As I mentioned in a previous post, people that I have met in Resistencia thus far have been extremely nice and definitely welcoming. Those whom I have gotten to know beyond the context of a “necessary” daily interaction (i.e. a purchase at a store or restaurant, conversation regarding directions, etc.) have been more than instrumental in helping me feel at home and ensuring that my basic needs are met. Largely, this has revolved around interactions with my referente and her family. On the most boring of days it is mildly amusing to see them interact, and on days when they really shine, I often find myself rolling in laughter as they banter back and forth. My referente Chabela has four children ranging in age from 19 to 26. I won’t drag too much detail into this post about their lives except to point out that each member of the family has a strikingly vivid personality. I’m not sure if my perceptions are rooted in the occasional situation where I cannot follow their sometimes extremely fast bantering at the dinner table and instinctively resort to drawing cues from inflection and facial expressions. These communicative demonstrations seem to reveal their personalities in profound ways. From another angle, my observations may well draw their acuteness from the fact that my closest social circles and their contexts have not drastically changed in the last four years. In this brand new context, of course I might expect these personalities to jump out at me in the ways they have. Or, as I often take a middle ground, I imagine my perceptions might be the product of a healthy dose of both explanations. Nonetheless, let’s just say I will have to challenge my observative nature over the next several months to not construct boxed-in caricatures of each individual: not of the “alpha male” son, nor of the hippie son who has always dreamed of owning his own bar, nor even of the stubborn baby of the family who often protests until she hears what she wants. :)
As I am on the topic of my referente’s family, I can finally happily share that I have moved into what I believe will be my permanent residence during my stay here! My sincerest apologies to anyone that I inadvertently lied to before my departure: I am not, as I shared with you, living above a dance studio. The unfortunate nature of this initial arrangement included a room to be shared with another teaching assistant (no bigger than a college dorm room), a kitchen in which I was not supposed to cook (because the odors would affect the dance environment for the students downstairs), and little privacy (as there always would be visiting dance professors moving in and out of other rooms in the corridor) among other detrimental factors. Needless to say, I am much happier to living instead with my referente’s two sons and one of their friends in a house owned by their grandmother. They likewise are happy to be share the room as it would otherwise be lying unused. Other advantages of the house include one of the city's smaller plazas just across the street and the house's location just a short walk from the university where I will be working (pics on my facebook for now... Blogger does not seem to want to cooperate in uploading photos).
Finally, I had the great opportunity earlier this week to attend a church in the area. After passing several on my walk home on Monday afternoon, I decided to dive into a Google search for Iglesias (churches) in Resistencia. One of the first that I came across was Iglesia de Jesucristo and, after perusing their webpage and Facebook site, I decided to check out the service they were having Monday evening. Honestly, I was kind of hoping to simply go and experience what one of their worship services was like. I didn’t think it would be too difficult to sort of fly under the radar on this first visit as it looked like there would be many, many attendees. However, I arrived and found that Mondays evenings are a gathering for individuals the same age as myself. Amidst this smaller group of worshipers, I was warmly welcomed by Emelia who invited me to sit with her friends; I had a great conversation with many of them after the service. I then proceeded to take my first motorcycle ride as Emelia offered me a ride home (which was about as scary as I thought it would be. Read into that as you would like- haha); she also extended an invitation for me to join her and her friends at the movies tonight. Unfortunately, I’ll have to decline her offer for this evening but I feel so blessed to have met this group and look forward to spending more time with them soon!
And so, you ask, why would I turn down such an offer? As it is common to promote the tourism industry and take more days off from work than in the United States, I approach my first extended holiday weekend! Argentina will basically be shut down from Thursday to Sunday for a type of memorial celebration, thus, Hannah, the ETA in Corrientes, and I will be traveling to Tucumán to hang out with a couple other ETA’s living there and explore some of the city’s smaller surrounding towns. Exciting travel stories to come!
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