Whossits a whatta? Si. Exactly.

So how often do you sit around contemplating the mysteries of the world? Daily? Weekly? During the week, there are a few times that I think about my day to see if there is anything that stands out and should be shared in this blog. The day to day life in Argentina has become exactly that, and so there are few things that stand out as being newsworthy. Does that leave me more time to contemplate the mysteries of the world? Sometimes.

What are some of the things that I contemplate? I often think about the makeup of the world and how each people is so different and yet happy in their circumstances. As an American, I think that we are brought up with a sense of superiority to the rest of the world, thinking that because of our democracy and economy, we are better individuals. I had travelled all over the United States as a child and had even left the country a few times before I was 18 and was able to get a small dose of the world outside of the U.S. It wasn't until I was on my mission here in Argentina, however, that it hit me: Argentines were happy being Argentine. I used to always ask folks where they were going on vacation or what they wanted to do and always expected people to say that they wanted to visit my awesome country. But not everybody did. In fact, more often than not, people were more content to just cruise down the interstate a few hours to spend 2 weeks at the beach in Mar del Plata, and they just plain weren't interested in the USA.

So fast forward to 2011. Having lived a life (kids, mortgage, moves) in my awesome country, it's interesting to live a life in another country. As a missionary, you don't worry about bills, schools, transportation, etc etc etc. But here we are trying to live our lives the way we are used to... but with different resources available to us.

This is where it gets interesting. We're so glad that our kids have been able to experience this at such a young age. For Sam and Caroline, they will have very simple memories of Argentina by the time we leave, but Claire will have many many memories of our life here. Just the other day, Claire went to a playdate where she was the only native English speaker. In addition to native Spanish speakers, there is a Dutch family that lives a few doors down from us, and they also attended. In Lily's kindergarten class, there were American, Argentine, European, and Asian students... all getting a dose of the world outside of their home country. What a great experience!

The challenge is that some Americans surround themselves with as many things American as they can. In addition to only socializing with Americans, they tend to put down the Argentine way of doing things. This superiority complex rears its ugly head. Living in a place where so many things are done differently, its often hard to remember that that's the way they do things here... and it's OK. I remember thinking during a church talk a week or two ago when the American speaker spoke of a poor childhood where the family of 9 lived in a two-bedroom home with one bathroom how that doesn't seem "poor" to the folks here as that would be normal for the vast majority of the people attending the church services.

What complicates our situation a little (as I've mentioned the handful of American families in the ward) is that our provided housing is considerably above and beyond the living means of most people at church, and a few of us have spoken about how it creates a division for social interaction outside the chapel walls.

We are somewhat lucky in that the American families in the ward all live really close to us, and 5 of us work at the same place, while two others work at the same place, so we always have things to talk about and we are always looking for things to do together. Claire is always so pleased to run into other people who speak English. Sam used to scream "no" and throw his hands up in a stopping motion if someone (including me or Candace) spoke to him in Spanish. They are both starting to learn a little more here and there and seem to be more comfortable here. They accept the fact that they don't understand everything and they are always asking questions.

Yesterday at the mall, our cheerful Claire ("Cherry" as Sam calls her) saw another girl and with a big smile and wave, said "Hola." I think the combination of the volume and accent surprised everyone within a 20 meter radius. When no one responded, Claire just bopped away and said, "I guess she didn't hear me."

To summarize, this really is a different life than we're used to. We're pleased that our children can be exposed to a different language and culture at such a young age as we all know the world is getting smaller and smaller. What's even better is that Candace appears to be happy here. She even said yesterday that she really liked the house we're living in. What she meant to say (going back to BLOG 1) is that she really likes the house we live in although it would be so much better if it had a garbage disposal. What a girl!