Chocotorta, I love you

La Carrera de Las Chicas 5k

Building on Florida Street

Plaza San Martin today

BBQ with runners! (-:

BBQ in Punta del Este

My trip to Punta del Este (by boat and then by bus)

In a meeting (This city is gorgeous)

All were taken right by where I work

At a friend's birthday party (Yes, it's that pretty here.)

Near my work

Working.....(I think...)

Lots of bikes downtown

Cabildo

In Neuquén

Hangin'

Weird things to eat

View from the the roof of my apartment building

In a cafe in Puerto Madero

End of the year party for my running group

Check out what I found in my new "furnished" apt.......

I almost had a heart attack! (-: The owner hadn't put in allllll the furniture when I signed the contract. I don't know if it was the couch or the fact that he came up with a light fixture to match it that surpristed me the most. The good thing is that I talked with him and he had no problem with my objections and coming up with alternatives.

115th Annual Argentine Polo Championship

An American en Santiago del Estero

I traveled to Santiago del Estero last Monday to visit a gas plant as part of training for my new job. I had to travel by bus from Buenos Aires to a town called Frias and this was my first time to do something like that (The bus ride was 12 hours). I knew that was going to learn a lot during my visit to the plant, but what really surprised me was how much I learned during the bus ride there. I wanted to share a little bit of what I learned with you.

The Top 10 things I learned on the bus ride from Buenos Aires to Frias:

10.Sandwiches de miga aren’t my favorite, especially the triple layers ones; they’re way too bready.
9.Watching 3 horror movies back to back is not a good idea.
8. You need to bring your own toilet paper because there isn’t any in the bathroom.
7.You can get some toilet paper from the driver with a couple of winks and a big smile.
6.If you are traveling overnight, and you are sleeping, it is your responsibility to wake yourself up around the time the bus should be stopping in your destination.
5.It is really embarrassing to be woken up by your new boss at your final destination, especially when you are drooling.
4.The drivers like to crank the air at night and the temperature can drop to Arctic levels, so it is best to remember to bring lots of extra clothing.
3.If you have long hair, you can use it as face protection against the frigid air temperatures.
2.A laptop carrying case is not the best pillow.

And the number one thing that I learned while taking a bus from Buenos Aires to Frias is….

1.Quilmes from a can tastes really good, especially when you are sharing it with your neighbors over interesting conversation. It makes all of the above mentioned things not really matter.

I think I found the smallest hamburger in the world

They sell it at any McDonald's in Argentina. I haven't eaten in a McDonald's in about 10 years. The other day I was at the mall and (for some strange reason) I really wanted to eat a hamburger. I ordered one of these and was surprised at just how small the patty is. I mean, seriously! I had to order two! The good things is that after eating both of them, I still felt like I was being true to my diet. (-: I kept having this terrible urge to say "Super-size me, please!" Tell me what you think.

Rockwell Automation Fair Nov 2008 Nashville Tennesse

I went to this event as part of a training for a new position that I have with a company here. I am working for Electrodínamica S. A. The event was in the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. The only thing that I want to say about the hotel is that is was amazing. There was a little river that went through it, an amazing glass roof, lots of plants and foliage, many cafes and restaurants and also a Godiva Chocolate store (I was really happy about that). I've never stayed in a hotel that big. The event was great; I met a lot of nice people and I learned a lot about the industry. Check out the photos.

Downtown

Crazy guy in the park

How to sharpen your knives and scissors in Buenos Aires

First, you gotta listen for the man with the whistle thing. It sounds like a flute and it has a really pretty sound. Then, you get all your knives, scissors, etc. that you want sharpened and go down and find the guy before he leaves. This is usually not that hard to do. Then, you watch carefully as he uses his bike to turn the wheel of his sharpener. Within a few minutes, voila, you're ready to go! Check out the pics.

Late one Friday night

One Sunday afternoon

Spring

Testosterone

Retiro Train Station

US Presidential Election parties

I almost have my DNI

I'm a total nerd; I made a project plan in Microsoft Project detailing all the steps that I needed to take in order to get my DNI here in Argentina. There are only 41 steps and you have to wait about 5 months. (-: Right now I have my CUIL and my resdencia precaria. Only 60 days left....

In search of character

“...I didn’t hear my cell phone...I didn’t have credit in my cell phone to call you...The buses were on strike...I fell asleep…blah, blah, blah”

You know, I’ve lived here for 2 years now. Not really a long time, but long enough to get to know the culture a little bit more (especially now that I can understand just about everything). And……I am shocked to say that I have been stood up 2 times since I’ve lived here. When I say stood up, I’m talking someone makes plans with me, and I don’t even get a phone call. This is something that is completely shocking to me because it has never happened to me before in my life until I moved here.

The other day, I was talking with one of my friends and I asked him if he had ever had any character education. He said he had no idea what I was talking about, but was interested.

What I’m talking about here are the core values that help develop persons into caring, respectful, responsible people who make choices based on what’s right, rather than what’s easy. I’m going to talk about two values that I think apply to the being stood up situation.

One of the basic pillars of a good character is trustworthiness.

What does that mean?
A person that is trustworthy is someone that keeps their promises and is a person of their word. They are reliable and follow through on commitments. They’re honest. They keep secrets and never betray a confidence or a trust. They have integrity and do not cave in to temptation. They are also loyal when loyalty is appropriate.

Another core value or basic pillar of good character is respect.

A person is a respectful person if they treat other people the way they want to be treated, if they are considerate of other people and treat them with civility, courtesy, and dignity. They accept personal differences and work to solve problems without violence. They also never intentionally ridicule, embarrass, or hurt other people.

I know that no one is perfect, I’m far from it, but I think everyone should have some type of character education.

For the record, I never made plans again with the two people that stood me up again.

If you’re interested, I can write about the other pillars of good character next time. Also, I would like to hear some of the excuses that other people have given you.

Te mando besos,
Jennifer

The sombrero of sandwiches

Parental Advisory

Running – the great equalizer

There’s something I’ve really noticed since I’ve moved to BsAs. There’s a lot of classism here.

Coming from Austin, Texas, where just about everyone is friendly, and it’s a common occurrence to see Michael Dell, Lance Armstrong, or Matthew McConaughey running on Townlake trail with the rest of us, I find this classism particularly annoying.

People here will ask lots and lots of questions to try to get to know what class you are in: What neighborhood do you live in? What do you do for a living? Where are you planning on going for vacation?

It is often done in a rapid-fire manner, before they even ask your name. Not everyone does it, but it’s definitely common. Anyway, there are lots of other things that people do, but I won’t go into them.

What I really want to say is that one of the reasons that I have always loved running is that I think, more than any other sport, it is a great equalizer of some of the discrimination that goes along with classism. Really, all you need are a pair of running shoes, something to run in, and a place to run and you can excel in the sport. Once you have that – you can be just like the rest of us.

I’ve always noticed something in any running group or running race that I have been in. You can’t tell as much who has money and who doesn’t. What I think is most important is that I think fewer people actually care. There is something about getting together as a group, running together (at times suffering together), sweating together, etc that makes people put their guard down, whether their guard is their money or their beauty or the fact that they received their degree from So-and-so prestigious university.

And I have to say, I like that.

I hope to see you out on the trail.

Te mando besos,
Jennifer