We’re finally here! South America, the elusive third continent of my World Race route. Argentina is every bit as beautiful as I imagined. However, it’s certainly a far different culture than we’ve experienced up to this point. Here are a few different facets of our lives in Argentina and the ways they can be both beautiful and challenging:
#1: We are living at a pastor’s house with his family this month.
Pro: We LOVE our family. The first night they told us, “nuestra casa es su casa,” or “our house is your house,” and we have felt every bit of that! We have two beautiful and fun parents, two sisters, a little brother, and a sweet old abuela (grandmother) who has us in stitches regularly. We sing before meals, we play card games, we watch movies, and we laugh at each others attempts to speak Spanglish. We are truly so blessed to be a part of a family for the first time in months.
Con: I don’t think this house was originally designed to house 13 people! Five of us share a small room that was converted from the garage to be our living quarters. It’s a tight squeeze, but it makes for some fun pillow talk. Do you like alone time? Kiss it goodbye this month. Also, one bathroom. You know how that goes.
#2: It is customary to kiss people on the cheek as a greeting.
Pro: It makes me feel fancy, sophisticated, and cultured.
Con: It’s an art form that I haven’t learned. One cheek, or both cheeks? It depends. Also, my team has already gathered horror stories of highly awkward situations in which you accidentally catch the corner of a mouth, or an ear lobe (it happened.) Also, it’s normal to kiss everyone in the room when you enter, which can be time consuming in large groups.
#3: We are living in an area called the “red zone,” a dangerous part of town with a low socio-economic standing, characterized by violence, drug use, and prostitution.
Pro: There are always interesting things going on outside that we can listen to as we try to fall asleep—dog fights, drunk people, cars backfiring—it’s like a fun game of, “what was that noise?” Don’t worry—we are safe in our home! The community highly respects our Pastor.
Con: We can’t walk anywhere alone, and we can’t take anything with us when we are walking somewhere (including our cell phones—so I apologize for the lack of ministry pictures this month!)
#4: Nobody here speaks any English.
Pro: There’s no better way to learn than complete immersion, am I right? Shout out to my (fluent) teammate Mariana, who has been our glue this month. Slowly but surely, I am learning this language! Other shout outs to: DuoLingo, Google Translate, and Señora Brezovec from Roseville Area High School for helping me along the way.
Con: People probably think I’m rude, but really I just don’t realize they’re talking to me. Previously simple tasks such as ordering at a restaurant have become significantly more stressful and complicated.
#5: Our family cooks for us.
Pro: The days of meal planning and cooking are over (at least for this month)! We assist in the kitchen, but our sweet mama Perla does all of the hard work (and it is always delicious!) We have eaten a lot of pasta and pizza (wait, are we in Italy?) along with chicken and various soups. My tummy is always full.
Con: I don’t know how these people aren’t 300 pounds, because the diet consists of basically only carbs and sugar. Example: for breakfast, I eat a white bread roll with butter and dulce de leche on it. Some mornings we have avocados to sub out the dulce de leche, but it’s rare I go a day without it. Because what do we have at tea time? You got it—white bread with dulce de leche. Also, soda is the drink of choice at dinner time. I may need to gorge myself on fruits and vegetables next month. And did I mention the pasta?
#6: There are more dogs and cats in Argentina than I’ve seen in any of the other countries we’ve been to.
Pro: Uh, everything?! There are so many dogs everywhere, and the majority of them are very friendly. I have fallen in love with many of them. We also have two cats that live with us at the house, and you know I’m all over them as well. It’s also a great way to make friends—if you sit outside petting dogs long enough, people will surely come talk to you.
Con: I want to adopt them all. While many of them have homes, many of them don’t. It’s especially hard with the weather getting colder—but I don’t think this bedroom is big enough for the five of us AND a dozen stray dogs, and I don’t think my Argentinian padre would be thrilled about the extra house guests.
#7: It is fall in the southern hemisphere.
Pro: I surprisingly found myself missing snow and colder weather this winter, and now I’ve got it! Also, when you sweat less, you can shower less (World Race motto).
Con: It is ridiculously hard to get out of bed in the mornings, and I packed very few warm clothes with me. Usually I just layer everything I have and look ridiculous. Shout out to my wool socks for being the real MVP.
#7: There are tons of ministry opportunities here.
Pro: Ministry is never boring! Our typical day has included physical labor in the mornings before lunch (fixing & sanding benches for the church, painting the playground, etc.), followed by lunch and siesta (literally the whole city shuts down after lunch). In the late afternoon, we usually head to someone’s home to lead worship, share testimonies, and give a message to the people of that community (yes, I have preached in Spanish this month!). Saturdays and Sundays are packed with children’s ministry, games, worship, teachings, and delicious meals in different parts of town. We also have been teaching an english class on Wednesdays and helping out around the house where we can!
Con: There isn’t one, really—except for when the kids scuff up your freshly painted, beautiful playground—but I guess that just means they’re having fun.
Thanks for reading! We head to Chile for MONTH NINE in just a handful of days. Please keep my squad in your prayers as we try to finish this race strong!
