamily. Played with my small host sister and met the friends of my host brother.
Right now I am sitting in the office od Eco Urbano, they are having a meeting (hot discussions in the latino style). My Spanish is slowly getting better but with everything I just have to be patient! My host family is slowly preparing me to be become a bit more independent and be able to take busses on my own for example... I live quite far outside. So far I like it here although I miss silence a bit... Never lived in a city before! Going to have lungs like a smoker!

on Monday

On Monday I am going to fly to Argentina... I will try to write and send some pictures so you can follow up on what I am doing!

Well, have got nothing intelligent to say right now, so I'd better stop.