Adios Argentina

Ok, well, today is the end of the GSE experience in the Province of Buenos Aires 2011. 

My family has been super amazing again. Carlos got up and went to work at 4.30am just so he could leave early and see me before I go. I find that incredible and so sweet. My tin of 50 bags of Traditional English Tea doesn`t quite seem to match that generosity. 

Canuelas (yes, I have finally learned how to spell it properly) has been a great way to end the trip. We have seen a game of Polo, had an enjoyable late night meeting where our presentation started at 12.30am and then we had a demonstration of Tango and Carlos started playing traditional folk music on his guitar. We stumbled home near 4am! What else did we do?... We went to Buenos Aires where Dave and Sara went to the Boca vs River game - apparently it`s some kind of big deal in Argentina? ; ) Jerusha and I went to San Telmo and explored the markets, which we both really enjoyed. Lunch was fantastic because Dave and Sara were made to perform Tango in front of the lunch crowds. Very funny!

I`m now all packed and ready to go, just waiting to be collected. The trip has had its highs and lows, but i think it has been good overall. We have learned a lot about the Argentinian culture, met some wonderful people and hopefully made new friends. I would like to say my spanish has improved, but unfortunately that would be a lie. But I would also like to say thank you to everyone who has logged on to our blog to check out what we`ve been up to in Argentina. I know everyone has very busy lives so thank you for taking the time!

Right home time - although I have somehow lost my house keys. Anyone got a spare room?!

Ciao amigos

Zara

Home stretch

Ok, we are now in our final town having travelled from Chivilcoy to Canuellas this morning. I really enjoyed Chivilcoy and loved the house I was staying in. I know I always say that, but it is true that every family makes you feel so welcome and part of them, that it is difficult not to enjoy it (Plus Cecelia threatened me if I said bad things- violent woman ; P)

My cold is back with avengence. I blame the run earlier in the week. No good thing comes from exercise! Ever! 

We arrive in Canuelas and it looks lovely. Much smaller than Chvilcoy. We are only here until Monday, when Jerusha and I begin the long journey home. The afternoon, I took a siesta and it started raining. Every time we are promised to watch polo, it rains the day before so the game gets cancelled. It`s crazy to be here for a month and not see a game. However, we might be lucky enough to see a practice session, but only if it stops raining sometime soon.

I`ve decided not to go to a school to talk tonight. They were excited to hear from native english people, but with my cold, I hardly fit the bill! Plus i`m missing the dinner out, instead eating in with my family and having a nice early night. I want to be well for tomorrow because in the morning we plan to return to Lobos to see a horse therapy centre for disabled children in action. This is mainly due to Sara, who helps in this field, but it should be really interesting. Then we have the practice polo session and by the evening we will be giving our presentation to the Canuellas Rotary club.

For ages, i didn`t think i was getting anything out of this, but now that we are near the end, i do believe that my presentations are improving and my improvising/spontaneity is getting better. I hope other people think that too. Whilst i do feel that i am like this because i`m so tired and sick i don`t care so much anymore, i hope it is something i can keep going when i return to England. 

Anyway, i might have a lie down after my very tiring siesta.

Ciao

Zara

It had to happen

3.5 weeks, so close to the end but yes, I`ve managed to twist my ankle. It`s all swollen and bruised. Why does this always happen to me?

Typical

Enfermo durante tres semanas. Esto es muy aburrido!

Ill for three weeks. This is getting boring!

Conference at Mercedes is over. I think it went well - people laughed in vaguely the right places. It was to about 100 people on sunday morning, but after 3 hours of presentations in Spanish! I can´t say i learned much, but i can say they coffee was good even if it was served in ridiculously small cups. After the conference, there was a huge formal lunch to mark the end. As we were leaving, it was announced over the microphone and we exited to a round of applause from 150+ people. Such a weird experience, you can´t help laughing!

We are now in Chivilcoy. It is probably one of the larger towns we´ve visited, with approx 70,000 inhabitants. It´s very pretty, has some great shops and the Rotary club is really friendly. I´m living with a fantastic lady called Cecelia. I love her to bits, she´s so much fun and is really living life to the full - just the way she wants it.

Since being in Argentina, i´ve put on about 3kgs. This is horrific, as i was probably carrying too much weight before i even flew out here! On Monday, I went out with Cecelia and her personal trainer for a walk/jog session. I thought this would be a great way to see parts of the city and maybe catch a few of the sparse sun rays while keeping fit. This could be the new me. A new, fitter, healthier, positive attitude me. I never run. Physical exertion does not appeal to me. We set out. It´s pretty. This area is amazingly flat and you can see for miles. I´m with lovely people, in the sunshine, keeping fit. The first few walk/jog sections are good. I could do this. I could run and even enjoy it. Then the inability to inhale, burning lungs and amazingly sore legs start hitting me. I remember why i never liked running. I struggle to stop and start with every section because my hips feel so stiff i´m sure i´m riddled with arthritis and resent it happening to someone so young. It could not remotely be that i am just unfit. The worst thing - the jogging is few and far between and mostly for one minute, with an occassional two minute jog thrown in. In fact, we probably job 8 times in 45mins. I can barely walk for the rest of the afternoon and most of the following morning. Still, i´d done it and i congratulate myself on the Monday night for being good and giving it a try. However, I have a slight lapse when I´m at a lose end and someone offers me icecream. A big tub of dulce de leche and chocolate & almond icecream is delivered and I eat it. All to myself : (

Of course, when the personal trainer phones on wednesday and says he´s feeling ill and can´t make todays  session, i´m devastated!!!

Yesterday, while i was recovering, we did something in the morning (can´t remember) and the we went to a wheat production farm and we saw all about the genetic manipulations that go into making a good loaf of bread. It was quite interesting and I remembered bits from A-level biology, but not remotely as much as i should remember. We then go to a modern art museum and give a presentation at a rotary club after dinner. You´d be so proud of me. I had to do a presentation with no powerpoint and no notes. And i didn´t panic! (I was too tired). Ok, so it wasn´t great. Being in a different language is never going to be as punchy as if it were an english crowd, but i did it and didn´t spend the whole night reliving how awful it was (i spent the whole night thinking someone was trying to break into the house because ceclia was away and i was on my own and i kept hearing noises-it takes your mind off a presentation somewhat). 

Anyway, it´s really nice to hear that some people are actually reading this blog and I look forward to catching up with everyone properly when we get back. Less than a week left!!!! 

Hasta luego
Zara

Hola

Hola,

Conference went really well and we were well recieved. The presentation was really good and the team all performed well and recieved a huge applause. We then went for dinner with huge amounts of meat! Boy am I glad Im vegetarian!  They have been great for us given they are not used to having vegetarians to stay. I have had some amazing foods and have had vegetables that I would not normally used to cooking. Squash has become my favouite along with roasted sweet potatoes.
We are now in Chivilcoy, very rural around the city centre and really lovely. Not  tourist attraction and not some where you would ever find if you were traveling.  This morning started with another radio programme but having been on 4 TV programmes and many different radio programmes we feel very proficient at working on live radio!
Yesterday we went to a huge wheat and Soya farm. I always thought farming was so simple, plough, plant, grow then harvest and start again. But no apparently there is a programme of developing better wheat seeds that takes up to ten years of nuturing and evaluating plants.
Since last writing the blog (time goes so fast here and we have next to no free time) we have done many things. David showed us all how to ride but sadly he and his horse and he chose to go oppersite ways, one minute hey ho silver the next a meeting with the dust!  We have done vocational visits and visits to Rotary projects. Met town mayors and as said completed many newspaper interviews as well as being on radio and tv.  It will be starange to return home without the celebrity hype that follows us here. Also we have allour meals cooked and served and freindships from some really lovely people.....so who wants to come home?

Sara

Wish I was with you

Hello,
I am sorry I have had to leave beautiful Argentina. I have had such a fantastic experience and I am glad that I did get to experience some of this great exchange. I will miss the food, the sites and most of all the wonderful people I have met along the way. People were so welcoming to me and nothing was too much trouble and one day I would love to return and visit the new friends I have met along the way.

I want to thank the team for their support, they are wonderful people and I cannot wait to see them all!

A big thank you to Sara and the Rotarians who helped me get home quickly, couldnt have done it without you.

Love Sam x

Oops

Hola, Buenos dias. Slight bad start to the day. My alarm didn´t go off, so i checked my phone at 10.15 when i should have been up at 08.30am! Serves me right for not getting up when i heard everyone else moving around! I just assumed they were up ridiculously early. Oh well. I have missed the possibibility to ride our host families horse, but i can live with that. In stead, I had a nice read, charged my ipod and caught up on my emails, so not completely wasted. Except i am hungry and dying for a coffee. I don´t function without caffeine.

So we are now in Mercedes. It´s been an up and down week, with Sam flying home. We´re sorry to lose her, but had a great trip whilst she was with us. Hopefully we´ll see her soon. The main reason for being in Mercedes is to attend the district conference, where we will be giving a presentation on Sunday morning. We will be updating the powerpoint later this afternoon, so not at all last minute. We hadve a formal lunch today and then a bus tour of the city. It´s actually starting to warm up a bit, so maybe we won´t need the jumpers today!

Last night, we went to the opening of the conference. It was interesting as nearly the only word i understood was cena - dinner! The dnner was great.  They forgot the vegetarians and had made a ham puree spinach pancake. Once they discovered vegetarians, they attempted a claim that we could remove the ham from the panake. This wouldn´t really work as we would just be left with a miniscule green pancake. Interesting. They then relented and gave us the vegetaables from the meat main course which was potato gratin and mashed squash. Foruntately we´d had a nice big lunch. We had entertainment in the form of a siging duo. I really enjoyed it, but i don´t think it was to the taste of all the group. There were then three songs where everyone was on the floor dancing, so i promptly hid in the bathrooms until it was over. There´s only so much time you can spend there without looking strange - i´m not quite sure i pulled it toff!

Anyhow, I better go and get ready for lunch. Fingers crossed for coffee.

Asta luego
Zara

casi tres semanas

Nearly three weeks in and there are signs that we may be flagging a little. Sara has an interminable cough, Jerusha and I have colds, Sam`s bordering on a cold and well Dave is just Dave : ) 

We`ve been famous this week. Yesterday we had a press conference with radio, television and newspapers and this morning we had another radio show. It`s very strange, but fortunately, the questions are slightly easier than the ones we faced last week at General Rodriguez. I can cope with questions like are you missing home - simple, not really! 

I went to a lab yesterday, which is run by this weeks foster father. He is a biochemist and runs a lab for a private hospital. I saw the testing of blood and urine samples. Again, I can`t believe how small the lab was and once again most of the testing is manual. I saw someone get pregnant - well not quite, I saw the pregnancy test stick change to positive ; ) and i also saw blood type testing, which whilst being really simple, i quite enjoyed. I think the regulations must be quite different though. I loved the champagne and grapes being in the fridge with the samples and pre-made media! 

There`s not too much else to report on. It`s our last night in Lobos tonight, so it`s a family dinner. Tomorrow, we are moving on to Mercedes where we will be delivering a presentation at the province of Buenos Aires district conference. We have finally been promised a day off though, so this friday i am really hoping for a lie in! I`m so completely shattered and feel rotten! We were outside today and my nose is so sore the wind was hurting it! 

On a side note - I now retract that the puppy is the cutest dog in the world. It has taken to trying to eat my feet and tear my trousers. Cats are so much more refined!

Hasta luego

Zara

Greetings from Lobos

Good morning,

Yesterday was a busy day with visits to the local schools. The students practiced their English asking questions about England and the lives of English teenagers. We all found this really interesting and valuable. In the evening we did our presentation it went really well and I was very proud of the team. It was difficult keeping the flow when working through interpreters but every one managed this very well and we had a good flow of questions after from the economy in England to how Rotary clubs run. The club of Lobos were really lovely and gave us gifts from their club. We have attached some photos for you to see.

Sara & Sam

Yo tengo cattaro

I have a cold - not fair :(

Zara

Muchos spaghettio

Ok, so that´s not a proper translation but it will probably be undestood by all. I don´t think i´ve ever eaten so much pastry, pasta, spinach and cheese! How i long for some plain rice or mashed potato.


There are a few comments i could make about posts from other people, but i shall refrain. Clubbing in Argentina is an éxperience´ (much like the experiences in Ingleterra), which i think says it all for those who know me. Not that it matters getting home at 6am, because it´s very windy today and so not really worth going out! Later we are going to some polo stables. That should be really good. We were supposed to see a match, but with the immense rainfall we had the other night, the game has been suspended. Hopefully we will get another chance to see a game at our final location. We did see a polo horse in training at somewhere important (i will find out), which was good. It was quite far away but thanks to an amzing zoom on my camera, i manahed to get some good pics.

Anyway, that´s not why i logged on today. My new family is amazing. Ok, so i can´t really communicate with them, but their house is enormous, i have a portable radiator in my room, they have the hottest showers i´ve had since being here and they have possibly the cutest dog i´ve ever seen. I don´t have a fantastic picture so far, but check out the image below. People who know me know that i really really do not like dogs, but this one may well convert me.

Possibly the cutest dog in the world!

Name sounds like Henrich, but i don´t think it is. I´ve asked too many times to ask again!

Thanks also to my previous family for hosting us in their lovely house. They gave me a bok on the history of General Rodriguez (the town). No gurantees, but i shall try my best to at least understand one pargraph!

Hace and familia

Looking forward to n interesting week. Ciao
Zara

Celebrity update

Hola,
We are now in the lovely city of Lobos where we had a great welcome form the Rotary Club, lunch and the opportunity to discuss our weeks itinery here.
We started with a football and tennis challenge, I am proud to report that David played on the winning side at football and struck the winning goal! Well done Dave!  Just as well because next we played tennis, I use the word 'played' carefully as although there were tennis rackets, balls and a great indoor court that is where the analagy ends! We were able to hit the ball, occationally and get it across the net though not always in the court...Wimbledon here we come with just a little practice. Next we destroyed the beautiful tango dance, well we tried hard and really enjoyed the lesson. We ended the day in a night club with our new Rotarian freinds, agood time was had by all!
Sara

'When will I , will I be famous?' (Bros circa 1990 - Push album!)

Well, time for another change of area and change of incredibly kind families.  Sara has covered the gist of our day yesterday so I shall concentrate on my vocation.

We visited the cctv base for General Rodreguez.  They have only had cctv for a year and have 30 cameras in total.  They are hoping to get 10 more.  They say that people feel safer knowing the cameras are there.  Some of the cameras watch the town square, which is just as well as the Mayor recently installed wi-fi in the park, genius! It was amazing to be in the middle of a park, getting my emails for free, fantastic idea.  We the went to see a small out of town holding base for detained people.  It only holds four people, men to be precise.  The cell has two moulded bunk beds so women have to go to another cell block in another town.  I had a good chat with the Chief of Police who gave me some insight in to the training process and general policing.

All police officers must be educated to at least GCSE equivalent level and be between the age of 18-30.  Up until about 2004-6 you could not join the police if you already had children, and before that only if you were single.  Another very recent change is that although officers still buy their own uniform and arms they are given the money from the State to do so.  Previously they had to fund it themselves.  When you join the police the expectation is for a 30 year career, but initially they sign up for 3 years to see how they get on. They have a mixture of classroom and practical lessons, with a mentoring process at the end.  There is no time limit to the mentoring, just when the officer is ready to be independant.  Similar to the UK police officers can be sacked but not made redundant.  The Chief told me that they have officers who do paperwork and they spend about 9hrs of their shift doing paperwork and about 3hrs on patrol.  Other officers only do patrol and spend all their time out and about.

The promotion process is different and is based around merits, seniority, qualifications and commendations rather than an exam.  They do however take exams for specialist roles.  During their career officers recertify annually, with specialist officers continually retraining throughout the year.

I asked about the arrest to court process.  In theory it is like England, but people can be detained for 15 days initailly or given bail.  They then go before a court but it may not be for several years, as I saw for myself at the previous police station.

I asked about the reputation of the police and their relationship with the community.  He told me that they work with Non-Governmental Organisations to design strategies to apply within the communities.  However, there was someone filming our meeting and an unknown man who interjected on my more invasive questions. I imagine that may have stifled some of our conversation in this area.

The Chief told me that they had 120 police for 90,000 people. I asked if he could have his ideal police force what would it look like.  Basicallly he said more officers, sounds familiar.

Overall a very interesting exchange.

The interviews have gone out on air and in the newspapers, we are officially celebrities.  We had more press today in the mayors office, all very strange!

Anyway, I am off to destroy the beautiful dance that is the tango!

Update you all soon, also please feel free to write comments, we are getting lonely!

Jerusha x

Buenos dias

Good morning,
As the team have said we have moved to our second area and again have been recieved really well by the new families every one is keen to make us feel at home and we feel very spoilt with attention. I could get very used to having all my meals provided and my every need anticipated in advance but with this we are treated as part of the family and made to feel very comfortable. As you have read we have had lots of visits which have been amazing and very interesting we have all gained professionally from these as well as understanding how the country works.  Last night we did our presentation to the Rotary Club of General Rodrigues it was a large meeting with families attending as well. Our presentation seemed to be well received though it is hard to keep to times when you have an interpreter! They seemed very interested in our work and were asking many questions about Rotary in England and especially the Rotary Club of Marlow Thames obviously! They were amazed at how many women members we have and questioned me many times, I think they thought my answer was confused by my lack of spanish comprehension but no we really do have many women in our club!
Today we have had a fantastic vocational day with all our needs being met. We started the morning by visiting the Major, he was keen to show us the best that his city has and with the support of our new Rotarian freinds we did this to the full.  I need to say now what a star Elena (I hope that is how you spell your name) has been. She has translated solidly scince we arrived here and has allowed us to ask the questions that make our vocational exchanges more meaningfull. I cannot praise or thank her enought. Following our majors reception we went to visit a centre for disabled adults. This was amazing and they seemed delighted to see us. One lovely guy, mingo , realised that it was the day of the wedding of Kate and William but was very concerned about the tornado because he thought it may ruin the day he was very pleased to hear that London was not near the tornado!  At this centre they made food for local people and complete work supported by local companies. We also visted a school for children with social and emotional difficulties. It was very ninteresting to hear about projects so similar to my own work and we were all very touched by the things we saw.  The team will update you on the other projects that we saw related to their fields of work but for me there was one further highlight in this very busy day and this was a visit to the Argentinian polo team training ground. We watched two of the horses in training though at a long distance but still a good way to finish the day.

Felicitaciones!

Congratulations to HRHs William and Kate. I saw the wedding this morning even though it meant getting up at 7am! I thought it very nice indeed and Westminster Abbey looked beautiful too.

Last day in General Rodriguez and we`ve just had dinner and given presents to the host family. It is all going well so far, although there seems to be a reluctance to try english tea with milk. I can`t understand it, but then i`m not a fan of lemon (unless it is lemon cake!).

I went to Just laboratories again and shadowed a girl performing water testing and bioburden testing. She didn`t speak any english, but explained it all in spanish as she went and it was amazing how much i could understand because i could piece it together with how I perform the process at Lonza. I really enjoyed it.

Apart from that, we went to a newly opening police station (more of a holding centre for people awaiting transfer to the main station). It was interesting and I got a great photo of Dave behind bars, but unfortunately he has forbidden me from putting it online. Other, less amusing, photo`s have been added to the end of this entry, so don`t foget to have a look!

Off to Lobos tomorrow and I have to come up with a cunning excuse to avoid the local disco. Wish me luck!

Zara

ps, we now have thunderstorms!!!!

Lovely people at Just

Looking good!

The Basilico (or Basilisk)

Loco Lola

Boca Stadium opposition change rooms (under the Boca fans who jump up and down continually to dstop the opposition players resting at half time!

My new family (sorry mum!)

Me, Sam and Juan Peron

The Eva Peron Foundation, pictued with the famous lady herself.

Hola Inglaterra

Hello, me again.  It has been a lovely week so far in General Rodriguez. The weather has been nice, but we`ve been inside on tours, so we`ve missed the sun (see i`m already making excuses for not having a tan on my return!). We are local celebrities and had interviews with the radio and newspapers - two papers were published today, so i will keep the cuttings to show interested parties upon our return.

We went to the Basilisk (ok, so it was the Basilica, but i keep wanting to say basilisk) which was nice. It was really interesting in the crypt because each country has it`s own little churhch area decorated in a way that represents the country. Some were really ornate and pretty. England was unfortunately sadly disappointing, with just a blank wall and a picture (supposed to be a major religious symbol in britain, but which none of us recognised!).

The area here is lovely, much safer and cleaner than the previous (which of course had it`s own charms), but what amazes me is the difference in all the house structures. It`s not like Home with so many houses looking alike, they are all diferent shapes, sizes and colours. I love the house i`m in, although i was slightly disappointed there is no swimming pool. The family are once again so lovely and welcoming - and really good cooks!

We had a formal presenttion yesetdray and after such a busy few weeks, i was far too exhausted to get as nervous as normal. It went ok, but it is slightly odd having everything you say translated. The team had very positive feedback though, so here`s hoping the conference will go just as well.

We all went round a cosmetics factory called Just the other day. It was amazing. I loved the level of organisation and the enivronmental awareness demosntarted by this company. Their Micro lab was tiny though - i don`t think i should ever complain about Lonza`s lab again (although i`m sure i will!). It was really interesting and I started talking shop with the guide, so they`ve arranged for me to go back there on my own tomorrow. I`m looking forward to it, but am not sure how mcuh time to ask to spend there.- I might well struggle to ask intelligent questions for 7hrs! (or intelligent questions at all - before some of you make that remark!)

Anyway, off to bed after an exhausting day of sitting (2hr lunch, 2.5hr drive and 3 hr bus tour!). It`s a hard life...
Zara

Que hicieron hoy? (what did you do today?)

Hola!

It might seem hard to believe but it is really difficult updating the blog.  We are kept occupied from the moment we wake until we fall in to bed after midnight.  But I have found a sneaky five minutes so I will do my best to bring you up to speed with what I have experienced.

As some of the others have covered we spent a day visiting the polictically historical parts of B.A on Easter Sunday.  Once I returned home to my family they were in the middle of a family gathering. They were keen for me to be involved.  Have you ever played Pictionary in a language that is not your own!? It was possibly the funniest thing I have done for a while, but also an effective way to learn new words.  I´d love to say my team won...but it didn´t.

On our second day in General Rodriguez we had two radio interviews and a newspaper interview.  It would appear we are a little bit famous.  That evening we attended a Rotary meeting in Luhan.

The following day we went to two factories. ´Just´ which is a Swiss owned cosmetics factory and La Serenisima which is the biggest dairy producer in Argentina.  The tour around ´Just´was really interesting, seeing how products are made starting from the buying in of the cleanest water.  The company has an excellent social ethos and has a partnership with a local project that assists people with disabilities.  They began employing people with disabilities 15 years ago, the first company in the area to do so.  They then donate what would equate to 10% of the employees wages backto the project.  La Serenisima started as a tiny two person family company and has grown to control 80% of the market.  I think the main highlight for Sam was seeing dulce de leche being made! Dulce de leche is basically type of condensed milk which is a bit like caramel.  It is everywhere here, as spread for toast, in cakes and even in soap!  We were lucky enough to come away with some free samples too.

In the evening our first official presentation.  It went really welland everyone seemed to enjoy it.  I am proud to say I delivered my introduction in Spanish! I will see how I get on with translating the rest of it.

This morning, 28th, Fernando brought round the newspaper the inerview had been printed in. We got a whole double page.  One of the radio interviews is due to go outat 2pm today aswell, but we will miss it.  We will have to try an get it on line later.

Hasta Luego!

Jerusha x

Estaba Buenisimo!

Hola!

Well its been a busy few days since I last wrote. One of the higlights of the past few days was going to visit the nearby city of Lujan. There is a stunning Basilica which literally takes your breath away when you see it! We had a tour round the crypt and had a look inside where they are currently carrying out repairs. We visited the Rotary Club of Lujan that night but aftr such a hectic day we were all vry tird when we finally got back to our familis in General Rodriguez.
Yesterday we had a very interesting tour around á cosmetics factory which was very interesting and then in the afternoon we had a tour around Las Ensimina which is a massive dairy producer in Argentina. The factory was immense and we had a guided tour around the factory and were able to ask lots of questions to our guide. We were even able to sample a lot of the products after and take some away with us. My favourite is the Le Duche Leche which I will be bringing as much back as I can in my suitcase! In the evening we had a Rotary meeting with the club of General Rodriquez and did our prsentation to them which they were all interested by. What put me prsonally to shame was the young 12 year old girl I sat nxt to to dinnr that could speak bettr English than I could! But it was a fantastic night and we had the opportunity to thank our host familis and the clubs enormous hospitaility.

Today we are heading back to Buenos Aires for a tour on an open top bus which will be great as the sites here are amazing.

Well thats enough from me, I hope all is well back home!

Adios!

Sam xxx

Hola!

Hola!

Very quick update from me before we head out to a cosmetic factory and a huge dairy production factory! The first week was amazing and I stayed with a lovely family - Omar et al. We are now in a new town called ´General Rodriquez´ and again we all feel lucky to be staying with such nice people. We visited the beautiful town of LuJan yesterday which had a stunning cathedral. We were given a tour and we were shown all the virgin marys´ from all the catholic countries of the world, it really was something. The weather yesterday was really warm and it is looking like it could easily be the same again today.... happy days!

Dave

Hola! Feliz pascua!

Hello and Happy Easter!

The first week is already over and we´ve done so much already! Admittedly, I haven´t posted anything about it, but there doesn´t seem to be any spare time!

I seem to be famous across the district but unfortunately it is only for being always being tired! I´m not used to having to do things every day. Plus the whole eating at 10 or 11pm and going to bed at 3am takes some getting used to (admittedly i´ve only stayed up to 3am once but the tiredness carries over!).

My foster family have been so lovely, it is a shame to leave them so soon - although i´m sure Rodriguez will be pleased to not have to sleep on his sisters floor anymore! I will certainly miss everyone, and say a sad farewell to Lola, the family dog. She is constantly running around in a frenzy (loco Lola) which really helps to distract people when i get stuck attempting a conversation. My spanish isn´t very good, i don´t have the ear for it, but i have a few words - mostly relating to I don´t understand!

The week has been action packed as the other posts have already said. I really enjoyed the day at Tigres yesterday. The boat trip was very relaxing, athough it coul havedne with being a touch warmer. I loved the mercado (market) which was all handcraft stalls. There´s some really interesting stuff made out of unwanted items essentially, but some of the items requie a lot of skill to make. I bought a very nice new bag seeing as mine broke on the first day and the price was a bargain!

I also had a fantastic time at the cosmetics lab i went to (and no, there is no need to protest about animal testing at this site- they send it out for someone else to do : p). It was really interesting to see a cosmetics lab and the process is pretty much all manual, so it´s proper science- just sloshing chemicals about (ok, so it wasn´t quite like that, but i loved the practical side). It was amazing how much I understood, even thouh the tour was in Spanish, just because i work in the same field. Although I think E. coli is fairly universal! I loved the tour and can´t wait for my next vocatinal visit.

The rotarians here are so lovely. They are really trying hard to speak English and the language barrier has actually been a great source of unity as each of you tries to understand the other (although i would like to know a bit more spanish - but hopefully i might even manage a sentence before the end of the month!).

I shall try to post more often, but now it is time for dinner.

Ciao,
Zara

more fotografia!

fotografia!

Cocinar con Gas!

Well we have had another action packed day in Buenos Aires. We all meet early to be taken on a bus down town to visit the cathedral, Florida Street and Casa Rosada (Pink House). We had a tour around Casa Rosada and were able to go onto the balcony where Eva Peron gave her famour speeches. After we went to the Recoleta (Cemetery) where the high society of Buenos Aires are buried. Eva Peron is buried here and I thought she would have had a more elaborate tomb but she is buried along with the rest of the Duarte family. We then went along to have lunch at a Panqueque House (Pancake). I had a savoury one followed by a sweet pancake which was smoothered in Le Dulcheleche which was immense! The Rotarians who have taken us out have been so nice and fun and we had an interesting tour with them. We were also able to meet 2 previous GSE team members which was good and we all had good fun trying out our new Spanish words or what is now effectionatly known as our ´Spanglish´.

Tonight is my last night with Roberto Fontanella who is Gobernador de Distrito (District Governor) before we move onto General Rodriguez and onto a new host family. Everyone is making us feel so welcome whilst we are here, it is really amazing.

Well thats enough from me for tonight. I am waiting to meet Robertos grandson Fransisco who is one years old before having some sushi with Roberto. We are currently watching Le Boca Juniors playing football and the commentators are screaming their heads off!

Adious!

Sammy (as Roberto now calls me which my mum calls me too)

Sunday 24th April

At last the system is working and I have access to the internet both at the same time!
Life has been really busy since we have arrived and there is so much to tell though Jerusha and Sam have pretty much covered the visits up to yesterday so here is my contribution with the bits that I have done without the team and some feelings and experience of Rotary in Argentina.
First, I am staying at The KafeeHaus with Hugo and Heidi they are just so lovely and have made life very comfortable for me here. Nothing is too much trouble for them and my stay wioth them has been very memorable, I will leave them tomorow with great sadness.
On our first day I hardly saw the team untill later that evening. I was taken to visit three schools for children and young people with disabilities. Partly these visits were arranged due to my vocation and partly as a Rotarian these form a large part of the work that the local Rotary clubs are doing here in Beunos Airies. The first was a very poor school, the children were mainly disabled due to lack of nutrition pre and after birth. The school receives very little funding from the government apart from the pay for the teachers. Rotary works hard to provide for their other needs. This consists of mainly providing materials for their learning. They make cakes and sweets as well as carpentery items and plants which they sell to buy more materials. The children learn skills in these areas that will help them get work in the future. The children are given two meals a day at school and without this they often go without food all day. The staff worked with groups of 10 or 12 children with none of the behaviours that we see at home. They are very committed and positive and show huge respect for the children and a true desire to make their lives better. During the school holidays they go to the school and hand out food to the children.  The second visit was to an adult work shop where they teach catering skills to people in wheelchairs. They also run projects to support families with children with physical disabilities including deafness. The staff work voluntarily in their spare time running classes within the community and using this money to provide the cooking materials needed for the disabled members that they help. They also support the social workers in finding adoptive families for the children who are abandoned. Lastly we went to a place, a day center though they still call it a school. Here the building was very basic. They teach skills in machining wash cloths, carpentery, mechanics and gardening as well as continuing education in readining, speach and writing. They were so gratefull for materials to fix the roof and spend their spare time doing the repairs them selves. They had little equipment and space and the people were lucky to get two sessions a week. Sessions are morning, afternoon and evening.
The day was very sad and made you realise what a materialistic society we live in. No one here seems to complain about cuts and lack of money just look to finding ways to make things better.  Later that evening we had a welcome dinner. We were made to feel very special and they made some very elequent and touching speaches to make us welcome. We then did our introductions, the team were very confident and spoke well and the audience were lovely I am very proud to say that I completed mine in spanish, they were very complimentary about my spanish, not sure if this was just politeness or if it was my amazing language skills!  Here the Rotary clubs mainly have their own buildings where they hold their meetings. During the days they rent these out and the money is used to support the fund raising and projects that they support.they cook their own meals as this also saves money and the lower subs which then makes Rotary open to more people.  Hugo is a Rotarian of 32 years and is both very knowledgeable about Rotary in Argentina and abroad. He was a team leader in England and then Germany and is able to share these experiences with me. He is also very astute as to the changes needed to keep Rotary going in the future.
District 4855 are as committed to the values of GSE as we are in 1090 and I have already met previous team members and leaders who are very supportive and enthusiastic about making our stay both valuable and enjoyable. Today we have had a fun packed day with a visit to the city centre. Tomorow we leave the lavely people that we have met and the great families who have given us homes to stay in and we move to the club of Gerneral Rodriguez which is the largest club in this district and 60k from the city center.

Panqueque!!

Today, Saturday 23rd April began at our usual meeting spot of the Kaffeehaus.  It is owned by Saras host family Heidi and Hugo (apologies if i have spelt names incorrectly).  I hate to admit it to anyone back home but the weather has been awful here, in contrast to the heatwave I know you are all enjoing, so today started well when I saw the sun!!

We travelled to la Catedral de San Isidro which was an amazing cathedral. It has been refurbished, so although it was built circa 1600, it looks about 50 years old, very odd, but very beautiful.  We then walked through gardens where people were setting up for market.  As it is Easter weekend they were expecting it to get particularly busy. On the other side of the gardens is a train station for the Tren de le Costa where we alighted and went to Delta.  At Delta we were greeted by the sight of an amusement park and the huge Trilenium casino, where we had lunch.  Just before lunch we had some time to spare and had a go on the machines where we worked out non of us were gamblers or had the slightest idea of how to play.  None the less I won $10, but like a true addict gambled it, only to win $20 and then gamble it all away!   But given that the exchange rate makes that about two pounds I wasn't too upset!  Lunch was fantastic and I had panqueque de manzana, which is an apple pancake flambed in rum.  Panqueque is also my new favourite word!

After lunch we went on a boat down the delta, which was just wonderful.  I got to see the Perfecturas which are the naval police, I imagine there are worse jobs to have.  The houses that line the delta are amazing and some of the most expensive in the area.  On arrival back in port we had a little bit of time to shop.  I bought a silver bombilla, which is essentially a straw.  It is used during the mate (mat-ay) ritual.  Yerba is a kind of tea that is served in a container called a mate and is drunk through a metal straw or bombilla.  The custom is that you pass the tea around the group, so it is quite an honour to be asked to share mate.

Anyway I must dash as we have a Rotary meeting tonight.  I will try and upload photos soon, technological ability willing!

Bye,

Jerusha x

Yay the internet is working!

Ola!

Fantastic, the internet is not crashing and I can update you with everything that has happened so far!

Well, after a long journey we finally touched down in Buenos Aires, where for me was when it all became a reality.  You would have thought the 24hrs travelling would have done that wouldn't you?! On arrival we were given an incredibly warm welcome and then promptly split up, which was a suprise as we had expected to stay together for the first week.  None the less I was taken to a place called Haedo Norte to stay with my host family Jorge and Laura and their children Bruno and Flavia.  They have been fantastic and are helping me with my non existant Spanish. With the help of a massive dictionary, google translate (thanks Bruno!) and wild gestures we are making ourselves understood.

After arrival I went out to lunch with my family to a restaurant and ate milanese which is thin steak covered in bread crumbs, with a side order of grilled instestines, a local delicacy i'm told! I had read about them and was dreading it, but they weren't too bad.  That evening the rest of the family came round for dinner which was fantastic if overwhelming.

I also got some amazing news.  I sat my sergeants exam before coming away and found out I have passed with an exceptional grade, so I am one happy bunny!

The next day we again had seperate experiences and went on our vocational visits.  I visited the Departmental Policia Cientifica San Martin which was really interesting.  I saw where they analyse bullets and cartridges, how they collect and anaylse finger prints and so forth.  They use the AFIS system like we do at home.  They do not have DNA at the moment though as they are having some Human Rights debates about it. Which is in contrast to what I then saw at the next place I went.  I went to a police station and saw where the women are held in custody.  All of the women were detained for murder or other serious offences yet suprisingly the atmosphere was really calm.  My translator Alex told me that it is hard to get excited by serious crime as it is so prevalent and the sentences are so light, for example murder carries an average sentence of 6 years.  I asked how long the women had been held at the police station and was told some of them had been there for over two years, some without even having a court appearance.  The reason they were there was because there was no space in prison.  The other massive difference was that the women were held 5 to 10 to a cell, the exception being a woman who had murdered her 4 year old son and was held alone for her own safety.  I also found out that the age of criminal responsbility is 18, and as a result they are having a massive problem with youth crime as they cannot be sent to prison.  I was told it was common for 12 year olds to carry guns and commit murder.  The police area I was in averaged 20 murders a month!!  They said some of it was down to a drug called paco, which is the waste product of cocaine.  It is so addictive that after 6 months on paco there is no turning back, you will die, which is a sobering and depressing thought.

I wasn't sure how I would be shown my vocation due to the corruption and levels of danger but it was amazing, really informative and enlightening.

That evening the group went to our first Rotary meeting.  I was sat next to Melissa, a 16 year old who is on a years exchange from Illanois.  She studied Spanish for two years at school prior to arrving in B.A and has been here for 8 months.  Her Spanish was amazing! I also felt a touch humbled by a 16yr old leaving home for a year.  She said she couldn't go back for visits as it would invalidate her visa. After dinner we were asked to give a very brief presentation, just introduce ourselves really, which was okay.  My family told me off for not doing it in Spanish and have now helped me translate it so I can do it at the next meeting!

On Thursday we largely mooched about, visiting a shopping centre and so forth.  In the evening my family had guests for dinner and i again did my best to keep up.  I have a note book where I update my new words for the day, like 'court' 'prison' and 'judge'.  When I get back from my days out my family and I sit down and I try to tell them what I've done.  Bit by bit I am recognising more words and can make myself understood which is brilliant. At breakfast each morning I do a recce of words i've learnt to see if i still remember them, I must sound silly saying 'knife' 'fork' 'table' (in Spanish obviously!) as I try to get it right.  Today nouns tomorrow the World!!

Today we had a really interesting day.  First off we went to La Boca and visited the stadium of the Boca Jnrs football team, which i'm told are quite famous.  We had a tour of the ground and even got to pose on the pitch with a replica trophy. We were told how they chose their team colours, basically it was because another team played in their colours and so they played a game and the team that lost had to find a new strip.  Boca jnrs lost and so decided that as they were by the river, their colours would be the colours of the flag of the next ship to arrive in the port.  It happened to be a Swedish ship so they play in blue and gold.  Apparently it is rude to call it yellow.  I imagine it would also be rude to suggest the stadium looks a bit like Ikea, but it does!! Considering i'm not a football fan it was still a great experience.  Next we went to the town of La Boca Caminita which is name after the founder for want of a better word of tango or tango music.  It is full of colourful buildings, restaurants and tango dancers.  It also has a sculpture of an enormous spider, the reasons for which is not entirely clear.

After that we drove to Puerto Madero which was like another World.  It is a bit like Canary Wharf with plush smart apartments, talls buildings and a Starbucks.  It couldn't be further from some of the other areas, which are in effect slums.

So far it has been a whirl wind of a trip with so much to digest.  Anyway, if you made it to the end of this epic entry, I thank you!  Hopefully I will not have any further internet issues and will update you on a daily basis.

Anyway, it is nearly 9pm, so nearly time for dinner!

Write again soon,

Jerusha

Buenos Tardes!

Ola,
Today we went on a great tour around the city centre of Buenos Aires. It was good fun and we all got some great pictures. The colours of some of the buildings by the port were so beautiful as well as the architecture of San Telmo and the more modern down town that has been redeveloped into a very modern city centre. David got quite over excited by Le Boca Juniors stadium and we had a great tour around the stadium and were allowed a photo on the pitch. The weather has been quite humid which is making me a little tired but I am having a nice meal with my host family tonight before I go to stay with the District Governor, Roberto Fontenella tomorrow.
Right well I am off and I hope to catch-up soon!
Adios!
Sam x

Mucho gusto!

Ola!

Apologies for not writing sooner but of course it has been so busy since we first arrived! We had such a great welcome reception from our hosts when we finally touched down in Buenos Aires. The journey is something I hope I forget after 4 weeks cos it really takes it out of you! But the team have all settled in with their host familes and we are all being so well looked after. So far we have done vocational visits, I went along to the Municiple buildings of this province of Buenos Aires, I have met the Mayor (the big boss) and sat in on a council session. I also went along to meet the Director of the Eva Peron Foundation which is a charity that provides medical and legal support to poor families there I was able to ask questions and have a tour around the centre. I then went onto meet vetarans of the Falklands War and was able to ask them questions through a translator. What was most interesting is that these veterans now have email contact with British veterans and visits are organised between the two countries.
We went along to our welcome meeting last night, it started at 10pm!! But that is how it is done here and we are quickly adjusting to this. The food and hospitality were fantastic and we look forward to going to the other clubs in Buenos Aires. We gave a breif presentation last night and had a translator present that reminded me of the training we did with Marius, we all coped well and we look forward to presenting as a team again.
I have to quickly mention my host family, Adrian, Patricia and baby Francisco. They do not speak English but they have been so kind to me. I have not been feeling well since I got here, my sinuses are hurting so much that it feels I have a migrane in my cheek but I have some medication and I hope it goes soon!
We are having so much fun trying to communicate with one another and the Spanish is coming along already. Adrian is the biggest Star Wars fan on the planet and he has a room dedicated to memorabilia that I have not seen in my life, it was the most surreal thing when he opened the door to show me. I will be sad to leave them as we get along so well, tonight his family are coming and I look forward to meeting them. They are Italian decent and I have shown Adrians mum pictures/maps of where my mum is from in Malta and she knows Malta well so it makes the world seem so much smaller. Adrian and Patricia live in an area which is controlled by security staff on entrance and exit, they said that only workers of the local factory live here. The area has a nice park and a church and the houses are spacious.
Well I am off now, got lots to do. I will write again soon!
Hasta Luego!
Sam x

Fw:

Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless device

-----Original Message-----
From: sambiddle83@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 2011 13:21:33
To: <district1090gse.secretWords@blogger.com>
Reply-To: sambiddle83@hotmail.com
Well done dave for getting the team upgraded to premium economy - those extra 5 inches of leg room make such a difference!

The team x

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Farewell Rally

We had such a great send off and it is all seems very real now! Just got my suitcase out and have started to put some bits in, I am sure lots will have to come out but I feel good for making a start. Been busy 'googling' all the places we are going to and I am so excited. I am sure this week at work will fly (hopefully).

Presentation training

Update from Sam
Must try and slow down when I am presenting! Good fun though!