Catch-Up Post

Hey everyone,
I realize it's been a while since I last posted. Did you know they make us do homework down here? Imagine that. I've also been busy trying to organize the hundreds of pictures I've taken so far. More on that later.

Last weekend our whole group went to Buenos Aires. We've spent quite a bit of time learning about the history of Argentina and its current issues. One of the issues that has only come up in the past year directly effected us. Apparently, Buenos Aires has recently developed a shortage of coins in their currency. It was hard for us because it took 1 peso to ride the bus (about the equivalent of 33 cents) and the ticket machines only take coins. So anytime we were about to go somewhere on a public bus, we had to make sure everyone had some combination of coins that added up to a peso. Most of the time we ended up buying gum just to get change.

The coolest thing we did in BA was a tango show. We all got dressed up and went to a place where they served us an AMAZING dinner. After dinner, they served out espresso and started a tango performance that encompassed all the different styles of the Latin dance from its beginning. Here's a clip:

The next day we took a tour of BA which included somewhere that I've always wanted to go: La Boca. This neighborhood is at the mouth of the River Plata and draws tourism. Every building on Caminito street is painted all sorts of different colors, which makes for an awesome place to take pictures. There were also lots of touristy things to do there...like pay to have a tango dancer pose for pictures with me!

On Saturday night we went to the church there in BA and met some of the Porteño youth. They were absolutely hilarious and walking through the streets of Buenos Aires with them was a trip. We walked a good ways to a fútbol complex and played around for a good long while (even though it was FREEZING).

Yesterday we went out to an estancia (ranch) a went canoeing, horseback riding and swimming in an indoor pool. Well, we didn't canoe or ride horses in the indoor pool, but I'm sure you figured that out already.

Our next big trip will be to Brazil. The other day we had to start the preparations for it by getting vaccinated for yellow fever. We took taxis to a clinic, which ended up being a little sketchy. Everything was fine and safe, but the clinic was way out by the docks and shipping yards...yikes.

Ok, I know you all want to see more pictures. And I wanted to put them somewhere you could all see them. So I did. I have a Shutterfly site set up that already has hundreds of pictures on it, and there are plenty more to come from this weekend. The site houses all my pictures, and also imports feed directly from this blog at the bottom of the main page so it'll be easier to get to one site from the other. If you want to see what I mean, here's the link: http://jehovaprovee.shutterfly.com Enjoy!