A teacher and alumnus of Colegio del Salvador died and so the boys didn't have school on Tuesday. I got two of F's class-mates to join us on a tour of Congress. It's a beautiful building in the process of being renovated. I didn't take many photos because I had already taken a tour in 2015 and posted photos on the blog.
Our Sunday activity was a tour of the Casa Rosada (the Argentine equivalent of the White House), another activity that came highly recommended. It is free but you need to register online in advance. I also highly recommend it. F was so inspired afterwards that he came home and built his own version of the Casa Rosada in Minecraft. I gave the boys the option to either participate in their school's soccer workshop or visit a boring museum with me. B opted for soccer and F chose to go to the museum with me. I shouldn't have said the museum would be boring. F brought his book and read almost the entire time. I had to drag him to see my favorite pieces.
B decided that he didn't want to continue taking horseback riding lessons after we returned from summer vacation. Since we require him to do some sort of physical activity, he chose soccer lessons. So every Saturday morning from 9:30-11:00, John takes him to Parque Las Heras for soccer lessons with Marangoni. While he's practicing, John jogs around Palermo. What to do about sports/physical activity for the boys upon returning to the United States has been pressing on my mind. F has decided that he doesn't want to play soccer. He might play baseball but that isn't until the spring. We've talked about getting a dog. Maybe he can get his exercise by walking the dog?
What to do with B is an even bigger worry. If it were up to him, he'd play American football. He really likes it! I've been really concerned about concussions, and until this point, have refused to allow him to formally play football. I'm all for him playing football informally with his dad. Given his passion for football, I'm thinking I might cave and allow him to join a team as long as the coach is very careful about preventing concussions. But...B is also really into playing a sport with his friends. So if his friends are playing soccer, he might opt to play soccer again. So, in sum, I'm waiting until we return to Phoenix and we see what sports his class-mates are playing. One of the things that I really like about Colegio del Salvador is all of the school community activities. This Friday night the high school held a fundraiser activity at the school. There was food, soccer, PlayStation, music, and other activities for the kids. I took this opportunity to have some alone time. I sent John with the boys. I had dinner at home and read a bit and then went to Rapanui where I had some delicious hot chocolate and did some work.
May 25th is an important holiday in Argentina. It marks the beginning of the May Revolution that began the war for independence in Argentina. Of course the boys had the day off from school but John had to work. We relaxed at home and then went out for lunch and a walk before returning home to watch the first Harry Potter movie. Colegio del Salvador celebrated 25 de Mayo with an all-school assembly on the 27th. B's class performed a skit and a song. The school's rector gave an excellent speech about how Colegio del Salvador kids are very privileged and should take advantage of the opportunities that they have and help others who are less fortunate. I hope the kids internalize what he said. B's in the top row, third from right. We were fortunate that two moms generously loaned B the white shirt and the light blue scarf (Argentine families are incredibly willing to share items with other families when they need them). B blended right in with his class-mates. I felt bad for the 2 kids in his class who didn't wear white shirts. I had never heard of Palacio Barolo but various people recommended visiting it. They especially recommended the night tour. Since I knew that John wouldn't want to pay for a babysitter so that we could take the tour together, I asked another mother from Colegio del Salvador if she wanted to join me. She graciously agreed.
Palacio Barolo is a working office building with an interesting history and design, and tour with an awesome view of the city. About a decade ago, one of the tenants had the good idea of starting a company to give historic tours of the building, and the business took off. Luis Barolo, an Italian immigrant who made a fortune with cotton textiles in Argentina commissioned the Italian architect, Mario Palanti, to design the building where he planned to rent office space. Throughout the eclectic building, there are symbols related to Barolo's and Palanti's Italian background and their Freemasonry. The tour guide explains how Dante's Divine Comedy is represented throughout the building. The 22 floors are split into sections representing hell, purgatory, and heaven. At the top is a lighthouse with an excellent view of the city. Completed in 1923, the Palacio Barolo was the tallest building in South America until 1935. Today I dragged the boys to the Museo Evita for an hour after B's soccer practice. The boys weren't excited about another museum, and F was especially not interested in anything to do with the Evita or Juan Perón. I had to bribe them with extra video game time. Evita Duarte Perón was the wife of Juan Perón (president of Argentina, 1946-1955 and 1973-1974). Evita was born in the Pampas in 1919 to a wealthy rancher and his mistress. When Eva was a year old, her father returned to his legal wife and left Eva, her siblings, and her mother in extreme poverty. They moved into town and her mother worked as a seamstress to maintain herself and her children. Eva had a hard childhood. In 1934, at the age of 15, Eva ran off to Buenos Aires with a young musician. Eventually she found work in radio and as an actress and a model. She had a series relationships with various men. In 1944, Eva Duarte met Juan Perón (Minister of Labor) at a gala. He was 48 and she was 24. In 1945, Juan Perón was imprisoned by his opponents within the government because he was gaining too much power with backing from the workers. In response, Eva rallied behind Perón, and when he was released from prison, they were married. Both Evita and Juan Perón are very controversial in Argentina. The Peronist Party (named after Perón) is still very strong. It is the party of the Kirchners. Other Argentines hate the Peróns and blame them for ruining the Argentine economy (even today). Evita is loved by many because of her efforts to help the poor and excluded of Argentine society. The building where the museum is housed is a prime example - it was a transitory home for women in need. In 1948, the Foundation of Social Assistance María Eva Duarte de Perón acquired this beautiful house to create a place for women with children (primarily women from the provinces with problems of health, work, documentation, or housing) could stay. It housed approximately 200 women and children under 12. Our friend Guillermo invited us over to celebrate his birthday. The center of festivities was his delicious locro. He's from Salta, Argentina so the locro was locro Salteña. Delicious! There weren't any other kids their age, so fortunately the boys had Harry Potter books to keep them entertained for a while. After about an hour, they set their books down and slept on the couch. They weren't awake to enjoy the locro! That's what happens when we get a dinner invitation for 8:30pm and we don't eat until about 10:00pm. |