Life in a different culture
Well the students of the Discipleship school finally graduated last friday and have all gone, leaving this place feeling a little empty. It has been great to have so many people from many different nations around, and there will be a few coming back next year too. But now that it is quiet, it is time to get some work done.
Students of the Discipleship School 2005.
Arriving in Buenos Aires
Having made it down to Buenos Aires in a luxury coach with full length beds, I wandered through the city with my two bags, making my way slowly to the subway entry. On the way to my destination, the YWAM base in Ituzaingo, I stopped at the home of some old friends from the LIFE Argentina ministry.
At this house I heard how two of the workers had left over the time since I last saw them, and how well things were going for the ministry these days. It was good to see some old friends again, and I marvelled at how our friendships had lasted during a break of well over a year.
My luxury bus
Moving onward, via train and bus and walking, I finally arrive at the Ituzaingo base and get acquainted with both the new and old faces that are still here. Most of the staff have gone for the holidays but there are still around 60 people including students left here. The students have just finished the training part of their course and are about to leave for their outreach phase in a few days.
This Christmas was my very first Christmas ever in Argentina. The year before I was alone in a hotel room on the beaches of Viña del Mar in Chile, and the year before that in a hostel in Barcelona, Spain. There is nothing like spending Christmas with friends.
Welcome to Buenos Aires
Christmas Dinner
On Christmas Eve a group of tables were placed out on the grass between the buildings. The temperature was a moderate 25 degrees (Celsius) and cooled off as the night progressed. Scheduled to start at 9.00pm, we were now accustomed to waiting significantly longer before seeing things truly get underway. True to form, our dinner started sometime around 10.00pm. I say sometime around then because we all started wandering out and filling up the tables at this time. Even as late as 11.00pm people were coming out to sit down at the tables. But it was around 10pm that we started.
Everybody was very dressed up for this night. Girls in evening dresses and sparkling jewellery, guys in dress pants and fancy shirts, and all oozing the sweet scents of perfume. In my casual jeans, t-shirt and a casual button-up thrown over the top as a coat, I felt noticeably out of place, although the unshaven stubble probably helped me to remain consistent in my style.
With most people seated, food was initially served to us, and then left on the dedicated food table, where we were able to help ourselves to more as we desired. There was an abundance of food present, more than any of us could possibly eat, and a large range of choice from which to select. My preferences were the pizza slices, juicy chicken breasts, and special ham and cheese sandwiches with a flavour all of their own. Of course there were salads and other niceties, but I hardly noticed those.
Some still hovering around the desert table.
After dinner was desert, with specialities from all over the world. My favourite was the special cake from Latvia that Maija made, based on her grandmother’s recipe, although the chocolate and sugar coated peanuts and the large range of cakes and sweet breads were also very enticing. With so much to choose from and all so delicious, it was no wonder that everybody converged onto the desert table until we had eaten our fill.
Celebrating Christmas
It was getting very close to midnight by now, so we all wandered over to the sound system where we gathered as a group and chatted while we waited. Only moments before midnight the countdown began. It felt just like the New Years Eves that I have experienced in Australia all of my life. At the stroke of midnight everyone cheered and then kissed and hugged each other, wishing each person in turn a “Feliz Navidad” or “Merry Christmas.” The kissing of course was kissing on the cheek, typical of greetings in this culture.
It took some time to move around our group of around 60 people, kissing and hugging each one, and wishing them a great Christmas. Some of the girls danced and jumped in the joy of the moment. Couples clung to each other and stared into each others eyes, rejoicing in the joy of the moment. An emotion of joy and contentment touched us all.
4th of July Celebrations
As our well-wishing came to an end, the boys pulled out the multitude of fireworks that they had purchased for just this moment. This was a night to celebrate, and judging by the sounds of explosions all over the neighbourhood, everybody was celebrating hard.
Even before our fireworks could be lit, there were bangs and splashes of light reaching above the trees and buildings surrounding us. Dozens of bubbles of glowing paper rose into the night sky as the candle inside them continued to heat these crude hot air balloons and the wind carried them to unknown places. As I was pondering the safety of all of these glowing torches floating through the sky, one caught alight, and its ascent turned rapidly into a plunge as this flaming ball of fire crashed down on some unsuspecting house below.
One of the fireworks that behaved.
Soon our fireworks were lit, and shooting flames of fire and splashes of light into the night sky, their bangs, pops, and whizzes joining in with the already loud cacophony of noises echoing throughout the area. Everyone gathered together to watch this wonderful display of amazing lights, oohing and ahhing at each creative display.
Suddenly and without warning a box of already firing fireworks toppled over onto its side. Instead of shooting its payload of a dozen flaming rockets upward, it was now pointing directly at the crowd and hot balls of fire, one after the other, were launched at high velocity into their midst.
This group of elegantly dressed people took a moment to realise what was happening, but as they did there was a wave of panic set amongst them and they all soon started running to escape these fireballs. The expiring box of rockets under the force of each launch, managed to move just enough so that each proceeding rocket continued to aim directly at the crowd. No matter where they ran, a rocket was heading their way.
Finally the box expired and the crowd, now dispersed, were a lot more wary.
War Games
The boys, after the larger fireworks had launched, pulled out some Roman Candles which are the long hand-held sticks that shoot a coloured ball of fire at regular intervals. Rather than being satisfied with watching the balls of light reach into the sky, they push one of their friends out in front of them, and proceed to try and “shoot” him with their fireballs.
Playing wargames amongst friends.
This unfortunate fella then has to run around the place, dodging each ball of flames, until the sticks finally burn out. Sometimes there is only one person “shooting” at him, but often there are two. Both those wielding the Roman Candles and him who is the “prey” of the moment, consider this to be a great game and the amount of laughter and shouting that goes along with it all would indicate this to be true.
The Party Afterwards
With the fireworks finished, the music was turned up loud and the party got underway. Dancing, chatting, and just plain having fun was the order of the night. One by one, people slowly started to retire for the night. I turned in at around 2.30am with the music still blaring at massive volumes, some stayed up until 6am or later.
From my room, our music blended with other noises and music all over the neighbourhood. This was an Argentine Christmas.
Everyone dancing in front of the tables after dinner.
Christmas Day
Most rose very late today. It was the day after for most people. Those of us from western countries wished each other a merry Christmas for today was the day that you do this. Wishing one of the Argentines a merry Christmas, he looked at us and asked us why we were doing this now, since last night was the time for that. We explained that this was what you do in our culture. He smiled and thanked us, but the puzzled look never left his face. For him, Christmas had already been welcomed.
We smiled as he left, then turned and wished everyone a merry Christmas once again. For today was Christmas.
This is my last entry for a while… there is no Internet where I am heading. Time to shut down and pack my stuff. I am off to Puerto Madryn. Travel time again.
So have a wonderful New Year and I hope that all of your hopes and dreams come true this year.
For most of my friends back home, going to the bathroom does not elicit major emotions. Showering, use of the toilet, and many other mundane tasks are things that just happen because they are part of the day. There is nothing extraordinary about it.
The Way Things Were
Here, for a long time, this simple action has been a significant ordeal. Living upstairs in a dormitory with toilets downstairs meant that we needed to get down there for all of the normal bathroom things. With the building in which we were living still under construction, our first method of getting down there required the use of a ladder, built from spare planks of wood.
Using a ladder was a novel way of accessing the different levels of our building, and on reflection was a better method than the stairs which came along next. This was because the stairs were built on the outside of the building, requiring us to brave the elements on every sojourn. Pouring rain, freezing temperatures, and mud everywhere all helped to dampen our desire to use the bathroom too often.
On top of all of this, we needed to grope around in the dark during the night for two keys which would first unlock the door at the top of the stairs, being very noisy and difficult to open, and then unlock the second door underneath the stairs to get into the lower level of the building. This door was very difficult to close without slamming and waking up everyone above it.
Our Own Bathroom
So when we moved into our current little house, it was an absolute wonder to have a bathroom, even though it was only a toilet and we needed to fill up buckets of water to flush it. Over time our little bathroom has evolved, from just a toilet to a toilet with a seat on it, and then a toilet that is fastened to the floor and sealed to prevent the odors floating through the house. Things were looking great.
We found a hand basin in the garbage at one point and rescued it to put in our evolving bathroom. The cracks in the basin didn’t leak and the tap still worked, so it quickly found a home on the wall. Then we decided to get more serious about our little room. Walking over to the building during the middle of winter for a shower was not a wonderful experience, and we had water here, so there seemed to be no reason why we could not have a shower here too. It did not take long before we had put in a shower too.
A Few Remaining Problems
Now, with what we all consider to be a very classy shower, a toilet that flushed, and a hand basin, we had a bathroom. No more journeys across the yard for a shower, no more unlocking of multiple doors to access the toilet. Life had become pretty comfortable, except for a few problems still.
Our bathroom floor had holes and lumps all over it, letting the water pool from our shower. After cleaning the water from our shower, we discovered that our toilet also leaked water onto the floor. By this time too its cistern did not work any more so we had to reach in and lift the plunger for it to flush, waiting until the water had gone before replacing the plunger back over the hole.
So no matter what we did, water remained on the floor of the bathroom, even if we cleaned and dried it every shower. Additionally, a reddish sand continually collected on our feet when we were in the bathroom, obviously coming from the floor and the walls. At this point we decided to go the extra mile.
The New Classy Bathroom
Now our bathroom sports painted walls, the paint stopping any of the sand from the walls appearing any more, and a tiled floor. The tiled floor actually drains the water from the shower into the drainhole. Now this may not be startling to many people, but after living with a shower in which the floor seemed to drain the water away from the drain hole, this is just a delight. In fact the first time I ran the shower, I simply stood there and stared at the water as it all went down the drain. It was like a little miracle taking place.
When we walk into our bathroom now, with the smooth tiled floor, finally dry, it feels a million dollars. Using our new ceramic toilet cistern – in place of the old plastic one – and it flushes without effort by simply pressing the button on top, it seems like magic. Looking at the floor and seeing it dry even after a day or two, with no more stepping around pools of water, breathes relief into our beings. Seeing how wonderful the whole thing looks, is comfort to our eyes.
Yes. We are certainly living comfortably with our newly evolved classy bathroom. And what a pleasure it is too.
A friend of a friend asked if I could photograph their wedding for them. It was not a paid job or anything like that, but I was given a place in the wedding and reception and all of the food that comes with it. For me it was more the challenge and the opportunity to experience an Argentine wedding that motivated me to do it inspite of my heavy workload. And it was well worthwhile too.
Mabel and Gabriel, the newly married couple.
The civil wedding was the first step, which took place on the wednesday. We went to an old government building filled with people completing paperwork and paying bills to the government. The building was old and in a slight state of disrepair with an atmosphere typical of public government buildings. One room in this building was dedicated to the weddings. A large room with lovely decorations, it was obviously prepared for photos, and judging by the rest of the building, it stood apart in its beauty.
Friends and family in the nice room ready to witness the civil wedding.
Civil wedding in progress.
On Friday the church wedding took place. I had been promised help for this day, but instead was left on my own to both video and photograph the events that took place. After consulting some girls, it was decided that a video of the church ceremony was more valuable than photos, so there are virtually no photos of this part of the event. Afterwards however we took many photos of the couple in various parts of the city.
After taking the photographs we moved on to the reception, at the home of one of the parents of the couple, where I interchanged my camera with the video-camera throughout the day. It was a very lovely event, and for a couple that had hardly two cents to rub together, everyone made the best of what they had and all present chipped in with whatever they could to be able to give the newly-weds a great start to their new life together.
One of the photos after the church wedding.
When I looked through my photos, I was quite disappointed with the results. This was the first time that I have ever tried to do something like this, and it was such short notice that I did not have much time to look at other photos of weddings to get some ideas. The main thing amongst it all however was that with a nervous couple on my hands, I did not encourage them to smile a whole lot, so many times they look pretty serious. My favourite photos below are those where they did manage to smile, or where I caught them unawares.
The wedding itself was very similar to many weddings that I have been to, although there was no destroying of the wedding car (mind you they did not really have a car, so perhaps that was related), and rice was the flavour of the day to throw at the couple, which they did only at the civil wedding.
Throwing rice on the couple as they emerge from their civil wedding.
My last task before leaving on holidays was to compile the video and photos of the two stages of the wedding and leave it behind to give to the couple when they return from their short honeymoon. They will be precious memories for many years to come.
The bridge behind is one of the major symbols for Corrientes.
Travelling in the car to another photographic location.
Continue reading “Photographing a Wedding”
It was just after seven in the morning on the 12th of November, and somehow I managed to drag myself out of bed after only three and a half hours of sleep. I had been creating a website with the photo highlights of the conference. Within a short while the last day of the conference was about to begin, and I needed to be ready for the events of the day. Camera in hand, I wandered over to the bathrooms only to discover that there are no showers. The pump supplying water had blown up during the night, overloaded by the influx of the thousands of people that have inundated this place during the last five days.
Somebody tells me that there is water down the other end of the property, so I begin my search. Warned to look for long lines of people, I almost wander past a small line with only a few people. They were waiting for the use of the one toilet that still had water. This was the place. It was amazing that there were so few people, but I figured that many were still trying to grab a few more moments of needed sleep.
Around the corner I found people standing at the washing tubs, brushing teeth and washing their faces. They all seemed content that there was a way they could carry out a part of their morning routine. I snap a few shots of the action, then hang up my camera and join the activities.
It seems like only moments of relaxing in the morning sun, interspersed with shots of people here and there, before it is time for the conference to begin. I head inside and prepare my corner, hidden with all of the other technology people.
As the program for the day plays out, I am there in the midst of it all, taking as many photos as I feel are needed to be able to capture the feeling of the event. Places, actions, and events. Faces, people, and emotions. Constantly scanning around me for something that would represent the moment. Searching for that photo that would express the emotion of the people.
When the last event for the day had finished, I put my camera down. It was wonderful to finally stop. Something that I love doing, after five days and more than three thousand photos I had grown weary. It was good to see the end of it all.
Hola amigos, he sacado más que 3000 fotos de la Conferencia de JUCUM Argentina, y he puesto algunos de estas aqui en mi página de web. Hay que tener Flash (removed) en tu máquina para verlas o puedes descargarlas a través de las vínculas en el fondo de la página. Disfrútalas. [ACTUALIZADO: Todas las fotos ya han sido removido.]
Hi guys, I have just taken over 3000 photos of the National YWAM Argentina Conference, and have made some of the highlights available on my website here. There are around 200 photos per day for the five days, and an overview. All in Spanish, but should be easy enough to use anyway. You will need Flash (removed) to be able to see the photos, and can download them using the links at the bottom of the page. Enjoy. [UPDATE: All photos have been removed now.]
Well, it was hardly alien, but the death-ray part is pretty accurate, since it killed a lot of things. Late last week, when I had just returned home from a bout of travel, I woke up to a nasty green looking sky. It was obvious that something was not right, and when I looked outside there was a very ominous looking storm heading our way. In the distance was a lot of electrical activity, but it was still a fair way from us yet. That is why what happened next surprised me so much.
Leaving my house, I wandered down to the neighbouring home, only moments away. No sooner had I entered the house than our property was struck by lightning. The death ray. Only 30 metres away is our larger teaching building (this is the mission site where I live and work) with a telephone antennae on top of it. A strong, thick bolt of lightning struck this very rod.
Even today, many days after the event, we are working out just how much damage it has caused. It would be safe to say that virtually anything electronic was burned, damaged, destroyed, or otherwise rendered unusable. For example, today a telephone technician came out to fix the tower and discovered that not only the signal box was blown, which is the normal part that blows in a lightning strike, but also the antennae itself and the cable connecting it.
With everything now connected by telephone lines and network cables, it did not take long for the super-juiced cables to start frying everything they touched. The central telephone system, only recently purchased, was hit so hard that it melted in several places, and the phone cable entering it from the tower was charcoaled and severed by the electrical force.
Other spectacular damages were also wrought in items such as a network card of one computer that literally blew up and exploded inside the computer, leaving a hole in the middle of the chip. The network hub had a lovely burned smell to it, and upon opening there were melted parts all over the place.
The rest of the damages have been things that you cannot really see but it just doesn’t work any more. Things such as computers that won’t start any more, network cards that don’t work, browning marks (signs of massive heating) on chips, and more. Only a few people survived without any damages at all.
Because I had only just returned from travelling, all of my gear was safely packed away still. This has allowed me to focus my work on fixing the damaged equipment. This work will keep me busy for another week yet. So if you are wondering where are the stories, then wonder no more. I have a few ready to post, but without Internet have been unable to do so. Hopefully sometime this week we will be connected once again.
But now you know what happened… an Alien Death Ray killed our Internet.
One of the things that really gets on my nerves is other people not caring about stuff that is not theirs. Here, in South America where money seems to be in such short supply, you would expect that people would be extremely careful with stuff that was not theirs because they could not afford to repair or replace it. This is certainly not the case that I have found.
The only times that I have seen people respecting the property of others it has been so different to the average attitude that it has stood out in a very obvious way. These people are different. Most of them however, seem to not give a damn. Literally.
One example is that when you loan stuff to most people, it never seems to come back. I am not talking about me only here. Each time I mention it to other people they smile and say that it happens the same way to them too. Each time I have had to go to that person and ask for that particular item of mine which they still have, following them to their house to retrieve it. It seems to be the expected, and accepted behaviour here.
Another is in the renting of movies and borrowing of commerical items. Today, I found three DVDs that have been sitting on the table since Saturday night… when they were rented for just one night. Today is Wednesday. I saw them there on Monday and told the person responsible, to which he nonchalantly replied, “Oh yeah, I forgot about them.”
These DVDs were still sitting there unreturned today. Finding this guy once again, I told him about them. His reply, “Oh yeah, I forgot.” There was no look of concern on his face, no indication of guilt, no care for the possible fees that are amounting… which he has no way of paying, and no concern that the store would be losing possible revenue. None of it appeared important to him. Water off a ducks back.
This is not an isolated incident. Many times people return these sorts of things late, if at all. In my experience they rarely return things at all. What is it that gives these people, and I am talking about those who struggle to get by on what meagre amounts of money they have, such an attitude towards stuff that is not theirs?
I am stunned by this attitude people have here towards other people’s stuff.
Today, as with every recent Wednesday as mentioned in a previous post, I am heading off to the local school to teach English. Well, this was the general idea anyway. Last week I was actually able to teach as school was in. The week before and this week there was no school.
Argentina is full of holidays. There are holidays for their heroes, holidays for their saints, holidays for their governors, holidays for religious reasons and seasons, and holidays for the oddest things. All of these holidays are reflected in offices, schools, and shops closing for the day. Everyone gets to enjoy this day of rest… well, most people anyway.
This week, heading to the school I discovered it was all closed up and locked tight. It turns out that today is the Day of the Guardian Angel. It is a celebration for all Catholics, started in 1608 when the Supreme Pontiff extended to all the Catholic Church the celebration of the Angels Guards, placing it on the 2nd of October.
All that this means however, is that I am not teaching English today. In fact, of the three weeks that I have turned up to teach, there has only been once that I was able to teach. The other time was not a holiday though, instead they were cleaning the floor of the building where I was supposed to be teaching, and cancelled all classes to do it. Seems a rather odd behaviour for a school, and makes me wonder about the students here… just how much education do they get?
Now I have to go… it is a day off. 😉