Buenos Aires here we come!

Adios BA

Posted by Andrew

Our last few days in Buenos Aires consisted of a final vocational day on Monday, a cultural visit to La Boca where not only do you find Tango being danced in the streets but it is also home to the Boca Juniors Soccer Club one of Buenos Aires most famous futbol clubs. The club run a very extensive community programs for children of what might be described of a part of the city less well of than many of the areas we stayed in during the GSE. English language training, an extensive library, art classes, singing lessons and drama classes are but some of the activities that are available.

Wednesday saw us on a day trip to the UNESCO world Heritage listed town of Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay. This town was fought over by the Spanish and Portuguese over a 100 year period and the architecture reflects the building styles of both controlling powers at the time. Thursday saw us with our final cultural activity as we explored the new part of Buenos Aires in Puetro Madero and a rather sumptuous lunch at the Yacht Club of Argentina.

Our farewell dinner was preceded by a visit to the Palacio Paz, a most extravagant private home that on completion in the early part 20th century only housed 9 people plus 60 servants. Ironically the newspaper businessman who commissioned the building died 2 years before it´s completion.

DG Rene Bollag had directed that our farewell presentation should be light hearted so we gave the assembled Rotarian’s and partners who were mostly our host families a taste of Australia. Vegemite, slip, slop & slip (with the GSE Chairman getting a very white face) some Aussie Rules handballing, Joey playing the didgeridoo and finally a sing along to the tune of Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree rounded out the night.

I have been blessed to have a wonderful team of young professionals in my charge and they have done District Governor John Barnes a great compliment by being wonderful ambassadors for him to Buenos Aires.

All good things must come to an end and many tears were shed by one and all and we leave BA with many new friends, some of whom we hope will visit Australia in the future where we can repay the very warm hearted hospitality extended to us.

With the exception of Joey who has gone to North America for a week of work, I will be visiting Salta, Santiago de Chile & Sao Paulo on company business, Lizzy & Carolyn have gone to Bariloche in the south of the country while Ianthie spends extra time in BA with a friend and then goes to Santiago de Chile and Vina del Mar before we start the homeward journey on Friday the 8th May. We trust you have enjoyed the Weblog postings and look forward to sharing in a more personal way the experience we have enjoyed in Buenos Aires.

Saludos Cordiale

 Andrew Brownlie

Team Leader

Coming to an end….

Posted by Andrew

Week 3 of our stay here in BA has been somewhat different. On Monday 20th went to the Atlantic coast city of Vina del Mar for a recovery break which was a most welcome interlude from the rush of BA. At around 500,000 inhabitants it isn´t that large but the summer holiday makers and weekenders change all of that.

We finished up on our return to BA on Wednesday at an estancia (crop and cattle farm) where the local vet come part time cook did a great job of doing a traditional asado (bbq) where the whole animal is cooked over coals. Despite a 4 hour cook time the wait was worth waiting for and lamb never tasted quite so good. Thankfully the whole team are meat lovers. Willie the Scottish / Italian chef was a rugby fan so took easily to a bit of Aussie rules with a Sherrin I have brought to BA as a prop for our final presentation. A great day was had by all!

Thursday saw us with 2 presentations (08.15 and 20.30 hrs) with a great lunch of empanadas (like a small pasty with lots of filling options) and Joey searching for a couple of meters of 40mm poly piping which he has turned into a didgeridoo, again for our final night presentation this coming Thursday. His performance should be outstanding but the taxi driver was a but ambivalent to a short performance on the way home.

Friday saw us with another 2 churches behind us. Both interesting in their own right.

Yesterday we had a really lazy day on a 45´motor cruiser sailing around the Rio del Plata region. This is an area of the river where silt has built up a widespread delta system which is inhabited by both permanent resident as well as weekenders. Channels in the delta are as wide as 300 – 400meters wide down to as narrow as around 20 – 30 meters and as shallow as 1.5 meters . Dodging jet skies, power boats, rowers, the local delta water taxi and the occasional canoeist made for some interesting maneuvering by such a large boat. A relaxed mid afternoon lunch and siesta, followed by refreshments and cake at dusk saw a great day come to an end.

The team had a night without me last night as they “did the town” with a number of Rotaractors we met in week 2 and a Peace Scholar coming to Brisbane who had seen our presentation at the District 4890 Conference. Being in the same house as Carolyn this week gave me inside knowledge of her return time but there the information for you back in Melbourne stops.

Tomorrow sees us with our last vocational day, Tuesday is covered by a visit the famous Boca Juniors stadium and on Wednesday we go to the world heritage listed town of Colonia del Sacremento in Urugauy. This is potentially a real highlight and we all look forward in anticipation to our time there. That brings us to the eve of our final presentation on Thursday which by direction from DG Rene Bollag is to be a light hearted affair. An Aussie football, didgeridoo, some Vegemite and a bit of round singing of the “kookaburra sits in the old gum tree” should see us out in style.

While it is too early to sign of in a absolute sense I can say that the team has had a most wonderful time and many tears will be shed on our departure. We look forward to a short presentation at the final Presidents meeting on the 29th May and then to your invitations to visit clubs to give you all some more precise details of our time here in Buenos Aires.

Saludos Cordiale
Andrew

In Recoletta cemetary with the tomb of Evita

News from Andrew

Posted by Andrew

Here we are at the start of the 3rd week and I must apologise for any reports in the last week. We changed houses yesterday afternoon and having arrived into my second consecutive host home without the Internet it has been necessary to find a Locutorio in which to get at the Internet and give my own summary .

To say we have been short of time and sleep in the last week is an understatement but all the team is bearing up. This past week has seen us do our second presentation, not without some dramas with the screen and a technical glitch with Ianthie’s revised movie, but again the feedback was positive. Cultural visits have included the Congress Building, similar to that in Washington, USA and a day long visit to the Nuclear Energy Power station at Atucha around 120km from BA. Argentina has been producing nuclear power for 35 years and with 2 existing plants, one about to be commissioned and a further 2 ready to start the authorities clearly intend that it is their way of achieving a 20% production capacity by 2020. Being inside the reactor shell of the about to be commissioned reactor and being able to look into the reactor itself was a highlight. This opportunity will not be reproducible in another 12 months.

This week we were guests of the R.C San Telmo – Constiticion (DG Rene Bollag & GSE Team leader Mike Smith´s club) the R.C Buenos Aires (250 members) and the combined clubs of Villa Devoto Norte & Devoto Parque. Tomorrow we have another vocational before the opening of the District Conference tomorrow night (Friday 17th April) where we hope to catch up with the D4890 GSE team .

Our change of homes in the 3rd week has seen us move to an area about 25km North West from BA and the contrast from BA could not be more distinct. This is very much a residential area where the pace of life is a lot slower, exhibiting nothing of the noise and pace of BA. There are some suggestions that BA is the noisiest city in the world. My last home overlooked a major intersection and the roar of buses at all ours of the morning did nothing to my sleep patterns. On the other hand it was by far and away the grandest home we have seen so far with a 40 paces walk from the front door to the end of my bedroom.

We have all become quite expert at riding the 6 subte lineas (subway lines) at at 1.1peso / ride (3.66 pesos to the US$) it´s a steal but if you think Connex has issues the numbers using the subte in BA are incredible. The area of Devoto where we are now living sees all of the team in quite close proximity to one another and the quietness should allow for some well over due R&R.

Today we visited a public hospital treating 1000 out patients a day, a public library, a Basilica finishing up with an unscheduled visit to the 700 student bilingual school where Ianthie is going tomorrow for her next vocational day. There we addressed around 40 senior school students about the GSE & Rotary Youth Exchange, Australia and our professions.

Time is marching on and with a 3 day visit to Mar del Plata on the Atlantic coast about 400km from BA starting this coming Monday the 3rd week will go quickly and then we are into the home straight. I hope to be able to round a couple of team members up to come home as a couple are falling in love with the place.

Regards to all at home and please encourage others to visit the BLOG at www.9810team.wordpress.com to get a feel for how this great experience is progressing.

Lujan Zoo

Nuclear power, chocolate eggs, and miracles from Mary

Posted by Lizzy

Hola Amigos,

We are well and truly in full swing here in BA! The weather has been fantasic for us, not a day without sunshine!

We spent Good Friday at Tierra Santa, a religious theme park. Very unique! The day was very interesting, with the reinactment of the Stations of the Cross, MANY fibreglass statues of Jesus, and a fabulously unique sound and light show, depicting the creation story. I don’t think we will see anything like this again!

Saturday was spent visiting Lujan, a small town about an hours drive from BA (thats with a maximum legal speed of 130, and an actual speed of about 140 ), where a beautiful basilica is situated. We wandered the plaza, visited a cultural museum, and finished the day off perfectly with an helado, or, ice cream. Helado is very popular here, and we know why! It is delicious!!

Easter Sunday was spent with our families. Andrew, Joey and Lizzy visited the country (el campo), Carolyn visited the Japanese gardens with her hosts District governer Rene and his wife, and Ianthie stepped out for a spot of shopping with her family!

On Monday, we visited the National congress, an impressive building, which recently held the funeral of ex President Alfonsina. For lunch, we attended the Rotary Club of San Telmo  and Constitucion. We were all put on the spot and asked to introduce oursleves and talk a bit about our interests…. Spanish language skills were pulled out once again!

We gave our second official presentation on Monday night, which was again, well received, by the Rotary Club of Parque Chacabuco. As is usual here, the meeting and dinner donot kick off until about 9.30pm, so after a late night, we wearily rose for an 8am start, and visted Atucha energy station, BA’s nuclear power plant about 2 hours away.

What an interesting and informative day. We were given a unique tour of the facility, were a second reactor is currently being built.

Tomorrow, we change to our third host families. How time flies!

An Asado BBQ with the Rotaract club of Belgrano

One of the many clever, talented buskers at the San Telmo market

Enjoying the day at the Feria

The cart is painted in the Feleteador style, typical in Buenos Aires

Enjoying an Asado with some Argentines