A brief and scattered life update

Sooo.  Here's the thing.  I was gone all last week on a tech-free retreat with my wonderful YAGM Argentina/Uruguay family and I leave tomorrow for another computer-less week in Buenos Aires.  I'm going to give a quick update of my life, and I'll expand upon the details when I return!

1.) My church here, San Timoteo, celebrated Reformation Day with a special service and a celebration with some treats after.

Most of us together after service.

I decorated a cake with some help from roommates.  I don't consider myself very artistic, so I have to admit that I was pretty excited this actually turned out pretty decent.

2. We also had a small Halloween celebration at the comedor.

Holding our ghost suckers high and proud.  My wonderful roommates helped me make these for the kids.

I gave a little talk about the origin of Halloween.  But let's be honest, the suckers were WAY more exciting.  

 We got into costume by decorating some masks of different characters and animals.  This is my other cat friend and I.

3.  I spent a week in Uruguay for a retreat with my YAGM family here.  It was a wonderful spanish break spent with some pretty wonderful people....and animals.

I love cows. Well, I love all animals, but I really do love cows.  This is me with the baby of the farm.  Each day we enjoyed fresh milk, cheese, and dulce de leche compliments of her mama and the other gals.  

Getting a tour.  All the food grown here was organic...and delicious.  So. Incredibly. Delicious.

A little volleyball fun with the crew.  Our days here were filled with learning and sharing, but playing as well.  Futbol, frisbee, volleyball.  So great.

Nothing better than a group bonfire accompanied by songs and stories.

4.  During a long weekend, I had the opportunity to visit Recoleta, a rather well-known cemetery in Buenos Aires and the planetarium.  

Katie, another YAGM volunteer, taking some photos amongst only a few of the many monuments that make up the cemetery.  It's almost like a little village with small streets that wind through the graves and monuments of different shapes and sizes.

The skyline was filled with angels and crosses in all directions. Rather beautiful, but slightly eery.

The planetarium glowing in the night.  

Well, it's past my bedtime and I need to wake up early to head to Buenos Aires.  I will include more next time and put a little more time and effort into the post.  I would also like to add that I'm doing without spell-check and grammar-check so don't judge me too harshly. 

Thank you for keeping up with my life!  I pray that wherever you are reading this, health and happiness are with you.  Everything continues to be well here as I continue to learn and live within this new country and culture.  Until next time!

Love,

Kristyn

A musical sampling!

One thing that I love about the where I am is the music.  Every weekend there seems to be a festival or celebration of some kind in a park or plaza, where music is being played and listened to free of charge.  Everyone brings their mate and sits in the grass, enjoying the day and entertainment provided.  Pictured below was a festival celebrating the the cultures present within La Plata.  Traditional dances and music were performed in one of the plazas.

A few weeks ago on Colombus Day, or Dia de La Raza as it is known here, I had the opportunity to attend a  free concert held at the Estadio Unico, La Plata's largest futbol stadium.   I was able to attend thanks to two of my roommates Liseth and Caro (see photo below).  It was an a great opportunity to experience more of the culture through popular music, so I thought I'd share a bit of that with you all.

Introducing the bands: The Pastillas Del Abuelo (Grandpa's Pills), Las Pelotas (The Balls?), Dread Mar I, and The Autenticos Decadentes 

The concert was at the Estadio Unico, which is the largest futbol stadium in La Plata and home stadium to one of the local teams.  And that's me.  I have gotten a lot taller since I left so you might not recognize me.

The inside of the stadium prior to the concert.  Pretty big place!

Myself, Caro, and Liseth in the stands.  

They provided a lot of great pre/between show entertainment.  They had ramps set up all around where skateboarder, bicyclists, and motocross riders  were performing stunts.  The motocross stunts, as shown above, were definitely the most entertaining.

The stadium filling up!

DREAD MAR I :

This man has some serious dreads, in case you haven't noticed from this picture.  

LAS PELOTAS:

LOS AUTENTICOS DECADENTES: (love this song!)

LAS PASTILLAS DEL ABUELO:

I also managed to capture a few videos of the crowd.  Maybe it's the type of music that I listen to back home which results in me going to more laid back concerts, but I had never seen anything like this.  It was so cool watching the crowd move like this throughout the entire concert.  Cool from above.  If I had been in the middle of that I probably would have been crying... or having a really good time but it wasn't exactly worth the risk to find out.  The people here are certainly are a lively bunch of concert goers!

There is a lot more to the music of Argentina than these four bands.  This is just a sampling from my sampling.  It was a great experience to hear some of the well-known music performed live, and probably an even greater experience just being in the concert environment within a new context and watching the crowd around me.  I'll share more musical and cultural experiences throughout the year as they come!

Until next time!

Much love,

Kristyn

PS: I sent out a newsletter about my time thus far in Argentina.  If you did not receive one and would like to be added to the mailing list, please email me at kristyn.zollos@gmail.com!