Miriam’s Birthday

Thursday was Miriam’s birthday (my host mom).  A ton of people came to our house to celebrate.  Around 5:30 women from her work came and stayed til around 8:30, eating sweets and drinking mate.  Then for dinner was the more “intimate” crowd, the people that always come over for asados, Amber and Jenn’s host families, Patricia (neighbor friend), Vivi’s in-laws, etc. and we had hamburgers (very mediocre, which is the norm for hamburgers here.)  Miriam’s mother and sister also came (Susana, Miriam’s sister is Javier’s mom).

 

I am a terrible host daughter and did not get her a birthday present.  First off, I am generally late on getting presents, ask anyone I know.  Second I am not exactly sure what to get her.  I also am supposed to live in a couple weeks and wanted to do a really nice “goodbye” present.  I haven’t told her this yet, so she probably just thinks I suck as a person…

 

Javier’s family arrived on Thursday night as well, his mom, dad, and sister.  Claudio was right, Javi’s dad is impossible to understand, he mumbles and talks fast…and he likes to talk, so I missed a lot.  It is unfortunate I didn’t understand him very well, because he seemed to have interesting answers to a lot of the questions I asked.  Karina, Javi’s sister was very nice too, she is a clothing designer and getting ready to open her own store.  She brought some of her clothes, which were very cute, but didn’t fit me right L  And I love Javi’s mother, Susana, Miriam’s sister.  She was more “tranquilo” or calmer than Miriam.  She also seemed to understand the whole international thing…I am not stupid, but if you talk slower I can understand, and you have to explain expressions or look for others words to explain things.  I very much appreciated her.

 

On Saturday, Javi’s family, minus Javi, took me to Buenos Aires and we toured the La Boca and San Telmo areas.  I really liked it.  I think I would enjoy living in Buenos Aires….maybe that will happen soon.

Comedor Progress

Things are slowing starting to pull together in the panadería.  Daniel, Marta’s husband, had off this week so he was able to get some work done.  He tiled the concrete table and installed the sink, though water still need to be connected from the comedor side.  Things that still need to be done: tile backing to tile table (wall covering), water installation, lock on door, concrete cover on floor, metal bars on window, and chains drilled into floor to secure mixer. 

 

My latest challenge with the comedor is the quality of work that is being done.  I am really not satisfied with the work has been done (with the exception of the electricity my host father installed, which was awesome.)  I used part of my seeds fund budget ($200) to pay a guy to fill in cracks in the wall with concrete (because I thought it would get done faster that way, yeah right!)  The places where concrete were added look horrible.  Concrete is splattered all over wall and floor and it was not smoothed out after it was applied so there are very rough spots in the wall.  It looks really bad.  The concrete table is supported by three pillars of bricks that are all slightly tilted.  The sink that Daniel installed the other day is also supported by tilted bricks.  I did notice this as he was starting and was going to say something, but before I could he explained that it had to slant out because he miscalculated the distance they needed to be apart.  I also spent several hours painting the outside of the comedor a very light green color that did not really cover the rust underneath, which a water-based interior paint.  I didn’t even bother asking why.  I guess I just don’t feel criticizing what they are doing – and it is probably what they use to pain their own houses and who am I to say its not good enough – or not even worth doing.  This is my latest frustration.

 

We painted the comedor, inside and outside.  Both with thin, runny water based paint.  The outside we painted a dull green color and the inside white.  The paint doesn’t really cover well, the white reminded me of painting something with glue, kind of a translucent coat.  It really bothered me that we painted the outside with water based paint to.  However, I didn’t say anything, I don’t really feel qualified to criticize what they do.  Marta also confirmed today that it is the same paint that they used for their house, so I am glad I didn’t mention that for me the paint wasn’t good enough.  I just have to get used to the fact that things are done differently here, and if they are happy with the work, that is good enough, it is their comedor. 

Iguazú Falls

click on picture to see the rest of my photos!

I finally traveled!  August 18 was a holiday – San Martín Day, liberator of Argentina (and Chile and Paraguay?…)  So Amber, Mary Andrews, Kristin and I headed for Puerto Iguazú to see las cataratas (waterfalls).  These huge falls are along the Brazil/Argentine border.  They are not as tall as Niagara, but far more expansive.  See all my photos here!  Actually you will only see a selection of my photos as I took almost 300 while there!

 

 

 

 

Iguazú is in northern Argentine in Misiones province.  We opted for the cheaper bus ride, about $100 round trip (as opposed to $400 in plane) and 22 hour each way!  Definitely my longest bus trip.  Fortunately, since Miriam has taught me how to knit, I brought along plenty of wool and finished two projects.

 

Our bus leaving La Plata was four hours late, so we arrived in Iguazú Saturday afternoon instead of Saturday morning.  Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time to do anything.  However, we were fortunate enough to arrive during the full moon when they take night tours to the waterfall, so our first glimpse of the falls was at night.  It was huge and beautiful.  The mist was overwhelming and wind blew it towards us ensuring we were all soaked by the time we left.  We also saw a rainbow at night!  (Well that is what they told us it was.)  You could see a white arc, but there was not enough light to see the colors, it was pretty cool!

 

On Sunday we woke early and saw the waterfalls.  We pretty much saw everything there was to see in one day.  They were definitely beautiful and awing.  They were also very easily accessible.  We had to do a bit of walking, but no huge steps or walking down infinite number of stairs or steep slopes (as my experience was at numerous waterfalls in Costa Rica.)  There is also an island near the base of the falls, but there had been a lot of rain recently and the water was high, so the free ferry to the island was not running.  There were also boats that drove you near the base of the falls – so you could get the sensation of being wet.  But it was expensive and really didn’t look that impressive, so we saved our money.

 

Monday we turned around and hopped back on the bus for 22 more hours.  I enjoyed the falls, but was disappointed we couldn’t stay more time.  There are also old Jusuit Mission ruins relatively near that would have been nice to see.  Also, Missiones is the area where they grow yerba mate, the very popular tea like drink here.  It would have been fun to visit a plantation, but also not possible in a one and half day trip.  Maybe I will find myself back up that way some day…

Pics de mi Comedor!

Hi Everyone, I have attached pics of my comedor.

This is the gas tank and burners they use to cook all their food.

Outside of my comedor. the right door is the comedor and the left goes to the panaderia

Outhouse of the comedor, I have been told you need a bucket of water to flush the toiler…I do not know as I have never used it.

You can donate to the Argentine poor!

Dear Family and Friends,

 

In June of this year I accepted a three-month internship in Argentina through the Foundation for Sustainable Development (www.fsdinternational.org).  I am very interested in international microfinance/microenterprise and felt hands on experience within the field was essential.  I also welcomed the opportunity to travel abroad and strengthen my Spanish skills. 

 

I am currently living in La Plata, Argentina (about an hour outside of Buenos Aires) and working in a “comedor” which is a combination of a soup kitchen and community forum.  My primary responsibility is to work with a Panadería or bread bakery cooperative they are trying to implement.  Due to some delays in the bakery project I have also spent significant time with the soup kitchen. 

 

I am writing to ask for your help in raising funds for a project I am working on.  The soup kitchen lacks many basic cooking utensils that you couldn’t imagine cooking without.  A donation of just $5 to $20 would go a long way in helping these people purchase supplies they desperately need.  Donations will be used to purchase items such as:

 

• Cooking utensils
  • Knives
  • Cutting Boards
  • Stirring spoons
• Cloth products
  • Wash clothes
  • Towels
  • Aprons
  • Table clothes

 

• Cleaning Supplies
  • Soap
  • Disinfectant
  • Hand sanitizer
  • Steel wool
  • Sponges
• Tables
• Shelves
• Storage containers

If you are willing to donate, please see instructions below for mailing your donations, or paying online through PayPal.  Please send your donation by Friday, August 22, 2008 so that there is plenty of time for the FSD office to process the donations and get to me so I can make the needed purchases in Argentina.  As FSD is a 501(c)(3) all donations are 100 percent tax deductible.  The women of the comedor and I truly would appreciate your donation.

 

For more information on the specific projects I am working on, or the people I am working with, please feel free to contact me, I would love to share.  I am also keeping a blog (www.jacquelynk.wordpress.com) that has stories and pictures of both my work and life while living in Argentina.  Though I am enjoying my experience and learning a lot, I look forward to returning to the United States in September.

 

With love,

 

 

Jackie Koehler

 

 

CHECKS:  Make checks payable to ¨FSD International¨, please contact me for address to send checks.

Please write ¨Argentina – Jacquelyn Koehler¨ in the notes so that the money goes towards my project.

 

INTERNET via PayPal (you will need a PayPal account to complete the transaction – FSD keeps 5% of PayPal donations for processing expenses):            

Visit www.fsdinternational.org and click on ¨Donate¨ in the left column.  Scroll to bottom page and under ¨Project Development and Capacity Building Fund¨ click on ¨Donate¨  This will take you to a page where you can sign in to PayPal or sign up for an account.  Once you have logged in you can make a donation.  Make sure to in the notes to include ¨Argentina – Jacquelyn Koehler¨ to make sure that the money makes it to my project.

Monday, August 11, 2008

I finally met my host brother last weekend!  Santiago arrived on Thursday morning and stayed till Sunday night.  He is a student in Bahía Blanca about 8 hours south of La Plata along the coast.  He studies there as a mechanical engineering student.  Bahía Blanca is close to Tornquist, the small town where the family is from (everyone else moved up here about four years ago, but he had already started school there so he stayed.) 

 

He was very nice, I am glad I met him.  I am kind of sad he doesn’t live here all the time, because I think we would get along well.  He is not as shy as his sister, our conversations weren’t quite as strained as my conversations with Flor.  Flor is shy as am I, so our conversations are always difficult…and most of the time her boyfriend and friends are around, so she has other things to do.  With Santiago, he doesn’t live her full time, so he doesn’t have friends to go out with.  I did ask him and Flor to go out with my and the other interns several time over the weekend and he never went…it’s probably weird to go out with a bunch of foreigners anyway. 

 

Two of the interns, Samiron and Kristen only have two weeks left.  I can’t believe the time has gone by so quickly!  I on the other hand only have four weeks left.  Everyday I struggle with should I stay or go?  I miss everyone of course (especially Colton and Clayton….no offense to anyone else J ).  But I also feel like I could still use to improve my Spanish.  I also wouldn’t mind traveling around more.  I guess we will see what happens!

 

GREAT ACCOMPLISHMENT AT THE COMEDOR!!!

On Friday, Claudio (my host dad) made Santiago go with him to the comedor to install all the electricity.  We went about 9:30 (shortly after the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics, we saw a small part of it).  Claudio thought it would take about 2 hours to install the electricity…we were there until 3:30, that is six hours for those of you who don’t want to calculate it!  However, he did an awesome job!  In the comedor/cooking side of the building, the electricity consists of the wiring strung around the room to whatever location it needs to reach, not necessarily following a hard surface, so in several places there are hanging wires.  Claudio brought his own materials and used plastic tubing that he affixed to the walls and then strung the wires through so that they were not exposed. 

 

Anyway I was pretty impressed.  He also brought some of his own light fixtures, some heavy duty ones with a “turtle” shell covering to prevent it form breaking easily (in the comedor side, the outside light is a bulb with a cut off top of a pop bottle surrounding it).  Claudio also told my supervisor that he would come back this week to rewire the comedor so that the wires are not exposed.  Hopefully he has time to do it…who knows I might become an electrician expert by the time I leave.  I need to figure out how to repay him.  Not only did he give his time, most of the supplies he used were his and not the ones that had been previously bought by the comedor, mainly because his way of doing things was better.  Unfortunately I do not think it is as easy as asking him to write me a bill, I think I will have to convince him to write a bill. 

FSD Project – Resource Directory

Shortly after arriving and assessing the needs at the comedor and panadería I realized how much I missed having a resource network of friends and family.  Had I been at home, my dad, brother and various friends, I am sure would have been available and ready to help with the construction needs of the comedor.  However, I am thousands of miles away and that is not an option.  How am I supposed to find people who are willing and able to help those less fortunate…in Argentina?  (Of course, this is before I realized and felt comfortable asking Claudio for help.)

 

At the same time my host mother, who is slightly pushy, but very giving, repeatedly offered to give knitting classes to the comedor.  She herself knits, sews, crochets, and other various sorts of “manualedades” or handcrafts.  She also sells her products as her own microenterprise.  She had apparently learned that “talleres” or workshops were common projects of interns and wanted the comedor to start a knitting business.  However, seeing as they can’t quite get the panadería up and running, it is probably best they stick with one thing at a time.  However, her repeated offering for this and multiple things (every time I mention a need she has an idea of how to help – apparent in her immediately buying a can opener for the comedor after I told her they didn’t have one.)  It occurred to me that what the interns and program lacked was an extensive directory of resources that interns could use to tap while they are here.  Most internships are short-term and the interns are not here long enough to find the appropriate and most cost- and time-effective way of helping. 

 

My second project for my FSD internship will be to create a directory of resources for use by FSD interns.  It is still in the process of design, but I believe it will be an excel database that has contact information for individuals who are willing to volunteer there time with various projects.  The directory would include people that want to teach workshops on hand crafts or cooking; volunteer manual labor; organize projects for kids; or teach computer classes, etc.  I will probably also include all the organization that currently partner with FSD.  My plan is to put together a request letter that people can fill out and return that includes the type of service they would like to volunteer.  I will then enter it into the database I have designed and make it available to future interns.  The trick is to write a letter that best explains the need in order to collect the type of individuals needed and to design a database that can “stand the test of time” and include categories for future needs.  The goals is to have a well designed database that can be updated in the future as interns meet more people that may be of help and add them.  Currently I am still in the process of designing the database and writing the letter.  My goal is to facilitate connections between FSD interns and useful Argentine resources to make the most beneficial outcome to the organizations and people in need.

FSD Projects – Comedor

All FSD interns are assigned to an organization and have varying hours of work…up to 40 hours per week.  My friends Amber is in this situation…she works 8:30 to 4:30 Monday through Friday.  I however have it slightly more flexible.  Though I came to work with the comedor’s “microenpredamiento” (microenterprise) it is not actually functional yet (more about that later).  So that I am not sitting around doing nothing, I try to go in the morning to the comedor to “help” the women cook the meal for that day.  They usually start around 7:30 and end at 10.  I usually show up about 8/8:30ish, meaning I work a maximum of 10 hours per week (I like to think that I do other helpful things in my waking hours.) 

 

When I say try there are several prohibitors. 

1. If it is raining I do not go.  The tin roof of the comedor is speckled with small holes (possible cause by a hail storm last year) which causes it to leak when it rains, making cooking difficult – therefore, if it rains they do not cook.  (Food for thought – how would you feel if you couldn’t eat when it rained?) 
2. Last week the propane tank they use to fire the burners ran out.  They had another full one in the house of my supervisor (Marta).  However, due to rain, the streets that access the comedor were pure mud (the area where I work does not have paved streets) making it near impossible to transfer the heavy 5 foot tall tank to the comedor.  Therefore they did not cook for two days. 
3. There were a couple of days in which the keys of the comedor were misplaced (I think they were eventually found in the pocket of Marta’s son’s coat.)  Since they couldn’t get in they couldn’t cook. 
4. Actually corresponded with one of the days when the keys were lost, but a group of people from the comedor went to protest to get funds for a different comedor.  (I am not exactly sure of the details of this one.  I showed up to help at the comedor and she said they were going to protest and expected me to go – I felt uncomfortable with this for several reasons, one of which we were specifically asked not to participate in protests by the FSD program, another I was tired, cranky and sick.  I actually got out of this one because it was the day that conjunctivitis formed in my eye causing it to be red, everyone was concerned and said I should stay home and go to the doctor.  Miriam did end up taking me to the doctor that afternoon and I got some eye drops….unfortunately I had to wear glasses for a week which was a pain.) 
5. Sometimes I just really can’t convince myself to get out of bed – exacerbated when I had a cold – and since I am not actually much help anyway, I justify it (I know that it just laziness, but it does happen sometimes.)

 

As to my actual daily role in the comedor, it is kind of a joke.  However, since the panadería is not functioning, I hang out there anyway so that I am at least interacting with Argentines.  Of course getting cooking help from a foreigner might not be so helpful…I have finally made myself useful by cutting vegetables and sweeping the floor when they are done.  However, my time there has helped me identify several needs of the comedor.  As some of you may have read in my previous posts, their kitchen is lacking various basic cooking utensils.  The knives in the comedor are comparable to steak knives.  These small knives are used to cut hard vegetables such as carrots, potatoes, and butternut squash, not an easy task!  They did not have a can opener and one day I had to use a broken knife blade and hammer it into the can inch by inch.  After telling my host mom this, she brought me a small manual can opener which I have made good use of since.  They use fairly old wooden cutting boards, whose potential hazard for bacteria prevents me from eating the food as much as possible…same goes for the one wooden stirring stick they possess.  They also are short on clean wash rags, towels, soap etc. 

 

Though not assigned particularly to work with the comedor, I want to help with their current situation.  As a result I am asking my family, friends, or anyone who reads this to give a small donation that can be used to buy some of these basic cooking utensils that most American’s wouldn’t imagine trying to cook without.  Most of you have or will receive a letter from asking for small monetary donation which I will use to buy these supplies.  I and they would greatly appreciate anything you can give!  If you didn’t receive the letter from me, send me an email or comment and I will let you know how you can contribute!

 

As for the actual Panadería (bread bakery) in which I came to work with, the outcome is still in the air.  The Panadería’s physical location will be in a small room that is directly connected to the comedor.  The actual room is about as precarious as the comedor – tin roof and walls, round wooden beans support the structure, some of which are badly burned from a fire that occurred in the previous comedor location.  One wall is made of brick…and I can’t quite figure out why but part of it is slightly collapsed in.  There are spaces between the roof and the wall, leaving the room exposed to the outside.  There is no water or electricity currently in the room.  When I arrived, the business was not yet functional (and still is not).  Due to a grant received by the previous intern, they were able to buy all the materials necessary to make the needed repairs on the room.  They also have everything they need to start the business, including a 30 kilo mixer and ingredients to make the first batches of bread.  However, security is also a problem.  The door currently has no lock (actually has no door knob at all the door is usually swinging open) and there is concern about security of the expensive equipment (the mixer).  Marta (my supervisor) wants to and has started to build a small shack on the property where her son can sleep/live so there is someone there looking after the place at night.  I personally am not convinced that it is the best or most cost effective way to create security (I think a good door lock and maybe a chain and lock securing the mixer would be sufficient), but have decided to let her do what she thinks is best – I do not live there, I do not know the best security options.  However, have not offered my “seeds fund budget” to help with that particular project.)

 

They have all the supplies to work in fix up the room so they can start the panadería.  Daniel, Marta’s husband, can do all the repairs, but he works and I think does a lot of advocating for the community so doesn’t have much spare time.  When I arrived, I figured the quickest way to get the repairs done and start the business was to pay someone to do it – after all I came to work with the Panadería and wouldn’t get that chance unless it was finished.  Each intern is “given” (I am pretty sure I am paying myself here as it was not free to come…) a $200 seeds fund budget for the project they decide to do.  For some that may be all they need, and if greater needs are identified they can write a grant for a project.  I didn’t write a grant because I felt the Panadería already had all the materials they needed.  I offered my seeds fund budget to pay someone for the repairs.  The quote we were given was the equivalent of about $150. 

 

This was four weeks ago and the repairs still haven’t been finished.  The guy has come several times and has accomplished some, fixing cracks in the wall and closing the gap between the ceiling and wall.  However, the “reason” I have been given (fairly legitimate) is that the wet and humid weather prevents the concrete from drying so we have to wait for better weather.  I have since also asked my host dad, Claudio to help out.  Claudio is currently unemployed so he is home all day and has vast experience with pretty much anything house/remodeling related, and also mechanic/automobile related.  Claudio has volunteered to help with getting all the electrical related stuff squared away and possible plumbing/water as well.  Claudio and I (and Miriam, my host mom) went to the comedor with Daniel so he could explain to Claudio what all needed to be done.  Hopefully tomorrow, Claudio and I will go to the comedor/panadería to get some much needed work done.

 

Lessons Learned:  If I could go back I would probably have used my seeds fund budget for something different.  Had I realized that paying someone was not going to be a quick and easy solution, I would have tried to organize a work day with people in the neighborhood and asked Claudio sooner for help.  However, I cannot go back in time, but am hoping that within the next week or two we will have a functional building and hopefully a functional Panadería.

Monday, August 04, 2008 – Halfway Done :) :(

So I am officially half-way through my Argentine internship.  I arrived six weeks ago and have six weeks left.  I have finally settled in and gotten used to living here and have some sort of routine with my work at the comedor.  I also have finally decided the direction I will go with my FSD projects (maybe a little late) – which further outlines how I will be spending my remaining weeks here.  I am also excited to start traveling and seeing parts of the country and feel slightly crunched on time.  At the same time I am really starting to miss my family and friends….and a clothes dryer, QuikTrip, and med red (that is my car for those of you unaware – I hope you are taking good care of her Jean). 

 

The other day I finally took time to read through an Argentine Lonely Planet tourist book to see which places I want to visit while I am here.  We will see what I end up having time to see.  Places include:

• San Antonio de Acerco – area of “las pampas” fairly close to Buenos Aires, has museums of gauchos (famous Argentine cowboys) and model estancias (ranches); Parque Nacional de Ernesto Tornquist – about 10 hours from Buenos Aires, there is a big hill/mountain there, if you hike to the top you can supposedly get a good view of the pampas, it also happens to be very close to the town of Tornquist, where my host parents are from, I am hoping I get to visit it with them;
• Iguazú Falls – in Missiones province, in northeastern Argentine, partially located in Brazil as well, I believe they are the some of the largest waterfalls in the world, I would also love to cross into Paraguay and Brazil (unfortunately visa is needed for Brazil) while I am up that direction, but am not sure if that will happen, as of now I am planning on going in mid-August when there is a three day holiday weekend, I will probably take more than 3 days as its about a 20 hour bus ride;
• Mendoza – province in western Argentina along the Chile border, famous for its wineries, also about a 20 hours bus ride from Buenos Aires, I would like to cross into Chile if I am going that far, but not sure if it will be possible;
• Tierra del Fuego – I am pretty sure this will not happen as it is extremely far, but I would really like to say that I have been! 
• I would also like to go to Colonia, Uruguay, which is about a two hour boat ride from Buenos Aires.  Technically I am not supposed to leave the country while under the FSD internship, but I feel since they didn’t tell us that rule before hand I am going to disregard it – seriously if I am two hours from Uruguay I am going to want to cross the border!  I also mentioned it to my host mom who has also visited, and she suggested that maybe we go this weekend when her son comes in town from Tornquist – I hope we go! 

So that’s where I want to go.  I am fairly certain I won’t get to most of it, but we will see.

 

In the last week I have learned how to knit.  I have knitted myself a very long, fluffy blackish/purplish scarf.  I have also bought yarn to knit a baby blanket (CONGRATULATIONS JULIE!!!!)  And have made a list of several other things I would like to make while I am here.  I get a kick out of it, as does my host mom who has been basically begging to teach me.  Mary Andrews (another intern) also came over last week to learn, and Amber (another intern who already knows how to knit) also came and we had a little knitting party – it was quite amusing.

 

I also tried my first shot at cooking for my host family.  I tried my specialty, spinach artichoke dip.  It turned out subpar for my standards, but they seemed to like (though sometimes I wonder if they just say that.)  I had to be creative as I couldn’t exactly find all the ingredients – and dairy/cream products are slightly different.  Everything is called “crema” or cream and I couldn’t quite figure out what was sour cream, also couldn’t find the cream cheese I wanted, so used mayonnaise (found in abundance here – it is there favorite sauce) as a replacement that I have used before.  However, I asked Ana, with FSD and she told me that cream cheese can be found, so I might try another round.  I need to make an actual meal for them as well, unfortunately all the real typical American/Kansans type food I don’t actually know how to make, I personally prefer Mexican food, but they don’t like spicy stuff.  We will see what I can come up with that will taste good and I can find ingredients for!

Thursday, July 31, 2008 – Buenos Aires

I finally went to Buenos Aires to actually see the city.  Florencia, my host sister went with me.  We saw the “Casa Rosada” or the pink house, equivalent to the White House.  However, the President actually lives there but is rather executive offices and a place for meetings.  In front is the “Plaza de Mayo” named commemorating the month in which they declared independence.  The Plaza de Mayo has also been come to be a traditional location for protests.  Every Thursday, the “Madres de la Plaza de Mayo” march on the plaza.  The organization formed to protest the torture and disappearances occurring during the “Dirty War” in the 70’s, which frankly takes much more explanation than I care to go into, however, there are plenty of books than can more thoroughly explain.  Anyways, they were there on Thursday, as well as another group of protesters whose cause I couldn’t quite figure out.  Until a couple weeks ago, the “campo” or collaborative “countryside” were regular protestors in Buenos Aires and the Plaza de Mayo regarding extravagant export taxes (I believe this gained international news attention – another interesting topic to look into J ).  The problem has since been “solved” and export taxes have been lowered to 35% as opposed to the proposed 48% (for soy only, other products have lower percentages.)

 

We walked down Avenida Florida which was a large pedestrian street with tons of stores of all types.  We were there around mid-day and frankly there were too many people there for my taste.  I tried to enter a few stores to look for a leather purse and shoes, (Argentina is well known for its leather products) but became exhausted by the over helpful employees and soon gave up.  We also walked up to the obelisco a huge monument similar to the Washington Monument (I think, is that the one that is a tall tower that comes to a point at the top? – I know it is bad I do not know….)  I asked my family here what it was a monument for, they said something about the Foundation of Buenos Aires and it was for an anniversary of some sort, but that is all the could come up with, so I will assume it is not that important.  However, it is a fairly prominent marker in the city.  It is located in the Avenids 9 de Julio (named for Argentina’s independence day.)  My host sister told me it might be the widest street in the world…maybe 20 lanes?  She didn’t tell me until afterwards, so I didn’t count while I was there….the two directions were split by a large median/plaza so its width didn’t occur to me while we were there. 

 

While in Buenos Aires we went to Puerto Madero which is kind of like a boardwalk type place with lots of fancy/American restaurants along the river.  They also had a museum in an old navy boat.  I toured it with Florencia which was actually probably the highlight, mainly because I had lots of questions and since she is in the military school she could answer most of them – it definitely helped facilitate the conversation.  We had a long lunch at a fairly expensive place – lunch cost almost $25 which is a lot here…it should have been like $5 each L  oh well we survived, we returned home tired.  I am glad I went and glad Florencia took me, I am not sure if she actually enjoyed it or was just doing it because here parent made her, but I appreciate all the same.