This week is orientation at UCA for international students. It´s been really cool to see and meet the over 100 international students here for the semester. They did a shout out to all the different countries...here are the ones i remember that are represented: US, France, Germany, Switzerland, Holland, Austria, Canada, England, Italy, Colombia, Brazil, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand. Among the ones we´ve gotten to know are a girl from Chicago who goes to school in TX, a girl from Arizona, a girl from San Diego, aaaannnnnddd an international affairs major from Georgia Tech! Her name is Lexi Pardee, some of you know her, and i´ve had several classes with her before, but never really talked to her.
Meeting all of these people and seeing the varying levels of spanish ability has been really encouraging for me as far as taking classes goes. I´ve been very conscerned about how I would do taking classes in spanish. This was also feeding my doubts about being here in general, but the Lord has been so faithful in showing me that this is where I am supposed to be, so I knew I just needed to humble myself to his will and see how he would provide. He definitely is, and I have gone from being a nervous wreck who would burst into tears at the thought of taking classes at UCA to being truly excited!
Some more fun news is that we have a week off next week before classes start, so Caitlin and I are scheming with our travel agent connection down here to figure out how to best use that time. As it turns out, the structure of the semester is very different from home. The semester lasts from beginning of march to the end of june with no holidays, and you are required to attend 75% of each class. Then, all of July is exams and no class. Advantages are that exams are much more spread out, and I would imagine the suicide\hypertension\depression rate is much lower among college students(ps I don´t know what hypertension is but it sounds very applicable). Also, we are hoping this will allow for some travelling in that month and maybe some extra volunteering time. Disadvantages are that there will be no opportunities for anything more than a weekend trip after the semester starts. This makes it tough to take advantage of all the different regions of Argentina, as they are very spread out. Hopefully we will be able to tell you wonderful things after next week about Uraguay, Iguazu Falls, Bariloche, or some other regions we´re considering for our week off.
Internet update: We are currently trying another route. A different company installs internet that´s not wireless(a Techie should know what this is called, but I don´t) so we´re going to see if they actually keep appointments, but we´re not getting our hopes up and neither should you :( We are very anxious to skype all of you and to be able to do a more thorough job of keeping in touch, but the Lord is teaching us a lot through all of this. For example, appreciation of how so much of the rest of the world lives, patience and understanding, and most of all increasing our dependence on God and deepening our relationship with Him when we can´t be in touch with all of you. You all are such a source of joy, growth, and encouragement for us, and right now God is showing us how he is the source of those things in you and we can find them eternally and completely in him even when we are not near you. Know that even when we can´t hear your voices or see your faces, your prayers are being powerfully felt and seen answered in every moment down here. So keep it up and so will we! WE LOVE YOU!
Now we´re off to ride bikes in an ecological reserve on the river that we have been led to believe borders the whole city. We have yet to see it on anything but maps after being here for almost a month(can you believe it???), so we´ll let you know if we finally find it. Supposedly it has receded a lot over the years...
If it´s cold in GA today, just think of us and how much we´re sweating and you´ll get all warm and tingly inside:)
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Sunday, February 24, 2008
Tango, Peanut Butter, and Jesus
Thursday night, three of the Spanish teachers from our Spanish school took us out to a tango club. We felt really cool to be invited somewhere not in our guidebooks. The venue was called “La Catedral”. From the street it looks pretty sketch, but inside there is a warehouse-sized room with a dance floor (of course), dim lighting, and an eclectic mix of art on the walls. We learned some of the basic moves…but unfortunately, I am still very much a white girl so I don’t think I’ll be mastering the sexy Argentine tango flava any time soon.
Normally packages come to your door, right? Not in Argentina. They have decided that it is much easier to send a package notification to your house, requiring that you find the international post office, whose street address is not on any map, and once you find the office, wait an hour to pick up your package. I confess that I doubted that my mom’s package of peanut butter was worth all the trouble, but once Darrah and I arrived home and feasted on the creamy JIF goodness, all was well. However, Saturday I received another package notification and Darrah is expecting one this week…I guess we’ll just bring a book and peanut butter to keep ourselves satisfied during or next hour wait at the post office.
Friday afternoon some of the girls we met at church last Sunday met us for coffee so we could get to know each other. There were three girls around our age and an older woman who works as the church social worker. Our entire conversation, mind you, was in Español, so I’m hoping that everything I think I understood is indeed correct. The older woman invited us to join their small group Bible study on Fridays, which is such an answer to prayer. We have been asking the Lord for community and discipleship opportunities and he is definitely providing. On Friday we talked about being ambassadors of Christ outside the four walls of the Church. These women have such awesome vision for using where the Lord has placed them as a place for ministry. I am praying that God will provide opportunities for us to grow in friendship with these women and learn from what God is doing in and through them.
Church was wonderful this morning. Granted, we still didn’t understand the whole sermon, but we’re improving. This morning we sang “Here I am to Worship” in Spanish. We were standing there, singing the same song in English, and we realized how that moment was such a beautiful glimpse into the glory of God’s kingdom. Philippians 2:10-11 says, “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.” We worshiped with a global body of believers this morning. People were singing “Here I am to Worship” in hundreds of languages. How cool is that?! We serve a great God indeed.
The afternoon was wonderful as well. Darrah triumphed over the impossible bus system and navigated our way across town where we met up with about 25-30 girls from the church between the ages of 11 and 32. We went to a huge park to play, chat, and drink “mate”, the national drink of Argentina. Now…let me pause for a moment to describe mate (but you should google it for further detail)…it is a communal drink that consists of yerba leaves, hot water, and sugar and you pass it around, all sharing the same straw. I know what many of you are thinking…Caitlin Cornwell?!...sharing a straw???!!! Well, you should know that I think I might have done away with my germ-phobia today (and this is coming from a girl who never goes anywhere without hand sanitizer). I seriously loved mate. It was an interesting taste, but I really just liked the idea of it…it’s meant to be shared in community with a bunch of people sitting around talking and enjoying it together. As I looked around the park, I realized how many people were doing the same thing…not necessarily drinking mate, but just playing, talking, and enjoying the company of friends and family. People rest on Sunday. Almost no stores are open and everyone takes the day to relax and have a good time. It’s a far cry from America where the only thing closed on Sunday is Chick-fil-a.
Oh yeah…I just have to give a little shout out to my Carolina roots. The girl who we have gotten to know the most at church, Maria Laura, studied English in the States for four months last year, so she has a lot of clothes and jewelry from the US. But this afternoon, you will be pleased to know, she showed up in head-to-toe Carolina blue…seriously, Tar Heel shirt and pants. She said they were a gift from a friend in the States. I have yet to find a bulldog, but I’m sure one will turn up soon.
Love y’all,
Caitlin
Normally packages come to your door, right? Not in Argentina. They have decided that it is much easier to send a package notification to your house, requiring that you find the international post office, whose street address is not on any map, and once you find the office, wait an hour to pick up your package. I confess that I doubted that my mom’s package of peanut butter was worth all the trouble, but once Darrah and I arrived home and feasted on the creamy JIF goodness, all was well. However, Saturday I received another package notification and Darrah is expecting one this week…I guess we’ll just bring a book and peanut butter to keep ourselves satisfied during or next hour wait at the post office.
Friday afternoon some of the girls we met at church last Sunday met us for coffee so we could get to know each other. There were three girls around our age and an older woman who works as the church social worker. Our entire conversation, mind you, was in Español, so I’m hoping that everything I think I understood is indeed correct. The older woman invited us to join their small group Bible study on Fridays, which is such an answer to prayer. We have been asking the Lord for community and discipleship opportunities and he is definitely providing. On Friday we talked about being ambassadors of Christ outside the four walls of the Church. These women have such awesome vision for using where the Lord has placed them as a place for ministry. I am praying that God will provide opportunities for us to grow in friendship with these women and learn from what God is doing in and through them.
Church was wonderful this morning. Granted, we still didn’t understand the whole sermon, but we’re improving. This morning we sang “Here I am to Worship” in Spanish. We were standing there, singing the same song in English, and we realized how that moment was such a beautiful glimpse into the glory of God’s kingdom. Philippians 2:10-11 says, “…at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the Glory of God the Father.” We worshiped with a global body of believers this morning. People were singing “Here I am to Worship” in hundreds of languages. How cool is that?! We serve a great God indeed.
The afternoon was wonderful as well. Darrah triumphed over the impossible bus system and navigated our way across town where we met up with about 25-30 girls from the church between the ages of 11 and 32. We went to a huge park to play, chat, and drink “mate”, the national drink of Argentina. Now…let me pause for a moment to describe mate (but you should google it for further detail)…it is a communal drink that consists of yerba leaves, hot water, and sugar and you pass it around, all sharing the same straw. I know what many of you are thinking…Caitlin Cornwell?!...sharing a straw???!!! Well, you should know that I think I might have done away with my germ-phobia today (and this is coming from a girl who never goes anywhere without hand sanitizer). I seriously loved mate. It was an interesting taste, but I really just liked the idea of it…it’s meant to be shared in community with a bunch of people sitting around talking and enjoying it together. As I looked around the park, I realized how many people were doing the same thing…not necessarily drinking mate, but just playing, talking, and enjoying the company of friends and family. People rest on Sunday. Almost no stores are open and everyone takes the day to relax and have a good time. It’s a far cry from America where the only thing closed on Sunday is Chick-fil-a.
Oh yeah…I just have to give a little shout out to my Carolina roots. The girl who we have gotten to know the most at church, Maria Laura, studied English in the States for four months last year, so she has a lot of clothes and jewelry from the US. But this afternoon, you will be pleased to know, she showed up in head-to-toe Carolina blue…seriously, Tar Heel shirt and pants. She said they were a gift from a friend in the States. I have yet to find a bulldog, but I’m sure one will turn up soon.
Love y’all,
Caitlin
Monday, February 18, 2008
probably so long that only our parents will read it...
Cultural blending 101
Our experience of culture shock has had two stages: 1) diving head first into the deepend on the first day and over the next few days doing what we could to keep our head above water(can’t see the forest for the trees kind of thing) until we got to the side of the pool where we got out and went for stage 2) taking the steps one by one into the shallow end and gradually being more and more exposed to the little details that will help us to eventually swim in the pool that is Argentina. Aren’t I so insightful? Here are some tidbits for you:
The other night Caitlin and I went out in Palermo to a restaurant/bar called Limbo with a friend of a friend and all of her friends from her Spanish class. We met at 11:30 b/c that’s the normal time to begin your evening, and upon entering saw at least 5 children under the age of 6 running around. This is also normal, we’ve come to learn, and there were little kids still running around at the party we went to last weekend when we left at 2 am. Among the people we hung out with that night were a girl from Holland, a Norwegian boy, a few Swedes, a couple of Brits, a Brazilian girl, and a yankee (New Yorker to be exact). There were 5 different native languages alone, not even counting the varying dialects of the redneck, the Brits, and the yankee, and countless spoken languages. But with all of these options, the one language we could all communicate in was English. This stirred up mixed emotions of excitement that I would actually be able to participate in the conversation and embarrassment that we were the only ones who were not proficient in another language besides our own. You can only imagine how all of us sound in Spanish…our poor waitress.
ATMs are almost all inside banks. Banks are only open from 10 am to 3 pm. If you’re counting, yes, that is a five hour workday. It’s a rough life as an Argentine worker. When we need money and can’t go to a bank between those hours, we’ve found an ATM at the Village where the McDonald’s is. The only problem is that about 3 out of 5 times we’ve tried to use it, it has “run out of cash”. Did you know this was possible? I didn’t, and I confess that the impatient American comes out in me at moments like these, and I get frustrated.
Caitlin and I have to go to the grocery store at least every other or every third day. This is due to the fact that cereal boxes, loaves of bread, portions of lunch meat, and every other item we purchase come in quantities about a third of what we buy at home. The phenomenon of “family size” does not exist here. Our hostess Amalia has been dumbfounded b/c she supplies our breakfast and has to get us a new box of cereal twice a week. We have hidden the fact that in between we buy our own b/c we are embarrassed to have to ask for more.
There are no black people here. We have started a count, and we are up to 3 in 2 ½ weeks. When we mentioned this to our Spanish instructor he enlightened us on the historical explanation for this: In the war between Brazil, Argentina, Uraguay, and Paraguay, black people were always used on the front lines. This resulted in a tragic near extermination of a race that had contributed so much to the cultural diversity and uniqueness of Argentina.
Chivalry is still very engrained in the culture here. For example, on the bus, men who got to the bus stop first will step aside and let the women board before them. Once on the bus, men will never take an open seat if there is a woman who might want it. And, when a woman who is older, pregnant, traveling with a child, or even carrying stuff a man will stand up and she will take it. Most of the time these interactions aren’t even acknowledged between the man and the woman. We’ve found that we give ourselves away as foreigners when we thank the men for their acts of kindness b/c that’s just the way things are done.
Oh, and if you’re curious where I found the time to post such a detailed update, it’s b/c I have been typing it up in Word while sitting at the apartment all day in anticipation of putting it online. “But, Darrah, why are you at the apartment all day when you should be out living life as an Argentine?” That is b/c after two weeks of trying to get in touch with someone at the internet provider, we were finally promised that an installer would come between 8:30 am and 1:30 pm on Monday, so don’t leave. It’s now 2 pm…still waiting…praying for patience.
Our experience of culture shock has had two stages: 1) diving head first into the deepend on the first day and over the next few days doing what we could to keep our head above water(can’t see the forest for the trees kind of thing) until we got to the side of the pool where we got out and went for stage 2) taking the steps one by one into the shallow end and gradually being more and more exposed to the little details that will help us to eventually swim in the pool that is Argentina. Aren’t I so insightful? Here are some tidbits for you:
The other night Caitlin and I went out in Palermo to a restaurant/bar called Limbo with a friend of a friend and all of her friends from her Spanish class. We met at 11:30 b/c that’s the normal time to begin your evening, and upon entering saw at least 5 children under the age of 6 running around. This is also normal, we’ve come to learn, and there were little kids still running around at the party we went to last weekend when we left at 2 am. Among the people we hung out with that night were a girl from Holland, a Norwegian boy, a few Swedes, a couple of Brits, a Brazilian girl, and a yankee (New Yorker to be exact). There were 5 different native languages alone, not even counting the varying dialects of the redneck, the Brits, and the yankee, and countless spoken languages. But with all of these options, the one language we could all communicate in was English. This stirred up mixed emotions of excitement that I would actually be able to participate in the conversation and embarrassment that we were the only ones who were not proficient in another language besides our own. You can only imagine how all of us sound in Spanish…our poor waitress.
ATMs are almost all inside banks. Banks are only open from 10 am to 3 pm. If you’re counting, yes, that is a five hour workday. It’s a rough life as an Argentine worker. When we need money and can’t go to a bank between those hours, we’ve found an ATM at the Village where the McDonald’s is. The only problem is that about 3 out of 5 times we’ve tried to use it, it has “run out of cash”. Did you know this was possible? I didn’t, and I confess that the impatient American comes out in me at moments like these, and I get frustrated.
Caitlin and I have to go to the grocery store at least every other or every third day. This is due to the fact that cereal boxes, loaves of bread, portions of lunch meat, and every other item we purchase come in quantities about a third of what we buy at home. The phenomenon of “family size” does not exist here. Our hostess Amalia has been dumbfounded b/c she supplies our breakfast and has to get us a new box of cereal twice a week. We have hidden the fact that in between we buy our own b/c we are embarrassed to have to ask for more.
There are no black people here. We have started a count, and we are up to 3 in 2 ½ weeks. When we mentioned this to our Spanish instructor he enlightened us on the historical explanation for this: In the war between Brazil, Argentina, Uraguay, and Paraguay, black people were always used on the front lines. This resulted in a tragic near extermination of a race that had contributed so much to the cultural diversity and uniqueness of Argentina.
Chivalry is still very engrained in the culture here. For example, on the bus, men who got to the bus stop first will step aside and let the women board before them. Once on the bus, men will never take an open seat if there is a woman who might want it. And, when a woman who is older, pregnant, traveling with a child, or even carrying stuff a man will stand up and she will take it. Most of the time these interactions aren’t even acknowledged between the man and the woman. We’ve found that we give ourselves away as foreigners when we thank the men for their acts of kindness b/c that’s just the way things are done.
Oh, and if you’re curious where I found the time to post such a detailed update, it’s b/c I have been typing it up in Word while sitting at the apartment all day in anticipation of putting it online. “But, Darrah, why are you at the apartment all day when you should be out living life as an Argentine?” That is b/c after two weeks of trying to get in touch with someone at the internet provider, we were finally promised that an installer would come between 8:30 am and 1:30 pm on Monday, so don’t leave. It’s now 2 pm…still waiting…praying for patience.
Sunday, February 17, 2008
Iglesia!
We found the church! Praise God! He led us right to it and we were pretty much on time...It is called La Mission and it is a church planted by an Argentine from Redeemer, Tim Keller's church in NYC. It is in a neighborhood called Flores that is still in a poorer part of the city. We walked up to doors wide open with singing to be heard from the streets and friendly faces to greet us with a kiss upon walking in. They sent us up to the balcony, as the lower level was full, where we joined in on the worship. The whole service was very similar to what we have at our churches back home, only in spanish. At the end of the service we were called to pray with those around us(or so we assume as that's what everyone started doing) and a woman and her husband came to pray with us. The woman prayed mostly, and while I didn't understand everything, I felt the Spirit in her lifting up my spirit as she prayed for us, su hermanas(her sisters). As I looked around and saw and heard believers embracing and lifting up theri prayers to God in another language on another continent I was overcome by a spirit of joy and power in faith in a God who holds the world in His hands, and each of us therein.
After the service we were greeted by some members, in particular Beti and her sister who are around our age and want to hang out with us and introduce us to the other members our age!
Caitlin and I were moved b/c one can be confident in Argentina that those who claim to be evangelical Christians are absolutely true to what they profess b/c chances are none of them were born into that. They've all taken a risk and a trusting step towards what God has called them to, and we could feel the power,joy and unity in that common quality just being in the presence of this body. We can't wait to go back and get further involved!
After the service we were greeted by some members, in particular Beti and her sister who are around our age and want to hang out with us and introduce us to the other members our age!
Caitlin and I were moved b/c one can be confident in Argentina that those who claim to be evangelical Christians are absolutely true to what they profess b/c chances are none of them were born into that. They've all taken a risk and a trusting step towards what God has called them to, and we could feel the power,joy and unity in that common quality just being in the presence of this body. We can't wait to go back and get further involved!
Dia de San Valentin
Boogie+Darla 4 ever
We had a lovely date out to dinner. Caitlin is an expensive date: she had the filet mignon...watch out boys! We've decided we're learning a lot about marriage: we kind of already felt like we knew everything about eachother before we got here, and yet, we still haven't run out of things to talk about. This may not seem remarkable to y'all, but we still haven't made any friends down here that we hang out with, and we are literally together 24/7. For me it has been a success thus far! Although Caitlin might tell you different...I tend to be the one with more potential to be annoying. Anyway, Happy Valentine's Day!
Friday, February 15, 2008
week two...
This week…
-My Mom turned 50 (and still doesn’t look a day over 35)
-We started our intensive Spanish course
-I had the revelation that there is no such thing as a to-go cup in this country…Starbucks would not survive here. Shocking, I know.
-We finished our first full week at Crecer Con Amor where I played pick-up sticks and did long division for the first time in about 13 years
-Bought our first (legal) bottle of wine to take to a party
-Celebrated El Día de San Valentín
Here’s some truth the Lord has been showing me today:
“So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31
“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his Word.” (Hebrews 1:3)
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
I want to fix my eyes on the unseen glory of the Lord. God is making me more and more convinced that his glory is the only thing worth living for. It’s only been two weeks and already God has done huge things in me and Darrah. I know he will continue to work in our hearts.
Love y'all!
-My Mom turned 50 (and still doesn’t look a day over 35)
-We started our intensive Spanish course
-I had the revelation that there is no such thing as a to-go cup in this country…Starbucks would not survive here. Shocking, I know.
-We finished our first full week at Crecer Con Amor where I played pick-up sticks and did long division for the first time in about 13 years
-Bought our first (legal) bottle of wine to take to a party
-Celebrated El Día de San Valentín
Here’s some truth the Lord has been showing me today:
“So whatever you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” (1 Corinthians 10:31
“To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:27)
“The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his Word.” (Hebrews 1:3)
“So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
I want to fix my eyes on the unseen glory of the Lord. God is making me more and more convinced that his glory is the only thing worth living for. It’s only been two weeks and already God has done huge things in me and Darrah. I know he will continue to work in our hearts.
Love y'all!
Saturday, February 9, 2008
sorry, dad, it's me again...
when i called home this morning, my father informed me that i should turn over all blogging privileges to darrah. she is funny. i am not. so i will try to make this quick and not put you to sleep.
thursday and friday of this week we began our volunteer work at Crecer Con Amor. it's a day care program for infants-elementary schoolers that's on the outskirts of the city. it's a working class neighborhood...and very poor. but Crecer Con Amor has managed to become an oasis in the midst of the trash, mangy dogs, and horse-drawn carts. it's a fairly small facility with five classrooms (they're building more) and a small courtyard/patio. the kids are wonderful. darrah and i are so excited about this opportunity. we're praying that the Lord will allow us to build relationships with the kids and the staff and to share the gospel with them.
we've hit the one week mark, and already the Lord has been so good to us. thank you for your prayers.
-caitlin
thursday and friday of this week we began our volunteer work at Crecer Con Amor. it's a day care program for infants-elementary schoolers that's on the outskirts of the city. it's a working class neighborhood...and very poor. but Crecer Con Amor has managed to become an oasis in the midst of the trash, mangy dogs, and horse-drawn carts. it's a fairly small facility with five classrooms (they're building more) and a small courtyard/patio. the kids are wonderful. darrah and i are so excited about this opportunity. we're praying that the Lord will allow us to build relationships with the kids and the staff and to share the gospel with them.
we've hit the one week mark, and already the Lord has been so good to us. thank you for your prayers.
-caitlin
Thursday, February 7, 2008
An Afternoon in La Boca...way more adventurous than it should have been
Tuesday morning we had our first Spanish class at UCA with the other international students. After the placement test I (Darrah) was placed in the lowest level, and Caitlin in the second level class...really pretty pitiful considering we've each had 3 yrs in high school and 3 semesters in college of spanish. All I have to say is you should have seen this test. It included a reading comprehension section that was a 1 1/2 page passage(single spaced) from the diary of some spanish conquistador or something.
Anyway, it was fun in class that day meeting other Americans and getting to know some of them. We hope to be able to keep in touch with them for moral support/study buddies/travel suggestions. But, we did decide not to continue with the course after I realized there were people in my class who had never had Spanish before(what they're doing here, I don't know), and it was going to be a slow go without much opportunity for improvement. We have decided instead to take classes at a Spanish school through Insight Argentina.
On Wednesday, we decided on a whim to try to get ourselves to La Boca. La Boca is a historic neighborhood on the fringes of Buenos Aires that was settled by poor Italian immigrants...more about that later. After Caitlin spent a solid 25 minutes trying to decipher what bus we should take to get there using the most complicated guide to public transportation known to man(I'm pretty sure I'm not exagerating), we confidently boarded the number 153. After covering aproximately 1/3 of the distance to La Boca, we were in an area that I'm pretty sure, translated, means "Sketchville Ghetto, Argentina". This was where the bus driver pulled into the station/garage where all of the buses go at the end of their routes, came to a stop, shut off the engine, and probably said something along the lines of "this is where I stop, and you get off," but of course my Spanish was classified as beginner, so who knows. We turned around to realize we and two other girls were the only ones left on the bus...if there has yet been a time when STUPID AMERICAN TOURIST was stamped clearly on our foreheads, this was it.
By the grace of God(and I mean that in all seriousness), these two girls were Brazilians(native language-Portuguese) who also spoke Spanish and English, and happened to get on the same bus we did hoping to get to La Boca...what are the odds? They got directions from the bus driver, introduced themselves to us, and accompanied us through one of the more dangerous, tourist-UNfriendly parts of Buenos Aires. We followed our directions further, and were intercepted by a policeman who proceded to volunteer a safer route, yet again something that does not usually happen. We finally arrived to La Boca, where we proceded to eat lunch in silence, I think due to residual shock and numbness.
After, we walked around this barrio famous for its houses made of scrap materials painted in bright colors, and for being the accepted home of the original tango dance and the music that traditionally accompanies it. We took lots of pictures for your enjoyment! At the end of a very eventful day, we arrived home safely, with only a sunburn to show for our brave adventure.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Ephesians 6:19-20
hey y'all,
if you think about it, pray Ephesians 6:19-20 for us:
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel...Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Love y'all!
if you think about it, pray Ephesians 6:19-20 for us:
"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel...Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."
Love y'all!
Monday, February 4, 2008
contact info!
here's our address:
Caitlin Cornwell and Darrah Melton
Caitlin Cornwell and Darrah Melton
Rodriguez Peña 1632 6° “A”
Buenos Aires, Argentina
oh McDonalds....
i'm sitting in mcdonald's right now (it's one of the closest places that has AC and WiFi) and i have realized something that is pretty hilarious to me...the mcdonald's uniforms consist of denim jeans and a matching denim shirt with the golden arches stitched across the back jean pockets and the front shirt pockets. i wish the uniforms had been that stylish when i worked at mcdonalds;)
anyways...yesterday Eugenia took us around the most historical parts of the city. it was difficult not to act like a tourist and take a million photos. i had to keep reminding myself that i have 6 months here and there's no need to be obnoxious with the picture-taking. I realized as we were sitting down to lunch the stark contrast between the US and latin america. when you sit down to a meal here, it is expected that you will spend about an hour eating and enjoying conversation. you have to ask the waiter if you want anything. there is no in-and-out mentality like in america where it is rare for my family to spend more than 30-40 minutes eating out. i think i'm going to enjoy this way of life.
today we rode the bus...which is an insane experience. they ride with the doors open more than shut and some of the experienced bus riders can jump out when it's moving! i think i'll wait until i have a little more practice before i jump out of any buses;)
we took our spanish placement exam at the university today (http://www.uca.edu.ar/) with about 75 other international students and we'll start our intensive spanish course tomorrow. pray that we learn fast!
what the Lord has been teaching me...
several sweet friends gave me the verse Joshua 1:9 before i left. it says:
I seriously cannot thank y'all enough for your prayers! God is answering them! Praise him for that.
Love,
Caitlin
anyways...yesterday Eugenia took us around the most historical parts of the city. it was difficult not to act like a tourist and take a million photos. i had to keep reminding myself that i have 6 months here and there's no need to be obnoxious with the picture-taking. I realized as we were sitting down to lunch the stark contrast between the US and latin america. when you sit down to a meal here, it is expected that you will spend about an hour eating and enjoying conversation. you have to ask the waiter if you want anything. there is no in-and-out mentality like in america where it is rare for my family to spend more than 30-40 minutes eating out. i think i'm going to enjoy this way of life.
today we rode the bus...which is an insane experience. they ride with the doors open more than shut and some of the experienced bus riders can jump out when it's moving! i think i'll wait until i have a little more practice before i jump out of any buses;)
we took our spanish placement exam at the university today (http://www.uca.edu.ar/) with about 75 other international students and we'll start our intensive spanish course tomorrow. pray that we learn fast!
what the Lord has been teaching me...
several sweet friends gave me the verse Joshua 1:9 before i left. it says:
"Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
The transition to life in a new place is a challenge, but God has made it so clear that he is with me and Darrah. He has answered so many of our prayers and continues to give me confidence that this is where he has me for the next six months. Darrah and I have been talking about how we have learned that this world is not our home. We may miss Georgia, but our citizenship is in heaven (philippians 3:20-4:1). The Lord is just as present in Buenos Aires as he is in Athens. I seriously cannot thank y'all enough for your prayers! God is answering them! Praise him for that.
Love,
Caitlin
Saturday, February 2, 2008
day 2--first day of exploring...
highlight of the day: going grocery shopping and hearing Zac Efron from HSM2 come on the radio singing "Bet on it". I wish Sallie could have been there.
We met a girl from London(Claire) who will be volunteering with us at Crecer Con Amor (http://www.crecerconamor.org/). The three of us walked around and explored the neighborhood a bit. We walked through the "hippie fair" which is set up in a park about 3 blocks from our apartment every weekend. They had lots of really cool art and jewelry...I was tempted to act like a tourist and buy a bunch of trinkets, but I exercised some self-control;)
I can tell already that city life is going to be a challenge...way out of our comfort zone...but I am confident that the Lord will give us the patience and strength to navigate this new place.
Also (this note is for Dad--who doubts my ability to speak Spanish), i think i have spoken more spanish in the past two days than in a full semester of college spanish. It's difficult, but I think I'm going to learn fast. Everyone I have met so far is so helpful and encouraging as I try to communicate.
Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We love y'all.
-Caitlin
We met a girl from London(Claire) who will be volunteering with us at Crecer Con Amor (http://www.crecerconamor.org/). The three of us walked around and explored the neighborhood a bit. We walked through the "hippie fair" which is set up in a park about 3 blocks from our apartment every weekend. They had lots of really cool art and jewelry...I was tempted to act like a tourist and buy a bunch of trinkets, but I exercised some self-control;)
I can tell already that city life is going to be a challenge...way out of our comfort zone...but I am confident that the Lord will give us the patience and strength to navigate this new place.
Also (this note is for Dad--who doubts my ability to speak Spanish), i think i have spoken more spanish in the past two days than in a full semester of college spanish. It's difficult, but I think I'm going to learn fast. Everyone I have met so far is so helpful and encouraging as I try to communicate.
Thank you for continuing to pray for us. We love y'all.
-Caitlin
Friday, February 1, 2008
We're here!
Hey y'all,
Just wanted for everyone to know that we arrived safe and sound. We had a bit of an airport adventure, though...
We were supposed to leave Atlanta yesterday evening to make a connecting flight in Houston...however, all flights to Houston were being delayed, and since we were only supposed to have an hour layover in Houston, it was going to be virtually impossible for us to make our flight to Buenos Aires. BUT THE LORD IS GOOD! The nice folks at continental in Atlanta switched us to a non-stop flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires! It really could not have been more perfect.
We have met the women we will be living with...a sweet older woman named Amalia and a 23-year-old law student named Eugenia. They are both very friendly and seem happy to have us there.
Well, that's about all for now...we're both exhausted and ready for a shower. Please pray for rest and for us not to be intimidated by the big city. We are both so excited to be here, but there is that initial bit of homesickness in a new place.
Love y'all! Thank you so much for your prayers!!
-Caitlin
Just wanted for everyone to know that we arrived safe and sound. We had a bit of an airport adventure, though...
We were supposed to leave Atlanta yesterday evening to make a connecting flight in Houston...however, all flights to Houston were being delayed, and since we were only supposed to have an hour layover in Houston, it was going to be virtually impossible for us to make our flight to Buenos Aires. BUT THE LORD IS GOOD! The nice folks at continental in Atlanta switched us to a non-stop flight from Atlanta to Buenos Aires! It really could not have been more perfect.
We have met the women we will be living with...a sweet older woman named Amalia and a 23-year-old law student named Eugenia. They are both very friendly and seem happy to have us there.
Well, that's about all for now...we're both exhausted and ready for a shower. Please pray for rest and for us not to be intimidated by the big city. We are both so excited to be here, but there is that initial bit of homesickness in a new place.
Love y'all! Thank you so much for your prayers!!
-Caitlin
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