The campo

My family and I went to a rural area about an hour away from our house a couple of days ago. My father does ministry work there with really poor people. The people living in this rural area are city dwellers who left Buenos Aires because the economic conditions were too horrible to find work. They now live on farms, but they do not know how to make a good living or to meet their needs because they´ve never lived in the rural areas before. My father and some of his friends have a program to help teach the men the needed skills and knowledge so that they can earn more money and provide for their needs. It was really neat to see his work and the ways that he and his friends are seeking to use their knowledge to provide for the needs of those around them. It was also neat because their work focuses on teaching so that these men can provide for their own needs instead of simply giving them money. going to the rural area was also interesting because it helped me to get a better perspective on life in Argentina outside of the large city of buenos Aires. The people in the rural areas live very differently and lack many of the resources and luxuries of the city. The rural area and my time there reminded me that this country is standing between two worlds, with the rich being basically in the world of the developed countries while the rest of the country struggles to provide for their needs.

Random fact about argentina - when it is really cold they do not sell gas to private cars so that there is more gas for the houses. it makes public transportation a little bit interesting as the taxis are more expensive and the trains and buses have different schedules on the weekend.

I am currently in Uruguay for a weekend vacation and also to see another city of Latin America. I will be here until Saturday. It is a really fun city and very different from Buenos Aires as it is much smaller and more peaceful. also we are really close to the sea, which is beautiful and I love it. we are going to theather productions every night, which is fabulous because we have not had the opportunity to go to theater productions in Buenos aires. It is a nice break from Buenos Aires and the group needed the break. we´ve grown a little tired of all of the historical sight seeing every day.

Amy and Hillary went to Patagonia for the weekend trip along with others from our group. I will let them fill you on their adventures.

I hope you are all well. I miss you.