Artist Madrid, Naturally

 Headed to BA (Day 10) January 21, 2014 Thursday afternoon, we took a 4 hour bus ride to Buenos Aires. The bus was clean, the seats comfortable, there were two movies in Spanish (it gave me the opportunity to practice) and more air conditioning than what any human being would ever need. A luxury ticket cost about 19 USD. A great deal! So since I don't have much more to report, I will answer a FAQ: "Why did I want to serve out of the country?"  Well, everyday the reasons are growing but I wasn't always thrilled about the prospect... When I was a child, I did not want to be a missionary. I think I wanted to be anything but a missionary :) I remember feeling it just wasn't meant for me (even though I did want to teach people about the Bible). Fast forward a few years: I am now a regular pioneer (spending at least 70 hours per month in my Bible ministry work), I love to travel and am fascinated by languages. But for some reason it doesn't register that I could bec...

 Ciao, Zaijian, Goodbye Rosario (Day 9) January 20, 2014 I have dreaded writing this entry for a few days now ( which is part of the reason I'm so far behind).  Wednesday was my last full day in Rosario. I have to say goodbye to its bustling streets and laid-back atmosphere. I have to say goodbye to my new friends and favorite spots...And its difficult.  My aunt, uncle and I had lunch with a family from the English group. Oscar is British and his wife Marianna is Argentine. At home they only speak English to their three children and the children respond in Spanish. Did I mention that are learning Italian in school? Amazing! We had a good time getting to know their family as well as two other sisters that were invited over. I must say it was the longest lunch I've had in my entire life but I enjoyed every minute of it. That evening, I had field service plans with Valeria and Diego. Sadly, they had to cancel due to illness. I was afraid I wouldn't get the chance to see any ...

 Helado, Asado, Helado (Day 8) January 20, 2014 Hola! I am so embarrassed to say that I am now a week behind with my entries. I could give you lots of excuses or i could give you updates :) I met up with Sabrina and Vicky (young sisters from the Chinese group). They get around the city by walking and the bus. So I had my first experience on a collectivo (what they call the local buses). I know I have mentioned that the cars here go pretty fast, well so do the buses. Once the last person gets on, the bus takes off. Like New York City, they swipe pre-loaded bus cards. So, there is still a line of bus riders waiting to swipe their cards while the bus is zooming down the street and whipping around corners. The same with getting off. You have to be ready to jump off quickly before the collectivo revs up again. Quite an experience :) We had a good day in service and ended it with helado . It was a two story ice cream shop with a game/video game room. I wish we had a place like that in Co...

 Peatonal, Río Parana and the Rosario-Victoria Bridge (Day 7) January 17, 2014 By Monday, I had fallen in love with the city of Rosario. My aunt, uncle and I decided to take the day to do some exploring. After being turned around and asking for directions several time, we found the Cordoba peatonal (a street with no cars). It was bustling with people going from one shop to the next. It was full of boutiques and little shops and even a department store. It is said that no one picks up a book in January (no one studies during the school break) and it shows. The stores were packed. I've also noticed that Rosario doesn't smell bad like New York City does during the Summer. My sense of smell greatly appreciates that. I picked up an inglés to español/español to inglés diccionario (I need to do better with my Spanish) and a pretty purple skirt that my aunt agreed I should purchase. We met two sisters Susanna and Bibi working at one of the public witnessing carts. Susanna told me she w...

 Ministry, Meeting and the Feria (Day 6) January 15, 2014 I went out in field service with the English group with my aunt and uncle Sunday morning. Compared with the night before the streets seemed abandoned. We did census work (going to different apartment buildings looking for English-speaking people). This was my first time doing walking-territory in Argentina. I worked with Telma. She was able to give plenty of insight on Rosario: the weather, English territory, the government and her job. After service, I went back to the hotel to finish preparing for the Chinese Watchtower study. I got so nervous again. I get nervous before every meeting and every time I prepare to go in service. I want to do well and not because I don't want to embarrass myself. I want to actually be of some assistance, not just "shadow" the friends here. A brother gave the Public Talk in Spanish and Evan translated it into Chinese. Then Evan conducted the Watchtower Study. His Chinese is excellent...

 Rosario del Sur ( Day 5) January 14, 2014 Lo siento (Sorry)! Turns out my Monday rest day wasn't very quiet. So now I am even more behind with my journal entries. I will try to catch up today.   Saturday, I ate breakfast with my aunt and uncle and then tied-in through Skype to my Chinese weekend meeting in South Carolina. One of the brothers, in my group, gave his first public talk and he did a wonderful job. That evening, I went in service with Valeria, Diego and Evan (a brother from the Chinese group) who had started in the ministry that morning. We traveled to the South of Rosario. In South Rosario there are more houses rather than tall buildings. Valeria and I were able to place one of the new family tract with a Chinese lady. Her child wasn't listening to her, so I told the lady about the very useful teaching videos for children (ex. Listening to your parents) on the Jehovah Witness website: JW.org . Even though I gathered she does not believe in God, she seemed to appre...

 Preach the Word (Day 4) January 12, 2014 First of all, I want to apologize for being a little behind with my entries. I will try to catch up tomorrow (Free-Day!!!). On Friday, Alexis, Caro, and Darrio took me sight-seeing. We went to the  Argentine National Monument of the Flag. I learned a lot about the history of Argentina and got some great aerial shots of Rosario :) It was located next to the Rio Parana, which separates the city of Rosario from the closest province on that side. It is the second longest river in South America. The people of Argentina are very proud of this landmark. At lunch time, we by the river. I had grilled Pacu fish. It was a river fish that came from the Rio Parana. It was the size of my head but it was so delicious that I ate the whole thing lol.  Now to the best part of the day: the ministry :) A sister named Marilina car to pick me up from the hotel. She spoke no English but we were able to communicate alright in Chinese and Spanish. She tol...

Bienvenido (Day 3-Part 2) January 11, 2014 After we grabbed some lunch, we headed to the hotel in order to get ready for our respective group meetings. Aunt Sharon, Uncle Jay, Alexis, Carolina and Darrio went to the Rosario English group meeting sponsored by the Sur Español Jehovah's Witnesses congregation. Valeria and Diego picked me up for the Chinese group meeting sponsored by the Rosario Echesortu Spanish congregation. Their meeting was set-up very similar to my Chinese mid-week meeting in South Carolina. For the first half of the meeting, the Chinese group sits in the auxiliary room. I noticed right away there was no elbow room to spare. It was a struggle to fit all 17 members plus myself into the tiny 2nd school room. This reminded me of our group until we moved our mid-week meeting to the Lobby and Public talk & Watchtower study to Sundays. No Chinese attended Thursday night (I was told a good number of Chinese Bible studies attend the Sunday meetings) but nevertheless, ...

 Wow (Day 3- Part 1) January 10, 2014 We arrived in Buenos Aires on Thursday morning (yeah, I know I'm behind). Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jay's friends Alexis and Carolina (they are Jehovah's Witnesses who live in Buenos Aires) met us at the airport. They not only were going to drive us to Rosario but also stay the weekend at our hotel. They brought along their friend Darrio. The three of them are amazing. They are everything a good host should be. Did I mention that they all speak pretty good English? :) Once we got through airport customs and baggage claim, I realized a few things in this order: its hot; I wouldn't be using my phone much, I'm in Argentina and here my name is Cata. I introduced myself as Catalina (my name in Spanish class many moons ago) to cut down on pronunciation mishaps. But "in Argentina, everyone just says Cata", Carolina told me at the airport. I thought I would soon suffer from culture shock but, as I sat there for the 2.5 hour drive ...

 Up In The Air (Day 2)    January 10, 2014 Since we spent most of the day preparing for our flight, I have nothing much to report on day 2. I was able to practice using my Chinese when our connecting flight from New York to Atlanta ran late. We knew we would have a very limited amount of time to get to our Argentina flight. A lot of other people on that flight also had to catch connecting flights, so as soon as the seat belt sign was turned off people started lining up in the aisles. There was a Chinese girl and her father in between my Aunt Sharon and Uncle Jay and myself. In Chinese, I told the girl who they were to me and that I had to go with them [to our next flight]. She gladly made room for me to move past her and her father : ) An American guy that was also blocking my path to my aunt and uncle quickly moved as well. I seriously doubt he also spoke Chinese, he was probably just very surprised lol. But Im used to that kind of reaction with being in the Chinese fiel...

 And I Am On My Way (Day 1) January 7, 2014 My first flight left from Columbia, SC at 5am this morning. It was 19 degrees outside. My second flight left from Charlotte, NC where it was a mere 8 degrees. My final destination for the day was New York City. My uncle was waiting outside the airport in the van to pick me up. As the sliding doors opened, I was assaulted by a gust of artic wind. I had four layers on (including my "Alaska coat") and I was still freezing. I had to take my glove off for a second to answer my uncle's phone call and my hand nearly froze off. I am not exaggerating, it completely went numb. Come to find out the temperature was 4 degrees!!!  I'm staying the night with  my aunt and uncle and tomorrow we all head to Argentina. I can't wait to meet the friends I'll be working with. Also, I will be glad to be able to complain about the heat vs the cold :)