Avianca - IAD to Buenos Aires!

  Airline Information

Yellow Fever Shot Recommended for Argentina?

Do you really need one?

ISAM 2017!

Great group of Spanish speakers going to Argentina this summer!!!!  Scour this blog to get more information for your trip!

Is the ZIKA Virus in Argentina?

Here is the latest from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) website regarding ZIKA in South America.  Argentina is not on the current list.

Exchange Group 2016 - Preparation Activities

This year we have a nice group taking shape that is planning to go to Argentina.  I'm looking forward to preparing them for this amazing experience.  Since I am teaching Spanish this year, I am going to have these students relating more with our local Hispanic community.  They will be doing the following activities:



1) New Market Church Spanish Sabbath School Visits
2) New Market Church Spanish Translation Observation
3) Harrisonburg Spanish Church Visits



These activities, combined with ongoing Spanish lessons, should prepare these young people to "hit the ground running" with their Spanish in Argentina.

2015 SVA Exchange Students to Argentina 

Theo

SVA Argentina Exchange Program - Summer 2015

How fast a year goes by!  In just a few weeks, another group of SVA students will head out on an adventure of a lifetime in the land of the Gaucho - Argentina!  (READ MORE BELOW)

NOTE:  Please read the information on right hand of this site.  It will answer a lot of questions you may have.  Here are some things to remember

1.  Take warm clothes.  It will be winter there.  Most buildings are NOT heated either.  Also, bring boots for the rain.  When it rains, it's like a flood.  Check out the weather widget on this page.

2. There is no visa required for American or Dominican citizens.  Americans must pay a $160 Reciprocity Fee (see link on the right side of this page).  It is easy to do online.  Print it out and have it with your passport when you travel.

3. Although we haven't purchased tickets yet, look at the baggage limit guidelines with the airline we used last year, Avianca.  That will give you an idea of how much weight you can bring.  Once the tickets are purchased, the airline will have its own particular baggage limits, and they will probably be pretty similar.  FYI.

4. Internet/Wifi - Connectivity in Argentina is not at the level we are used to in the United States, but you will find the wifi hotspots on campus or throughout Argentina.  So, you will have no problem connecting with loved ones, although it may be on a delayed basis at times.

5.  Time difference is one hour from the U.S. East Coast.  So, at noon in New York City it is 1:00 p.m. in Argentina.

6.  Check out the links on the bottom right about ISAM.  They have a very active facebook page and videos of the campus, cafeteria, etc.

7.  Read about Arturo Finis.  He is the man in charge of this program at ISAM.  Last year one night my son was suffering from a respiratory problem.  Arturo made a call and had a great doctor there in a very short time.  I didn't ask for that, but he sensed it was needed and made it happen.  Let me tell you that you wouldn't find anyone better to have with you in a tight situation.  He has global experience, outlook, and enjoys his work.  You can find his contact info below as well.  Gracias, Arturo!

8. Speak to the SVA students who went to Argentina for advice.  They did well and can explain it all to you.  They are seniors - Reiss, Sarah, James, and River.

9.  Leo Messi, Argentinean national icon, is arguably the most famous soccer play in the planet.  Here is some of his story...

"Siempre quise jugar profesionalmente y siempre supe que para eso tenía que hacer un montón de sacrificios terribles", comentó Messi. "Hice sacrificios al irme de Argentina, dejar a mi familia para empezar una nueva vida. Tuve que cambiar de amigos; mi gente, todo", agregó el astro de Barcelona.

"Todo lo que hice, lo hice por el fútbol, para lograr mi sueño. Es por eso que no me fui de fiesta, o muchas otras cosas. Siempre me gustó el fútbol y siempre le dediqué mucho tiempo a eso", añadió.

Cuando era chico, mis amigos me llamaban para salir, pero quería quedarme en casa porque tenía que entrenar al día siguiente. Nada cambió desde que era chico. Mis amigos salen, y yo me quedo en casa", siguió Messi.

"Pero no es por nada, porque sabía que tenía que ser de esa manera y, en ese momento, estaba totalmente dedicado al fútbol", dijo el rosarino. "Nunca voy a dejar de aprender", completó Messi.

Partial Translation: 

"I made a lot of sacrifices by leaving Argentina, leaving my family to start a new life.  But everything I did, I did for football, to achieve my dream.  That's why I didn't go out partying, or do a lot of other things." 

WHAT IS YOUR DREAM?  WHAT IS GOD'S DREAM FOR YOU?  WHAT ARE YOU WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR IT?  

Late Arrival & The End of SVA Argentina Exchange 2014

We were early for the first flight- like 5 hours early.  It was delayed, so had to rush to catch our flight in Lima.  Once we got to El Salvador, we heard we were delayed over 4 hours...  BUT, that did give us the chance to see the USA-Belgium game and have some of El Salvador's culinary specialty - pupusas!  Delicious!!!

We leave San Salvador at 7:20 local time and arrive at Dulles @ 1:30 a.m.!!!  Heading home sweet home tonight - one way or another!!!!  :)

Adios, Argentina!

Gracias por todo y a todos.  Argentina, jamas te olvidaremos!!!!

What can be said after spending over a month in a place where so much is different from all you know and understand?  A place where love is quickly felt and happiness is something to be deliberately shared...  A place where the people find a way into your heart in such a way that you can't accept the parting...  That is what Argentina is all about.

We were told there would be tears, and we experienced that here the last couple of days.  I believe that God has performed a work in the life of each of our students and all who took this trip.  What he is doing varies from person to person, but the experience outside of our regular life has caused us to examine what it is we have and appreciate it more.  We have so much to be grateful for, and what we have learned we must use to help others in some way.

This group of SVA students has been great.  Awesome.  ISAM is a lovely place.   Arturo Finis is the best!  My family and I have been blessed.  God is good to us all...

Adios, Argentina!!!!

Final Movements

Today, I will leave Buenos Aires with my family and meet our SVA students and our guide, Arturo Finis, at the Adventist University at River Plate (UAP). 

Tomorrow we will have a university tour, meet some friends who are studying/working here, finish all our packing, and head to the airport to arrive in the wee hours prior to our 6:00 a.m. departure on July 1 (See first blog post to see our flight itinerary.  It is a doozy.).

Yesterday, we went to the zoo and walked "Paseo de Rosedales".  We had dinner with an Argentinean family in the evening. 

Today we will visit a huge street flea market at Plaza Dorrego before heading to the bus station for the ride up to the university.  All I can say is that Buenos Aires can hold its own with any world capital.  What a place!  I am hoping that there will be opportunities for you to come and visit this place in the future.  Traveling/studying/working for 5 weeks in a another country has been a very enriching experience for us all.  We are excited to come home, but are going to miss this place and the wonderful people we have met.  God has been good!!!!

On Leaving ISAM

This has been a trip like no other I have made.  Having the SVA students and working to keep them pushing forward with the Spanish language proved to be a challenge and blessing.  I was able to see them every day and hear about their drama and adventures in class and dorms.  From the time I arrived, I was welcomed by the administration and staff as a faculty member like any other.  We were engaged in the kind of operational, visionary, and kingdom conversations my SVA colleagues and I often find ourselves in.  I was assigned classes to either teach, assist, or observe.  I taught a number of songs, my favorite being,

“Lord, I want to thank you for friends.  Friends I can count on ‘til the very end.  I want to be real and not have to pretend.  Lord, I want to thank you for friends.”

We have made friends here, good friends.  SVA is beloved here as no other school.  Our students have been fully embraced into the life of this school.  The human warmth here is so absolutely incredible and it is sad to have to leave.  I can see that our students have such mixed feelings about ending this program.  They love the idea of getting back to the good ‘ole USA (What a place to call home!), but they are not looking forward to the goodbyes.  Arturo told them at the first meeting on the first day that they would all be crying on the last day, and I can see it coming.  I asked Arturo to make sure and capture some of that emotion on Sunday.
 
On Wednesday this week, the school thanked us by giving us the vespers worship program.  On Thursday, they recognized each of us and gave us such an amazing goodbye that it really touched me.  I could see that our presence here really meant something to this school.  Now, I wondered...  "How do I get a reciprocal arrangement for the Argentineans kids that come to SVA?  The culture is so different...  


Yesterday, Arturo and family, all the SVA students plus one invitee each were treated to a buffet-style lunch at what is probably one the biggest restaurants in Alem.  It would be our last time together at ISAM.  We also watched another USA World Cup soccer match against Germany.  We lost 1-0.  (By the way, Wimbledon just began this week in London.)

My family and I headed out early on Thursday night in order to spend the weekend in Buenos Aires.  Look at what we saw today in perhaps the world's most famous cemetery.  It's in a wealthy area of the Recoleta in BsAs.  Basically, this place looks like a Roman or Greek city with its impressive mausoleums.  This is where the movers and shakers are buried.  Of course, they no longer move nor shake now!  Have you ever seen a place like this? 

 A few other sights in the city of Buenos Aires....

Me and Diego...

El argentino caminante...

We will meet up with Arturo and the group again on Monday morning at the Universidad Adventista del Plata (UAP).  Tomorrow we plan to visit the oldest Seventh-day Adventist church in Palermo, Buenos Aires.  (BsAs for short)

I am going to miss my new friends, but let me tell you that some really cool things brewing at which we will be working together in the coming months.  Thank you for an unbelievable experience with you, Arturo, Mariano, and the entire ISAM administration, staff, faculty, and students.  Stay tuned!

Mariano (Economics, Business, and Head Librarian)  and Arturo (Promotion and Recruitment)

Feliz sabado a todos!!!!!!!!

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.