Instead of a job with regular hours and tasks, what I am beginning to accumulate is a loose network of affiliations and activities with various organizations. I am going a couple of afternoons a week to the defensorías, or women’s workshops, in the barrios outside the city, with a woman from the MEDH. Last week I had an interview with the CAREF (Comisión Argentina por el Refugiado/Argentine Commission for Refugees), another ecumenical organization people from the Mennonite Church put me in touch with. The CAREF does a lot of work with victims of trafficking, which is apparently a big problem here in Buenos Aires, and I may be able to start doing some accompaniment for some of their clients when they need extra help. I was hoping for something with a more concrete schedule, but I’m beginning to think that this is not going to change. This seems to be the way things work here anyway – everyone has two or three part-time jobs while finishing a degree or doing post-graduate work. Amazingly, people still seem way less busy and stressed out than in the United States. I am trying to take advantage of this relaxed pace while finding enough activities to keep me from getting bored.

In terms of entertainment, there is no lack of things to do and see if you can pay, and now that it’s getting warmer, there are a lot of free events and activities for those who can’t. Last week I got to go with a couple of friends from the MEDH to a concert by León Gieco, a famous Argentine folk singer. He started out writing protest songs during the dictatorship in the 70s, and has maintained a good relationship with the human rights community here ever since. The show was at Luna Park, one of the biggest music venues in the city, and the MEDH got free passes for seats in the third row! We were sitting right behind some of the Madres de la Plaza de Mayo and other famous human rights activists whom León recognized before the show. Needless to say, it was a big deal. ;)

A murga, or drum group, that performed during the intermission:


León Geico, then and now:





At the concert:



One of his most famous songs is called Solo Le Pido A Dios, or “all I ask of God.” These are some of the lyrics, with translation:

Sólo le pido a Dios
que el dolor no me sea indiferente,
que la reseca muerte no me encuentre
vacío y solo, sin haber hecho lo suficiente.

Sólo le pido a Dios
que la guerra no me sea indiferente,
es un monstruo grande y pisa fuerte
toda la pobre inocencia de la gente.

(All I ask of God
Is that suffering does not leave me indifferent
That parched death does not find me
Empty and alone without having done enough.

All I ask of God
Is that war does not leave me indifferent
It is a huge monster that tramples down
All the poor innocence of the people.)

Food

While I'm trying to get my internship figured out, I'm learning to enjoy my role as ama de casa. I joined a gym, (where I have a fitness instructor named Fabio!), and spend my mornings cleaning the house and going grocery shopping. I made friends with the woman who works in the bakery a couple of blocks away, and when she heard that I was having a hard time getting used to Argentine food, she offered to teach me to cook. This is her recipe for milanesa, the simplest and most common way to cook meat here:

Beat two eggs with Provencal spices (dried garlic and parsley), and fresh minced garlic, if you like. Meat for milanesa is generally thinly sliced beef or chicken fillets - dip one of the fillets in the egg mixture, and roll it in breadcrumbs. Cook in a hot oven for approximately five minutes on each side. Serve with lemon to squeeze over the top.

This is a recipe that one of the ladies at church gave me, after she made it for our community meal last month. It's rich and filling, great for cold weather:

Guiso de Lentejas

500g lentils
200g pancetta (thin-sliced Italian bacon)
3 chopped onions
1 red chili, minced
2 chorizos, cubed (Argentine chorizo is more solid and less spicy than the Mexican kind)
2 potatoes, cubed
2 carrots, cubed
2 vegetable buillion cubes
Salt and pepper to taste

Soak lentils in 1 liter of water for 4 hours. Saute the onion and chili in oil in a large pot. Add the lentils with the water, carrots, chorizo, pancetta, vegetable cubes, and salt and pepper, and boil for 15 minutes. Add the potatos and boil for 15 minutes more. Serves 6.


I went to my first asado last weekend, on the first nice spring day of the year. The church has a lovely back patio with plants, tables, and a parrilla, or outdoor grill. We spent the afternoon drinking mate and eating delicious Argentine meat, and came home smelling like barbeque.