Firsts

Hey everyone! I arrived in Buenos Aires on Wednesday morning with all of my bags (always a plus). My driver was an amiable fellow who asked me if I spoke "Castiliano" and responded "no" to my question of weather or not he spoke English. Oh well, that didn't stop us from communicating well enough to get everything loaded and transported to my hotel.

First clue that you are not in an American hotel:


I've never actually used a bidet before, so naturally I was curious. As I leaned down and cracked the handle open, a stream of water shot about three feet in the air. I was able to avoid being shot in the face and quickly turned the water off. Lesson learned.

After that adventure I decided to go for a walk. I came across a park complete with a wrought iron dog park. It was much louder than it looks in the picture.


After wandering around a shopping district and being solicited by lots of people to do lots of things (even spend the night I think...but maybe I misunderstood her), I stopped for lunch. Everyone tells you about the beef in Argentina, so I figured I should try some. First beef lesson: If given a choice between the "1/2" order or "Full" order go with the half. Unless you want to eat the whole cow. Although on second thought, maybe that's how they can wait so long to eat dinner. Hmm...

Leftovers.

Anyway, the steak was delicious as was the wine that they brought with it. After my espresso, the waiter poured me a lemoncello shot as an after coffee "breath freshener" on the house. Wow, do these people know how to do lunch! All I can say is I can't wait for dinner.

Nat

Argentina!

Here we go again!

Well, it's official! Nathanael left today for Argentina. He will arrive in Buenos Aires early tomorrow morning and then will fly on to Comodoro Rivadavia tomorrow night. It was a stretch to get all he needed in his luggage. We were a little anxious that the weight limits would be exceeded (there are maximum luggage weight limits...they will not let you bring a bag on a plane over 100 pounds). So we arrived at the airport with a lot of prayers lifted up. His tools alone weighed 96.5 pounds - Thank God! His backback was 51.0 pounds (which the airline let pass by since there was such a huge charge for the toolbox!) and his carry-on weighed about 25 pounds (there is a carry-on limit in Argentina). So, all went as well as it could have...and he was off!!



Here is what we know so far:
-We will live in Comodoro Rivadavia most of the time (we think) and the rest of the time in Rio Gallegos.
-I will join Nathanael next week.
-Neither town is a tourist destination.
-The towns are hubs of travel when trekking out to Patagonia.
-Nathanael will work 28 days on and 28 days off (during the time off, we will travel around South America).
-He is working on Agusta 139 helicopters that ferry people to off-shore oil rigs.
-We will be in Argentina at least until September, but probably until August next year.

We'll see what else God has planned! We are so excited for this new adventure!

P.S. We are open to ANY visitors WHENEVER you want to come down!