Hola a todos. All is well in the city of the queen of the Rio de la Plata, that being Buenos Aires (La Reina del Rio de la Plata). Heres whats been going on.
LeDor VaDor
The abuelos are still so sweet and adorable as always. A cute little story that I would like to share with you...About two weeks ago Raquel, who comes frequently to ocupational therapy greeted me and told me that she wanted to make a necklace. I went with her to pick out the beads, cut the string and give her the other supplies that she needed. We sat down together and all of a sudden she got really sad and quiet and told me that she brought her long distance glasses instead of the short distance glasses and that she wouldn't be able to work today because she couldn't see. I told her that yes she can work, it may be a bit more difficult but if we work together, she can make a necklace. She reluctantly agreed and I guided her hand to put the beads on the string. It took longer than usual and after I took the necklace for it to get a clasp, I brought it back to Raquel and she said to me, oh my gosh is this really mine?! Did I really make a necklace today?! She was so happy, absolutely beeming and screaming with joy and delight by her achievement. I was so happy for her, that she was able to accomplish something that was difficult for her. I have to say, it wasn't the prettiest necklace that I have seen in my life (because she couldn't see the color combination of the necklace wasn't the greatest) but just watching how much joy and satisfaction that she had totally made my day. Lesson learned, never say never, there is always a solution to achieve what you want.
Hebraica
I recently got back from Derej, the 3 day winter camp for the madrichim. We went to Montevideo, Uruguay which the kids were so excited for, to be leaving the country which was "re top" for them. The kids and the counselors were great and I had a good time but it was very different than my camp experience in the US so I was a bit lost and confused. The activities were very much conversation, discussion and reflexion based, thinking about past camp memories and the significance and roll of being a madrich. For me, camp in the US was very sporty, all about running around, getting into water balloon fights and lots and lots of waterskiing. At times during the camp I felt a bit lost, especially when they were singing their camp songs and doing camp traditions. But I know thats normal and everyone tried their best to explain to me what's going on. And they were very patient with me, I had a lot of questions and everyone was happy to answer them. I'm very glad that I attended Derej so I could get to know the kids, madrichim, staff, learn more about Hebraica and get a better sense of my job and roll.
Winter camp is coming to an end. For winter camp there were more kids than usual because the 4 year olds were invited to attend (Baby Help goes up to 3 years old). It was great to see them, because I spent time with them last year and oh my gosh they are HUGE!!!!
I've had a few meetings about how to create a relationship between BBYO and Hebraica. I've spoken with the JDC NYC office, BBYO and Hebraica and everyone is equally excited to get started! I have a few ideas and slowly but surely I'm starting to plant them. I'm open to any suggestions and tips that you may have.
Baby Help
Argentina
The Copa America, a major soccer tournament just ended. Argentina lost quickly and Uruguay was the champion, which did not surprise me. In the World Cup, Uruguay camp in 4th place, one of their players was named the best player of the World Cup and out of all the Latin American teams, they played the best (1st, 2nd and 3rd place were European teams and 4th was Uruguay). The final of the Copa America, Uruguay against Paraguay was on sunday, the day that we arrived back to Buenos Aires from Montevideo. Upon arrival to Buenos Aires, we were greeted by Uruguayans dressed up in Uruguay clothes with the flag painted on their faces, dancing and singing in the street celebrating Uruguays victory.
July 18th was the ceremony of the AMIA attack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AMIA_Bombing) which I attended with my family. The ceremony started at 9:53AM, the exact time that the bomb took went off. It was pouring rain yet thousands of people attended. Many people gave speeches, including the president of AMIA and of the Jewish community of Argentina. Among the thousands of people was President Senora Cristina Kirchner, but did not speak which angered many people because they thought it was very chutzpa of her. The speeches were very powerful and basically each speach had the message, that "we want justice, we will never forget what happened, we want peace and respect for the victims, and Senora Presidente Kirchner why have you and previous presidents done nothing to further the investigation and prosecute the terrorists. 17 years have passed, when will we have justice?!?!?!" Here is a youtube video of the president of AMIA giving his speech at the ceremony. What he said is what I just wrote above. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlA9KYZB7j8
July 17th was another ceremony for the AMIA, the ceremony for youth which my family and I attended with Hebraica. It was comprised of dances, singing and speeches all done by youth. To be honest, I found it very strange and could not relate to it. I prefered the ceremony that was done the following day, because I understood it better and could follow it. Something interesting about the youth ceremony - each year they struggle with how to keep the memory alive, how to have the youth remember that this happened and to continue asking and pressuring the government for justice. A problem that the Jewish community of Argentina is having is that the bombing took place in 1994 so how can they make it relevant and an important issue for youth to take a stand on in the future, to one day finally get justice? The youth are the future of Argentina and people fear that if the attack on the AMIA is forgotten, there really never will be justice.
July 20th was Dia del Amigo or Friends day. Yes, I'm not kidding, in Argentina there is friends day. But, there still is work, no day off. That night my friend had a potluck dinner at her apartment and each person brough food that they made. I made chocolate chip cookies (from scratch!) that everyone enjoyed. We just hung out, ate and talked and later everyone went out. I chose the responsible route and went home because the following day I left for Montevideo with Hebraica at 7AM.
A few sundays ago the city of Buenos Aires had elections for governor of Buenos Aires. Saturday night it was prohibited to buy and sell alcohol so many places closed for the night. I thought that was very strange, because in the US even though its an election everything is still open...
My parents and sister came to visit me for a week which I really enjoyed. I took them to my work sights, we took a tour of Ieladeinu, a Jewish orphanage run by Chabad of Argentina, went to Uruguay for the day and just toured Buenos Aires. It was great seeing them and I ate very well that week :-) Mom, Dad and Mia, I'm SO glad that you came to visit me in BA. I had an amazing time and hope you did too!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment