Another Type of Sabbath Experience - Taking Children Off to College!

For the past four days I have been embarked on another type of Sabbatical experience: accompanying my oldest, my daughter Rebekah, to Pennsylvania to help her settle into her new apartment. She has moved to Carlisle, PA and is enrolled in Dickinson Law School of Penn State University. My little girl is off on a new adventure, passing another milestone, and taking another giant step into adulthood. Is all this truly happening? Is she really becoming a Law School student, embarking on a graduate degree, in a far northern state? Where did the past 22 years go? I really am proud of her and so happy for the opportunity she has before her. I know she will do well and achieve amazing things. But as any parent who has experienced this knows, it is such a bittersweet time. Although I must admit, the past four days have been so busy - driving from Miami to PA in just over 24 hours, with a six hour stop to sleep and a two hour stop in IKEA, Baltimore, to purchase furniture (more on that adventure in a moment); several trips to WalMart and Target and another trip back to Baltimore IKEA to pick-up furniture and a variety of items one needs to set up house in a new location; hours spent assembling furniture; a little time today to explore the town and see where Bekah will be living and studying for the next three years - that I have had precious little time to sit and think and reflect and actually allow the grief feelings at this step to take hold of me. Perhaps tomorrow on the flight home, when she actually takes me to the airport and she makes another trip to Baltimore IKEA!

So, what is up with IKEA? Bekah was told by customer service when she called them weeks ago from Miami that they could deliver her furniture to her apartment in PA for a fee of $99 if she purchased it in the store. They also said if she did so before 3:00 p.m. they could deliver it that same day! So, we dashed to Baltimore from Miami, barely stopping to sleep, to arrive at IKEA before 3:00 p.m. on Monday (a highway construction delay topped off with an accident scene in the middle of it cost us about 30 minutes, but we still made 3:00 p.m. Hooray!) At the home delivery desk we learned they ONLY deliver to her region in PA on WEDNESDAY OR FRIDAY! So it would not have mattered when we arrived on Monday, the furniture would not arrive before Wednesday!!! Of course, the car was loaded to the gills so we could not take the furniture ourselves at that moment. She arranged for the delivery and we made our way to Carlisle, found her apartment (a ground floor in a nice row house), met her landlord, did the walk-thru, signed the lease, and unloaded the car. The next day we trekked back to IKEA in Baltimore (about a 90 minute trip) to pick-up the furniture ourselves. Upon arrival back in Carlisle we began assembling the furniture, starting with the bed. After getting the sideboards attached to the head & foot board we were ready for step 6, attaching the middle support beam. Could not find it! Momentarily panicked that we had messed up royally when we unpacked the bed frame at IKEA in order to fit it in the Hyundai Accent and thought we might have left the support beam in the box! After Bekah called IKEA we learned that no, we had not messed up, THEY DID! It seems this is one of the furniture pieces sold in multiple packages, and you must purchase each package and pay for them separately. On Monday when she purchased the furniture, one of the store employees went through the self-service section and pulled her furniture for her and placed it on the cart. So we had not gathered it ourselves and had no idea that there were three parts to the bed. The IKEA customer service employee's response when that was explained to him was, "Oh, sorry about that." Since we could not finish the bed without that piece, Bekah has been sleeping on her mattress on the floor inside the bed frame. Plus, she will now have to drive back to IKEA Baltimore on Thursday after taking me to the Harrisburg airport! IKEA is still her favorite store, for the merchandise! She loves their product. But it has slipped significantly in her eyes in terms of their Customer Service!

Aside from the furniture difficulties, we have had a wonderful time together. It has been marvelous to explore her new home town with her. Carlisle is a lovely, very old, small town in rural Pennsylvania. It sits in the shadows of the Allegheny mountains to the West and North of town, in a beautiful valley still filled with farmland. It is a town rich in history, having been founded before the Revolutionary War; having been visited by George Washington who used it as a staging area to assist in quelling the Whiskey Rebellion in western PA; playing a significant role in the Civil War campaign decided at Gettysburg (which lies just about 20 miles to the South.) Dickinson College was founded in 1783 by Benjamin Rush, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence, and the Law School founded about 50 years later in the early 1800's.

While the time with Bekah has been packed full of activity, it has also been a rewarding time for me, having this final, father/daughter time with her. I don't know if we shall ever have time like this again, or if so, how soon. She is just about all grown up. In three years she will be a law school graduate and quite possibly on her way to being married. She will undoubtedly end up with a very busy, very demanding law position and will have less and less time for her father. I am not crying poor me, I know this and I really do want this for her. She is pursuing a dream she has had since she was in elementary school and she first declared at the dinner table she was going to be a lawyer and a Supreme Court Justice. I am totally confident she will achieve those dreams. I am just extremely pragmatic and realize the road to those dreams will involve me less and less. Which makes me extremely grateful for any special time I receive with her, such as these past four days. It has truly been a blessing and I am so glad I was able to enjoy this first step in her adventure with her.

Next week I get to accompany Paul as he begins his own adventure: first year of college at Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah! Check back in a week for further reflections as my new Sabbatical experience doubles with my second child leaving home for schooling outside the state of Florida!

The pictures above are samples of Rebekah's new life in PA!

The Power of Memory: Remembering & Reliving the Sabbatical

While on a roll, I want to post something other than a complaint-based rant. There have actually been a number of experiences and reflections I have enjoyed this month, related to my Sabbatical of last year, that I just never found the time to sit down and write about on my blog. (That is part of the source of the complaint-based rant.) So, today, my last day of vacation in Chicago, I want to share some reflections on remembering the Sabbatical this month.

When July 1 rolled around this year I discovered a strong sense of melancholy also arrived with the turning of the calendar page. I began remembering exactly where I was and what I was doing one year ago: Paul and I had just arrived in Minnesota; Paul and I were entering the Boundary Waters via canoe; there were no fire-works on the Fourth of July last year as Paul and I were deep in the north woods, far away from civilization. That experience has continued almost all month. In fact, other people have joined me in remembering. My daughter-in-law, Erika, commented last night that I have set a precedent now, two years in a row in Chicago visiting them in July. There are now expectations that I will return to Chicago again in July now that the precedent is set! It was also noted shortly after we arrived this year that last year at this time we had actually just left Chicago to head to St. Louis. I was also very aware on my father's birthday this year, July 19, that last year we were in St. Louis just a few days before his birthday to celebrate with him and this year he is no longer with us, having died in February.

There was another incident earlier in the month that evoked a slightly different take on this nostalgia. Early in July one Saturday morning, in fact I believe it was the Fourth, I made my morning walk to the bay and upon arrival was greeted by several folks embarking from the landing area for a day of fishing from kayaks. As I stood on the landing watching two of the kayaks paddle off toward the bay into the rising sun it seemed to me they were in the wrong place. They should have been paddling away from the Sawbill Landing heading out into a wilderness adventure in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota!

There is no memory I can recall of ever having experienced this same sort of nostalgia so strongly as I am experiencing right now around my Sabbatical experience of one year ago. Will this be prominent in my thoughts and feelings for the next three months? Will I in essence relive the Sabbatical in some form this year? And what about in the years to come? Will I have some of these same thoughts and feelings every year during July, August, September and October? Vivid memories are a common part of my life. But never do I recall this strong recollection of where I was and what I was doing at the same time one year ago as I am experiencing with the Sabbatical. Perhaps this is another indication of what a once-in-a-lifetime, life-changing, foundational experience was my adventure of last year.

(The pictures are from the time in the Boundary Waters last year. Just a chance to share more of my thousands of photos with you and to share some of my nostalgia.)

Final Sabbatical Event a Celebration

Argentina has been making a big splash in the news recently, but it was not Governor Sanford's mistress or the parliamentary elections which captured our focus at Christ Congregational Church this past weekend. No, we gathered as a congregation to celebrate the marvelous gift of renewal pastor & congregation experienced this past year with an Argentinean dinner, surrounded by the sights and sounds of Argentina in our Fellowship Hall. With some photo posters decorating the walls bringing Buenos Aires, Bariloche, and Machu Picchu to life, about 40 members and friends of the church gathered to enjoy las comidas de Argentina, prepared by Tango's Restaurant & Bakery. Typical fare such as Ensalada Rusa (potato salad w/peas & carrots), Chorizos, Entrana ala Verdeo (grilled churrasco steak with a Chardonnay scallion sauce), Gnocchi Alfredo and a variety of mini desserts, was enjoyed by all with the Tango music of Carlos Gardel serenading in the background.

After dinner I shared some final reflections on the Sabbatical experience for myself as Pastor, with a montage of photos from Argentina and Peru projected in the background. Those reflections were drawn primarily from this blog, so I will just summarize them in this post. I began by reminiscing on the dreamlike quality of the adventure of twelve weeks in South America, seventeen weeks of not working, learning Spanish as an alien in distant lands. The primary blessing I would identify of the Sabbatical was the time for reflection on my life, on the world, on my work life and on my call to ministry. That has especially become clear to me eight months removed from the experience. It is so difficult to claim time in my regular schedule for simply sitting and reflecting on life and the world. For a pastor that is especially sad. Historically, reflection time has been a major element of the pastoral role and a significant part of why we are given the privilege of financial support by a community for this ministry. Without ample reflection time it becomes increasingly difficult to adequately feed the people of the community through sermons and writings.

In addition to ample time for reflection, I summarized my learning on the sabbatical in five areas:

1. The basics of the Spanish language. Difficult as it has been to maintain the level of fluency I developed in Argentina, I did learn the basic structure of the language, the basic verb tenses and conjugations, and a basic vocabulary on which I can build. I know I will continue to grow in my ability to use Spanish and I see evidence of it, albeit baby steps, every day.

2. How much I love to travel and how much it nurtures my soul. I have already reflected on this in another part of the blog, but it is clear to me that I need to continue to seek ways and means to incorporate significant travel experiences into my life. It is one of the most renewing experiences possible for me.

3. A renewed sense of what is truly important for me. First: my family. Second: Paying attention to and nurturing quality relationships with people. That includes my family, but also those to whom I minister as pastor. Third: Nurturing time for reflection about life. Fourth: Importance of developing outside interests beyond my work as pastor.

4. The importance of maintaining a flexible and creative approach to life, relationships, and spirituality. When we are rigid in our desire to seek control of life, we are less able to go with the flow. As a result, life becomes more of a burden and less enjoyable. When we can adapt with some flexibility to whatever situations arise in our lives, then we can find the good, even in the bad, and we can continue to see the beauty and blessings in life all around us.

5. The importance of trusting myself and others to accomplish what needs to be done. We completed the Sabbatical Grant Application within three months time. I planned my time away within a year. I went away and the congregation did not fall apart. In fact, it thrived. I return from the Sabbatical with a new freedom to be Pastor in this place in a new way. I am taking clear steps to take on less responsibility, to trust others to assume more responsibility, to support, encourage, and assist them in that process. The result will be, I am sure, a stronger church community more completely living out its call to be the body of Christ, the people of God in this place. It will also lead to a healthier, more renewed, and better pastor, who will find the time for reflection and be better able to inspire and guide the people of God.

On Saturday, with the assistance of the Rev. Dr. John Manrodt from the Counseling Ministry of South Florida, about 22 people returned to spend time reflecting on what the sabbatical experience was like for them as a congregation. After some creative exercises to help stimulate that thinking and sharing, we spent some time looking toward the future and what it means for us as a church and pastor that we have had this experience. Some positive plans began to grow out of those discussions and everyone seemed to leave with excitement and a forward thinking approach to the future of Christ Congregational Church.

While this weekend will probably be the final planned event related to the Sabbatical, the experience of planning for, living the adventure, and re-engaging life and ministry afterwards, will continue to have an impact and influence for years to come. It was a marvelous gift. For me from the people of Christ Congregational Church in terms of their support and their allowing me the time to pursue. For all of us from the people of the Lily Foundation who made it possible financially with their generous Clergy Renewal Grant.

The adventure continues, though not in South America, but right here in Miami and I look forward to continuing to reflect upon Sabbath and sabbatical concerns, especially the dance between Sabbath time and regular time, the Sabbath Tango.

A Celebration 18 Years in the Making!

My son is graduating from High School tomorrow! Eighteen years ago when I held him in my arms at his birth this moment seemed an eternity away. Over the years there were even some periods in our struggles with him around his studies and his attentiveness to school where we wondered if he would actually make it to this moment. But despite all our worries and fears he has arrived and arrived in very good shape. He has matured, taking giant steps forward this past year, into a fascinating, creative, deep-thinking young man. He is finding his talents and calling in life (not that it is necessarily settled yet, but he does have a direction to his journey that he is walking with some intentionality) which he is embracing, even as he continues to remain open to exploring more areas of possible interest and creative expression. He is enrolled in the college of his choice, which also luckily chose him, and with a final summer of freedom before him, is actually quite ready, even anxious, to be finished with high school and ready to move on to the adventure that awaits him in college.

And so I am sitting in a hotel room in Melbourne, Florida, at midnight, having enjoyed an evening of celebration with my son, his mother and step-mother, his sister, one uncle, and sister's boyfriend and wondering how did I get here and where did the years go so quickly?!?! I don't really "feel" old, yet my daughter has been out of college for one year and is headed off to law school in August and my son is graduating high school and flying off to college out west this year as well. Eighteen years have literally flown by, when viewed from this end of the chronological spectrum. This is one powerful reason why sabbath time, time-off, and time to relish and reflect on life is so important to me. Because it all passes so quickly. Especially when one is caught up in the myriad duties of working, pastoring a church, living life. Yet, in spite of a recent sabbatical to help regain my focus on time-off and reflective time, I still struggle to incorporate into my schedule time to write, time to reflect, time to just be.

At the same time, as I do reflect on my life, it is very good. I am engaged in very meaningful ministry at both the church I pastor and through part-time, on-call chaplain work for VITAS Hospice. I live in a beautiful place, South Florida, with near ideal weather 90% of the year. I play golf once a week, walk several times a week, encounter a wide variety of wildlife (amazing since I live in an urban area). I am surrounded by very loving, accepting family and wonderfully supportive, even if at times a bit challenging, church members. My life is rich and for the most part enjoyable and meaningful. Perhaps I need to take a step-back from, a sabbath break from, my expectations about sabbath time and reflection time, and relish the time I have to enjoy the life with which I have been blessed? Perhaps my reflection time is quality enough if I find the moments to think about life and appreciate life, even if I don't write those reflections down anywhere? Perhaps my occasional posts on this blog, my sporadic entries in my journal, are satisfactory reflection times for the time being and when I need to engage in more frequent writings, I will find the time, I will make the time, God will bless me with the opportunity, through another sabbatical, another vacation, another period of intentionality?

But for right now, I am relishing and wallowing in the celebration of my son, my youngest child, graduating from High School! Way to go, Paul!!

A Birthday Gift to Myself

It was a type of "mini-sabbatical" today. Since it was my birthday I decided to take most of the day "off" from work. An additional round of golf for the week was my gift to myself. About 9 a.m. I called my regular golf partner, Frank, to see what he was doing for the day, and then we spontaneously visited a course we have played before, but not our regular course. The day was beautiful, bright blue skies, with clouds floating by in lazy fashion. It is a slightly easier course than we normally play, but even so, Frank shot one of his best rounds in a long time, an 81! I told him it was my "gift" to him (to let him beat me on my birthday! I shot an 87, still pretty good.) Being in a good mood after that, Frank bought me lunch at his favorite French Cafe. We enjoyed Prosciutto d'Amore on ciabbata bread sandwiches, and French coffee! Nice, relaxing morning! After getting cleaned up I then spent a little time in the afternoon engaging in pastoral care work, visiting some of my parishioners who live at East Ridge Retirement Village. I know you are not supposed to work on a "sabbatical," but I have been needing to see some of these folks for quite some time and they were very pleased to see me. Pastoral care, especially of this sort, is actually very enjoyable and even somewhat relaxing for me, sort of like visiting good friends. Especially since the conversations for these folks include some sharing of my life and of events and activities at the church, as a way of sharing news and connecting them with the wider world, as well as listening to them share about their lives, their families and friends, etc.

These sorts of days need to be a regular part of all of our lives. I know they are difficult for me to take and enjoy, as I am very responsible and very driven in terms of how much work I am aware is always needing my attention and energy. Yet I also know that God's design for humanity and the creation includes a regular sabbath every seventh day. While I am pretty good about taking my day off each week, there needs to be regular special days of rest, reflection, meditation, in my schedule for me to be re-energized and for me to do more than just the regular work that is part of a pastor's schedule. More and more that work has become task oriented and less and less the work of one who reflects on life and seeks the deeper theological insights into life.

But today was a day to reclaim some of that ability. It was a day for me. It was a day for sharing with family and friends. It was a day for thinking about life and for blogging. Now if I can just claim a day like this sooner than a year from now when my birthday rolls around again. Then I will be making real progress on implementing a learning from my sabbatical!

Another type of mini-sabbatical

"We have lost the ability and time to reflect on our lives today." With these words Ted Runions opened the retreat for the Board of Directors of the Florida Conference United Church of Christ which I recently attended. Everything proceeds at such an accelerated pace, yet we have less time, because we are expected to do more than we used to do. He reminded us that a “retreat” is a gift of time to stop, reflect, and think about what we are doing, why we are doing it, and how it is done. His opening comments reminded me of the purpose of a sabbatical. They also brought to mind how much I treasured and enjoyed the four-month gift of time to do just that in my own life. The longer I am back, the more I try to schedule and create such a time to reflect on my own life in the regular schedule of my days with increasing difficulty and frustration, the more I realize what a truly precious gift were those four months in 2008. Increasingly I feel like the crazy woodpecker who has taken to beating his head against the window in front of my desk. The bird must see its reflection and is either attacking this "other" bird which it feels is a threat, or is trying to make contact, but just keeps banging into this hard glass. I keep trying to find time in my daily routine to write in my journal, or write on my blog, or just sit and think. But it just does not happen. My days are filled with work duties, family duties, and when there appears to be time in the evening, I am often just too tired to focus beyond the television, or bed. I am very thankful that I keep finding small blocks of time, like my father's funeral weekend, or this Board of Director's Retreat weekend, to step away from my regular schedule. And I do some reflecting during those times. But it does not feel as if they are enough to deeply, richly feed my soul.

The Board of Directors' retreat was a sort of mini-sabbatical. Not only did it allow time for reflecting on the work of the Board and on my role with the Board, but the facilitator also helped us identify our Myers-Briggs Personality Types (I am an INFJ) toward the end of helping us clarify the personality of the Board of Directors and giving us some insight how this information can help in our work and functioning as a group. This personal information, however, also provided me an opportunity to engage in some personal reflection. I gained some new insight and recalled some old insight, into my personality type and I was able to reflect somewhat on why I am the way I am and revisit some understanding about how I function and what it most healthy for me. For instance, it was reinforced for me one more time, in one more way, that as an "I" (introvert) type, I draw my energy from time alone. Thus, it is vitally important for me to have quiet time to reflect, to be alone, in order to be re-energized. My daily solo walks are important. Time to write would be a very important positive exercise for me. I have been learning and claiming all these insights in many ways the past 8 months. This was one more confirmation about this self-knowledge. The trick is, as I initially stated, finding and claiming the time to commit to these activities.

Incorporating Sabbatical Learnings Not-so-easy!

Sixty-eight days ago I returned to Miami from South America. That is one week shy of how many days I spent in Argentina this year. It has been 59 days since I last posted an entry on this blog. I am struggling with the adaptations and changes to my life that I had hoped to incorporate following my Sabbatical. I returned to Miami a changed person. The problem is, I returned to the same life, the same job, the same church. Old patterns were very easy to slide back into and developing new patterns has been very tough.

Initially I was trying to ease back into work, into the community, into my family. I have spent a lot of quality time with family - paying more attention to my relationship with my wife, going to the NASCAR races at Homestead Speedway with my son one weekend, spending quality time with my daughter who has moved in with us full-time while she works in Miami and applies to law schools. Since I have been home I had the privilege of baptizing my three granddaughters; celebrated a quiet Thanksgiving with my wife, stepdaughter, her husband, and 3-month old baby girl; celebrated my 14th wedding anniversary with my wife by giving her a new dog, (a zukon: a bijon-frise/shih-tzu mixed breed); and of course, celebrated Christmas. That is just the family activity.

In addition the activity at church has slowly accelerated with the holiday season. It has all been good, but very busy and not a time for incorporating changed patterns. What I realize now is that the holiday season already involves changes in our regular living patterns. So, to try to make changes in a changing time is very, very difficult. Probably impossible.

A few things changes that I hoped to make I have made good progress toward implementing. Probably the one thing I have followed through on the best has been a renewed commitment to walking for exercise. One of the changes that took place for me in South America was the loss of 30 lbs. of weight. I had been fighting the "battle of the bulge" in my waist for a decade or more. In Argentina, without an automobile, I walked almost everywhere. I realize now I was walking probably better than 5-6 miles a day on a fairly regular basis. And I was eating healthier. One commitment I wanted to make was to walk 4 miles each morning. That has been difficult with morning breakfast meetings, on-call hours for VITAS Hospice, and a variety of factors. After a couple of weeks of struggling with this commitment, I made a new commitment. To walk 4 miles a day, no matter what time I must do it. So, I began the practice of walking later afternoon approaching sunset, if I was not able to walk at sunrise. As a result, I can now say that for more than a month now I have been walking 4 miles a day, morning or evening, without fail. The result is through the holidays I have been able to keep from gaining weight. (And I have not been all that good about not eating too much as we all tend to do over the holidays.) Now that the holiday binging period is almost complete, I am confident I will be able to maitain my commitment to regular walking exercise and with a return to healthier eating habits, I should be able to lose that final 15 lbs. that will get me to my goal of 185 lbs.

Two other changes I have made that I feel are positive. One is I no longer live by a list at work. Before the Sabbatical I had a practice of making a "to-do" list each Tuesday as I began my week (Mondays being my day off) and scratching off the items on the list as I went through the week. I know this is supposed to be a good time-management technique, but it can also become a constrictive practice. It was so freeing for 4 months to live life without a "to-do" list and so I decided I was not going to make a list when I returned. I have not and so far I do seem to be able to accomplish what I need to do each week. (The truth is, most of what I have to do each week does not vary much and I know what those tasks are and I get them done.) But not having a list staring at me is helping me to stay loose and less stressed.

The second change I have made is a definite reduction in my work hours each week. Before Sabbatical I am sure I was working upwards of 60 hours a week regularly. Now I am definitely below 50. I am not stressing over work as much and I am more relaxed at home. I really do believe I will be able to make some of the other changes I had wanted to make in this New Year. And tomorrow I am going to start by writing another post to my blog and share my "list" of changes for the New Year.

(The pictures I have posted include "Miami Snow on Christmas Day" [actually just foam on the water of the bay at sunrise], the NASCAR race, baptizing my granddaughters, and sunrise over Biscayne Bay on one of my morning walks.)

Re-entry at Christ Congregational Church

After two days back at work, I am, so far, working my plan to re-enter slowly. Yesterday, November 1, was my first official day back at work, off of sabbatical. The telephone started ringing in the morning, so obviously people were counting the days until I was off of sabbatical. (But I must commend them for they clearly respected the sabbatical and did not call me while I was away.) Dianne and I took the early part of the day and drove to Key Largo, in the Florida Keys, primarily to run the errand of visiting Shell World to buy some special sea shells for the baptism of our granddaughters coming up November 9, but the real reason was to spend some more down time with each other and have a nice lunch on the water. It was a beautiful day and while it was not South America it did allow us some fantasy time of still feeling like we were still on sabbatical or vacation. The drive was relaxing, Shell World provided a large selection of shells from which to choose shells not only for next Sunday's baptism, but also a supply for future baptism ceremonies. We enjoyed a very relaxed lunch at Sundowner's on Florida Bay with up-close visits by sea gulls and a white heron.

After returning home I enjoyed the end of the Miami Hurricane football game as they beat University of Virginia in overtime and then watched the University of Florida Gators beat the Georgia Bulldogs, supporting my daughter's Alma mater and vicariously enjoying the game with her through mutual text messages. Then Dianne and I went to the 3 C's Preschool Harvest Festival which had been postponed a week due to weather. I was warmly greeted by people we saw who knew us and was a nice preview of the welcome home we received on Sunday morning.

Sunday morning has come and gone. It was very comfortable for me to lead worship. It should not have been a surprise to me, as I have been leading worship, with others or alone, at least 46 weeks out of 52 for the past 28 years. As Dianne reminded me as I went out the door this morning, "It's just like riding a bike!" (That chestnut is as well-worn as every piece of meat out of the ordinary supposedly "tasting like chicken.") But I was a little concerned if I would remember what to do and what to say. As it turned out, I did not even think very much about the words I say at Communion when I break the bread and pour the juice, but they came to me at the time I needed them without even thinking about what they needed to be and the benediction words, I did not stumble over them at all. I guess my wife is right! The experience of leading both times of worship was very natural and felt very familiar. Plus I did not stress over it and handled it with grace and professionalism. It seems the sabbatical did help. Plus I had many people commenting on how rested and rejuvenated I appeared.

The question will be to see how long the affect lasts. I was asked what I planned to do to keep refreshed and I shared my thoughts on what now be my focus as pastor. I realize I did way too much as pastor before the sabbatical, and I do not want to fall back into those patterns. So I plan to focus on four areas:

1. Plan and lead worship

2. Prepare and present a sermon

3. Offer pastor care as the people need it

4. Offer leadership, in supporting their work as the people of God and helping to focus the work of the mission of the church.

I also plan to make writing in my journal a regular part of my life. One of my members who teaches Spanish in high school has offered to help me keep up my Spanish with regular tutoring and I plan to accept her offer. Several members have offered to help me practice my Spanish and I plan to do that as well. I certainly hope these practices will help me remain rejuvenated and not approach burn-out status quickly as work responsibilities accumulate. Stay tuned!

The Final Day of Sabbatical

Sitting in my home in Miami, on the last day of my Sabbatical, I am drinking the espresso I made (which does not even begin to approach the marvelous quality of the coffee I enjoyed in Argentina.) I have been home for six days and South America has begun to feel like a hazy dream. It truly was a dream life I enjoyed for 12 weeks. I never would have imagined I would fall so deeply in love with that continent and those countries, Argentina and Peru. I can begin to understand, I think, why British and European travelers fell in love with places like Africa and Asia. It is related to the exotic, yet familiar, nature of new lands. It is related to the level of hospitality one encounters from the local people (always a surprise, for we have this inbred idea that other people, especially foreign people, are never as warm, welcoming and hospitable as we are ourselves.) It is related to one's willingness to invest oneself in a locale and truly embrace it as a home. It is related to the good experiences one has and whether they outweigh the bad. It is related to one's ability to fit in to the culture, to embrace the language, to understand the thinking of the local people. When all of these factors come together in a positive manner, then one will find oneself in a new home, where one feels quite welcome and an integral part of the community, not just an outsider. You discover the place becoming a part of you and you a part of it. That certainly happened for me with Argentina.

It is perhaps the most amazing event of this sabbatical. Although, actually learning to understand and speak the Spanish language in just 12 weeks time is certainly an amazing feat for me, considering my struggle with learning other languages in more traditional educational settings in the United States. Before this sabbatical, I had never really thought much about South America. I was aware of it. I knew people from various countries in the region. I had enjoyed many different movies set in South America and I had a vague sense of the history of the region. But I never had a strong attraction or desire to visit. There were always so many other more exotic, more interesting places on my list. So it was actually quite serendipitous that I chose Argentina as the location for my sabbatical and now I am so glad that I did. In 10 weeks time it became a second home, a second country, for me and it will always have a very special place in my heart.

Now I am engaged in the task of reconnecting with my life in Miami. It is clear to me that I am in a stage of withdrawal and mourning from my life in Argentina. I cooked parilla for my wife and daughter one night, grilling vegetables and a piece of vacio (an Argentine cut of steak I actually found in Publix) and it felt familiar and almost as good as the Argentine grills. I have been eating Argentine and Peruvian chocolate I brought home and looking for ways to order more or find it here in Miami! I have been trying different roasts of coffee beans to find the rich, espresso roast I enjoyed in Argentina. I have been buying various Malbec wines from various Argentine wineries, looking for the quality I enjoyed in country.

Even as I try to hold on to my experiences in Argentina, I have begun to reconnect with my life in Miami. I have played golf at least once and it was good. The four-month lay-off does not seem to have hurt my swing. I have spent most of my time with my family and I have been catching up on chores around the house which needed attention. Today is the official last day of the sabbatical and tomorrow I officially return to work. Sunday I return to leading worship and I understand a Bienvenido a Tu Casa luncheon has been planned for after worship. It will be a joy to see the folks of the church and to begin reconnecting with them. In truth, I have the feeling the sabbatical will continue to unfold and even though today is the official end, the impact and affects of the sabbatical will continue for months to come.

Back in Miami!

All it took was a five and one-half hour airplane ride and my South American adventure was over! Yesterday Dianne and I had a rather uneventful flight from Lima, Peru to Miami and it feels like I have awakened from a marvelous dream. It was great to be greeted at the airport by my daughter, step-daughter and her husband, and my newest granddaughter. I have really missed family and it was a nice surprise to walk out of the International Arrivals restricted area to see them in the lobby and not have to wait for them curbside. It has been a full 24 hours with family as we had dinner with them last night and went back to their house for lunch today to visit with another long time friend who is almost like family.

But it feels strange to be back in my home in Miami. In fact, the initial feelings are that it doesn't feel like "home." It is the same house. My "stuff" is still here. My family lives here. But there was a "strangeness" to walking in last night. It is an early confirmation of what I was anticipating in South America that there will be a time of adjustment for me upon return. We are usually so caught up in the day to day "everydayness" of our lives that 8, 12, 16 weeks fly by and don't seem so long in the course of a year. Yet, in truth they are a significant passage of time. Twelves weeks is what I spent out of the United States, living in South America. It is a fourth of a year. Sixteen weeks is what I spent away from work on Sabbatical. That is a third of a year. A lot happens in those amounts of time. For me, a lot happened here at home that I missed. And a lot happened to me, that others, except through my blog, have not experienced with me. How all of this will mesh together to allow me to re-engage with my former life here in Miami will be a most interesting process. Probably as interesting, if not more so, as the Sabbatical experience itself.

For now, I plan to take my re-entry nice and slow. I do not plan to think too much about work or what I need to be doing when I return to work very much this next week. I plan to spend time performing some maintenance chores around the house. My wife and daughter did a great job taking care of the house in my absence, but some things, like taking down hurricane shutters put up as a precaution, they really cannot do. I also want to play at least one round of golf, it has been four months since I have swung my golf clubs. I plan to brush up on my Spanish lessons. Even though the last two weeks were spent in Peru, a Spanish-speaking country, most of our time was in tourist areas, where most of the service people we dealt with spoke some, if not a lot, of English and tended to assume we knew no Spanish. So, it was almost like being back in Miami two weeks early: in an environment where there was Spanish being spoken around us, but an environment where it was not necessary for us to know Spanish to function. In that regards, I am very glad I chose Argentina and not Peru for my Spanish language classes. I know I was surrounded by Spanish speakers and most of the 8 weeks I was in Argentina, it was necessary for me to know Spanish to function. It was truly an immersion experience that helped me learn the language. Based on my recent experience in Peru, I am not sure I would have found the same type of immersion experience there.

I also want to spend some significant time this week reflecting on my entire Sabbatical. I know this will be an on-going process, but I want to begin that process this week before work responsibilities begin to impinge on my time and attention. During the past 4 months I have done some reflecting on what I was experiencing, what I was learning, what it might mean for me moving forward. But now that I am nearing the end of the Sabbatical, I want to revisit those reflections, deepen them, and refine them. I want to begin to seriously contemplate what all this might mean for me moving into the future.

Final Post from South America!

Dianne is packing, and I am trying to hang on to my South America time by writing one more post for the blog. We had a wonderful final day in Lima, Peru. We began the day with a harrowing 30-minute taxi ride to Lima central and the Plaza de Armas. It is quite impressive, lined on two sides by yellow colonial buildings with Moorish balconies, on one side by the Cathedral and Archbishop's residence, and on the fourth side by government Palace. We toured the Cathedral, which was quite impressive and somewhat macabre. In the crypt below the central nave there is a display behind glass of quite a few human skulls and apparently the rest of the bones of the bodies buried there. No names, no indication to whom the bones belonged. There are also quite a few displays of religious art, including religious artifacts made from gold and silver.

Just as we were finishing our tour of the Cathedral, I heard music floating through the door from the main plaza. Emerging into the sunlight my gaze was drawn to brightly colored uniformed band members behind the bars of a wrought iron fence surrounding an apparent government building. Inquiring of the guard at the Cathedral door I learned that the music indicated the daily changing of the guard at the government building. It was about a 30 minute ceremony with lots of music, goose-stepping guards, trumpets, flags, etc. Unfortunately it all took place behind the iron fence and the riot police kept the tourists and school children gathered to watch, on the other side of the street from the fence. Still, it was quite an impressive ceremony.

Following lunch near the plaza, we caught another taxi back to Miraflores and visited LarcoMar, a shopping mall built into the cliffs overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It is a stunning setting, but a sad place from my perspective because it looks as though it was clearly built and financed by American money. The majority of the stores are US brands and it feels it could be in Anytown, US as much as in Lima, Peru. But the gelato we enjoyed was delicious, as was the coffee. And both were even better as we were sitting at a table overlooking a beautiful spring afternoon sun shining over the Pacific Ocean.

After finally enjoying a dramatic sunset we made our way back to El Señorío del Sulco, where we had a gourmet dinner our first night in Lima. We wanted to ensure we had a wonderful final dinner and we were not disappointed as Dianne dined on a suckling pig roasted in a pisco sauce and I enjoyed a lamb shank along with a mashed corn side dish. They were accompanied by another fine Peruvian Tacama Blanco y Blanco wine and topped off by a very sweet, but tasty pudding desert. A fine way to close out our adventure in Lima, in Peru, in South America.

Tomorrow we board a Lan Peru flight for Miami and back to our normal reality. I am sure I will be processing and enjoying this adventure for months to come, perhaps years. I hope you will continue to visit this blog, as I will continue writing reflections as I reenter life in Miami and in my work as local church Pastor. I firmly believe that Sabbath Tango is not just a theme for my Sabbatical, but for my life and work and I will try to explore that theme in the days to come.

Final Thoughts from Cusco

Thankfully El Balcon, the hotel where Dianne and I have stayed in Cusco, is very comfortable and quaint. Thus it was a very nice place to spend our last day in Cusco, just hanging out in the room. Dianne became quite ill last night after dinner (actually she said her stomach had been upset most of the day) resulting in a night of nausea and vomiting, with little sleep, and great discomfort. She has spent all day in bed trying to feel better, drinking a little tea and trying to slowly eat some food to keep it down. Several of the Cusco residents seem to think she is suffering from the altitude which can affect your digestive system in bad ways.

Having visited Cusco at the start of the week, seen most of the sights, and then gone on to Ollantaytambo and Machu Picchu, a day of rest was very welcome and we really don't feel we are missing all that much. We did visit two museums yesterday which had nice collections of pre-Columbian art and artifacts, including quite a few Inca pieces. They were a nice completion of our tour of Incan lands and history.

We are both ready to leave Cusco. It is a beautiful little city, very quaint and antique-looking. A lot of the architecture is still a strong mixture of Incan and Spanish colonial which is quite striking, interesting, and beautiful. The main plaza and the several little plazoletas that we visited were quite lovely. But what detracts from the beauty of the city is the poverty. We have learned from several Peruvians that work is very difficult to find in Peru. That is quite evident from what you encounter on the street as a tourist. Evidently we stand out like sore thumbs and thus are constantly accosted. You literally cannot walk half a block without being asked if you want your shoes shined, do you want to buy a painting from my portfolio, would you like some of these finger puppets, or other handcraft items, do you want some coca leaves candy, postcards, etc. Anything you can imagine they try to sell to you and it is a constant gauntlet you must pass through on the street. It is worst around the plazas, and if you dare to eat at an outside table enjoying the sun and the beautiful plaza views, they walk the sidewalk and accost you at your table! It is quite annoying. It becomes very difficult to maintain an attitude of compassion for people in such dire straits that they must resort to this type of begging to survive. And it does seem to be only a small step up from outright begging, especially by those who are very aggressive and persistent in their approach.

Beyond this atmosphere in the tourist areas, the few times we have driven beyond the main tourist areas what we have seen indicates a country in extreme poverty and extreme economic difficulty. All the housing seems very poor, even the "new" construction (still mostly of adobe bricks dug from the ground.) We have not seen any area that appears "middle" class let alone an upper class neighborhood. That may change in Lima, but in the highlands around Cusco, that is our experience. Even so, the people are lovely, (with the exceptions of the street vendors, and even the few of them we have actually dealt with in purchasing anything [I did buy a work of art for my office] turned out to be quite personable) and they seem to maintain a spirit of hope and joy in life. They offer quite a testimony to those of us, like myself, who have so much more and for whom life truly is so much easier, and yet find myself many times complaining, whining, and taking so much of my life for granted. Somehow it seems they find the joy in the very fact of being alive and find blessings to count and hope to which to cling. There is a lesson here for me in my life when I return to Miami.

Tomorrow we board a plane for Lima. We have reservations at a lovely little Bed & Breakfast in the Miraflores neighborhood, two blocks from the Pacific Ocean. We plan to mostly spend our time there, relaxing, do a little touring and shopping, but mostly rest up and prepare to return to life and work in Miami. We fly home on Saturday. Dianne returns to work on Monday and I have one more week of Sabbatical before it is over and I return to work November 1. I can hardly believe that this time has arrived.

Preparing for Dianne - Physically & Spiritually

Dianne arrives tomorrow! This has been a day of preparing for her arrival. The maid came and cleaned the apartment. I have bought groceries and sweets for breakfast tomorrow if she is hungry upon arriving. The flowers have been replaced with fresh flowers. (I would take a picture of the beautiful violet iris and the scarlet and white amalias, but I can't because I don't have my camera!) I have rearranged my belongings so Dianne has space to put her belongings upon arrival. Everything is pretty much ready, now all I have to do is wait for the time the taxi arrives and I head to the airport to meet her.

As you maybe could tell by the snide side comment in the above paragraph, I very much need her presence for I am still working through the trauma I suffered last Friday. I basically turned into a couch potato this past weekend. On Saturday morning I did trek down to the Police station near the central government area. A very nice and gentle policewoman assisted me in looking at pictures on a computer of men and women that matched my general description of those I felt I might be able to identify. There was one woman who was very close and I had a strong sense it could have been the woman I had the most interaction with during the "sting." I could not come up with a man I felt strongly I could identify. She was going to circulate the woman's picture in the general neighborhood where the event took place. I realize they probably will not catch the people who did this and even if they do I will not recover anything they took (if I could just get the journals back that would be tremendously healing for me) but I do think it was helpful to spend the morning engaged in this task of trying to identify them. I feel that it was an important step in the healing process of dealing with the trauma, the sense of helplessness that it evoked, and trying to move on. After all, I have done all that I can, now I can, I hope, begin to let it go.

I am having trouble doing that, though. I find myself caught in negative thoughts about the city, about those people, as I walk around. Saturday after completing the task with the police I returned immediately to the neighborhood where I live, picked up some empanadas for lunch, and went back to the apartment. I spent the afternoon replacing the camera by purchasing the replacement on-line with Best Buy for pick-up in the local store near my home in Miami, where my daughter went to pick it up. Of course there was a glitch! My credit card company, for some reason, froze the purchase request because it was done on-line. It took three times as long as it should have for me to get the equipment, because I had to call the credit card company, approve the purchase, call Best Buy back twice to get it straightened out. Right now, life is not easy!

Of course, I am writing this as I listen to Wolf Blitzer on CNN talking about the $1.2 trillion stock loss on the US stock market today! I cannot even fathom what is really happening at home right now. I know that this financial crisis is filling the local papers and even the local news here, but the concerns are not the same, I don't believe, as what is possibly taking place back home. People here are certainly concerned, but it appears to me that they don't feel their economy and other world economies are so tightly tied to the US economy that it will destroy their lives. Whether that is true or not, being outside of the US during this certainly brings a different perspective.

One of the pieces that has helped me was the UCC On-line Devotional this morning, written by the Rev. Kenneth L. Samuel, Pastor of Victory for the World Church, United Church of Christ, Stone Mountain, Georgia. The devotion is called "Deep Calls to Deep" and is a reflection on Psalm 42: "My soul is cast down within me; therefore I remember you from the land of Jordan and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar. Deep calls to deep at the thunder of your cataracts; all your waves and your billows have gone over me." Here are his words:

From the dark dungeon of a deep distress, the Psalmist discovers something that persons who live only in the shallow plateaus of comfort and convenience may never know. The Psalmist discovered that the profound depth of a person's distress causes that person to tap more deeply into the inner recesses of spirit and soul. In fact, it often takes a deep debacle or a cataclysmic calamity to reveal to us that which is really at the core of our being. Trouble, adversity and trial show us who we really are by causing us to tap more deeply into the depths of energy, hope and resilience that we never knew we had. Deep depression and deep disaster call us, beckon us and invite us to explore the depths of faith, hope and resilience that are deeply embedded in the souls of all who cultivate faith in God. And the good news is that like the Psalmist, we can discover that our faith in God is much deeper than the disasters of our circumstance.

Reading this I realize that some of the practices that connected me with God had been ignored by me this past weekend. I have not been reciting my mantra "Ubi Caritas" (honestly, I have not felt like there was much "love and charity" present in my life since Friday). I did not resume writing in my journal until late yesterday, with a follow-up this morning. (And as I had discovered earlier on Sabbatical, when I don't journal I don't deal with life as well. Since I resumed journaling, I do think I have begun the slow process of healing, as I already feel a little more positive.) I had not been meditating (at least not actively) during the weekend. Quite honestly, I think what I did was retreat into my "cave" and lick my wounds. Which was possibly what I needed to do at that point. But now I want to get out of the cave. I want to engage the city once again (which I began to do as I prepared for Dianne's arrival with all the errands I needed to complete) and which I know I will have to do with Dianne, for I want her to have a good experience. As hurtful as this experience has been, as much as it is threatening to color my view of this city, I still believe that this is a great city, with wonderful aspects and amazing people.

It was helpful for me to read that Devotional and hear the Word of God speaking to my deep hurt and my deep fears. As it spoke to me, I shared it because perhaps it may speak to whatever deep hurts and fears you have in these troubled times.

Probably My Worst Day of the Sabbatical

They took the wind right out of my sails!!!! At least for the moment. Today, (Friday) just as I was falling in love with this city, it rose up and smacked me in the face. I was robbed! That's right, I became a victim of a distraction scam that resulted in me losing my backpack, my camera (and all its equipment), and the one that hurt the most, both of my journals, in which I have been recording my thoughts and feelings and reflections for the past 3 months. I am fine. I really don't believe I was ever in any real physical danger. I was distracted by several people around me, while I was sitting on a bench in a public park, with other people around in view. It was very well done, and on reflection, I think it was quite elaborate. I quickly, once I realized my backpack was gone, identified that at least 4 people were involved, with three of them distracting me, and I never saw the fourth, but I know the other three did not take my backpack. But on further reflection, I think there was even another person involved in that distraction effort. It was all very subtle. But "strange" things began to take place in my view, which caught my attention, and led me to let down my guard and lose my items. I tried to run them down, but they even sent me in the wrong direction at first.

I spent a very upset next few hours. First, I talked to two security guards at the park, one of whom helped me search for my backpack and the people I had seen (of course to no avail). I then went to the local police office and filed a "denuncia" (denunciation), which is filing a charge. Part of that paperwork is evidently even going to a judge. I am going to another police office tomorrow to look at "mug" shots and see if any faces are familiar. There was a very nice woman at the park who heard me struggling to talk to one of the security guards. She was bilingual and helped me communicate. The police were very solicitous and kind and gentle (though I realize there is really not much they will be able to do). So, even as the city slapped me sharply, at the same time it reached out and picked me up and comforted me.

At least I did not suffer any physical harm. At least I did not have any important papers, documents, credit cards or money in the pack. The camera I can replace (also, at least I have kept up with downloading my pictures to my external hard drive, to my Kodak Gallery Albums, and to CD's, so I did not lose any of what I have already captured.) The backpack I can replace. I will struggle to replace my journals (in fact I really cannot, but I can start a new one and I do have my blog entries).

But I have been violated (as any person who suffers a crime against them has been) and I am angry. As I said at the beginning, these people took the wind right out of my sails. I have been reading a book that a member of my church gave me before I left about Buenos Aires that is subtitled "A cultural and literary companion." It is a marvelous book that tries to understand and characterize this city through its history, and through the words and descriptions of this city that writers, novelists, poets, both indigenous and foreign, have written. It has enriched greatly my understanding and my appreciation for and view of this city. My reading, along with all the good experiences I have been having, have strengthened my comfort level with the city, made it begin to feel like home, and was leading me to fall in love with it. Then this. (Actually, I think all that contributed as well to my guard being lowered so that I became an easy mark.)

One of my colleagues and friends in his blog on spiritual matters reflected on the story in Matthew 14 of Peter bravely stepping out of the boat to "walk on the water" with Jesus. "But when he noticed the strong wind, he became frightened and he began to sink. He cried out, 'Lord, save me.'" In his reflection he pointed out that even though Peter stepped out in faith, "when he saw trouble brewing, his faith weakened and he began to sink. How often does this happen to us? We start out with bold motives, but when opposition challenges us we falter and fall away. Our faith task is to allow God to surprise us, to become more than we think we are, and this means moving beyond the secure places and daring to stand firm in the midst of the storms of life." I need that surprising word tonight. I need to remember that while this at first felt like a sabbatical-crushing experience that might possibly color my entire experience with negativity and bitterness, it mighty actually turn out to be a sabbatical-strengthening experience. It may actually turn out to be one of those times in life when I become more aware of the presence of God and identify the way in which God is with me, watching over me, and able to help me walk through the storm in amazing ways, even on the surface of the water.

I don't have the reflections yet, but I can sense that I am beginning to move beyond my initial anger, my initial hurt, my initial sense of being a victim. My trip to Tigre, to the delta of the river Paraná, tomorrow is being canceled. I just don't have the energy for that trip. I am going to go to the Police Station and look at faces in pictures. I will have a nice lunch, and then I will hang out in the apartment. I need some down time. I need to reflect on this. I need to begin my new journal. I need to to work on my Spanish even more vigorously, for though it is there, it was not very good in such a stressful situation. But I am okay. I will be okay. And I know there are even more learning's to draw from this experience as part of my sabbatical. Thank you for your prayers. (The pictures above include two from the garden near the spot where this happened and two of a local police station in a different barrio, but put up to honor the assistance they did provide to me.)

Don't Wake Me From This Dream!

For some reason it hits me late at night. Each night when I turn out the lights and lie in bed waiting for sleep I realize that I am looking out the window of a ninth floor apartment in Buenos Aires, a major city in the southern hemisphere, in South America. Before I fall asleep it already feels like a dream! I walk around the streets of a city that in many respects is the most cosmopolitan city of Latin America, perhaps in the Western Hemisphere (I know I will get debate from my friends who love New York, Chicago, LA, even Miami.) But just living here is an amazing experience and I keep waiting to awaken from this dream.

Every afternoon I spend a few hours visiting a museum (yesterday I visited the Eva Peron Museum and today it was the Nacional Museum of Decorative Arts) or visiting a special park. As I walk the streets I see buildings from the 1800's and early 1900's in the French Renaissance style, the Belle Epoque style, right next to more modern high rise structures. I go out for lunch every day and go the large supermarket about twice a week. Then I visit the corner fruit and vegetable market about every 2-3 days. My lunches are casual, not rushed, my dinner's late and simple.

There is ample time for reflection, on my life, on the world, on my work life and my call to ministry. Some of that reflection comes in quiet moments spent writing in my journal. Some of that reflection comes when I am walking the streets, on my way somewhere. Some of it comes while enjoying lunch, or a late afternoon café espresso. My spiritual moments come in times of reflection, or in times of standing in wonder in the middle of a beautiful park or plaza, or while walking and reciting my Latin chant mantra: "Ubi caritas, et amor; ubi caritas, Deus ibi est." (Where there is charity and love; where there is charity, there is God.)

This has been a wonderful time of growth and reflection for me. I have grown through gaining the knowledge of how to speak Spanish and the skill to do that with some capability. I have grown through the experience of living in a different culture, a different nation, a different part of the world. I have grown through moving outside my comfort zone, pushing my boundaries, learning that I can adapt and am still fairly flexible. I have grown through the times of reflection that have allowed me to take stock of my life and my ministry. It has been and continues to be a marvelous and amazing sabbatical experience, more than I ever imagined it would be.

I have not been taking many pictures lately, and the museums here in Buenos Aires do not allow photos, even without flash, so here is a link to some photos I took in an art museum in Cordoba with a taste of Argentine artists. This link will take you to a Kodak Gallery Album: http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=6d2p4u6.a4avvx16&x=0&y=-ybuggz&localeid=en_US

My last day of language classes!!!

Today I accomplished one goal of my sabbatical! I completed my six weeks of Spanish language classes. Yo apprendi mucho y yo comprendo mas espanol que antes mi clases. Es necesito yo practicare mi espanol cada dia, para que mi mejorar. (I have learned much and I comprehend more Spanish than before my classes. It is necessary I practice my Spanish each day, so that I improve.) I plan to do that especially these next two weeks while I await Dianne's arrival in Buenos Aires. I return there tomorrow (actually, I get on the bus at 2 p.m. and arrive in Buenos Aires at 9:30 a.m. Sunday). I have rented an apartment for a month and will spend two weeks alone as a Porteno, practicing my Spanish, enjoying the city, and just spending time reflecting and being. It will nice to have absolutely no requirements on me or my time, not even the simple one of class. I do need to practice my Spanish, continue my exercises, but that is not a have-to, that is a desire on my part. I do want to explore more of the city, but again, it is not a have-to, but a desire on my part. I did some of that my first three weeks, and I will do more when Dianne arrives, but these two weeks, pure and simple freedom for me!

I celebrated the end of my classes. Not that I am happy they are over. In fact, there is a sadness in me. Especially at the completion of these final two weeks. I strongly connected with my last teacher, Ani Kantar. I am not sure why, but she was an excellent teacher. Perhaps, it was because my skills had improved to the point where we spent much more time conversing and I got to share more and learned more about her than I did with the other teachers. I appreciate all my teachers, for each one helped me and gave me good instruction, but Ani and Ale (my second teacher in Buenos Aires) were special and hold a special place in my heart. I will always be grateful for the skill they helped me gain in learning to communicate in Spanish.

So, my celebration included: a bife y chorizo plato at Rock Chicken (the Argentine "fast food" place I pictured in the last post on food.) This was a beefsteak and pork sausage with a lettuce, onion and carrot salad and a glass of red wine (house). Then I had a celebratory drink at the Pilgrim Bar (again, pictured in the last post, through the Kodak Gallery link of pictures of Bariloche town.) I taught the bartender how to make a Rusty Nail! They had the ingredients, but had never heard of it. I taught him my recipe, which is stronger than most bars in the States, so any future requests will get a very strong Rusty Nail. It is very interesting here, when you want ice with a drink, most places provide you the ice in a mini-ice bucket! Very cute! And you add what you want. That is the explanation for the picture above! After the drink I walked across the street to the best helado joint (ice cream) in town (according to the guide books), Jauja. Since there are strong Italian influences in Argentina, most of the ice cream is like gelato, and this place is definitely that way. I had Chocolate Profundo and Praline. Excellente!! I have topped all that off with a cafe grande at Tante Frida's while I work on my computer. All their coffee, unless it is specifically labeled "Cafe Americano" is like espresso, even more than cafe cubano, and it excellent! Even a large size, is just more of the same! I love that caffeine!!!

Anyway, I am in a great mood having reached a conclusion and feeling like I have truly achieved something. Bariloche has been a great stop on my adventure. Each stop has been wonderful. Buenos Aires was a great beginning. Cordoba was wonderful for helping me learn the history. And Bariloche is gorgeous, very peaceful and tranquil, and was truly the cherry on top of the marvelous treat that has been Argentina.

I would really like to come back and spend more time in Bariloche. Of course, I would want to come back to my 6th floor apartment looking out on the lake!!! But where ever I stayed, this place would be a wonderful place to spend some time in the summer, trekking in the mountains, visiting the glaciers on Mt. Tronodor, enjoying the Lake. In fact, I would love to return and spend more time in Argentina, period. Those of you who have read from the beginning may remember my first impressions of Buenos Aries and Argentina were not positive. But I can truly say that after six weeks of living here, in three different locations, with four different families, I have come to love this country and the people. Learning the language has definitely helped, but also, spending a healthy amount of time, six weeks, has been important. You cannot truly get to know a place intimately in a two week vacation. It takes time. It takes the experience of living in a place long enough to begin to feel like a resident, to truly gain an appreciation for a location and its people. Unfortunately, most of us do not have the luxury of that sort of time when we are able to travel and visit a place. I am very thankful for the gift of this sort of time through this Sabbatical.