Nahuel Huapi - Gesundheit

There are benefits to working overseas. We get to celebrate (read: take the day off) both U.S. and local holidays. As the rest of the U.S. was planning their barbeques and three-day weekends, we’re left wondering what would have been since we don’t have a car. Every time a holiday comes around (we had an Argentine holiday in August, then Labor Day), we discuss what we could do… we think it would be awesome… then feel sorry for ourselves that there is no way we can do it since we’d be getting two taxis to get out of town, which is just more hassle than its worth since we know our car will come and we can just do those things later.

Labor Day was one of those days where we thought we’d do something great and then realized we couldn’t go anywhere. HOWEVER, it was not a holiday for Lily and Claire so they were going to be off at school. We got very excited about a morning with only two children and thought we were in good shape. While everyone was situation normal Sunday night, Lily woke up with pinkeye. So much for our leisurely Monday morning without the two older kids. We now know where the pediatrician is, how the finances work, and a bunch of other stuff we hoped we wouldn’t have to find out. At least we got to double up on the appointment and got Caroline current on all of her immunizations. Did I mention we’re still without a car? The holiday was anything but. Lily ended up home from school for two days and we’re very lucky that none of the other kids got it.

Since we have always been left wanting when it comes to planning vacations, we decided to look ahead and we have been in discussions with two other families down here about a thanksgiving getaway. It’s a good time to travel down here because it’s before the masses get out of school for summer break (remember, southern hemisphere), yet the American school gets two days off for the turkey day. So we beat the summer rush, don't miss much school, and can enjoy a holiday with family. Our Mouritsen Family Fun List (the list created every place we move to insure we get out on long weekends to see what the world has to offer) is pretty heavy this move so we thought we'd get to one of our destinations for Thanksgiving. The farther option is called Puerto Madryn where some whales have their annual get together, and the closer option is a forest locale on the beach called Carilo. 12 hours vs. 3 hours with all those kids. We would love to do Puerto Madryn and will, but it looks like Carilo this year. We're working out the details and are very excited. We'll keep you posted... um, or I will.

I have made a personal goal to try and reach all 23 provinces and 1 autonomous city during our stay in Argentina to say that I really saw the country. From my mission, I had already knocked out the autonomous city of Buenos Aires (think Washington DC, but I don't think they have that whole "taxation without representation" beef... even though they have every other kind of beef... top 5 exporter in the world, you know) and the Province of Buenos Aires. I have now also checked off Misiones, Neuquen, and Rio Negro. 19 Provinces to go. I was able to take a trip to Rio Negro which is home to a beautiful lakefront ski town called Bariloche. As the central plains of Argentina head towards the Andes mountain range, Bariloche sits on the banks of the Nahuel Huapi lake inside of Nahuel Huapi National Park and a northern city in Argentina's vast Patagonia. The picture below was taken from the top of Cerro Campanario just west of the city of Bariloche. The islands in the lake, as well as the snow-capped mountains made for yet another picture that doesn't do the real thing justice. Also keep in mind that the picture was taken with my 2 megapixel camera on my phone... so if it looks that good on a nothing camera, imagine what it really looks like.

The picture below is taken from a monument on the side of the rode from inside the province of Neuquen looking back across the vast Lake Nahuel Huapi towards the Andes (to the west).

Bariloche and Patagonia are oft-mentioned destinations for travelers to Argentina, as well as Misiones (see the movie The Mission with Robert DeNiro? Parts filmed in Misiones at Iguazu Falls). Just keep in mind that if/when you come to visit, they are not in driving distance of Buenos Aires.

The Odyssey

I'm sure when Homer used his hammer and chisel to write about Odysseus' long journey home after the fall of Troy, he did not have in mind that some 29 centuries later, a family in the northern Buenos Aires suburbs would be awaiting their Odyssey for what seems just as long. Odysseus took about 10 years to make it back to Ithaca after the Trojan War. We just found out that our Odyssey (the Honda version) is taking a much longer journey to Buenos Aires than we previously expected. Our vehicle was originally supposed to ship circa 22 August 2010 AD, so I sent an email to the company last week just to check on the status of the container ship to see if I could track it myself. Well, I was informed that the container ship entrusted to safely transport the Odyssey had engine trouble, and had to take a 2-week break in Savannah, Georgia, postponing the Odyssey's arrival from 10 September 2010 AD (THIS WEEK), to 24 September 2010 AD (NOT THIS WEEK). May we all pay homage to Poseidon that the seas will be calm for an on time departure 6 September 2010 AD.

While we would miss our Odyssey anyway (since it's a sweet ride), it's made worse by the fact that some of our good friends who have helped us out tremendously the last almost two months have an Odyssey as well. So when we ride in it, we get all sad. Worse yet is there are two other families who got here AFTER us that also have Odysseys.... and guess what?! One of those families got their Odyssey on Friday. As it turns out, Honda Argentina doesn't sell Odysseys (CRX and Pilot is as big as they go) so there will be four Honda Odysseys in the northern suburbs in the next month (with Poseidon's cooperation). We've talked about going on vacation in November with 2 of those other 3 Odyssey owners and joked that it would be an Odyssey Caravan.... Sorry, it's late and I'm not on my game.

Enough about the car. One of the funniest things we have seen in the last couple of weeks is Sam's refusal to respond to anyone's effort to speak Spanish to him. He will happily shout "owah" and "chao" to people and will say "po favo" when he wants more food at dinner time. He will sometimes surprise us by repeating something someone says, but shame on you for speaking Spanish to Sam. Our maid, Lorena (who speaks as much English as Homer probably did), will cheefully greet Sam every day she comes and she is met with a grumpy "NO" from Sam. When I caught wind of that response, I had to try it out. Lily reminds us that we're trying to only speak Spanish at dinner time to reinforce what she and Claire learn at school, so when she does, either Candace or I will turn to Sam and ask about his day in Spanish, and he grumpily says "NO", and refuses to answer. If in English, he's a cheerful as ever. In Spanish, it's a "NO" every time... until you say "chao".

One thing that I have been ready to say "owah" to has been the parrilla in our back yard. The brick structure that is a staple in every Argentine's yard had been calling my name since we got here. Knowing that a proper "asado" is a process and not a quick "throw some meat on the grill" outing, it had to be planned at a time I could fully dedicate myself to doing it right. That was tonight. And so our first official "asado" in Argentina was.... postponed. Um, actually, my first attempt was a total disaster. I should have known that I didn't have the right equipment to do it right, but was blinded by desire to do the Tim "The Toolman" Taylor grunt while putting the finishing touches on a hunk of meat. I am such a loser. We broiled the meat instead. Alas, I am not defeated. Did Odysseus stop heading towards Ithaca cause he had a rock in his sandals? Did the Three Amigos give up when the infamous El Guapo had them surrounded? Did Maverick give up flying after Goose was killed? OK, yeah, he did for a little while, but then he got back in the cockpit and finished the course, but not as the trophy winner, which I thought was funny. Normally in movies like that, the comeback kid would win the trophy, but Iceman was holding the trophy at the graduation.... go figure. Well, I will try again. I have a few years to perfect the process. And I will. Oh yes. I will.

If the asado would have turned out the way I wanted it to, I would have retired to our upstairs where we installed a hammock (or as Claire and Lily call it, a mahammock? don't ask where that came from). Our whole top floor is a big playroom and there are exposed beams. Some friends (same ones with great taste in vehicles) had us over and they had two hammocks hanging from the beams on their own top floor and our kids just loved them. So we thought we'd invest in one. Well, it's a success... and we have since ordered another one. It is very comfortable. So comfortable and fun that the kids just fight over it. Um, glad we only got one at a time?

Since we have arrived, we have celebrated a birthday for Candace and a birthday for Dave. We went to dinner at the same place for both and it was great both times. It will be easier to branch out once we have the Odyssey. We also got word that we might get the rest of our stuff this coming week. While we're in a good schedule, we've been without almost all of our stuff for two and half months now. Without our own car (luckily Argentina has a great local car hire system that's relatively cheap) for going on two months.

As I look around, we've made a good start to our lives here. While the exotic-ness (I'm not spell-checking this) of living in a new country is wearing off as we make the weekly trips to the grocery store and pay someone to take us to church, I think we're having a pretty good time of it.