Well, it is now several hours since I arrived in Argentina. All items that I packed are still with me, although there were a few (mis-) adventures along the way…
My Flight Left Without Me
Ok, well, it’s like this… I’m still in Australia even though my flight left (without me) over 9 hours ago.
Tell me about it. Talk about crazy stuff! My bags are still packed, I have a Brazilian visa in my passport (that will never get used), and had all of my travel organized, even down to people I’m staying with and everything. And now I’m not going…
Continue reading “My Flight Left Without Me”
Birthday in Oz
When I turned 40, it was a really big deal. Unfortunately for me, the people around me did not think the same way, and so my 40th birthday came and went without any fanfare at all. I guess when you are in the middle of Peru, surrounded by students and constrained by activities relating to the mission in which I am involved, it is pretty hard to organise something big.
A couple of eggs smashed on my head, which seems to be a customary thing for those with birthdays in Peru, and a card signed by a handful of friends were about the only reminders that this was actually one of the biggest days of my life.
The age of forty for me was one of the greatest milestones in my life. It brought with it many discoveries both about who I was and where I was going that caused both conflict and serious growth during this time. To have celebrated it in some big way would have helped me pass through this process at the time.
Now it does not matter anymore. Of course it did at the time, but it was one of those things that after a year it was no longer important. Now I am turning 41. This seems hardly significant at all, as most of my struggles relating to this new age are now over.
Turning 40 was like the entry into adulthood, it was the turning of a corner in life that revealed that I could not remain young forever. Perhaps for others this happens at 30 or another age. For me it happened at 40.
So when my birthday comes and goes it is no longer matters greatly to me. Sure, celebrating with good friends or doing something nice on the day is always great, but it is no longer a necessity. I can relate now to my late grandmother who saw every birthday the same as any other day.
Apart from some eats (as seen in the pic) for presents, there was nothing more to identify my birthday this time. No big party, no phone calls outside of family (maybe everyone is too used to me being overseas), no expensive presents, no anything. Yet somehow it seemed right. This time… I liked it like that.
This was the first birthday I have celebrated in Australia for over ten years… and the quietest one too.
More photos after the break…
The Best Way To Wake Up
The sweet harmony of crashing waves slowly ease their way through into my consciousness. I spin on the bed, trying to coax another half an hour’s rest from the already stifling hot day. The early sun’s rays have heated the canvas annex to the point of a sauna and beads of sweat are starting to run off my body.
“Just a little more…” I think to myself casting off even the smallest corner of the sheet which had been touching me in the vain hope that it would cool me off.
Ten minutes later, after tossing and turning and trying to force myself back into the bliss of sleep, the war against the ever increasing heat off the sun is lost.
Working in the Streets
I had been sitting there for a while before Andrew sat down beside me. The flimsy plastic chairs that we had lined against the wall provided welcome relief for Andrew as he shared of the complete exhaustion that now came upon him since he stopped using drugs.
Brought up in a rich home with both parents working in high-level medical fields, Andrew decided to drop out of life after high-school. One of three children, he names himself the black sheep of the family. It has been two years now since his dad dropped him off in this area, destined to live on the streets.
More story after the break…
New Years at Mooloolaba
Somehow, this part of the beach has earned a reputation for being the party area. As such, every year they celebrate the New Year with lots of fireworks, bands, and activities along the main street which is closed and fenced off.
The evening is divided into two sections, with family friendly events and activities running from early afternoon until the culmination of their day with fireworks at 8pm. Just after this the main events for the evening started to gear up, with concerts, buskers, and roving acts throughout the night until midnight when the largest of the fireworks celebrates the New Year.
My old year ended at about 11pm when I crawled into my bed, and my new year began at 12.01am when everybody on the beach started screaming and shouting “Happy New Year” for the next ten minutes.
So Happy 2009 to all of you. I trust that this year brings you closer to your dreams, nearer to your loved ones, deeper in your convictions, and stronger in your faith. Have a great one!
Rob.
The 8pm fireworks for New Year’s Eve. The main crowd can be seen standing on the lit beach to the right of the fireworks, while this was taken from a distance at the entrance to the river harbour.
More photos after the break…
Christmas by the Beach
Only one week after arriving in Australia I have been living at the beach in a caravan with my family. Time here goes both slowly and quickly at the same time. Each day is filled with nothing, and nothing is one of the best things you can do. A sleep here or there, reading the paper or a book, watching the waves roll in to the shore or the people on the beach, diving into the water to cool off and ride a wave, catching up with some emails, and wandering around the shops.
It is a life of nothing, a very relaxing few weeks set aside amongst a busy schedule to help remind me that it really is possible to live this way… at least for a little while.
Towing the van up to the coast… A wave rolling in toward the shore.
Find a Wife by Sending Team
Having created over half a dozen websites throughout the year, I have always tried to present them in a very formal and yet accessible way. Each site is carefully written, normally in Spanish first and then translated to English, and much care goes into what is said and the way that it is said.
All of this just emphasises even more just how great an error it was that I had made only recently which continued undiscovered until today. You see, it all started when I was building a website during my last week in Argentina for a YWAM base there.
During the early part of the week, as I was writing the basic pages of the website, it seemed ok to have a little fun with some of the content. The base here consists mainly of women, and most of them are single at that. None are very young. So while writing about how the base accommodates foreign teams, I ignored the niggling feeling that perhaps I would forget to edit out this bit and continued writing. What I wrote, roughly translated was:
“If you would like a wife, then we recommend that you only send male teams here. Ages from 25 up please, because we are not looking for those who are too young… Be aware that we have already had significant success using this method.”
This was found amongst other paragraphs of serious content explaining how teams could get to the base, what the base would do for each team, and more. It looked like it belonged there.
It ended up on the live website. For two weeks.
I received no emails about it so hopefully nobody noticed. As soon as I realised it was removed from the site, but by this time Google and other search engines would have already sucked down the site.
So now I’m wondering how many people who are searching for “find a wife in buenos aires” are being sent to the YWAM base’s new website?
Doh!
For being professional, I certainly let my guard down that time. No more games or attempts at being funny on other people’s websites for me… or at least no more rushes to get websites up before long flights.
Now, talking about a wife…
A Week in Buenos Aires
Before leaving Argentina I headed to Buenos Aires for a week. There was still one YWAM base in Argentina that did not have a website yet. My goal was to give them one by the end of the week. It worked.
Through a lot of hard work and some very late nights, it was possible to piece together a website for YWAM Capital Base by the end of the week. This was not without its problems, but with a lot of work and the effortless work of Silvana by my side, we finally did it (now replaced by a newer version done by another).
More after the jump…
Good Customer Service
One of our door-locks was broken and it looked like we would need to replace it with another complete lock. But on a whim I pulled it out and raced down town to see if there was any chance of paying for a repair. In Argentina there are moments when this is possible, as some people hang onto the inner parts of bits and pieces.
In Argentina the prices are also pretty high and all repairs are paid for, unless you know the person doing the repair, which comes under friendship and therefore is either free or very cheap. I did not know the shop owner at all, and so presented him with the broken lock and asked if any sort of repair was possible, expecting a reasonable cost.
The man went out the back and I heard some bangs and noises as he presumably worked on my request. It was over five minutes before he finally returned, with the lock working perfectly again. Great. I asked him how much it would be, but he turned and waved me off, saying that there was no cost at all.
Stunned. Surprised. Thankful. All of these things come to mind when I remember that moment. In a place where you pay for everything outside of friendship, and where you often get charged more just for being a “gringo” or outsider, this kind of service was above and beyond.
So if the shop owner can read English… I just want to say thanks. That was awesome customer service.
