Colonia, Uruguay

Hey folks,

I've just returned from my first trip outside the city and I already wish to go back. I did what the British and American expat community has termed "the run" to Colonia. Every three months Americans, Brits, and foreigners of several other nationalities as well need to make "the run" outside Argentina in order to renew their visa for another three months. Some expats go to Chile, others go to Paraguay, most, however, do the short one or two day trip to the tiny riverside town of Colonia Uruguay.

It was pouring in Buenos Aires that morning but once we left the city the sky cleared and we could see the rain wall over downtown. 

There are three ferry companies that make trips to Colonia from Buenos Aires. For convenience-sake I took the Buquebus ferry. The ride was about three hours to get to Colonia. For the faster one hour boat the price would have been about double. As I was in no rush I opted for the slow vessel.

After living in a city for three months it is difficult to describe the feeling of walking off the boat to quiet, peaceful streets, a slower lifestyle, and a laid-back atmosphere.

You can see the shore of the river from the picture above. Colonia is a very small town with a population of about 20,000.

Above you can see the another view of one of the quiet streets. All the motor bikes are for rent.

I decided to get a little ice cream and enjoy it in a quiet park in the center of town. The park and the ice cream were both refreshing necessities. I chose Italian chocolate with cherries and Tiramisu. 

It was so nice to sit in a park that was not surrounded by the hum and honking of automobiles and the drone of airplanes.

Here is a photo of what remains of the old wall that used to surround the colonial settlement before it expanded.

The Basilica of the Holy Sacrament located inside the old section of the city. Built circa 1808.

The lighthouse I believe was built in the mid-19th century while the ruins surrounding it are from a 17th century colonial era convent (Convento de San Francisco y Faro).

Entering Antigua Colonia del Sacramento (Old Colonia)

A view of me from the top of the lighthouse. Behind me is the riverfront and way off in the distance is the ferry launch where I first arrived.

I wish I spent more time here. The streets are just so much more peaceful than in Buenos Aires. 

And there's a beach!!! I've heard the water is also clean enough to swim in too. Not so on the BA side.

Colonia: The perfect therapy for the countryside native to get his hillbilly fix. 

Next time it's go kart racing!!! Maybe. 

Kyle

Buenos Aires, Argentina

A valuable addendum

This is an excerpt from my journal that I have been keeping. Most of what I write is personal reflection but this has a lot to do with the experiential learning I spoke of in the previous post. I write word for word from my journal as follows, grammatical mistakes and all.
"I experienced a valuable insight yesterday. It is made more important by a verse from the Tao I happened to read today."

Verse 8 Tao
1[The highest form of goodness is like water.
2[Water knows how to benefit all things without striving with them.
3[It stays in places loathed by men.
4[Therefore it comes near the Tao.

5[In choosing your dwelling, know how to keep to the ground.
6[In cultivating your mind, know how to dive the hidden deeps.
7[In dealing with others, know how to be gentle and kind.
8[In speaking, how to keep your words.
9[In governing, know how to maintain order.
10[In transacting business, know how to be efficient.
11[In making a move, know how to choose the right moment.

12[If you do not strive with others,
13[ You will be free from blame.

"I was reflecting yesterday on my first several months here in Buenos Aires and I focused in on rigidity vs. flexibility of thought. For a long time I fought against the ways, the tendencies, the nuances of the culture. I tried with great effort to apply my way of life from the states, from small town Vermont, as a way of living successfully in this new climate. However my thought was too rigidly fixed for me to see that what may be successful in one time and place may not work, may even be detrimental, in another. In short I tried to force my Vermont life, habits, and way of thinking, into the context of Buenos Aires. That is the equivalent of trying to force a circular peg into a square hole. Frustrating as it was I rigidly continued to hammer away at the peg, with limited results.

Slowly, very slowly, my thought began to warm up, to stretch its legs and test itself with new approaches. I saw this gradual thawing of my thought but was at a loss to account for it or describe what was taking place. However with my eureka moment yesterday and the Tao verse today I do believe I have reached a point of clarity.

I consider it a fallacy to relate people to anything other than other people. People are people. They are not water, or animals, or plants. All have different and incomparable forms. They may share some common elements but each are unique unto themselves. However I do believe that you can liken human thought to something else to create an image. For instance with thought being like water in line 2 of the Tao v.8. For me I had to transform my thought to water. I had to allow my thought to settle and conform to the place and culture in which I am immersed. I had to free my thought from the vice grip of the ways in which my thought had guided me in the past and I had to allow a new way of thinking to form and evolve based on my preset circumstances.

The keyword in lines 5-11 is "know." In this context "know" is different than "thinking you know.""
For example in line 7,
In dealing with others, know how to be gentle and kind.

"In this context you "think you know" how to be gentle and kind but this is all based on your knowledge of another environment. True knowing is understanding and cultivating gentleness and kindness anew in each successive and new environment. This requires maintaining a flexibility of thought that allows it to flow into each successive situation and mold to them, and just as easily out to the next situation.

Of course people, as I said earlier, are not water. Our thought is not water. It does not fit perfectly to every situation. That does not mean we can't aspire to emulate the qualities of water in our thought. I would much rather my thought be likened to water than to a metal rod or a wooden plank.

If thought more closely resembles water tensions will begin to fade and the path will hold less bumps and hills."

2[Water knows how to benefit all things without striving with them.
12,13[If you do not strive with others, you will be free from blame.


That was my eureka journal entry. I finally found out why it has been so difficult for me to adjust to this new environment. I can guarantee I've mellowed out a lot since I discovered this tension I had been living with. I'm just surprised I didn't see it sooner. Just because a way of thinking and acting works in one environment is no justification at all for believing it will work in another. Especially when the two environments are as structurally and culturally different as Buenos Aires and Norwich, Vermont.

One of my favorite actors of all time sums it up quite nicely in his role as "the dude."

Man with awesome cowboy hat: "How's it been goin'?"
the dude: "Ahh, you know, strikes and gutters. Ups and downs."
Man with awesome cowboy hat: "Gotcha."
the dude: "yeah."
Man with awesome cowboy hat: "Take it easy dude, I know that you will."
the dude: "Oh yeah, well, the dude abides."
man with awesome cowboy hat: "The dude abides."

Lost and Found

Ever since I arrived in Buenos Aires nearly three months ago I have seen myself as a test dummy, a guinea pig of sorts. Since I've never lived abroad before for an extended period of time, let alone by myself, I thought it wise to see myself as a test subject. I decided to monitor Kyle's experiences, his thoughts and feelings, the changes that he undergoes, throughout his stay in Argentina. The road has often been difficult for Kyle. He has faced many uphill battles, he has faced uncertainty, the prospects of failure, isolation, at times loneliness, the dreaded possibility of boredom, the stresses of work, and the unknown that lies ahead.

In experiential learning Kyle is light years beyond where he was just a few months ago. In choosing to live abroad he has forced himself to live independently, to, in many instances, rely only on himself, and to turn to local friends for support and guidance when he's needed it. This touches on the superficial aspect of the learning. It doesn't delve deeply into the content of the experience.

Trying to wrap one's head around experience and explain it is like trying to explain to someone the inner workings of a clock when you yourself are not an expert. You have no trouble explaining what the different hands do or what the numbers all mean, but when it comes to how the hands move or how the chimes sound the hour you find it much more difficult. Just like a clock, Kyle finds it difficult to explain the inner workings of experience, especially when the value has only begun to manifest itself. This value will continue to grow in importance with time and continued reflection. Below are a few ideas Kyle has picked up along the way.

1. Never place a strong emphasis on plans in Argentina. They almost never go according to plan. Just abide (yes, like the dude) day by day and enjoy moment to moment, regardless of whether you do what you had intended to do.

2. The impromptu more often than not is the plan. What often seems like threadbare connections often lead to startling results. Allow these connections and results to happen and let go of the strict calendar of control.

3. Many are living to thrive, still more are living to survive. I met a friend last night, Ignacio, and mentioned to him the contrasts of seeing the executives in the business district walking by the man in rags lying in the street who looked if not dead, close to it. He told me this is survival capitalism. Argentina is a first world country that wants to be third world. The first world economic elements are in place, but the multitude of obstacles, lack of confidence or transparency in government, corruption,  and backward ways, all serve to hamper the efficiency and development of a stable and strong government and economy. This leads to extreme contrasts. Extreme wealth and extreme poverty side by side is just one example.

4. Never be surprised at what happens. If it occurs than it has always been in the realm of possibility. It is up to you to decide whether it is acceptable or not.

5. Nothing is more important than your own well being and the well being of others. Build a strong support network and work closely with it. Allow this network to cushion you in the difficult times and help prop it up in the better times. I've never given to a beggar on the street. It has often plagued my conscience when I have money but I fail to give any. The problem I have is that I don't know them. I don't know where my money will go or whether it is really solving anything. I would much rather teach a man to fish (e.g. by supporting a non-profit that teaches valuable, life-sustaining skills) than to give a fish and kick the can down the road some more.

I think Buenos Aires could use a few good non-profits to get people up on their feet again. There seems to be a lot of people with little hope, but I think a few good non-profits could help change that.

Swamped with Work: Teaching in Buenos Aires

I would like to start this post by apologizing for not being as consistent in updating my blog as I have been in the past. Work hit me like a freight train traveling at high speeds so I have had very little time to contribute my thoughts. This post will have to be brief as well because I'm running a tight schedule, but I felt compelled to write anyway.

As I hinted at above I've been very busy teaching. After hearing all of the negative commentary about not being able to find work as a teacher here in the summertime I would like to state for all to hear that work can be found, just not in the traditional places.

For example most English institutes operate within the business world teaching business English in companies that operate internationally. However in the summertime most companies suspend English classes because it is the time when most employees take their holidays. Because of this most teachers in Buenos Aires find work to be sparse or almost non-existent, however that is only in the business world.

The company I work for right now operates a little differently from the traditional English institute. While they do have teachers working in companies and teaching business English, the majority of us teachers are working with private students who are seeking to learn English for a variety of reasons. Most of these students continue learning over the summer and the structure of the classes is much more dynamic and less textbook based. The company itself pretty much acts as a middle man. The students contact them and they in turn connect students with teachers.

One benefit of this method is that it virtually guarantees the students want to learn English because they are under no obligation to take classes. They contact the company of their own free will and desire.

Even though I've only taught several classes so far I have been working non-stop preparing lesson plans for the weeks ahead. My goal is to build a strong foundation of solid lessons and materials that I can draw on and will therefore not need to develop so many lessons later on down the road, or feel rushed to prepare something immediately before a class.

Right now I have about five students and 12-13 hours of work a week. I am hoping to have 20 hours by the end of January and 25 hours by the end of February. In mid-February I will be moving into a very nice apartment so in order to afford it plus all the expenses for food I am hoping to work 20-25 hours a week. March is when the teaching work really picks up so 25 hours seems reasonable, and if I have a strong foundation of lessons to draw on I will really only need to prepare 2-3 new lessons a week.

Those are just a few of my insights and plans after my first week of teaching here in Buenos Aires. Now for another busy day of teaching and lesson prep : )

Kyle