Flyer from the Refuout pharmacy volunteer day
Hello amigos. It’s crazy to think that my fellowship is rapping up very soon and I don’t have demasiado tiempo left in Argentina...where did the time go?!
Baby Help
About two weeks ago was Día Del Niño, "Kids Day" so there was a celebration at Baby Help. The teachers put on a skit, there were games for the kids such as an astro jump, arcade games, art, building blocks and more. There was an evening tea and at the end each kid received a present. The event was really cute and it was great to meet the parents and see the kids with their families.
LeDor VaDor
September 7th at LeDor VaDor will be a game day for the residents. To be honest I’m not sure what it will be like or what I’ll be doing, but I know I will be helping out somehow, whether that being accompanying a resident or helping to run a game. Whatever it is, I’m happy to do it because it’s such a pleasure to be there.
Hebraica
Last Friday night was Pancho Music Festival at Hebraica. It’s a fundraiser to raise money for a Mitnadev program because in September, the kids from Mitnadev will be traveling to rural schools in Cordoba, Misiones, Santa Fe and Corrientes to donate food, clothing, supplies (school supplies, generators ect.) to these schools. All of the money is going towards these schools and to help finance the trip. The performers at Pancho Music Festival were Mitnadev kids and people danced, sang and played instruments. The show was a success and hundreds of kids went.
Last weekend, Hebraica celebrated Día del Niño at its Pilar location. I went to help out and to see how the celebration would be. There was a rotation of activities that the kids participated in such as sports, art projects, obstacle courses and they got to ride el tren de alegría, a colorfully painted train where Pepe, the Argentine version of Barney was dancing and singing with the kids. At night there was a music/lights/acrobatic show, very Las Vegas style for all the kids and their families to see and it was enjoyed by all.
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is still its good old self filled with tons of activities, cultural events and kilombo. I attended a Menora lecture lead by a professor from the University of Chicago. The topic was about how science is now proving that how the torah says the world was created is in fact scientifically true, and that we live in 10 dimensional world and not 3. He then started to go into string theory and although the lecture was in English (!) string theory really confused me and I was lost. If anyone understands it, please explain it to me in non-scientific words.
I also attended an after office party run by Menora, exclusively for Menora members. They rented out a bar for a night and there was kosher food, drinks and Nintendo WII video games. It was my second Menora after office and I enjoyed it a lot.
August was declared the month of tango in Buenos Aires so starting from mid August until the end of the month, the government of Buenos Aires sponsored free tango classes, shows, documentaries about the history of tango and more. I didn’t go to any of the events because since they were free, the lines were a million miles long. Plus, one of the great things about Buenos Aires is that everyday there are people dancing tango in the streets, so no reason to wait in line for hours to watch a free show. For those of you that have never seen tango, it’s a very beautiful, elegant sexy dance, and I love the dresses and heels. Check it out, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXhQNRsH3uc
The Refuout pharmacy had a huge volunteer day on the 30th. Hundreds of people, including Danielle (my friend and JSC colleague) and I, helped organize, mark and put into the database the donated medicines to be shipped off all over the country. It was so great to see so many volunteers, so many people supporting the pharmacy. Coincidently there was a guy at our table from the US that spoke very little Spanish so we spoke in English, our treat for the day.
Danielle and I have been talking about what we are looking forward to upon our return to the US. I talked about how I’m excited for the fabulous San Diego weather (never never again will I have to be in winter!) and the beautiful beaches. I was expecting Danielle, born and raised on the Upper West Side, to say that she was excited for the museums, having the subway be open 24/7 (in Buenos Aires it closes at 10:30PM), eating crumbs cupcakes (my favorite!) or something very New York City-ish but she said something that completely caught me off guard. She told me and I quote “Ariana I’m excited to go apple picking”. As you can imagine, I was surprised to hear this from anyone, especially a NYC native. I explained to Danielle how at my house in San Diego, we have many fruit trees such as pomegranates, apricots, lemons, oranges and even apples and that apple picking really isn’t that cool. She was very excited to hear this so she is planning a trip to San Diego, just to pick fruit in my backyard and when she has time she will hang out with me ;-) Danielle, I hope you do plan a trip to San Diego, mi casa es tu casa, mi fruta es tu fruta.
Continuing with this subject, I thought of a few more things that I’m looking forward to in San Diego.
1. 1. Thai food
2. 2. Crumbs cupcakes. I don’t think there’s Crumbs in San Diego but I know there is one in Beverly Hills, but close enough!
3. 3. Being able to buy things. Many things such as shoes, clothes and groceries cost more in Argentina than in the US
4. 4. Surfing
5. 5. Rubios (whoever is picking me up from the airport please have ready for me upon my arrival a Rubios bean and cheese burrito with guacamole inside. Thanks in advance).
6. 6. Seeing Gramma Lily
7. 7. Cheese Cake Factory
8. 8. Fashion Valley
9. 9. San Diego Padres (dad can we please go to a game?!)
10. Masters swim class at Arbolitos
However, I will definitely miss Argentina too, despite the kilombo and it will be hard to adjust to life in the US again. A list of things I’ll miss…
1. My friends. I have an amazing group of friends in Buenos Aires, some that I already knew from last year and new friends that I made this year.
2. The kilombo. It’s a love/ hate relationship, depending on what type of kilombo it is.
3. The kids at Baby Help. No matter how sad, tired or “sin ganas” I am, the kids at Baby Help can always cheer me up by their cuteness and their endless hugs and kisses
4. The buena onda at Hebraica, my colleagues, being surrounded by inspiration, millions of people all the time and watching a million activities happen at the same time
5. The abuelos at LeDor VaDor. They are so cute and I love hearing their life stories, meeting their families and being a part of their life, even if 2 minutes later they forget who I am which can happen.
6. The nightlife. Buenos Aires has some of the best nightlife in the world. Katina, I hope you’re ready for what’s to come
7. Alto Palermo and Av. Santa Fe, aka my neighborhood. Alto Palermo is the mall right by my house where I would go to walk around to kill time if I arrived at Menora early (I know, I’m like an 80 year old woman that lives in Boca). Avenida Santa Fe is the big Avenue right by my house. It’s also one of the main avenues in the city, with tons of buses, subways and people walking around 24/7 and it’s really nice to walk on and great for people watching.
8. Menora. I’ll miss the people and having constant Jewish activities to look forward to on a daily basis.
9. Empanadas 24/7. The best snack at any time of day, especially when one empanada costs U$S1.
10. Castellano. Not español, castellano
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