Disaster Relief

Once again I have had an eventful and exciting weekend. Friday afternoon I got together with some other exchange students and Argentine tutors to help out in Mendiolaza, an area about 25 minutes from where I live.

For those who haven't heard, Cordoba and the surrounding region received an abnormal amount of rain this month. There was so much rain within a short period of time that some areas were placed under a "state of emergency" and troops were deployed to assist with relief. There was tons of flooding, at least 1,500 houses were effected and around 10 people died (the number hasn't been finalized yet).

People in my area had told me that the rain had been pretty bad but didn't prepare me for what I saw when I got there. With two bridges completely taken out, roads and homes flooded, and many places completely destroyed, there was a desperate need that hasn't been met.

This woman's house was right next to the river, flooding her house and leaving about one foot of mud on top of her front and back yards.

Every house we visited did not have working electricity, they were working to get the water back and running, and everything in the houses had been completely submerged under water. 

Every house had removed everything from inside and placed anything salvageable out in the yards to dry. The rest went into huge trash mounds in front of the houses. 

The families told stories of water reaching chest high, trying to salvage anything, damage to cars, lack of beds, having no clothes, or their children being without basic necessities, and no toys left. 

We found a teddy bear near the river that had been destroyed by the flooding.

One of the saddest parts was that there were very few people around to help. Our large group was able to help but there was still so much to do and some of the only other people were police. At least they were nice and working hard to help. 

The following pictures are from the time we spent in Mendiolaza. We are hoping to go back again this week. There is so much need and so much to be done. 

We worked hard but managed to have fun doing it! 

One of the saddest things I saw. Two young girls carrying donated clothes home. One was shoeless. 

Carrying donated goods 

This woman lost pretty much everything except her dogs, her family, a few plates and some chairs but had a wonderful attitude. She was extremely thankful for the help and when we asked her if there was anything she needed her only response was "We are doing really good. The only thing we could use is shoes but other than that, I think we are fine!" She said that as she was standing in torn clothing in front of her empty, water damaged house that still had standing water in the destroyed kitchen. 

This 2 1/2 year old wanted to be held but would not smile and was not interested in playing. She was scared to be away from me or her mother for any amount of time. 

As typical as Argentina gets, every house had Mate (similar to tea) to offer, even though they didn't have anything else. Everyone that helped was offered Mate. Mate was originally used by the indigenous people in Argentina as a way to help get through a long day of work. The tradition still stands today 

This was the owner of one of the houses she worked on. She was extremely thankful for all the help. She told us that a 4 year old and an 8 month old baby normally live in her house and that they were there when the flooding occurred. 

A Silent March for Justice

Yesterday I went to the downtown portion of my city, also known as the "centro" to walk around with a friend and look at some shops. You can buy just about anything in the centro and chances are, it's cheaper than other places in the city. I have discovered that if someone doesn't know where you can find or buy something, they will happily tell you that it is in the centro.

I had been told that there was going to be a march downtown and that I might get to see it. I had also been told that it would be a big deal in Buenos Aires but that the one in Cordoba wouldn't be as big. Needless to say, I was a little curious..

Around 7pm my friend, Carly, and I had finished looking at shops and started looking for our bus stop. As we were walking, we noticed several streets had been blocked off by police and lots of people were headed in the same direction. Being the curious exchange students we are, we happily followed along and found ourselves in the middle of a scene that can only be described in pictures.

It was a "silent march" which basically meant that rather than lots of shouting and chanting the crowd was calm. Every few minutes they would begin to clap in a synchronized rhythm and then it would die down. At one point the crowd began to sing the national anthem softly, letting it slowly grow louder.

Only afterwards did I find out what the demonstration was actually about. Yesterday was the one month anniversary of the mysterious death of a man who had been investigating some questionable occurrences in the argentine government. The man, Alberto Nisman had been scheduled to present his investigation on the government events just days after his death. Because of his death, many carried signs with "justice" written on them, and others carried argentine flags. 

Saturday School and Kitchen Table Church

Saturday School

Estancia Jesuítica de Jesús María

This weekend has been full of new experiences and getting the most out of my time here in Argentina. Saturday the 14th (Valentines Day) was spent with my classmates and culture professor. We met up early at my university and took a bus to a Jesuit estancia about an hour outside the city. A lot of the tutors (Argentine students) came as well. We spent the morning touring the estancia, looking at artifacts and learning more about the Jesuits. This week we have had multiple classes, watched two documentaries and visited multiple historical sites to learn about the Jesuits arrival and expulsion in Cordoba. We have to turn in a paper about the Jesuits in Cordoba this upcoming Wednesday, in Spanish of course! I think I have had enough history about the Jesuits to last me a very long time. At least I can say I have learned a lot in my first full week of class!

Inside the courtyard of the Estancia 

Saturday afternoon we went to a "country club" nearby that had a pool, an area to play sports, and a large room where we were served lunch. It was fun to be able to have free time all together and a chance to hang out with some of the Argentine students. Now that we have been here for a week and a half everyone's Spanish has improved and it's easier to hang out and chat with the Argentines.

Exchange students form US, Japan and Canada with some of the Argentine tutors 

Kitchen Table Church

Late Saturday night it started raining heavily and has continued throughout Sunday. It was raining so hard Sunday morning that the roads were flooded and it was unsafe to drive. With my host family's church only having 15-20 people, they made a few calls and cancelled service. Instead of going to church my host parents, host aunt, a neighbor and I had church around the kitchen table. They sang several songs, picked a passage and prayed together. If I thought last week at church was different from what I am accustomed to, I was clearly not prepared for this week. Their expression of faith is completely different from what I have grown up around but I can benefit by learning about their dedication to what they believe.

First Week in Argentina

Trying to summarize all that has occurred in that past week is impossible but I will give it my best shot..

My bedroom in my 1st home

I arrived in Cordoba, Argentina on Wednesday, Feb. 4, 2015 from Sao Paulo, Brazil with a connection in Buenos Aires. I was greeted by both of my host mothers. From the airport I was brought to my 2nd family's home to have an afternoon snack and meet my host parents before going to my 1st family's home to move in. My 2nd family will be on vacation for the month of February.

Cordoba from the plane 

In this week I have done about 1,000 things including: a city tour, a tour of the jesuit buildings downtown, several history and Spanish classes, orientations, several visits to a local cafe, lots of walking, finding a place to buy a bus card, and then using that respective bus card, learning how to put credit on my prepay phone, playing late night soccer, learning how to take a Remi (a type of taxi that is green and you have to call for rather than waving down from the street) and so so many more things.

Cathedral in downtown Cordoba

Every day I take on new little challenges that incorporate using my new Spanish skills, learning the city and getting things done. It may be as simple as finding somewhere to buy insect repellant (and then having to request it- that stuff doesn't get put on a regular shelf) or as complicated is taking a 40 minute bus ride to the downtown area.

Empanada- they come baked or fried and filled with different things. These ones are filled with beef. 

My intention these 5 months in Argentina is to post pictures but also to post about some of the particularly unique experiences I have here. Keep checking back, I will be posting about my first church experience very soon!