Another Week Has Come and Gone

Every day is exciting and interesting here in Canuelas and Ezeiza Argentina.  We go to bed every night tired but saying, "How did we get here?"  Then we wake up and say, "How did we get here?"   Since we can't answer that any other way, it is only by Jehovah's spirit because we are still amazed.  Some things have changed a bit.  For a few weeks Neil has to work every Saturday because of some deadline requirements but he is okay with that.  He gets an extra day off during the week because of working Saturdays but if you know him, you know he doesn't take the days.  I keep reminding him of his age and he keeps going anyway.    The next pictures I post are not going to have any commentary because they are self-explanatory.  Except maybe the last one in Neil's group of construction photos.  They all look the same to me but Neil and those of you construction inclined will see the differences.  So I hope you enjoy them.

 

 

So there you have it.  From Neil's vantage point.  However, he did not get any photos of the progress on the school, which would have been wonderful to show you.  It is coming along really nicely and I will have some photos to show you next week.

 

This last construction photo is of one of the local brothers as he attempts to communicate with Neil.  We are doing better every day.  We think we understand a bunch of stuff and then.....we go to the meeting and only understand "por ejemplo" and "jesuchristo" and "Jehova".  That "por ejemplo" was said so much, we put it in the translator and it means, "for example". 

 

 

Oh, don't know if I mentioned it before but, on this site, there is only one person older than Neil and he is a brother around 60-ish.  The next oldest is Neil and then me!!!  I knew we were getting older but this is the only depressing thing about being here. 

 

Now we get to move onto the kitchen and dining room where I hang out all the time.  I have to say that Gaston is hysterical.  More on that later.  I am going to show you a few photos from the kitchen and dining room with commentary.

 

 

This is a sister that I work with  in the dining room two days a week but she is there three.  She is there on Friday but I am not.  She is from Germany.  Her and her husband have been in Argentina for awhile but they have also been to Paraguay.  She is fluent in German, Spanish, this other language from Paraguay that I don't even know how to pronounce the language, and now she is learning Japanese.  She speaks better English than I do.  I love being with her.  She teaches me many things about Spanish and she is very laid back.  She is very OCD about things.  Like on the table she wants everything in a straight line, i.e. napkins, condiments, tea, et cetera.  I on the other hand want all the plates, and silver lined up with the chairs perfectly.  So between us we are a mess.  Anyway, the unstraightened silverware in the background has not been finished by myself.  Sorry I don't have an "after" picture too.

 

 

Here are Gabby and Gaston.  I talk about them a lot.  I did get them to take this picture under Gabby's protest.  They are so incredibly talented in the kitchen.  Both of them.  She makes very beautiful presentations and they both make wonderful food.

Gabby is Jeff's age and Gaston is Heather's age.  He reminds me of my nephew Rich in mannerisms but his humor is totally Andrew.  I laugh all the time.  He is not improving in his English which is great.  I tell him to "hit the road" all the time because he is so hyper and always telling me what to do.  He has no idea what I'm saying and always says, "What?"  So I repeat it and he still doesn't know what I'm saying.  It's kind of like wearing dark sunglasses.  You know what I mean, Louanne?  He always says, " Cindy...blah, blah, blah."   I have no clue what  he is saying.  Even those who understand Spanish can't understand him.  Here is the funniest translation error of my time here and it is all Gaston.

 

The menu for Wednesday said we were having Ravioli.  Yumm.  Well, he didn't make ravioli.  So I said, "Hey, que paso?"  "Ravioli"?   He says, "No!"  I said, "Menu says ravioli."  He says, "Menu is bull...."  My mouth dropped open and I was speechless.  He at first just laughed.  Then he gets worried and wants to know what he said.  I couldn't even speak.  Then I put it in my translator and Gabby panics.  "No, no, no."  I just laughed but couldn't really explain much except I said, "No cristiano (made up that word) dice.  Nunca!"  Then after lunch Gabby says to me in complete Spanish, and I actually  understood it, "Did you see the movie 'How to Lose a Guy in 10 days?"  I said yes.  She says, "In the movie they play a card game and it is called, 'bull.....' and it was translated on TV into Spanish as "a lie".  So they thought bull....meant a lie.  So when I said "the menu says ...,"  Gaston thought he was saying, "A lie."  Wow!! Did I have fun with that.  The next day, everyone, and I mean everyone in the kitchen was talking about it.  I told him I was putting it in the blog and so he knows.  He's a good sport.

On Thursday we had ice cream from Bethel.  It was cafe flavor.  Not my favorite but hey it's ice cream.  Well, at the end of the day he had been saving the chocolate chip and Gabby and Gaston let me take some of that home.  Age does have a few perks.

 

Last but not least the weather.  It has been blistering hot.  Unusual for this time of year.  The humidity is crazy and we don't have A/C in our room, just a ceiling fan.  I guess we have been pampered long enough.  Anyway, yesterday, my dia libre, it poured rain and got really cold.  Sweater and everything.  Now today it is really nice out.  We needed the break from the heat.  Neil says we got the entire heat of AZ summer and now we get the entire heat of Argentina summer and we will come home just in time to experience another AZ summer.

 

Well, I hope I didn't ramble too much but I have to say we are having a wonderful experience here and appreciate the emails and skypes we get.  We miss everyone and that really helps so much for us.  So until next time.  Love from the both of us.