week one thoughts

i can't even begin to sum this week up, but i'll try.

from staring up at the frescoed arches of la catedral de córdoba,

 to skipping rope with underprivileged children in the neighbourhood of blas pascal, 

the whole non-smiling thing that the chicas are doing doesn't help my case but i swear this photo was their idea. as was the face paint. 

from leisurely coffees in cute cafes, 

one of many coffeeshop iphone portraits.

to busy days of being thrown headfirst into our fascinating but exhausting volunteer work, 

blas pascal, a government-built argentine equivalent to a project or council estate, where projects abroad assists with an aftercare program for local kids.

from early mornings eating dulce de leche on crackers in our lovely house, 

to evenings seeing patio olmos lit up like an oasis in the bustling nightscape of downtown córdoba, 

this has been quite an interesting past several days. between the two of us, marit and i have collected at least 6 overpriced coffees and two bewilderingly ancient international phones, been robbed of a wallet, and made plans for a weekend trip to salta with some new friends.

en el centro

córdoba is an odd but charming mix of old and new, historic and modern, industrial and beautiful. in many ways, it harkens back to the european roots that argentina prides itself for, but with subtle yet memorable touches that are distinctly south american. 

my main volunteer placement, which i visited for the first time today, is intriguing. i'm going to be working at a correctional day school for adolescent nonviolent offenders who have been targeted by the código de faltas, a law in the province that allows police to arrest people solely on the basis of "looking suspicious" or loitering in a place where their physical appearance or presentation seems out of place. once they have been arrested- for no actual probable cause- the police can pull up these boys' records and discover that they do indeed have criminal histories, for which they are then sentenced to attend the school i will be working at. my job, along with another volunteer, will be to help educate the boys on their human rights and attempt to enact small changes that will help them avoid getting arrested by police unjustly. this completely unfair law reminds me a lot of the implementation of the stand-your-ground law in the trayvon martin case in terms of its blatant racial profiling under the guise of maintaining security. i'm intimidated by the workload, but i'm very excited to start working for real next week. 

admittedly, this has been a tiring week, partially due to the stresses of travelling and partially due to the fact that argentines just. don't. sleep. dinner doesn't even begin to be acceptable until at least 9:30 p.m. but it's all been a learning experience and it's all been immensely worth it. 

barrio cerro de las rosas, where we live. 

 on the whole, this experience is turning out to be just what i had hoped it would be, and i'm thankful for that. 

xo

m

the first msb^2 selfie of the trip, taken immediately after passing through customs.

and the most recent msb^2 selfie, taken yesterday. 

it's 12:30 a.m.

and this is the tail end of the most up-and-down day i've experienced since the bittersweet occasion that was high school graduation. somehow that seems like ages ago, and i don't know if that realisation makes me happy or sad. i spent a large part of today saying goodbyes: to my brother, who's going back to school, and to several of my friends, who are heading off as well. saying "see you at christmas" or planning thanksgiving weekend reunions with my closest friends is terrifying and melancholy. but at the same time, it makes me overwhelmingly happy that everyone in my life is going into the world and carving out their own places in it. it's been said that when michelangelo created a sculpture, he started with a block of solid marble and chipped away at it until he "found" his piece of art within it. one painstakingly packed suitcase, backpack, and longchamp tote bag later, i still haven't wrapped my head around the fact that it's now my turn.

it feels quite real- struggling through baggage weight limits and confusing migration forms- yet it all feels surreal still. i have a feeling it won't be until i'm on the plane, above the clouds, picking at my airplane dinner, that it'll hit me that this is my life. and when it hits me, i'm going to feel as weightless as the clouds i'm flying over. marit and i have been dreaming about this year for months, years even, and every time lately that i've gotten caught up in stressing about minutiae regarding this trip, i've had to pinch myself and remind myself that oh my god, i'm going to be exploring the world (well, parts of it) with my best friend. this has been our mutual pipe dream since we were eleven, and now it's happening.

i am so, so lucky. and i am so, so tired. packing is exhausting. now it's time for my last sleep in my own bed until october.

x
msb