The Download

Today the sun came out, and that has made all the difference.

We have been in Argentina a nearly month (a month!) - two weeks of orientation (first for the newbies, then with returning faculty) and two weeks with classes in session. Aside from the nice people we have met and things we have learned, what we will remember about the first month here is that it was real chilly (our house heated with just a couple of space heaters), windy, and rainy, rainy, rainy (with some puddles even forming inside). Who knew Argentina had a monsoon? It has pretty much been the worst stretch of weather since we blocked out the last worst stretch of weather.

Compounding the gray skies, the winter sun here does not rise until nearly 8:00am, which is also the time school starts.

Oh, and we were sick too. New school, new germs. Liam stayed home with a fever the third day of school while Kristen and Asa started taking antibiotics a few days later for a bronchitis-type illness.

So in short, the first month here has been a slog.

But the days are getting longer now, there is light in the sky when we set out in the morning. And we learned enough Spanish to call a taxi on rainy days (the key is to start any conversation with "no hablo Español, pero...."). This photo was taken near school - sunrise over the Rio de la Plata.

After some major first-day-of-school jitters, Asa and Liam are finding their way. They were placed with well-matched teachers who report that our kids are settling in and making connections with new classmates. That said, Asa and Liam both miss many aspects of AES - we all do. Even though we knew it would be difficult to move on from a community in which we were so comfortable and connected, anticipating those feelings does not take away the feeling of those feelings. This transition will take some time.

The slog, however, is over. The sun is shining, temps are in the mid-60's, and we have a three-day weekend to get out and explore. We are calling this Day One in Argentina - the fun starts now. This is a beautiful city with so much to offer. Our house is in a cool neighborhood; we can buy fresh fish, salted chocolate chip cookies, and ripe avocados all within a few blocks. We have booked October break by the sea. And friends are coming to visit in December! We feel positive about how things will be, despite the awkward landing.

Next steps in getting settled: taking the train into the city, starting up weekly Spanish lessons, after school activities for the kids, and hopefully soon - the arrival of our shipment from India.

Stay tuned and thank you for checking in!