Mi Aventura Nueva... Buenos Aires!

Alas, I am settled in my new home of Buenos Aires, Argentina! I've been here for about a month and the time has just flown by. I'm living in a shared apartment with many other people, all here through the same organization, ranging from my age to mid-twenties, doing all sorts of things here. Some people are volunteering, some are learning Spanish, and many are taking the TEFL course (Teaching English as a Foreign Language), and are going to become English teachers here. They are from the U.S., Denmark, Australia, England, and Albania. It's a lively atmosphere and there is a constant energy as everyone bustles in and out of the house going along with their busy days.

The volunteering I do here is quite different than in Cusco. In Cusco I worked a lot with children, but I wanted to experience working with a new type of people, so now I am working in a soup kitchen called "El Comedor de Los Pibes." It's in La Boca, one of the poorest area in Buenos Aires. The comedor was started 14 years ago and began solely as a soup kitchen, but has now grown into an active community center. The idea of the comedor is that one must "work" for the food that they get.This basically means that the people must involve themselves somehow in an activity at the center. This can be taking an English or a computer course, helping out at the library or the office, sewing school uniforms that are given to the government, or even helping out in the kitchen itself.  They are also in the process of making a radio station as well as a center for drug addicts to come and make art projects. It's an inspiring place, and it's neat to see what a sense of purpose it gives the people who come here. In terms of my job here, I arrive at 9 in the morning and help make the food. The most fun to make is Milanesa, a popular food here which is pretty much Schnitzel. Making the food takes a few hours, and then the 60 or so people that work at the center come in for food, and we're busy with serving the people, washing the dishes quickly so they can be reused, and just keeping everything moving. In the kitchen I work alongside several Argentine women, some who clearly love the extra pair of hands and company, and some who like taking complete control and don't like to involve the volunteers. Thus, some days are busier than others. I think that some of the women feel a bit inferior and intimidated to the volunteers and therefore have difficulty asking them to do things. It's interesting talking with the various people who work at the center and come for lunch. I've had several conversations with a wise old man, Mario. After telling me about the books he's written about the Inquisition, and how much Walt Whitman has inspired him, he asked me if I wanted to listen to his music. Turns out he's a big fan of New Zealand rap. Says it keeps him moving throughout the day.

The days that I'm not in the soup kitchen are spent tutoring kids in math in the slum called Villa 21. The area is poverty stricken and apparently very dangerous. After I get off the bus with the other volunteers, a security guard walks with us to the room in which we tutor the kids. Tensions are high now because at the beginning of March the kids will be taking tests in math and English, and if they fail they don't pass the year and have to repeat the grade. Tutoring is a difficult task. The other day I had to explain quadratic functions. In Spanish. But the kids are sweet and appreciative of the help, and it's definitely very rewarding.

When I'm not volunteering, I am getting to know Buenos Aires. It's a happening city, with a HUGE active Jewish Population. There is even a Kosher McDonalds! (The ONLY one outside of Israel!) I've been there about 5 times already, making up for my lack of meat while living in Cusco. The joke in the house is, "Where's Avra?" "I don't know. Probably at Kosher McDonalds." There is so much to see here. I've been to the MALBA, the modern art museum here, where there was an awesome Andy Warhol exhibit, the zoo in Buenos Aires, the zoo in Lujan, about 2 hours outside the city (that's where I got to ride an elephant and kiss a tiger. Anyone seen my facebook profile picture?), and everyday on my way back from work I pass the Casa Rosada, which literally translates to the Pink House, which is the Buenos Aires version of the White House. On Thursday I marched with the Mothers of the Disappeared in Plaza de Mayo which was actually quite an emotional experience. Here's an explanation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mothers_of_the_Plaza_de_Mayo.

In terms of venturing outside of Buenos Aires, I took the ferry out to Tigre a few weekends ago, which is a nearby river. Last weekend I took a 17 hour busride and visited Iguazu Falls in the north of Argentina, which are these absolutely beautiful giant waterfalls. Apparently Eleanor Roosevelt visited them and her response: Poor, little Niagra...

And I can't forget to mention the little... adventure I had on the way back . Basically, I was told that I would definitely not need my passport because I'm not going out of the country. Just to be safe, I had a copy on me. Continuing along my path of awesome travel karma, the Argentine police came on our bus on the way back and asked to see everyone's passports. Apparently, my copy wasn't good enough, so the policemen told me to get off the bus immediately. I asked them what they were going to do once I got off the bus, and both the policemen made the handmotion for handcuffs and just stared at me. Somehow, one of the people that works on the bus came up and told me that I didn't have to get off, so I guess he saved my butt, so luckily I didn't have to spend the night in a creepy Argentine jail cell. Moral of the story- BRING YOUR PASSPORT.

So the plan is to continue living in Buenos Aires and then eventually make my way down to Patagonia in the South to do some volunteering there. I'll be sure to keep you posted!!