I am about to wrap up my week in Cordoba. It was a very good decision to come here. The weather has been very warm, in the 70s almost every day. I have only worn my jacket really in the morning, some in the late afternoon/early evening. It was a true immersion experience, with no one around me speaking English and having limited contact with home. I did finally find the CNN in English channel in time to watch Barack Obama's acceptance speech. I definitely feel as though I have been learning Spanish on a fast track this week. Also, this place is filled to overflowing with history. I also feel like I have been on a crash course in the history of the Jesuits, of Cordoba, of Argentina, of all South America. I have visited churches, and museums, until I am filled to overflowing with information. I am actually looking forward to my 21 hour bus ride to Bariloche. Basically moving from here to there will take me the better part of two days and the down time for my brain to process what I have absorbed this week will be wonderful. I am also looking forward to the scenery, although everyone I talk to around here says it will be "boring" (or as they say "burrado".) But it will all be new to me.
I got a taste of the landscape today by going on a mini-bus to Alta Gracia, a small town about 50 kilometers south-west of Cordoba. It is in the foothills of the Sierra mountains, so I saw flat, flat, flat (like west-Texas flat) terrain and then low mountains. It is a nice little town that grew up around an Estancia (one of the ranches the Jesuits founded to support their mission work). It also is the place Che Guevara´s parents brought him as a young boy looking for a better climate for his asthma. He basically grew up here, living here and in Cordoba until he went off to Medical School in Buenos Aires. The museum was quite interesting, and I took lots of pictures for my son Paul, but it is one-sided. It acknowledges his revolutionary activity, but without any detail about his participation in executions, etc. in Cuba which has made him so hated by the Cuban people. Still, it was a very interesting place.
I won't say much more about Cordoba or Alta Gracia, as I cannot still add many pictures. I hope my computer situation improves in Bariloche. I will add one more post either later tonight or tomorrow morning with some photos of my hostess and my home and school here in Cordoba. I will then bring you more updates and, hopefully, more pictures of Cordoba next week from Bariloche. I have the feeling that I will not be as busy in Bariloche, as it is primarily an outdoor resort type town and the weather is supposed to be cold (in the 30s & 40s) with rain, which suggests that I may be spending a good bit of time inside. If so, assuming my computer can connect to WI-FI than I will be able to catch you up on this past week and a little bit remaining from Buenos Aires.
The pictures above are of the Sierra mountains from Alta Gracia; me in front of the Che Guevara Home Museum (kindly taken by a young woman from Costa Rica); a fountain in Cordoba; and the oldest church in Cordoba lit up at night. If you want to see more pictures, follow these links to the Kodak Gallery Albums I have created. This first link takes you to more photos of the Che Guevara Home museum: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.cfz0t4kq&x=0&y=-dshwcs&localeid=en_US
This second link takes you to more photos of the Estancia: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.3qrnum4q&x=0&y=l52cwz&localeid=en_US
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