Eastern Argentina

Now we are 2/3 down the eastern coast of Argentina in a small town called Gaiman, but first let me tell you about our past few days . . . we journeyed south from Buenos Aires to a group of beach towns called Pinamar, Ostende, Valeria and Carilo. We stayed at the Old Hotel in Ostende, built in 1914. Nothing fancy, but I loved seeing old photographs of guests from the earliest years, in all their fancy clothes in the dining room and bathing costumes in the dressing tents at the beach. We, too, had an assigned tent and from my shady place I watched the kids spend hours body surfing and laughing. People sat around in groups of family or friends, shared their mate (mah-te), and surrounded me with the sing-song sounds of the Argentine dialect. Mate is an interesting custom. A bitter herb concoction in a shell cup often trimmed in silver, they pass it around while they chat, each sipping from the same silver, filtered spoon straw. Everyone has a thermos of hot water from which they continue to add to the cup all afternoon.
After dinner, the five of us returned to a moonlit beach and saw the southern hemisphere’s version of a starry night. No Big Dipper! And Orion’s Belt is upside down! Chase and I have also been thrilled to see a whole variety of new birds down here. Green parakeets fly around as commonly as blue jays in California. We haven’t identified any, of course (no room in the suitcase for the Audubon book), but we get a new surprise every day.
Our trip to Trelew, named for Welsh founder & pioneer Lewis Jones, was by BUS. Picture the bus depot in Oakland or Sacramento or Tijuana and you’ll have some idea. But inside the coach was very comfortable and relatively clean. It was an 18 hour journey and we were glad to sleep away most of the “scenery” en route. AG missionaries Charlotte and Martin Jacobsen, Eddie and Diana Echevarria are our very kind hosts and they picked us up in a big van to take us to our lodging at the Instituto Biblico Patagonico. They warned us, but I’m here to tell you, it is WINDY in the Patagonia! The picturesque mountains, lakes or glaciers that typify other parts of the region are not near here. We are in a small town in the dessert, I mean desert. We got to take showers and settle in before going to the Jacobsen’s home for dinner. The Echevarrias have a daughter, 14, and a son, 11, who are wonderful and we all attended their local church for a Saturday evening service. Today we had lunch with the Jacobsens and discussed our upcoming days -- I'm bubbling with ministry opportunity excitement. More to come . . .

Last Day in BA

The Spanish language here really caught me off guard. During the past two weeks we have met people from all walks of life and I realize that I can understand many of them, but it is certainly a difference from castillian Spanish in Spain. The Italian influence in Argentina is huge. And on Saturday we’ll arrive in Trelew which is a Welsh community!

Have I mentioned the word “parilla”? Can you say “MEAT”? That is the staple meal here – and not just steak, but sausage, sweetbreads, ribs, and more beef. I feel far away from Berkeley! Thankfully, beautiful fruits and vegetables are also in full array.

Today we leave Buenos Aires and drive down to a beach town about 4 hours south. Charlie was commenting that although he has been here several times on business, it has been a treat to know the city thoroughly over the course of two weeks. Yesterday we had lunch with the missionaries who run the Patagonia Bible Institute in Trelew, so we’re eager to get our hammer, nails, and cement-mixing shovels ready for some work. We’ll be joining a group from Kentucky who has organized a Vacation Bible School during the first week of February. Our kids are looking forward to working with the local children.

Buenos Aires

We’re onto the next chapter. We’ve gone from plug o o to plug \ /, from yo to zsho, from a church of 60 attendees to 25,000, and from winter to summer. We are fortunate to have an apartment located in a great area of Buenos Aires thanks to a workmate of Charlie’s. I’ve noticed that our kids are much more comfortable with big cities after their European experiences. We’ve hit the Eva Peron museum, the fancy flea market in San Telmo, the colorful barrio of La Boca, visited the zoo and walked in La Recoleta. Generously blessed by family friends, we had dinner at the gorgeous home of Gisa & Carlos, Ella & Andres, reminding us of the sweet advantages that multi-generational living conditions can provide. I’ve always loved that idea, but it would certainly be easier if you had a four story home with an elevator as they do! The grandma is 94 and the youngest children are 4-year old twins. Can you imagine?
Our plans for South America are evolving slowly as we gather information and figure out how best to proceed. Quite a difference from the well-laid plans of Europe! It seems that traveling by overnight sleeper bus is cost-effective and comfortable, so we’ll give it a shot when we head south. It is peak season, so while we're trying to be spontaneous, it isn't always possible to find lodging along the way.

We took a vacation from our vacation in Colonia, Uruguay, which was fantastic. A classic historic centro and great beaches. Always nice to take the winter white glow off these bodies. We climbed the old lighthouse for a birdseye view of this former Portuguese colony. When we left our posada to catch the last ferry back to Argentina I turned to Charlie and said "Well, back to the grind. Oh yeah, there is no grind! :)"

Yesterday, Carlos took us to the Delta in his boat, which gave us a wonderful view of Buenos Aires that very few enjoy. We were windswept, sunburned and happy when we disembarked at 9:30 (the sun just about to go down).

We continue to pray for all of you at home as we've been reminded how life can change in an instant based on a couple of scares that you've told us about.

Goodbye Sevilla (by Jane)

Well, due to popular (very forceful) demand I, Jane, am writing a blog entry. Currently we are in Madrid, ready to take off tomorrow for Buenos Aires. Although we are very excited for what is ahead of us, leaving Sevilla is very hard. Unlike for the rest of our trip, where we were continually moving, we were able to really establish ourselves in one place. I don’t know if it is because of the longer time spent there, because of the amazing friends we met, or just the unique culture of Sevilla, but I feel like we really experienced the Sevillian life. And not only because I got to sleep in till 10 almost every day, though that was a bonus, especially if you know how I am about waking up in the morning. The lifestyle of Sevilla seems to be less about schedules and more about enjoying life. In other words, having a fiesta at every opportunity. So New Years Eve, as you can imagine, was very fun. We started the night at our piso (apartment) with all of our family friends. At midnight, the tradition is to eat a grape for every dong of the clock. Unfortunately, I misunderstood and thought that you were supposed to stuff all the grapes in your mouth without swallowing, like the chubby bubby marshmallow game. Besides almost spitting up on my dad, I was successful! After that I went to a dance party with my friends Aurora and Marta(yes, I arrived at 1:30 am). It was a blast, lots of dancing and meeting new people (it’s really easy to meet people here), and the party ended at 6:30 am. I looked at my watch and realized it was the same time that I get up for school, but to the Sevillanos it was just a regular party night.





(with my friends Julian and Maria)





This last week has been filled with activity up to the last day. But it was very hard to say good bye to everyone, especially Cesar and Isidoro’s families. We already miss them!! But we are counting on them coming to visit us in California! Well, we’re onto a new chapter. I miss you all especially now that we have reached the halfway point. But we are on the second leg, closer to returning than departing. Thank you so much for staying in contact with us, it really means so much!! You can be sure I’m soaking up every minute, and taking Unca’s advice to take every opportunity that shows itself (so far, I have never regretted it!). Hasta South America!

It's about time ...

None of us wants to leave Sevilla. We will remember these two months fondly and forever. November: Thanksgiving came & went, we didn’t see a pilgrim or have a big feast, but we were definitely giving thanks to God for our good friends. December: nothing really felt like the Christmas season except the spirit of giving, which continues to overwhelm us. We ask each other, “If a family came from abroad and landed in Orinda for months, would we show them this much attention and love?” I pray we pass the test when the opportunity arises. The truth is, we all have the challenge before us almost every day – we make choices to focus on our list of things-to-do OR on prioritizing people. We have seen such unselfishness during our trip!

Primarily, the two families of Charlie’s old friends, Cesar & Isidoro, have embraced us, included us, guided us, gifted us and loved us, so that we ache to think of our near departure. What’s more, they have introduced us to their friends and those people have reached out to us on several occasions.

Last week, Chase & Mary met an American man while walking his dog. He and his Colombian wife live in our same apartment complex. Shortly after, they sent us a note inviting us for tapas and are now insisting that we come to dinner before we leave. When you meet someone briefly or you think you may never see them again, aren’t you tempted to think “Ah well, we don’t need to invest anything in that relationship.” People here continue to make time for us and enrich our lives. And, as we’ve seen over & over, we often think we’ll never see someone again, but God seems to bring life around in a way that only He could devise.

We had a very special Christmas. Charlie and I didn’t buy many gifts, since we’re packing those suitcases again soon. We all had to be a bit creative with our presents – nothing too large, nothing for winter, nothing heavy, and nothing that we wouldn’t need in South America. For instance, we gave Mary a barf bag that we’d collected from our last flight, but Jane decorated it beautifully!

We didn’t plan to fill stockings or have piles of packages, but the kids woke up to a fantastic array of stockings and gifts for each of them, thanks to their friend Krystal from home who sent a box filled with treats for everyone. Another thoughtful friend from Germany made us cookies and sent an advent calendar, so we could begin the season with a sweet tradition. In addition, Piotr, one of our young friends from Poland, sent us drawings (he’s quite an artist) and a fossil that he’d collected when he was very young. We were touched beyond words …

Jane said to me yesterday, “If there's one thing I’ve learned on this trip it is generosity. People are always giving us so much, and that is what really matters in life." Thanks for all your thoughts and cards and love!

Feliz Navidad

What a gift it has been to really see how Christmas is celebrated in another country-- not just passing through to see the city lights or attending one night of festivity, but living alongside the people for the weeks leading up to and including Christmas Day. We have commented to each other how full our lives have been during this season and yet we aren’t going to work everyday, we aren’t studying for exams, we aren’t hanging lights or trimming a tree or baking for gifts! How do we do it back home?
One of the most important traditions here is the Nativity Scene. Spaniards have recently begun buying trees for their homes, but the oldest and most popular custom involves a day (or two) of setting up an extravagant, detailed Belen which is Spanish for Bethlehem. Sevilla has a central plaza filled with temporary stores all filled with different artists’ figures, houses, palm trees, and animals that the locals buy, adding to their sets at home.
We have also enjoyed something called zambomba which is a beautiful flamenco tradition in this southern province of Andalusia. Everybody gathers around a fire (typically it would have been in the courtyard of someone’s home) to sing, clap their hands and enjoy the Christmas songs to the sound of the guitar, tambourines and, of course, the zambomba, an instrument for which the celebration is named. It is basically a clay vessel covered with animal skin. In the center of the covering a long cane is secured which produces a deep sound when pulled up and down. We have seen three zambombas this past week – one in a large patio of the university, one at the elementary school of our friends’ children and another on a blocked city street nearby. When Mary got up “this morning” she looked at the clock (which read 12:15) and said, “That’s what the clock looked like when we came home last night.” . . . our typical schedule.
We will spend Christmas Eve at the home of our dear friends and they are even going to prepare a turkey for us! Jane, Mary & I will endeavor to bake an apple pie, but if our recent chocolate chip cookie attempt is any indication of success, they’ll be fortunate to eat dessert. That night will be full of anticipation for the arrival of Papa Noel, but the bigger event takes place on January 6th when the Three Kings come to bring gifts.
Thank you for the Christmas cards that you’ve sent. You can’t imagine what a blessing one piece of mail is. And while we are loving this special trip, it is difficult to be away from all of you, especially during the holidays. But we joyfully celebrate Christ’s birth and anticipate Chapter Two of our adventure . . . South America. God bless each one of you!

La Vida Loca

A simple yet full life here continues. We visited a beautiful town called Ronda week before last (and even saw the King of Spain up close!). We went to Cordoba last weekend and had a fantastic visit to the mosque. It is an unbelievable preservation of the Roman, Arab, and Christian beginnings of Spain. We still have difficulty absorbing the incredible antiquity of these structures that can date back as early as the first century.
We came back to a festive long weekend in Sevilla. All of the universities in Spain have traditional musical groups called La Tuna. They serenade senoritas and they stroll the streets singing about each region they represent. Once a year, many of the groups congregate in Sevilla for a long night of song and it all happens right around the corner from our apartment. Craziness in the streets until the early hours of the morning!

Also, Monday was a holiday celebrating the Immaculate Conception (our Mary asked how the birth happened only three weeks later . . . these are small details in the big scheme of things, huh?). There was a mass in the main Cathedral and a special dance performed by a group of boys called Los Seises. The fun never ends!!

One more serendipitous event was given to us . . . when returning to our flat yesterday I noticed a woman looking up at the balcony of another apartment where there was a “For Rent” sign. I passed her, but decided to turn around and ask if she was looking for a place to live. When our eyes met, she said “I know you!” And it turns out that we studied in Madrid at the same time during our junior year in college. She is here on a mission similar to mine a month & a half ago – looking for a place for her family to live when they come to Seville in January. I brought her back to our flat and we called the owner to see if they could rent it when we leave and she said ‘Si’! Carol spent the afternoon with our family and it was such a joy to hear our kids share their enthusiasm for the life that awaits her children. She told us that she was on the verge of losing all hope that things would work out when we bumped into each other. Isn’t God good? The difficult task I had He used for good! We don’t go through trials for nothing.

Serving breakfast in the elementary school has grown to be more rewarding than I’d thought possible, mainly due to the fact that, again, we have established relationships with the children. Charlie is quite the entertainer when he is refilling cups and mopping up spilled milk. (Have you noticed how long his hair is? Not one trim since July 28th!)

Jane’s friend, Avery, is coming to visit us for ten days and she arrives on Saturday. We can’t wait!