Around and about
After class today I met up with a young Argentinean chiropractor who is a member of a local Rotaract club here in BsAs (young leaders in their 20’s and 30’s who meet to develop community projects). She helped me find a table to use for massage so I can put into use my new certification, and advised me in the purchase of my first mate. For those who haven’t heard of mate, the word refers to the container into which one pours the yerba mate herb to be infused, and also refers to the herb once it’s prepared to drink. It is a common practice to drink mate at any time other than meals. Mine will be in the curing process for the next several days; this curing consists of filling the mate with “old” mate and letting it sit.
I partook in another cultural ritual, the “asado” (roast), this past weekend when we traveled outside the city limits to an old ranch. Amidst the tall trees and orchestral sounds of the birds, we sat at a long table where we began with red wine and empanadas, followed by one type of meat after another- from sausage, to blood sausage, to ribs, to thin flank. For my mainly herbivorous system, it was a bit of a shock, but I succeeded in trying it all with the encouragement of the pair of Argentinean sisters sitting across from me.
Clearly every day is another adventure, and I am enjoying it all. Then comes a moment such as last night, when I went with two friends to see “El jardinero fiel” (The Constant Gardener… have any of you seen it? Reactions?). What an intense movie that has me wondering the same thing as when I surfaced from Syriana: how can the world continue as normal after such an inhumane system is uncovered? Why do certain groups feel they can place more value on certain lives than others? I could go on and on with questions, as you’ve probably noted is my trend… In any case, seeing that movie makes me evermore grateful that I am on the brink of diving into this subject matter in a community of people that are just as passionate. As my classmate and I stood on the corner before we parted, both of us brimming with frustration and longing for direction, all I could resolve for now is “day by day…”
I partook in another cultural ritual, the “asado” (roast), this past weekend when we traveled outside the city limits to an old ranch. Amidst the tall trees and orchestral sounds of the birds, we sat at a long table where we began with red wine and empanadas, followed by one type of meat after another- from sausage, to blood sausage, to ribs, to thin flank. For my mainly herbivorous system, it was a bit of a shock, but I succeeded in trying it all with the encouragement of the pair of Argentinean sisters sitting across from me.
Clearly every day is another adventure, and I am enjoying it all. Then comes a moment such as last night, when I went with two friends to see “El jardinero fiel” (The Constant Gardener… have any of you seen it? Reactions?). What an intense movie that has me wondering the same thing as when I surfaced from Syriana: how can the world continue as normal after such an inhumane system is uncovered? Why do certain groups feel they can place more value on certain lives than others? I could go on and on with questions, as you’ve probably noted is my trend… In any case, seeing that movie makes me evermore grateful that I am on the brink of diving into this subject matter in a community of people that are just as passionate. As my classmate and I stood on the corner before we parted, both of us brimming with frustration and longing for direction, all I could resolve for now is “day by day…”
posted by Amanda Joy at 12:30 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home