Friday, October 31, 2008

PRICE IS RIGHT!

Hey,
I am writing all of you to remind you that our Price is Right airing time is on MONDAY, NOVEMBER 3RD. Whenever I watched the Price is Right it was on @ 10 AM on CBS, I don't believe that's changed. We are sitting in the middle section (In the middle from side to side, and front to back.) Enjoy!

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Horseback Riding!


I wrote this yesterday:
My birthday was on Sunday, and we went horseback riding. We were going to go paragliding, but the wind patterns weren't suitable. That was fine by me, I love riding horses. We will go paragliding a different time. Horseback riding was going to be my present for Danny for his birthday, but we never had an opportunity to do it until now. We had so much fun. We woke up at 6:15, took a bus to La Cumbre (2 1/2 hour bus ride each way), had lunch in town, then went horseback riding for 3 hours!

Danny and I woke up an hour later than we planned this morning, and we sounded like we were 90 years old. Every part of us hurts. It was worth it. We were led through La Cumbre by a gaucho named Juan. A 'gaucho' is loose equivalent to a cowboy. It was really peaceful. As you can see from the picture it was a beautiful day. Juan's dog came along to protect us from cows and other dogs. He got attacked by another dog one time. Danny called it 'Doggy Compton' because there were dogs chasing him regularly.

My horse, Bianca, had a mind of her own. She would just take off running whenever she felt like it. At first I didn't want to get ahead of Juan, so I would pull back the reigns. Toward the end I just gave in and let her run. My mom said she was 'barnsour'. Which evidently means she was eager to get back home. We had so much fun. Horses are truly amazing animals. We will have pictures posted soon.

I had my last class with Florencia today. It was kind of sad. I really like her and she helped me so much. I think it will be good to have the group classes though. I will be able to talk to people in Spanish more often, and hopefully make some new friends. Wish me luck!

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Got Beef?


I took this picture on the way to school this morning.

Librería

Yesterday:
Do you remember how I told you guys about how we have to set our clocks forward an hour here? Well, we forgot. Danny was an hour late to work today, and I was an hour late to class. Luckily everyone was understanding. My homework for today was to survey three people from Cordoba. It was a short survey, but I had to ask them questions and explain what I was doing in Spanish. I was so scared. I had such high anxiety after she asked me to do it, but I knew it would be good for me. I went to Intel and asked the women who works at the front desk, that went alright. I jumble my words when I get nervous, and that happened a few times, but I got through it.

I was walking back home thinking, I knew the women at the front desk, so what was I going to do when I had to ask a stranger. Then I thought, I should go ask my book store friend, Sergio (I mentioned him in a previous entry). He owns an old bookstore and is a professor of history. It went WONDERFULLY! One of his friends stopped by, René, who is a professor of geology and earth sciences. They attempted to speak English, and I attempted to speak Spanish for two hours. It was great. They ordered cafe con leche (even though it was 90 degrees outside) and we all attempted to speak a non-native language. It made me feel so much more safe because they didn't know my language and I don't know there's.

I know practicing with natives is one of the best ways to learn a new language, so I am going to stop in the bookstore more often and just chat. At first I felt obligated to buy a book, but I think I can just go in now and say 'let's practice.'

Sunday, October 19, 2008

More Salta


Continuation...
Second day: I found out at 11pm (the night before) that I left my sunglasses and camera in the car. By 'the car' I mean the excursion tour people's car. They get their cars washed and cleaned every night, so they're fresh and ready for the next day, so I started the day a little bummed because I was pretty certain I was never going to see my camera or sunglasses again. Plus we had a different guide, so I thought for sure they were gone, but to my surprise we ended up seeing our guide from the day before along the way and he had them! That made my day.

All of our trip parallels the same trip of the famous “El Tren de Las Nubes,” In case you've ever heard of that. We started our day in Purmamarca, known for 'The Painter's Palette,” or “The Hills of Seven Colors.” It was quite beautiful, but hard to capture in any of the photos. We had breakfast at an adorable little outdoor cafe that was also someone's home. We had Api and some type of pastry with honey. It was such a different and wonderful taste. The Api is a hot beverage that has a taste all it's own, but the closest comparable thing would be the best hot apple cider apple you've ever tasted with a special added twist. It's thicker with a beautiful shade of purple.

After our time in Purmamarca we headed to Maimar (There are Indian tribes there called Tilcara). A lot of the places we went were picturesque and grand. Much of it reminded me of Eastern Oregon landscape- I mean EASTERN Oregon. John Day fossil beds, painted hills area. Some of the areas were a little surreal. The lower pressure causes the clouds to look like white sand in the sky. Through out our trip we saw cactus fields, herds of Llama (and other members of the Llama family), donkey, sheep, goat, wild horses. I don't know at what point of the trip it was, but we got our picture taken at the monument that marks the Tropic of Capricorn. I thought that was pretty cool. I am getting tired, and need to make and eat dinner, so I am going to skip some stuff and wrap this up.

We ended the trip at a sub tropical rainforest. Don't get too jealous, it's not a rainforest with monkeys and brightly colored plants. Just looking at it I would not call it a forest, but I don't know all the details that classifies a body of trees and plants as a rainforest.

On one of our free days we took a gondola up to a little park overlooking Salta. We took the advise of the guy at our hostel and went up at sunset. It was beautiful and relaxing.

Salta is where empanadas originated. So, as you can imagine empanadas were an accompaniment to almost every meal. Muy delicioso! I also ate a ton of tamales. (To my amazement there is not a whole lot of typical Mexican food here. I thought there would be because of it being a Spanish speaking country and all that, but not really. I would love to have a burrito with salsa and tortilla chips. All of which cannot be found here-or at least not easily. I have yet to see a place that sells burritos. All of you at home- do not take your burritos for granted, you never know when you will be without them. They don't even have black beans in most places. I had to go to a special store to find them. I am going to make burritos this week because it has been way too long.) Salta had consistently wonderful food. Truly, wonderful food. I need to go make dinner.

*You'll have to visit to see our pictures. My pictures are more lame than Danny's- he's the photographer in the family, but I got a couple good shots. I didn't have my camera at the Salt Flats, but Danny did so be sure to look at his website for those pics. I don't think this website likes to have links, so just copy and past the web address.
Danny's Flickr pics: http://flickr.com/photos/dvarner/
Lizzie's Flickr pics: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lizvarner/

Friday, October 17, 2008

Salta, Argentina


Here's an update about our vacation. There are so many things to tell you, but I will attempt to limit it. We left Friday night and took a snazzy bus to Salta, Argentina. Salta is in the northern part of Argentina-past the Tropic of Capricorn. The bus showed movies, served food, and the seats reclined to a 'Lazy Boy' position. It was like first class on an airplane. The buses here are usually double deckers, and they are really nice. While I was on the bus (and several other times) I couldn't help but think about how fortunate Danny and I are to be here, and to have this opportunity. I am so thankful, and know this has been a gift. Before we left to come to Argentina I wondered if we were silly for having our life hang in the balance for so long, waiting to here if we were going to be able to come here, and I can say with confidence I am glad we waited.

Back to the story...It was a 12 hour trip from Cordoba to Salta. It's set up so you can go at night, sleep on the bus, and arrive in the morning- smart thinking. We went on excursions all day Sunday and all day Monday with a guide. We went to different villages through out the province of Salta and Jujuy.

I loved seeing a different side of Argentina. The area has the highest population of indigenous people in Argentina. They look completely different from other Argentines. This is caused by the higher altitude. The highest point of our trip was at 4200 meters (That's 13,780 feet) above sea level. To give the Oregonians a point of reference: Mt. Hood reaches 11,245 feet. The people living there have adapted and developed more red blood cells to compensate for the decreased level of oxygen. They have much thicker, darker hair and thicker, darker skin to protect themselves from the sun and other variants in the climate.

Danny and I climbed up a hill and we felt like we had just ran a marathon. We were breathing so hard. It's that desperate kind of breathing when you feel like you're breathing through a straw. We were told later not to run, jump, bend down too fast because of the level of oxygen being lower. People not used to the elevation can easily get altitude sickness, that was easy to believe after being in it for a few minutes.

On the first day we went to Purmamarca, Jujuy, San Salvidor, San Antonio de los Cobres, the salt flats, and other places I cannot remember. There are villages in Salta where the people do not have money. Each family grows/raises a specific crop/animal in a community and they live by trade. For example one family is in charge of raising chickens and the next family is in charge of growing alfalfa, and so on...They live by trading resources with one another. I love that.

We ate lunch in a very poor village, San Antonio de los Cobres, which is a small mining town. The guide recommended a restaurant and we ate Llama. Yes, that's right, the animal that spits a foul smelling fluid. It was quite good-similar to Bison. It did not have a gamey taste at all. It tasted like a lean cut of beef. Speaking of beef, I ate that for lunch too, and boy was it good. Mmmmm....Beef good enough to make a vegetarian cry.

We took the famous 40 national route to the Salt Flats (Salinas Grandes). Agreeably our favorite part of the trip. The area is shaped like a bowl with mountains 360 degrees around. Salt water flows into the area and settles because it has no place to go. It is then collected, mixed with iodine, and shipped right to a store nearest you. I skipped a few steps, but you get the idea.

It was amazing to walk on salt and feel it compact and crunch beneath our feet. It was a similar feeling to walking on snow. Much of it was similar to snow. It was blinding white as far as your eye could see- amplified by the sun. There were sections of rectangles approximately 4' x 7' dug out of the ground where the salt is collected. The rectangles contain salt and water, which results in a beautiful affect. Miniature crystals are formed, creating a dance of prisms. Much like sunshine on a snowy day.

I will post pictures later. This is getting to be pretty long, and I'd like to post this today, so I am going to end here, and I will post about our second day either tomorrow or Sunday. Speaking of Sunday I have to remember to set my clock forward 1 hour. You guys set your clocks back in November, and then we will be 6 hours different. Sunday is also my papa's birthday, and then my birthday is the week after that. I am going to be 24 years old. Tengo viente cuatro anos...Man, I don't feel 24.

Thanks for the prayers for my health. I am feeling much better, thank you.

Thursday, October 9, 2008

La Gente


Have I told you how kind the people are here? Oh my word. They truly care for and love other people here. I've had hard times off and on here, but your support back home and the people here are really what's helped me pull through it. I don't think they've heard of the word 'gossip', they just love you and if there's a problem they will say it to your face.

We have a woman who cleans our place and I told her I was sick and she offered to go out and get me medicine. She talks to me in Castilian (Argentina's language-I keep saying Spanish, but it's really Castilian) and tells me all these different things I should do to get better. I used to never understand a word she said, but now, I actually knew some of what she was telling me. I was feeling better today, but still sick, but I wanted to go to class today and my teacher hugged and kissed me and was so excited that I was feeling well enough to come to class. I felt SO loved. I didn't end up having class today because she thought I was still sick, so she scheduled to take an exam today. That's probably a good thing because I still need to rest up, but I was just glowing on my walk back home because I felt so loved by her. One more example. Danny told his boss I was sick, and his father-in-law is a doctor and he offered to take me to see him and translate. I cannot get over how generous and loving they are here.

I don't know if I mentioned this in a blog yet or not, but there seems to be no hierarchy among the people. What I mean by that is people of a different class don't treat others of a lower class lower then them. There's certainly no elitism, well among the majority of Cordobes. People treat the janitor in a building the same they would a good friend. You can't tell if someone is an old friend with a waitress/waiter because they are so happy to see them and they talk as if they've known the person for years. People authentically loving other people, I can't think of many things that bring me more joy.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

side note

I just found out you can't comment on the blog if you don't have G-mail. That bites! I'm sorry to all you that have tried and been unable to comment.

Ocktoberfest


Sunday:
We drove in three separate cars with a group of friends from Intel to go to Oktoberfest. On our way up we stopped off at a place that offers Ziplining across the lake. It was $10's! There are some things that are more expensive here, but when it comes to services it is definitely cheaper. We drove between an hour and a half and two hours to get to a German refugee village, Villa General Belgrano. The village was named in honor of the man who created the Argentine flag. During WWII some Germans made there home in this village and it has remained a Germanic village to this day. There was a parade through the streets with people dressed up in lederhosen and national costumes. There was food traditional of Argentina and some traditional of Germany, and of course beer.

We stopped at a river after lunch and had some amazing aged salami, cheese, and homemade bread... Oh yeah, my digestive system is so much better here. I don't know what it is. I won't dare eat straight up dairy products, but it has been so much better. I can eat pork (in moderation), and basically all the other stuff I haven't been able to eat. I think I O.D.'d on the salami on Sunday. I was so happy that I could eat it that I just kept on chowing down. I also ate cookies and pastries!!!!! Delightful!

A couple of Danny's work buddies said he was spoiled because everyone was speaking English around him and he wasn't ever going to learn Spanish, so that meant we spoke in a lot of Spanish after that. We both really enjoyed it. It's amazing how much effort and energy it takes to speak in a non-native language. It's good for us.

It was such a peaceful day. By the river we heard some rustling in the bushes and saw that there were 3 cows (vaca) on the other side of the river. No fence or anything. I went over to talk with them, a little in Spanish and a little in English, and they started to cross the river to my side. I wasn't sure what to expect from them. I knew they weren't bulls, so I wasn't too worried, but a little. It ended up they were quite friendly. They just hung out and ate grass next to us while we ate our salami. Like I said, very relaxing.

I didn't watch the full video, but this is a little glimpse into what Oktoberfest is like:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZhI5XIMiz0

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

I am missing all of you!

Hi guys! Oh my word I miss you all so much right now. I have been sick in bed yesterday and today. There has been no internet connection in our building for the last week or so. I tried getting connection elsewhere and that didn't work either. I am writing this in a Word document and saving it for a time when I can find an internet connection. It feels like it's been so long since I have talked to people.

Let me catch you up. Saturday it was Intel's Family Day. We didn't realize that was code for 'Kids Day.' We had fun regardless. We played a whole bunch of kids games. There was a karaoke style band that brought people up to sing Spanish songs from the 80's. Sabastian, one of Danny's co-workers told us that the woman organizing it needed to talk with us, so we went inside, and she dragged us up front for us to sing, “We Don't Need no Education,” by Pink Floyd. I'll just tell you right now, Danny and I weren't that good. Danny's bosses boss went up to him at the end and told him he could tell Pink Floyd wasn't his thing, but it was a valiant effort.

Sunday will take a little longer to explain. I will get back to you either later today or tomorrow about that one. Love to you all!

Thursday, October 2, 2008

I can't believe I am about to tell you this, but I miss doing laundry (don't tell Danny). I find a weird sense of fulfillment when I do laundry. I just don't like the waiting part. I am sure all of you feel really sorry for me, huh? I love sorting the clothes, folding them, cleaning them. Oh gosh...I don't know what this is about. It's one of the few areas of my life I enjoy being organized with.

I will say, I love the way they do laundry here. (By the way people don't have washers and dryers here in their homes, they take it to el lavndero to do their laundry for them.) It's cheap too. It cost $8.00's for them to wash, dry and fold three loads of our laundry. They fold our socks so cute, they even fold our underwear, I love it. I still wash our gentle cycle clothes by hand. They can do it in el lavendero, but I just like doing some stuff. I have a rope hanging in our patio area to dry our clothes on, I feel so old-fashioned. Enough laundry talk.

It seems like times are really rough back in the US. I've been hearing bits and pieces here and there . Danny and I watched the news the other day and it seems like the financial world is really taking a fall. It's not just that. It seems like people I love are really struggling right now. I have been praying for a lot of you. My heart is really aching for several people. You know it all varies from situation to situation, but there's one thing I can count on to help me...Cry when it hurts. It's okay to cry, I promise you that. Tears have a purpose. They are wonderful little drops of relief. It creates a way for us to let out our pain when we sometimes don't have the words.

A verse that's given me comfort recently: “We were really crushed and overwhelmed, and feared we would never live through it. We felt we were doomed to die and saw how powerless we were to help ourselves; but that was good, for then we put everything into the hands of God. [God]...alone could save us...and we expect him to do it again and again.” 2 Corinthians 1:8-10

One little piece of assurance. You are not alone. There's a little saying, “You may not believe in God, but God believes in you.” I love you and miss you.

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Quebrada Condorito


Sunday:

Danny and I went to Parque Nacional Quebrada del Condorito. It is a national park, about two hours away from where we are living, with the most oriental distribution of Andean Condors ( a beautiful black and white bird). We only got to hike half way because we got there really late. We had a little trouble at the bus station. The bus station we went to was similar to a small airport. There were all these windows saying where the bus was going and everyone told us a different place then the next guy. We were so confused and lost. We wandered all around, and finally when they told us bus terminal #31 we thought we found it. We got on the bus and asked if they went to Los Pamipillos and they said 'no' (and some other stuff we didn't understand.) We almost gave up, but we had some food to eat, so we decided to wait to see if the next bus in terminal #31 went to Los Pamipillos. We got on the bus, and to our amazement they went to the place we needed to go!

We watched a movie and looked out at the scenery, which at first was not much to look at. We started to get worried because the closer we got to the park, the worse the weather looked, and we weren't exactly sure how the bus system worked for getting back home (Danny, failed to mention that part to me until we were ON the bus.) We arrived to our stop, and just imagine the middle of nowhere in your head right now...that's where they dropped us off. There was a sign on a gate that said “La Propiedad Privada,” (Private Property) so we weren't sure if that was the place to go to the park or not. We found a little entrance for walking off to the side and went in. We followed a long crushed rock road that was surrounded by rocks sprinkled with lichen and hundreds of blond sprouts of thick lengthy grass.

Things started to look more and more beautiful. We saw a sign that assured us we were in the right place, and we felt relieved. We found a ranger station, and the ranger luckily spoke a little English. She told us we could only go halfway because it was getting to be too late, she also said he buses won't stop for you at night, and especially when there is fog (which there was plenty of that.) The weather was overcast and on the brink of raining, then suddenly it shifted. The clouds moved aside and the sun came out all around us. The sun remained for about 25 minutes. This was different terrain then I've ever been in before. The fog helped create a mystical feel. We saw a jack rabbit race by us, several wild bulls, and wild horses. I LOVE seeing wild animals, especially when there is a fence between us.

When we reached the lookout point. It was a wall of white fog. We sat on the rocks for a couple minutes. I touched my shirt and it was damp. The mist of the clouds covered us. Even our eyelashes got those little sparkles of dew on them. We turned back to insure enough time to catch the bus, plus it was getting increasingly colder. On the way back to the bus we ran into a group of 7 people. I felt SO much relief. They spoke Spanish, so I figured they knew how the bus system worked around there. We sort of just followed their lead.

I should remind you that there are no bus stops out in the middle of nowhere, so there are no guarantees that a bus will stop where you are at. By this time it was intensely cold, and no cars were coming. After about 5 minutes a pack of cars came around the corner. Several of them had their emergency lights on because of the thick fog. Among them was a bus. We waved for them to stop, but they continued to drive. The other group of people held up there thumbs to every passing car to hitch hike. I asked Danny why the bus didn't stop, and he wasn't sure. There was about a 5 minute span of silence with no cars. Then a fleet came around the corner, with no bus. This pattern continued for about a half hour.

Meanwhile I was running laps all around the area to stay warm. I had lost the feeling in my hands, and I was anxious because it was getting late. The other group started yelling out, “Colectivos!” Which is there word for buses. Another group of cars came, and this time there was a bus! I waved my arms like a madwoman, but it did not stop. Okay, now I was really worried. Why weren't they stopping? I was praying like crazy that a bus would come. We were so cold. I started sprinting and swinging my arms back and forth to stay warm. After another 5 minutes there was a bus, and it stopped. Oh my goodness, we were SO excited. That was the happiest I've ever felt to ride a bus in my life. We climbed on, and realized there were no seats available. We had to stand most of the bus ride back, we honestly didn't mind though. We were so thankful to be safe on a warm bus. People started getting off the bus toward the end of our journey, so we got a seat for the last 15 minutes of our trip back home. The whole experience was adventurous and much better then we were both expecting. To see more pics you can go to Danny's Flickr page: flickr.com/photos/dvarner/