We had a mellow Halloween. During the evening, the boys played videogames and put together snap circuits with Matias while John and I went out for a date. We had dinner at Grappa in Palermo Viejo. We shared a bottle of wine; a salad of burrata, sundried tomatoes and prosciutto; fettuccini with a salmon white sauce; salmon raviolis with a lemon white sauce; and chocolate mousse.
Saturday was Halloween. I had John bring back from the United States a big bag of candies. The boys took them to school to share with their classmates. Halloween is not a major holiday in Argentina. The kids didn’t wear costumes to school or go trick-or-treating. Seeing many of our friends in the United States wearing costumes and going to parties or trick-or-treating was bittersweet. John and I had a date-night on Halloween, and then, we did see some revelers (mostly people in their twenties) wearing costumes. We had a mellow Halloween. During the evening, the boys played videogames and put together snap circuits with Matias while John and I went out for a date. We had dinner at Grappa in Palermo Viejo. We shared a bottle of wine; a salad of burrata, sundried tomatoes and prosciutto; fettuccini with a salmon white sauce; salmon raviolis with a lemon white sauce; and chocolate mousse. The major event in Buenos Aires on Halloween was Museum Night. Museums and numerous cultural centers were open all night and had special activities. Although it sounded very interesting and appealing, we opted instead for a movie (The Martian). I had already taken some personal time in the afternoon to visit an art museum (Colección de Arte de Amalia Lacroze de Forteblat - after exploring the museum for almost an hour, I had my own guided tour because nobody else showed up for the docent tour). In addition, it was already fairly late (10:30pm) and we were tired; we feared that we might fall asleep if not highly stimulated. The movie started at 11:15pm. When we walked home around 2:00AM, there were tons of people outside (including children) enjoying the night. There was also a long line outside for one of the museums that we passed along our 10-minute walk home. Of course the kids woke us up early in the morning and I’ve been paying the price for staying up late…I planned to go to sleep early on Sunday night but couldn’t (read the next posting to learn why).
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On Thursday night, John returned from an almost 3-week trip to the United States. It was great to have him back! After school on Friday, both boys went to play at friends’ houses so John and I decided to meet after work for a spur-of the-moment drink. It was a lovely late afternoon. While there are many positives to our year in South America, there are also drawbacks. This week received this photograph from our real estate management company. Our home in Phoenix has termites!!! Ugh. What a nightmare! I dread what the cost will be to get rid of the termites and to pay for the renters’ hotel while the house is being treated.
B wrote this message yesterday. As you can see, he is making great strides with writing in cursive. His message also hints at one of the challenges that we face while living in Buenos Aires for a year – the boys’ dad is traveling a lot for work. We haven’t seen him for just short of three weeks (including 3 weekends). We miss him a lot!
Our boys are no longer that young. They are (almost) 8 and 10 years old. They are privileged children – they never have to worry about food, clothing, or anything that they need and we indulge them with most of what they want. Both John and I didn’t grow up like they are and we have been concerned that they are spoiled and that we coddle them too much. One thing that we wanted to change was that we wanted them to have more chores. They set the table (in other words, put out silverware), bring their dishes to the sink, put their clothes in the hamper, and sometimes make their beds. Since we have a cleaning lady, they don’t have to clean the house. I suggested that we have the kids wash the dishes but John disagreed because he worried that they would break stuff. Instead, John came up with the brilliant idea of having them scrub the dining room table and sweep the floor after dinner each night. They’ve been doing so for two weeks and it has been great. Now, the kitchen table is sparkling clean and the floor is clear of crumbs. Also, the boys take pride in their work. I’ve also made them entirely in charge of choosing their clothes in the morning and putting away their school uniform (I used to hang their uniforms). Does anyone have other suggestions about chores?
The boys got their report cards this week. I’m pleased to report that they both did well. There seems to be less grade inflation than in the United States – F initially felt hurt that he didn’t receive all As (10s). Interestingly, given that we aren’t Catholics, he received a 10 in catechism class! B has done well in facing the challenge of moving ahead a half a grade…and in Spanish. He needs to work on clearly writing sentences and paragraphs. To help him, we have hired a tutor who comes to our house for an hour a week.
On Sunday morning, the boys had their regular horseback-riding lesson. I can definitely see improvement. Not only have the boys generally picked up the rhythm for trotting, they are also much more comfortable with the horses. F used to be scared to feed the horses carrots after his lesson – they are very big animals with big teeth and strong jaws – but now he is no longer scared. I’m also progressing well and really enjoying my weekly horseback-riding lessons. I’m glad that I’m taking a couple hours out of my day on Thursdays for the classes. In the afternoon, a friend’s family took B to the sports club, Club Universitario de Buenos Aires so I took F to Puerto Madero. I had been wanting to visit the art museum, Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, for a while. Given that it was a Sunday and election day, there weren’t many buses so we jumped into a cab. Unfortunately, the museum was closed because of the elections. Instead, we enjoyed the lovely afternoon and conversed while we walked home. In the afternoon, a friend’s family took B to the sports club, Club Universitario de Buenos Aires so I took F to Puerto Madero. I had been wanting to visit the art museum, Colección de Arte Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat, for a while. Given that it was a Sunday and election day, there weren’t many buses so we jumped into a cab. Unfortunately, the museum was closed because of the elections. Instead, we enjoyed the lovely afternoon and conversed while we walked home.
Sunday was election day in Argentina. It was a big day not only because everyone legally has to vote in Argentina but also because the presidential race has been hotly contested. The current president (Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner) is extremely controversial. As president, both she (2007-2015) and her husband Nestor Kirchner (2003-2007) have implemented a lot of social programs to help the poor. Opponents argue that these programs are too costly and create disincentives. For example, they claim that the Universal Childhood Entitlement subsidy – a monthly cash stipend per child – encourages people to have children just to receive the subsidy and not to work, and especially, to refuse any employment that is taxed and recognized by the government, and thus, might cause them not to qualify for the subsidy. Many Argentines voted for Cristina’s presidential candidate (Daniel Scioli) because they fear that the opposition candidate would dismantle such social welfare programs and that inequality in Argentina would again increase. Much of the middle and upper classes of Buenos Aires (and many of the families at Colegio del Salvador) vehemently oppose Cristina. They’ve been hurt by extremely high inflation and the double exchange rates (dollar blue vs. the official exchange rate). They want change and strongly support the opposition - Mauricio Macri (a very wealthy businessman who is the mayor of Buenos Aires and the former president of the soccer team, Boca Juniors). One of the voting sites was a school across the street from our apartment. The boys were struck by the military personnel standing guard in front of the school. The soldier had a big gun that she held in a very visible position in front of her. The boys were shocked that her gun was pointed right at a little child walking out of the school with a parent. John had received a warning email message sent to international businesspeople that mentioned the possibility of violence associated with the elections but fortunately everything was calm.
Scioli (Cristina’s candidate) was the frontrunner going into the elections but the margin ended up being much smaller than expected. Scioli received approximately 36-39% of the votes while Macri received 30-34%. The rest of the votes went to Sergio Massa (a former cabinet member for Cristina) and other candidates. Since the winner did not receive over 45% of the votes and 10% more than any other candidate, there will be a runoff election between Sioli and Macri next month. Campaigning will be intense. I’ve already seen a lot of political postings on Facebook by my Argentine friends. F was not wearing the scarf around his neck for fashion purposes; he was cold so he took my scarf from me. The weather changes dramatically in Buenos Aires during the spring. One day is wool sweater and hot chocolate weather, another day it is raining, and yet another day it is tank top and ice cream weather.
One of the mothers from Colegio del Salvador took pity on us because it was the third weekend in a row that John has been gone. She invited us to go out on Saturday. In the morning, she drove us to San Isidro where her son was playing a rugby match with his team (San Isidro Club) . Along the way, we got to see some of San Isidro, a suburb of Buenos Aires city. Rugby is quite a popular sport in Argentina. Its popularity is evidence of British influence in the 19th and 20th centuries. Most everyone at Colegio del Salvador is a fan of the national rugby team – the Pumas and many kids play rugby each weekend on a club team. Although they admit that the sport is violent at the competitive, various parents have raved to me about the benefits of having their kids play rugby. At the elementary school level, they say it isn’t violent and that it teaches the kids good values. This was the first rugby match that I had ever seen. I was prepared to see some violence. Yes, there were some minor injuries and some kids were crying. What I was struck by was how the game was so similar to what my kids like to do for fun – get in a dog pile with each other and their dad or me, if they can. When the kids weren’t in a dog pile fighting for the ball, rugby was a lot like kindergarten soccer – a herd of kids chasing a ball. One thing that I didn't understand is why do all of the uniforms include white shorts? The mothers must hate trying to get the white shorts clean! After the matches, there was a 3rd game – food (sandwiches, bananas, and bottles of water) shared between the members of both teams.
After the rugby game, the friend took us to the sports club of Liceo Naval, located along the Costañera of the Río de la Plata. A bunch of kids from Colegio del Salvador play on the club’s rugby team and they and their family spend a lot of time there on the weekends. After playing rugby, there is a lot for everyone to do. Liceo Naval has a lot of outdoor space with sports fields, a parrilla (grill), and a large swimming pool. After a lunch of steak, French fries, and salad, we saw a little bit of the women’s field hockey match – another sign of British influence. Argentine boys play rugby at the private sports clubs while Argentine girls play field hockey at the private sports clubs. |