TUESDAY 03/09/10
One of my primary goals of coming to Buenos Aires was to do some work related to the immigration here, whether directly with the immigrants or indirectly through research. As I had mentioned before, I had contacted both FCCAM (Catholic organization that works with refugees) and CLACSO (non-profit that does a scholarly research on the migration and immigration of Latin American populations both within Argentina and in other countries). I finally had an interview at FCCAM!! I called to confirm it, as I had only received one e-mail the previous day from a “P. Sante” saying that I could come at 10:00 a.m., but no address or phone number. When I called, I didn’t know whether to ask for “Señor Sante” or “Señorita Sante.” When I told the man who answered that I had just received an e-mail from “P. Sante,” he corrected me by saying it was “Padre Sante.” Wow! What a Protestant! I was hoping that they were accepting enough to let that error slip.
I arrived at the office (which happens to be about 5 blocks from the house I’ll move into) and there were already 5 people in the waiting area, which I assumed were all waiting for the organization’s services. From the conversations that I heard, there was a couple from Colombia (with their suitcase) and another man who was being sent to Uruguay the next day. After waiting about 10 minutes, I was sent up to meet with Father Sante. He was a very warm man who just had a twinkle in his eye and fit the image of a Latin American sacerdote (priest). After explaining what I was looking for, he called in the staff attorney, and the three of us discussed the steps to proceed…looks like I will start to have some real purpose down here!
Later in the evening, I went to the studio of my African dance teacher to take her class outside of the UBA. There were only 5 of us in her nice hardwood floor studio (just across the street from the incredible restaurant, Arevalito, that I had gone to on Saturday). She split us into two groups and had each one combine the movements we had learned to present to the other group - while feeling each other’s energy to change transformations and end the routine – it was a new experience for me, and rather enriching.
After the class, I had to stop into another restaurant that had recently opened a block away, Artemisia. After ordering, I asked if they accepted credit cards, which they didn’t…and I only had half the cash to pay the bill. So, I went to the only bank in the area, to find that the cash machines were out of service. Returning to the restaurant dripping with sweat from trying to walk briskly in the humidity, the server told me that I could just come back another day with the money...just an example of the Argentine hospitality and trust.
One of my primary goals of coming to Buenos Aires was to do some work related to the immigration here, whether directly with the immigrants or indirectly through research. As I had mentioned before, I had contacted both FCCAM (Catholic organization that works with refugees) and CLACSO (non-profit that does a scholarly research on the migration and immigration of Latin American populations both within Argentina and in other countries). I finally had an interview at FCCAM!! I called to confirm it, as I had only received one e-mail the previous day from a “P. Sante” saying that I could come at 10:00 a.m., but no address or phone number. When I called, I didn’t know whether to ask for “Señor Sante” or “Señorita Sante.” When I told the man who answered that I had just received an e-mail from “P. Sante,” he corrected me by saying it was “Padre Sante.” Wow! What a Protestant! I was hoping that they were accepting enough to let that error slip.
I arrived at the office (which happens to be about 5 blocks from the house I’ll move into) and there were already 5 people in the waiting area, which I assumed were all waiting for the organization’s services. From the conversations that I heard, there was a couple from Colombia (with their suitcase) and another man who was being sent to Uruguay the next day. After waiting about 10 minutes, I was sent up to meet with Father Sante. He was a very warm man who just had a twinkle in his eye and fit the image of a Latin American sacerdote (priest). After explaining what I was looking for, he called in the staff attorney, and the three of us discussed the steps to proceed…looks like I will start to have some real purpose down here!
Later in the evening, I went to the studio of my African dance teacher to take her class outside of the UBA. There were only 5 of us in her nice hardwood floor studio (just across the street from the incredible restaurant, Arevalito, that I had gone to on Saturday). She split us into two groups and had each one combine the movements we had learned to present to the other group - while feeling each other’s energy to change transformations and end the routine – it was a new experience for me, and rather enriching.
After the class, I had to stop into another restaurant that had recently opened a block away, Artemisia. After ordering, I asked if they accepted credit cards, which they didn’t…and I only had half the cash to pay the bill. So, I went to the only bank in the area, to find that the cash machines were out of service. Returning to the restaurant dripping with sweat from trying to walk briskly in the humidity, the server told me that I could just come back another day with the money...just an example of the Argentine hospitality and trust.
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