Experiencing the Beauty of La Cultura Latina!

Feliz Pascua a todos! Happy Easter to All!

I have been blessed beyond belief during my time here. This past week I received a totally unexpected gift that reminded me of the beauty and love that is an inherent part of the Latin American culture. I was presented with the opportunity to guide an Ecuadorian friend's family around Buenos Aires and in return received the gift of their wonderful company during what may have otherwise been a somewhat lonely week during our Easter vacation. And, in the process, met yet another Ecuadorian family to whom I was able to offer guidance throughout the city and, in return, was given the gift of the love and support of yet another Latino family. Latinos have to be the most welcoming people I have ever met. You spend one hour with them, and you become part of their family for a lifetime. This has happened to me time and time again; so much so that I joke that I have family all over the States AND South America! I say this with conviction as I feel in my heart that it is the honest-to-goodness truth!

My Ecua friends arrived Tuesday morning - mom, pop, and two daughters. Tuesday afternoon, after they had had some time to rest and recover from the long overnight journey, we wandered out into the chaos that is Buenos Aires and headed straight to my neighborhood of Palermo. I had made reservations for them at one of the best restaurants in all of Buenos Aires to experience the delicious and authentic meat-loving Argentinian culture. Argentinians are a meat-loving people to the core of their being. We ate lunch outside at a cute sidewalk cafe, wandered along the tree-lined streets, shopped at the adorable boutiques, and wandered amongst the artisan market while enjoying a gorgeous Fall day (remeber we are in the Southern Hemisphere so the seasons are the opposite of the US). I guided them to enjoy what was to be an absolutely amazing meal - leaving them with very explicit directions as to how to get home, of course!

The next morning, I woke up bright and early to give an English lesson to my cardiologist friend and then headed to their hotel downtown. In route, I spent an hour stuffed into a sweltering subway car as we were "temporarily delayed as we awaited an ambulance to attend to a decomposed person." What in the world?!, you may ask. Well, I did too. I sat their shocked for a moment imagining a person lying on the tracks in a not so lovely state after having fallen to an untimely death. Turns out the word "decomposed" here does not directly translate. It means the person is sick. No longer properly composed in a happy and healthy person. Thank goodness for people who will kindly and patiently clarify such things! And, of course, everyone laughed, but how could you not?! O

Once I finally arrived and met up with my friends, we were off to explore BA by bus. We did one of those hop on, hop off tours as BA is a ginormous city not properly suited to explore by foot, or really a taxi even, in one or two days. Years ago, when my dad and I tried to do such a thing, I nearly walked him to death on what he describes as the "Bhutan Death March." While I did not mind pushing my dad to his limit, I did not wish such an experience upon my friends. So we visited the quirky and lively neighborhoods of La Boca where we ate lunch outside and enjoyed a tango show, Puerto Madero - the swanky part of BA, and Recoleta where Evita is buried alongside many other important figures in Argentinian history. It was during this tour that I had the pleasure of meeting an Ecuadorian woman and her 26 year old (my age!) daughter whom were feeling overwhelmed and lost in the big city. They joined our group and stuck with us like white on rice until they left yesterday morning.

Other exciting adventures involved more tango shows in the street, a trip to the nearby city of La Plata, eating alfajores (the national cookie made with dulce de leche) and medialunas (sugar-glazed croissants) while drinking hot tea at outdoor cafes, and buying artisan gifts for people back home. As a gift to me, they had brought pan de yuca (cassava bread) from Ecuadlandia. These buns of deliciousness are quite possibly my favorite food on this planet! It was a great four days, and I was quite sad to bid them adieu.

Last Tuesday, I had the opportunity to meet the Rotary governor of the district. He oversees Buenos Aires' 42 Rotary clubs and was kind enough to schedule a lunch meeting to get to know us while we chomped away and ham and cheese and egg sammies (they love their eggs here - they can even be found on hamburgers at McDonald's!).

To celebrate this gorgeous Easter day, I will be heading to the park to bike with a new Argentinian friend I met during our trip around the city. Within minutes here, you become fast friends with anyone you meet. I love this culture!

Saludos a todos! Hello to All!

VIVA!