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.)