My first major trip out of the coutry was when i was 9 and went to the Amazon with a large group of my family (menaing aunts, uncles, cousins, etc). We all travel via boat up and down the river for two weeks scouting out flora and fauna of all kinds. The most important advice i remember recieving from the fearless boat captain was "When birds are flying overhead, don´t look up and open your mouth." Apparently, the same is true in Argentina.
While I have never been pooped on by a bird before in my life, I have been hit twice since my arrival. Once when I was merely walking down the street and the other while sitting in a sidewalk cafe where my table was essentially dive bombed being hit a total of 5 times in one meal.
However, this saying can apply to more then just birds. Often while walking down the street here on a wonderuflly sunny and lovely day, random drops of liquid will fall. You can never be quite sure what it is or where it came from. More frieghtening, one must sometimes watch out for stones. Yesterday as i was leaving the train station, a new train pulled up with the last three cars very full of mostly men in red and white clothing. They were cheering and shouting so I assumed they could be nothing but River fans (one of the two big soccre teams here is BA). However, suddenly the guy walking behind me picked up a rock, flung it towards the train, and pushed me as he ran away (he did apologize though). Others where doign the same which of course promted a similar response of rock throwing from those on the train. I ran and hid behind a car while my friend stood on the tracks and watched. The policemen around did the same. No one was hurt, but it brought a whole new meaning to sports fans.
In other instances here in Argentina, the advice from the Amazon river boat captain can be taken more figurativly. For example, if you are a volunteer in say a type of abode for neglected children and there are lots of problems, you probably shouldn´t smile and let them, to be blunt, throw shit at you. And well this, my friends, is sadly what I have allowed to happend. So far my experience is not turning out to be what i was expecting or what i had discussed with the director before coming. Instead of working on projects to improve the lifes of the girls I have been assigned to work at nights which bascially means puting them to bed and waking them up and making breakfast. I am the only adult there from 10 pm until 8 am and am left trying to enforce rules that don´t exist and to understand the needs of girls i can´t pssibly begin to comprehend. For example, one girl told me her abdomen was hurting and i relpied "everyone goes to school tomorrow" thinking she had asked the schedule for the next day.
I at first thought this was going to be a temporary duty until they could find someone to hire to do it. Yesterday I had a somewhat akward talk with the director and staff where i learned that they actually have no intentions of the kind and are finding me to be wonderful and nice free labor saving them quite a bit. Thus, I have decided to move on. Hopefully within a week I will be moving out. I´m not sure what I will do next but I´sure it will be an adventure. And thus, i will continue to keep writing. so stay tuned. i feel the best is yet to come.
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