Away
From Home...
The
Beebes
Buenos dias, como te va?
Sorry for the long delay in writing but I
have been in a period where I just can't seem to sit
down and concentrate for more than 10 minutes---I think
it is called teaching. BA is gorgeous right now, temps
in the mid-70s and sunny--drops to low 60s at night.
Flowers are blooming, the pool is just about swimmable
and everyone is out walking along the River Plate.
I just spent 3 days at a conference in
Asuncion Paraguay. Asuncion is a spanish term for ain't
nothin here. An hour after hitting town we had seen
about all there was to see. It was still very
interesting but if you are looking for anything beyond a
working town filled witb folks who were very friendly
for 92 degrees and humid in spring, don't try Asuncion.
Things were very inexpensive and the girls scored,
nanduti -- spider lace and some homemade bangles and
necklaces -- but after that it was pretty slim pickings
and hot. The conferences at the American School of
Asuncion had some great seminars.
We also stumbled on a great Brazilian
steak house -- here is how it works -- you sit down and
they give you a little sign with a wheel on it.
When you spin it so the green is showing, that means go
... and all these guys with skewers of every kind of
meat walk up -- chorizo, tenderloin, carpacio, ribs,
blood sausage -- easy on those -- chicken, sirloin,
filets, etc, etc.
Then you turn the sign on red and they
stop.
When you finish, it is back to green
again. They also wheel up a little keg of local
beer -- and you drink "Chopps" -- which are ice-frosted
glass steins of beer. We went through many
off-and-ons -- the waiter was stunned when we didn't
want to hit the postre (dessert) table. It was
very, very good. After an hour and a half of
grazing, we paid our 7 dollars and left.
Other than tha and some
meringue dancing, it was a very hot and humid place.
Can't imagine how it is bearable in summer.
Paraguay has a very sad history -- they have lost just
about every war they have been involved with, and
underwent a virtual genocide process at the hands of
Brasil.
Buenos Aires is slowly
opening up as we get comfortable and out mroe.
Every week we add about 10 more blocks of range.
This week we will be vicited by Stacy Prescott -- and 7
others as several kiddos from Mendoza, where Stacy
lives, come to our school to take the SAT.
We are excited because
Michelle's dad Bert and her friend Cathleen are headed
down in 3 weeks. They will stay with us here in BA
and then travel with us to southern oceanic Patagonia
over Thanksgiving break. We will be hanging at the
Right whale breeding grounds and a Magellanic Penguin
nesting site.
Asados are popping out
all over now that the weather is truly warm.
Everyone has a parilla (par-ee-shaa), which is a grill
the size of a Volkswagen. The day is spent
lounding and drinking good wine or beer and eating each
course as it pulls off the grill. For us
eat-and-run Yanks, it is a bit of a challenge to lay
back and spend four hours eating, but hey -- if there is
anyone who can adjust it is me. If you want to see
a horrified look on an Argentine's face -- stop at a
cafe and try to get a cafe to go -- ain't happenin'
anytime soon down here.
It is totally alien to
the average Argentine that someone want to walk around
or work and drink cafe. In the morning here at
school, all the Argentines gather in the teacher's
lounge and drink coffee together and gabble away.
Yanks like me duck in and say a quick hello and off we
go. But the Argentines spend a few minutes every
morning having a cafe, a medialuna or manioca and a
chat.
Michelle is finished
with teaching in two weeks and is looking for a good
intensive Spanish course. she is also leaning
towards getting her teaching certificate, and if anyone
has a good recc. on an on-line certification program,
please give a yell.
Tobias is really
turning into a great dog. He is more and more
comfortable -- especially sneaking on the couch and is
bilingual. We call him in Spanish -- "Veni" -- and
tell him to "Sit" because "Sientense" is too hard for
us. We had an asado last week, and several
teachers brought their dogs along -- all were
well-behaved -- the dogs at least -- the teachers are
always a bit suspect.
Keyla and Anna are
doing well and always busy. Being so close to
school is such a blessing. There are always events
on Friday and Saturday, along with the usual parties,
dancing, sleepovers, etc. Now it is the Black-eyed
Pease concert -- but fortunately another parent has
volunteered to go. I guess I am being saved for
Green Day or Shakira. I vote for Shakira -- I
can't hear well, but I can see just fine.
We also hope to hit our
first official soccer match -- either Boca Juniors or
River Plate. The matches are quite an event --
kind of like hockey games, but the fans are much much
crazier and on steroids. We are told that sitting
in the more expensive seats makes it a bit safer and
saner. We'll see.
This week in school is
ITBS testing, sunny warm weather and bored children --
and their teacher -- are not a good combination.
Time to go so all my
love. It was a very interesting few weeks -- the
difference between Asuncion and Bs. As is pretty stark
and makes one glad to be here. There is always
something good to be learned in every place I visit --
but I think we were blessed to find this spot.
Ciao,
Keith
