Urban Art of San Telmo

Today we spent a lovely day strolling around San Telmo, an area of Buenos Aires known for its antique shops and coffee bars It's an artsy area that also has some awesome urban art.

"My Boys"-My best friend on the right, and my hubby on the left.

Blue Tree

Sidewalk Ballerina

San Telmo Lady

Boom Box

Two Dogs and a Blue Door

Tin Man

The Dirty War

Argentina had a bloody military coup (The Dirty War) that took place in the late 70’s and early 80’s.  Although there is debate as to how many people disappeared during this reign of terror, it is estimated that 30,000 men, women and children vanished.  A majority of the people who fell victim to the government’s campaign to rid the country of leftist guerrillas and subversives were: teachers, doctors, nuns, priests, students, journalists and anyone who was open about their distaste of the government and its policies.  Although the coup ended and things have changed, a commemorative march takes places every year in Plaza de Mayo to remember those who have disappeared and to bring to light problems that still exists.

Loud

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Disappeared

March

 

 

The Old and the Young...

The old and the young can find a common interest in soccer, one of the favorite pastimes/obsessions of a good majority of Argentine males…

Photos of Soccer Players

Little Legs

Little Legs

These little legs were so endearingly filthy...her mother was running a book stand and gave her a black marker to entertain herself with.  The marker refused to stay on the paper.  She decided her body was her canvas.  You should have seen her arms...

Shoes for Sale

Second hand shoes for sale on the sidewalk:

Shoes

I spy...

I spy a pair of eyes looking straight at me...

The Face

More City Tromping...

"Tough Guy"

Today I spent two hours simply walking.  I took a lot of pictures, but sadly, most of them were crap.  I practiced some "hip shots."  Pictures taken while holding my camera at the hip.  No looking through the view finder.  Most of them were nothing special.  My best picture however, was shot on my way home.  I came across a subway musician playing the accordion (quit common here);  I donated some money and then asked if I could take his picture.  He happily agreed, and asked if he should smile or look natural?  I told him to try to look natural.  The result of his natural pose:

Subway Musician

Construction Workers (The best "hip shot" of the day)

The Paris of the South

Argentine Kids

Balcony Play

Missing Teeth

As most of us know, child rearing differs from culture to culture.  As Americans, I feel as though we have an underlying attitude of “we’ve got it all figured out.” I worked as a nanny for ten years and as a teacher for nearly two, I have had a chance to observe both the experiments and the results.  Do we in the US have child rearing down to a science?  Of course not, but we do have certain ideas and trends that claim to be the recipe for how to produce a healthy kid.  Just a few for examples: kids go to bed early, the more sleep they get the better. Sugar is BAD, organic food a must, TV depletes brain cells, and hand sanitizer can be found in the purse of nearly every mama in America.  As a nanny, I have been asked to follow very specific verbal and sometimes written instructions that carefully detail exactly how to handle the goods, so that I can aid them in becoming productive and well suited members of society.  I want to note though that many families I have worked for have been wonderful, but I have come across a few crazies in my lifetime.

Traveling presents an opportunity to observe child rearing in a new light.  While living in Buenos Aires, I have been observing and noting trends that differ from the norms in the US.  Here are some examples:  young children in Argentina stay up well past midnight, they guzzle down soda like its going out of style, even caffeinated stuff like Coca Cola, and sometimes coffee. Gasp.  They breath ridiculously polluted air, learn to crawl and walk on filthy sidewalks, they play on playgrounds with equipment that looks as though it were built during the turn of the century, and would have any American parent in a conniption, organic food is incredibly hard to come by, and last but not least, they have shorter school days.   Not only that, but they are sometimes held responsible for walking home, eating lunch, and then returning back to school on their own.  So, what does all of this sugar, germs, lack of sleep, and unfathomable (by US standards) self responsibility produce?  Completely well adjusted, well learned, friendly, worldly and hospitable human beings.  Imagine that.  While no society is perfect, Argentina and the US being far from it, I have personally experienced hospitality and kindness here unlike anything I have ever encountered back home.  As a teacher of Argentine children, I find kids here to be just as curious, kind, intelligent, and sometimes as bratty as American kids back home.  What does this tell me?  That the US does not rule the world with the answers of how to raise a perfect child.  Therefore, we should think twice before we judge and decide without a doubt that our ways are the best. 

Sisters

Ten Things

Ten Things I Miss About Home

1. Ziploc bags
2.Clothes dryers
3.Cheddar cheese
4. Guacamole
5.Good quality batteries
6.My kitchen
7.Milk and juice that come in plastic containers.
8. Wallaby yogurt
9. Chipotle
10. Real Post-It notes


Ten Things I DO NOT Miss About Home 

1.  Being forced to drive everywhere
2.  Politics
3. Television programs interrupted every three minutes for ridiculously long commercial breaks.
4. Gas prices
5. House cleaning (my rent here covers a maid, heck yeah!)
6. Bars that close at 2:00 am
7.  Republicans and Democrats
8. commercials advertising embarrassing feminine products (they don't exists here)
9. Boring weekends.
10. The Denver Broncos-soccer kicks ass here...