Teacher Sighting?

This beauty of nature was discovered in 1541 by a Spanish explorer by the name of Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca.  After he discovered what is now Argentina, he made a series of expeditions from his base in what is today called Buenos Aires.  These long forays into the jungle undoubtedly took him away for long periods.  And I guess that is what has happened to me in his old stomping grounds. 

So, sorry for the long delay in blogging!  A combination of "responsibilities", side trips, and lack of reliable wifi have repeated the same perfect storm which temporarily brought my communications to a halt at the beginning of this journey.  When I last wrote, I had just climbed the open gate here at ISAM returning from the weekend in Posadas.  I will try to briefly recap last week...

Each Monday, alongside the a colleague, I teach several classes and then do tutoring at night, so Mondays here seem more like a normal day during the school year at SVA - rushing to class and filling in the rest of the time with other exigencies. 

In the morning, the classes are pretty chilly as we are now officially in Argentinian winter.  I would compare it to being in a house without heat when the outside temperature is in the mid-40s.  Once the sun comes out, it is more like a warm, pleasant fall or spring day.  The cold returns quickly once the sun has set.  When it rains; however, the damp cold is with you everywhere.  On Friday, I watched some of the World Cup in the boy's dorm.  Outside it was probably near 70 degrees in the sun.  Inside that TV room, I would guess it was mid-50s.  It took France scoring 5 goals to keep me glued to the screen.  I was freezing.

I think this has been one of the toughest things for all of us.  We are all grizzled vets when it comes to the cold, and we know that the winter here is not that cold, really.  The issue is heat.  There is very little heat inside many buildings and homes here.  I believe that is because the winters are mild, so you can "survive" here without heat.  That may be so, but this situation is uncomfortable even for us North Americans!  Check out Arturo's cool woodstove.  It is just the right size for Misiones winters.

Tuesday will come back to me later.  Wednesday afternoon into evening we spent in Alem shopping.  Nicole was our guide until Arturo met us there a bit later.  A local TV station called Nicole (it's a small town) asking to interview her about her life as a young person.  She brought the whole group to the studio to interview while I and my family went to her house for dinner.  Her parents were just so thankful for the watchful care SVA had provided their daughter while she was away from home for 2 months.  The folk here a so appreciative.  They make you feel very special.  That is another wonderful thing about the Argentinean culture.  Her dad, Ricardo, took us to watch his son's soccer practice.  Nicole and her mom, Lety,  prepared a scrumptuous dinner which was served at about 9:30 p.m.!  We got home around midnight and had to get up before 6 a.m. the next to go to the place we had been dreaming about for months – Las Cataratas de Iguazu

Back to Tuesday.  The buzz was all about the U.S. Soccer team.  That evening, all the Americans (including the two studying here all year) went to Ricchezza across the street to take in the match with solid wifi and cheap pizza.  It was a real thrill the moment Team USA scored the dramatic game-winning goal against Ghana.  We broke out into the traditional, "U-S-A!!!  U-S-A!!!  At that same moment, River ran out into the street (maybe 10 cars an hour at night) silently posing with his finger held high - #1!!!!  You had to be there...

Thursday morning came way too early, especially for those of us with children.  But we all got up and out to the minibus.  It was very cold and dark, probably around 40 degrees.  But soon it brightened up and got warm.  I snapped a lot of photos while most of the others slept.  The scenery got better and better as we made our way over 400 km north.  There were a few spots where we stopped at a scenic overlook or for gas and snacks (chipas).

Simply put, Iguazu is the most amazing natural wonder I have ever seen.  You don’t want to leave that place.  The Argentinian side is neat because you are walking in and around the falls.  The Brazilian side is reported to have a better view, though.  We were amazed and felt fortunate to have seen such a marvel.  We got soaked and took lots of pictures, maybe hundreds.  There were some wild looking animals we met along the way called… can’t remember the name, but they look a bit like raccoons, but if they hear the ruffle of a bag of food, they some by the dozens!  The falls just had recent flooding, even historic.  A few days before we went, the water level was measured to be an all-time high.  Will try to recap later with photos.  

Moving on, then…

Today we visited the capital of Misiones – Posadas.  It is a city of about 400,000 situated along the Parana River which forms the western border with Paraguay.  Lots of people cross the bridge each day to buy something cheaper.  This kind of trade always ebbs and flows.  Right now, Argentinians like to buy electronic goods there while Paraguayans come across to buy “nafta” or “combustible” (two Argentinian words for gasoline).

Near dusk on the Parana River - Paraguay in the background.  What a blessing to see God's creation in South America.  We talked a lot about the program, getting more traction with our Spanish, being homesick, and thinking about how fortunate we are to have what God has provided for us at home.