Life in a different culture
To get internet out where we are, we needed to set up a wifi connection between us and town that allowed us to access a broadband internet connection there. This was first done with a 6m pole that we mounted at both ends of the connection. Although this worked well at first, the connection at our end was not working as well as it could, so it was time to make some changes.
Looking down towards the city (shimmering glow in distance) from our YWAM Base, 6km out of town.
Looking for illegal software, riding a broken bike, and racing against time. Things did not start out looking so great, but I was very surprised at what I discovered.
They say that it never snows here in Puerto Madryn, mainly because we are so close to the sea. However, in the three years that I have been here, this is the second and by far the largest snowfall that I have experienced. Of course the snow does not last for very long, and by the end of the day it is all gone again, but while it remains we all headed out for some fun moments outside, throwing snowballs around.
See the videos after the break.
It seems that the whole world is buzzing with the phrase, “Swine Flu,” and for good reason. A rather potent flu virus that emerged out of Mexico seems to be reaching to every corner of the world. Here in Argentina the first cases arrived in Buenos Aires and since then they have been unstoppable. In my town of Puerto Madryn it arrived through a doctor who had returned from a journey to Mexico.
The main street of Puerto Madryn.
Each town and city has a similar story. One person came back and did not know they had it, and before it could be contained, more people had contracted it. Until it was too prolific to be controlled. As this flu continues to sweep through most (if not all) the towns in Argentina, some cities are realising that they need to take drastic measures to try and contain it.
Weaving my way through the crowded Florida Street Mall, it was hard to think of anything other than getting back to my room. The last few days had seen me flat on my back from a nasty flu and even though I thought my strength had returned, this outing had proved otherwise. Any remaining strength was waning quickly as I struggled through the heart of Buenos Aires in the middle of peak hour. This was the last place I really wanted to be right now.
Reaching the entrance to the subway I allowed my feet to slide lazily down the steps while holding onto the side rail and concentrating on staying upright. Passing through the turnstiles it becomes clear that coming here was probably a bad idea. People lined against the edge of the platform from one end to the other. The masses waiting for a train stood in silence, forming a wall over five bodies deep, and a nervousness filled the air while the people waited impatiently for the train to arrive.
Leaving Puerto Madryn, I never imagined that it would be all of two weeks before returning there again. Yet here I am on the bus heading south once again on the 18 hour journey that will return me to the place I now know as home.
Heading into town I start looking around for something to eat but in the process meet a person begging in the street. They needed food, so I did what anyone would normally do… after all, it was the least that I could do.
Fito’s is a small joint off the main drag.
Well, to be honest it is not really the bush out here. In fact, it could never really be the bush out here, considering that we live in the middle of a desert. But the idea is the same. The bush means far from anything like a city. We are far from anything like a city.
Looking towards the city from halfway down the road.
The city of Puerto Madryn lies 6kms from us. The nearest point of the town, before everything melts into desert-scape is somewhere between three and four kilometres away. This is our nearest possibility for internet, as where we are, there is nothing. But that has all been explained before.
The point of writing this post is to tell you not of our problems, but our solutions. How we now have internet where there was none. How we connected everything up and worked it all out. The technical, and not so technical bits about it all.
Chasing down documents for Brazilians, finding a magic coffee bar in a perfect location, and fighting with cheap components when fixing houses… all part of just one more day in Buenos Aires…
It was time to get my police certificate and sort out most of the remaining bits and pieces that needed to be done for my residency application. If I was able to complete these then everything would be finished except for the process of presenting it all to the right people.
Immigrations in Buenos Aires (Av Antartida).