I think we found a place to live!!!!!!

We searched for houses in Portland again today, and found three great prospects. I didn't realize that there were such great places out there. We looked in NW and SE Portland, but I think we decided on a place in SE near East Burnside, Stark, and Belmont. If you're not familiar with that part of Portland it's basically a great little area with funky coffee shops, great restaurants, and lots of character. Our place is a mile or less away from everything...grocery stores, movie theaters, bookstores, cafes, restaurants...all the places you need.

Oh my gosh!!!! I am so excited to show you guys pictures. We are just about to send the application in. My computer is tweaking out, so I am going to post this, but I will post more later.

Here's a picture of Danny's and I with Marcus and Angie at Vivace.

The snow has melted

Hey guys,
It feels pretty good to be back. With me being me there is always reflection. And with that comes some feelings of loss and feelings of thankfulness.

I miss the excitement people get when they haven't seen you for a couple days. I miss hearing Castilian spoken everywhere (when I first arrived in Cordoba I never would have thought that would be something I would eventually miss). I miss their passionate spirit, their grace, patience, Cordobes really know how to have a good time, and take life easy. There's not much anxiety. I miss their generous hearts. Their willingness to take a risk (even when they might look a little silly), and just their all around love and affection they have for one another.

Christmas went well. It was cool, because I felt like this year it was less about presents, and more about family. I like that. There were several contributing factors. The weather- a lot of family members were unable to make it to their desired destination because of the snow, so people became more thankful if their loved ones were able to be there. There was a new level of gratitude to be with our families this year because we haven't been with them for almost 4 months. It seemed like most people got a little more creative with gift ideas this year because of the economy taking a bite out of people's bank accounts. Several people just eliminated giving gifts all together, and some made their own gifts by hand. I like the simplicity.

Danny and I got a chance to hang out with our best friends Marcus and Angie last night. It was great to see them again. We would have seen each other sooner, but the snow wouldn't permit it. We got to see their adorable cat, Wilson. I think he is the cutest cat I have ever seen (Cover the ears of all the other cats in my life, so they don't hear that). We went to Vivace on NW 23rd, and had their amazing crepes. We had the number 7, which has nutella, chocolate, whipped cream, bananas, and toasted almonds on it. It was pretty amazing.

Danny and I were looking for apartments and we were in Portland all day, so we ate out 3 different times in Portland, and I could not believe how much I missed the food here. We went to our favorite Mexican restaurant on Hawthorne, Cha cha cha. I had the Big Mama Burrito with their special enchilada sauce, and freshly sliced avocados...mmmmm. There is so much variety. I can understand a little more about part of the reason why Americans are obese. We have such easy access to food, it's incredible. It's so simple to get food here, with little effort on your part.

I like looking for apartments. It's sort of sad when you get see one that's amazing, and you fall in love with it, and then someone else gets it before you do. That happened to us a few times already. I guess a lot of people are out shopping for places to live right now. I know we'll find a place that suites us. We saw one place that was incredible, but it was a little out of our price range. We might be able to cut a deal with the guy. Since being in Argentina the highest priority for Danny is good grill/BBQ access so he can start having more asados. He's so thrilled at the idea of retrieving our grill from storage and firing that baby up!

Well, I better get going. I have to help make Christmas dinner for our extended family. They were unable to make it here before Christmas because of the snow, so we are celebrating today.
If you're in Argentina reading this- I am giving you an imaginary hug right now. There was a guy at Cha cha cha who was speaking in Spanish, and I got the biggest urge to go up and hug him, because it reminded me of being in Argentina.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We made it back safely, and with no problems. It was amazing because SO many flights were canceled. We had a 30 min delay, but that's nothing. We sat next to a lady that had been waiting for a flight back to PDX since Sunday.

There was snow everywhere when we got back, so we built this snow goblin.

Flight number

This is for the Varner's and my parents, but our flight number is AS 563 from LA to PDX.

It is totally weird. We are in the airport in Chile, and I think about how far I have come since I was here last. I remember crying the last time we were here- from the culture shock, and the humiliation of not being able to order a sandwich. Now, most people are ordering their food, speaking English, and I am feeling really sad that I am not forced to speak in Spanish. We will still speak in Spanish to other people until we get to LA. And, I guess if there are Hispanic people in LA, we will talk to them in Spanish too. I want to really find a group of people to speak with.

It's funny, I was just in Cordoba today, and when I was there with people from Intel I spoke in English. I am sort of regretting that. I am getting bugged with how much English I am hearing. Everyone is talking in English. Why am I bugged with this? I speak in English. That doesn't seem fair to my own language. I am still in Chile though, I feel like I should be hearing Spanish.

We met a friend on the plane from Peru, and it was really fun to chat with him (in Spanish). I cannot tell you his name, I have never heard it before. He wrote it on a piece of paper for us, but I can't remember because it was long and very different.

I love how people we meet want to continue to keep in contact with us. I love to be relational with them. When we meet people here, and talk for 20 minutes- it feels like I have known them for a really long time. The depth is reached quickly. I hope, as a culture, that will always remain the same. I am going to head out now. I am excited to see you guys, and go sledding. We are still in our summer clothes, so we have to adjust quickly!

Alberto

I guess I am posting a lot today. We just say adios to Alberto, and his son-at the butcher shop. Here's a picture of him and Danny.

Please pray for us

I know I asked for it before, but please pray for us for a safe flight and to arrive tomorrow- as scheduled. I would really love to spend Christmas with our families, not in the airport :)

If we got stuck it would be in LA, and the bright side of that would be that we could say 'hey' to our friend at the Venice Beach Hotel. Remember, the Bas Rutten look alike? I bet he would be happy to see us again. As much as we would love to see him too, we would rather spend Christmas with our loved ones.

Leaving today, a little reflection

I have a list of all the different nuances about Cordoba, and I have intended to post them on here, but just haven't done it, but now is the time. I apologize in advance if anyone gets offended- it's all in good fun.

-There's a bomb that goes off at least on a weekly basis from a protest. People protest here ALL the time because their wages are so low. For a few days the garbage men protested, and it was not pretty. Everyone puts their garbage in bags and places them on the sidewalks, it's not just like that 'on garbage day', everyday is garbage day, but they don't have bins, so when the garbage men protested it got really stinky.

-They mop their sidewalks every morning. When I walk to school people are outside of their business mopping their section of the sidewalk, what a novel idea. Along with this one, they are very fastidious about cleaning their windows.

-There's always a fresh pile of dog doo on the sidewalk everyday. Well, lots of them. The sad thing is, you know pretty soon there is going to have a foot print in it. Which is something you see quite often. They don't have laws about cleaning up after your dog, or even having your dog go someone besides the side walk, which leads me to the next nuance.

-There are stray dogs everywhere-hence the dog doo. Danny and I had never seen a dog with testicles before we came here. All the dogs we've encountered in the states are neutered, but it is rare to see a dog that is neutered here. Bob barker would have a hay day!

I have more written down, but I should go pack some more. I will write more when I get home. I am sad to leave, but happy to see people at home. Just to let you know I am going to continue the blog to let my Argentine friends know how things are going for Danny and I in the states, and for people in the states to know as well. I still have more to write about our last weekend here, and of course, the rest of the nuances. We are so thankful for the opportunity to come here, and for the people we have met along the way.

I have built relationships with our laundry lady, Pablo-the man we bought our glasses from, our butcher-Alberto, and his family, our house cleaner, The maintenance man in the building, people from Danny's work, Sergio and his friends-from the bookstore, teachers, and students from school... Each one of those people have changed and effected me. They all will be missed.

The city of Cordoba (nuances and all) will be missed. Even the people I didn't know. I walked to school, and I would pass by a security guard every morning, the people washing their sidewalks, I would look in the window of a meat shop called 'Angus', and see what the guys were up to in there, the men waiting for their van to fill with passenger (I never knew what the van was for), the people who would stand in the doorway of their shops and look out at the passersby. They were my regulars, and they gave me comfort. I knew I could count on them being there each morning. I will miss my path to school.

We are going to finish with all of our tasks here, then swing by Intel to drop off our keys, and say bye again. We will be on our way soon-and I still can't believe that we are leaving. I cried when I arrived, and now I cry as I leave, but for very different reasons.