Beautiful golden leaves on a sunny day last week.I only have a few moments between picking up my laundry and going to a colleague's for dinner (Gaby, she's one of our team members for Baradero), but I had planned to blog today since it's been so long. She's invited a couple who are originally from Rosario and have taken our training. They now live in Buenos Aires. It will be interesting to talk with them, and perhaps some of their Rosario contacts will be interested (we need to expand our team there from one to, well, more than one!). I'm also going to help her download Skype -- I've become the resident expert in Skype, scary for those of you who know my computer skills!
A burning bush in my neighborhood.It's still fall weather, and this morning it was 50 and cloudy as I ran some errands. There are still some leaves on the deciduous trees, and the hibiscus and bougainvillea continue to bloom. I only seem them close to my house, though, the rest of the way is all concrete, but the people-watching makes up for it. This evening as I went to get my laundry I saw lots of uniformed schoolchildren being walked home by their parents or grandparents. Very sweet!
The grill where we picked up some chicken a few weeks ago in Baradero.Miscellaneous thoughts about Argentina: I have heard from several people here (all Argentines, the one American I knew here has left the country), including an accountant, that one can't trust Argentine statistics. I was skeptical, and it took the BBC to convince me. In a recent BBC article about the farm crisis they note:
"In January 2007, the head of the consumer price index office at the INDEC national statistics agency was replaced, in what was widely seen as a politically motivated decision. Since then, leading economists, consumers' groups and even INDEC's own employees have regularly accused the government of manipulating the inflation figures. Officially, prices in Argentina rose by 8.5% in 2007. But at a demonstration two months ago in Buenos Aires, INDEC staff brandished placards alleging that the true inflation rate for the year was more than 22%. "
Here are links to some BBC articles about Argentina: This first article is a general overview of the country. In this beautiful city of Buenos Aires there really seem to be two cultures living side by side: here is the article. And here is an article on the Toba Indians, which is very similar information to what I hear about the Wichi, with whom I eventually hope to work.
