The Children of Beccar

Whether I am ready to confront some adoption-related issues or not, I am taking the plunge. I have just started volunteering at a children's home in Beccar, a middle class area north of Buenos Aires. No one uses the term "orphanage", only "hogar" (meaning "home"). Call it a euphemism if you'd like, but I think the distinction is so important. There are ten lovely children, between the ages of 6 and 13, four girls and six boys. Two of the boys lost their respective parents to HIV and are also HIV positive. There is a young girl that moved into the home recently whose uncle sexually abused her. It is clear that she is struggling socially, but the home can't afford to have her see a psychiatrist. The other children are healthy and come from relatively non-violent backgrounds (i.e. they have parents in jail, or with drug problems, or in poverty). Within moments of walking into the house, I had three kids wrapping themselves around me. They were instantly all intrigued by my shaved hair style and nose ring! Liliana (she runs the home) thinks it is good for the children to see "difference" in reference to how I dress as well as my cultural background. The children also don't speak any English, which is a little challenging at times, but it's a great opportunity for me to learn from them. They are all so sweet and affectionate. I left the home feeling a confused mix of happiness and despair. I knew that this wouldn't be easy for me emotionally and mentally, but it all hit me rather suddenly on the train home. I opened up to Jimena, my volunteer coordinator, about it and she offered some comfort. I kept alternating between thoughts of myself as an infant in the orphanage and thoughts of the children that I had just met. One thing that never changes when you grow older is the innate desire to be loved and cared for. Children and adults share such vulnerability always, but tend to respond differently when the desire is recognized. Somewhere along the way adults tend to create more distance among one another out of self-preservation (whether it is wise or not is irrelevant), but children tend to be open and accepting of anyone that wants to care for them. Maybe I am generalizing too much... but kids seem to want to tell you about their families, hobbies, friends, pets, interests, etc. within the first 15 minutes of meeting. Then they will have numerous questions to ask you about your personal life. Children are also constantly looking for contact comfort, which I think is another desire that we never lose with age, but for some reason the simple act of holding hands when you're an adult has exaggerated (in my opinion) implicit meanings of intimacy. The kids I met in Beccar were sitting in my lap and grabbing onto my hands within 5 minutes of being there. What happens to such comfortability and trust when we get older?

One Day At A Time

So I've made a few changes in my schedule here in Buenos Aires. I decided to start taking an intensive advanced Spanish course from 10 am - 1 pm Monday through Friday at the InterSpanish school, which is located in the same building as the Road2Argentina office (my volunteer organization). My class is so much fun... an awesome English/Australian girl named Natalie is the only other student in the class, and our teacher, Mago, is the sweetest. She is 24 and so charming. The three of us talk about anything and everything, all in Spanish of course. When we aren't doing grammar/reading/writing exercises we gossip and talk about our love lives and other girly things. Three solid hours of conversing in Spanish together is so helpful and fun. The three of us are getting close very quickly and my Spanish has definitely improved already, so I am super happy that I decided to take the class. Mago feels like a peer and a friend, not just our teacher, which is refreshing! She wants me and Natalie to come out with her soon to meet her friends and family. It's exciting to be building relationships with people from all over!!

As for the volunteer work in Pablo Nogues, I decided to put that on hold for the time being. The commute turned out to be a good hour and a half each way, and the area made me more uncomfortable than I expected. In general the families of Pablo Nogues are working class, so it is not considered one of the shantytowns, but there were a few things that made me dubious about whether I would even be able to get used the area. For example, the number of "street dogs"roaming the streets totally freaked me out. They are dying in the street, and it seems like no one cares enough to try to do anything about it.

Dale Dale Bocaaaaaa

The whole lot of us (about 15 Australian kids and I) went to our first Argentine football game last Sunday. What an experience. To say that Argentine football fans are passionate is a total understatement. Much to my relief our group stood in what seemed to be the calmest section of La Bombonera, the home stadium of the Boca Juniors. Still jam packed, complete with spiked barriers dividing each section as well as barbed wire. The cheering began before the game and didn't stop till the very end. It wasn't long before I found myself fighting my way closer to the field, joining the chanting, and shouting Spanish obscenities. The crowd's enthusiasm was certainly contagious, even for someone like myself who doesn't follow Argentine football. The chants were infectious and pretty easy to pick up. I would love to see a Boca game against River Plate (their arch rivals), but tickets are quite expensive and not easy to come by. Also, those games can be fatal to fans (seriously), so I think I'm content with just watching from the comfort of my own home!

This was us with our new Boca jerseys, excited for the game...

....versus the real Boca fans.

El Mercado de San Telmo

Today I spent all afternoon at the market in San Telmo. It was a gorgeous Spring day -- perfect for just wandering around the market and neighborhood. I got a little bit lost at one point... but San Telmo is a safe area and I hadn't been there before so I enjoyed the stroll. The market takes place every Sunday, and I already can't wait to go back. There were so many lovely trinkets, like vintage jewelry, these precious miniature tango shoes and leather bags. I wanted to buy a little bit of everything! But I resisted... with the exception of a beautiful ceramic mate that a local artist made. It is so unique and unlike any other mate that vendors usually sell. I was also able to get the price down, so it ended up being a bit of a steal. Mate is growing on me... and I couldn't leave Buenos Aires without one of my own, right? Some of the art was also stunning. I would like to go back and buy one of the pieces from the artist in the picture below.

I love it.

now I just need some herba mate!

I tried on a coral necklace from the 1940's! Pretty inexpensive, as well.

So tiny and fabulous!

leatherleatherleather

It is no rumor... there are tango performances in the street! She danced beautifully, and the gentleman was very charming. I might have accepted when he asked me to dance if there wasn't such a big audience!

Mom Troubles

For the second time now, Javiera lectured me about how terrible my eating habits are. I haven't been eating everything on my plate at dinner and for breakfast I usually have just a couple pieces of toast with butter (she would prefer me to have it with jam and dulce de leche...) or an apple. What she doesn't know is that I've been eating delicious empanadas, fruit and granola bars after or before dinner when I'm not around the house! I wish I could explain that I am not "the biggest fan" (total euphemism) of the meals that she has served, but I am afraid that I would terribly offend her. The worst was when she gave me a spoonful of vinegar mixed with soy sauce at 9:30 in the morning before class. She was cooking rice and vegetables in this strange mixture, and because I cringed at the taste she doesn't believe I eat ANY veggies. We also eat dinner around 7 pm every night, which is very unusual in Argentina! Most families have dinner around 10/10:30. I would like to be able to go out to eat with friends on what we call 'Argentime', order traditional Argentine dishes, and still try new things (just without the heckling). Javiera brought my health up again this evening at dinner when she had me try her strawberry jello for dessert even though I said I've never been keen on it. She said, "You are okay, Julita, because you are not fat or thin, but you are so short because you do not eat healthy." I couldn't help but to let out a chuckle. According to Javiera there is plenty of scientific research proving that an unhealthy diet stunts growth. She very seriously expressed concern for my health and from now on she is going to monitor my eating habits. I told her that my parents aren't worried about me and nor should she, but her response was, "They do not care about your health?" Talk about dramatic. Maybe I should change the name of this blog to "Living In An Argentine Soap Opera". Ay caramba!

The Recoleta Cemetery

my lovely friend, Freya, from Melbourne.