This week I had an epiphany. I believed it happened on Tuesday morning. I´m not sure where to start on this one. Perhaps generally:
At home, in Australia, there is such a need, such emphasis, placed on doing things quickly. Effectively, yet quickly. Paricularly work. If you don´t demonstrate this, or get good at doing things quickly quickly, then you´re not exactly hot property. I remember travelling in Vietnam and being astounded by people sitting in the streets, in alleys, cooking over hot charcoal blocks, playing backgammon, or gazing blankly from doorways, being. Without doing. Instantly I presumed they had nothing to do, ever, rather than attributing it to their attitude to work. No rush, no rush.
It´s the same in Argentina. They´re not renound for doing things quickly. It can often take hours to receive a café solo in a cafe in Buenos Aires. As I learnt the painful way through organising this trip with Lattitude, it took months to receive mere tidbits of useless information. If you look at this attitude the wrong way, it´s a pain in the arse. ·Scuse the rude·
And up until now, I have looked at it the wrong way. For some reason I´ve deliberately set myself outside of this attitude. I suppose being new, and volunteering, it´s important to make a good impression and to prove that you´re apt for hard yakka. I woke up earlier than usual, worked a little longer than what was needed. To make sure that the people who I´m staying with got the point.
However, Tuesday morning, I realised this is not neccessary. Argentines don´t pick this up, not at all. As long as the task set for you is done, sometime, that is enough.
Tuesday morning I slept in about half an hour, took my time washing my face. I did the dishes and swept the floor, whilst soaking up the crisp morning sun and singing aloud in the kitchen.
I then went upstairs whereupon I found Marta fixing up a jumper, and I went and got my new t-shirt with a hole in it, spending the next 45 minutes sewing on Marta´s bed. Trying to explain that Crowded House, el grupo de música en la radio ahora, son Australianas. De Melbourne. Mi ciudad tambien.
And in this glory time, I found much more pleasure than in the places I had been seeking. The routine of the day is constant here. It´s the little things like this in which you can identify afterwards and look back. It´s not about proving ourselves here, but about having the time and attitude to help when possible and to seek it out in new ways.
It´s so easy in Ascochinga also to nourish this attitude as it´s free from harm and intrusion. I only hope I can keep it a little bit when back in Australia.
This weekend I am back in Córdoba with Reuben and Michael. The kids from Buenos Aires are here as well, hopefully tomorrow we´ll see them. Tonight we ate at a Parrilla- a steakhouse, distinctly Cordobesa. It was probably the best steak I have ever had. It was served only with papas frites, but my, that was enough. So tender! We then went to see some ballet in Argentina´s oldest theatre. It was so beautiful. The dance was a contemporary piece, with some interesting music and concepts. We went for a debrief at the old fave icecreamery chain Grido Helado, and got chastised by the mate-sipping workers trying to speak English at us. Now, Reuben and Michael are asleep. It´s 2am, and the city is only just coming alive for friday night. I think I´ll stay up and read for a little while. We bought a second-hand guitar today, which will serve us real good. My fingers have lost their callouses after two months without playing, and tonight were rather clumsy on the strings again. I shall train them oncemore.
Tomorrow I´m getting my phone sorted out. Hopefully now I´ll have a number. We shall also visit some old churches and do some more exploring. And eat at a vegetarian place! So excited bout that one.
This afternoon me and the blokes stumbled upon this radicool independant theatre / cafe / art gallery / library which was super incredible. Luckily, there was a German girl doing an internship there who spoke English, and we had a good chat for about an hour or so. The place was incredible, very similar to La Mama in Melbourne. She offered me a criollito also which was just my luck. I got her facebook details, for reference in the future. Maybe I´ll come back and do an internship there also. Who knows? Tomorrow at midnight there´s a cello/ drums / vocals group which sounds amazing and we´re definitely tapping. Ah yes.
All good on the western front, team!
Love,
Georgia
Friday, September 11, 2009
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Hello Spring (for youse)
Why howdy!
Alas, more than two weeks of my placement here in Ascochinga have flown by. For those who don´t know, I´m staying at some form of Catholic mission for mentally disabled men. I´m here with two other Aussies, Reuben and Michael. They are good quality.
The owners of the place, Marta and Juan, are very kind, if not a bit blown away by our lack of Spanish. However, these two weeks have proved that the brain is incredibly adaptable. Putting aside the fact that I still can´t undertstand what they´re saying most of the time, my own knowledge is improving slowly but surely. It´s just their goddamn Argentine accents which make it confusing.
I write from a ´cibercafé´ in Jésus María, which is our closest point of contact with the outside world. Jesus Maria (bugger the accents) is home to 27,000 people, and boasts some amazing Jesuit mission ruins. We are yet to see them, but they are definitely on the list of things to do.
The weekends are very cruisy here. Basically we can do whatever we choose to. The public bus service here is astounding- Argentina created public buses- and offers us many choices as to where to explore. The Sierra Cordobas span along the west and supposedly have great hikes and waterfalls and fun things. We shall also be hitting this up. La Cumbre (about 30 kilometres away) is the ´pàragliding capital of the world´, supposedly, and I would heart a bitta paragliding. We´ll see what happens.
During the week is pretty easy also. We do work- our project is to paint the whole of the complex whilst we´re here. However seeing as I´m a lass I also help out in the kitchen and cleaning/ sweeping / mopping. It´s interesting that gender is so important here.
Between cleaning and painting we are given a mammoth 2.5 hour siesta break in the middle of the day. It has been decided upon that this is the best invention ever and that our motherland should adopt it. After eating such heavy food- pasta, beef, rice, beef, potatoes, beef and mucho pan, your belly is absolutely knackered. A siesta is a must. We also use this time to learn more Spanish.
So it´s spring over there! Back in Aus. Here, it´s not spring until the 21st, which is odd. However the days have been mostly sunny and beautiful (muy lindo) and my north American tan is not fading as quickly as I thought. The sky is so blue here and it is easy to see how Argentina got the colours of the flag when the grass is dry and the sky is blue and sun is shining merrily. Genial.
Until next time, take care chicos. I have consumed dos litros of Quilmes (amongst 2 others) prior to writing this blog so I may be a bit off. However, things here are very pleasant. I hope you are all well.
My love goes out to all.
GGG
Alas, more than two weeks of my placement here in Ascochinga have flown by. For those who don´t know, I´m staying at some form of Catholic mission for mentally disabled men. I´m here with two other Aussies, Reuben and Michael. They are good quality.
The owners of the place, Marta and Juan, are very kind, if not a bit blown away by our lack of Spanish. However, these two weeks have proved that the brain is incredibly adaptable. Putting aside the fact that I still can´t undertstand what they´re saying most of the time, my own knowledge is improving slowly but surely. It´s just their goddamn Argentine accents which make it confusing.
I write from a ´cibercafé´ in Jésus María, which is our closest point of contact with the outside world. Jesus Maria (bugger the accents) is home to 27,000 people, and boasts some amazing Jesuit mission ruins. We are yet to see them, but they are definitely on the list of things to do.
The weekends are very cruisy here. Basically we can do whatever we choose to. The public bus service here is astounding- Argentina created public buses- and offers us many choices as to where to explore. The Sierra Cordobas span along the west and supposedly have great hikes and waterfalls and fun things. We shall also be hitting this up. La Cumbre (about 30 kilometres away) is the ´pàragliding capital of the world´, supposedly, and I would heart a bitta paragliding. We´ll see what happens.
During the week is pretty easy also. We do work- our project is to paint the whole of the complex whilst we´re here. However seeing as I´m a lass I also help out in the kitchen and cleaning/ sweeping / mopping. It´s interesting that gender is so important here.
Between cleaning and painting we are given a mammoth 2.5 hour siesta break in the middle of the day. It has been decided upon that this is the best invention ever and that our motherland should adopt it. After eating such heavy food- pasta, beef, rice, beef, potatoes, beef and mucho pan, your belly is absolutely knackered. A siesta is a must. We also use this time to learn more Spanish.
So it´s spring over there! Back in Aus. Here, it´s not spring until the 21st, which is odd. However the days have been mostly sunny and beautiful (muy lindo) and my north American tan is not fading as quickly as I thought. The sky is so blue here and it is easy to see how Argentina got the colours of the flag when the grass is dry and the sky is blue and sun is shining merrily. Genial.
Until next time, take care chicos. I have consumed dos litros of Quilmes (amongst 2 others) prior to writing this blog so I may be a bit off. However, things here are very pleasant. I hope you are all well.
My love goes out to all.
GGG
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