We are still on the plane.  I had about 4-5 sleeps for about 45min each or so.  Feeling very busted.  We landed about 9:30am local time.  We springed 3 hours ahead because of the time difference.  Customs took a very long time.  We also had to pay a surprise 131.00 tax for each person to gain access to the country.  Ouch.  I put many pesos on my credit card.  :)  I crossed my fingers when they swiped it hoping it would be excepted.  Luckily it was.  We met up with the Bluffs and finally made it out of the baggage claim.  It had taken about an hour and a half to get through customs.  We then exchanged our dollars to pesos.  (We later found out that you get better exchange rates outside of the airport security, oh well)

Bessi and Jessi were waiting for us outside and we were greeted by the usual embrace and cheek touch with the sound of a kiss.  We had to work out details immediately for money, which led us to need to exchange more currency.  Meanwhile, Laura got us some fries from a nearby McDonald’s in the airport.  Funny that the first thing I ate was American.  Also, Hannah had already helped us immensely with translation.  What an incredible blessing.  Laura knows a lot of Spanish, and I know a little, but nothing compared to having Hannah there to speak with us.  (Not sure what we would have done without her.)

We walked outside and were greeted by much warmer, thicker air than we had left in Dallas.  It is Summer here.  And it is hot.  It is not quite as hot as Tyler, in Summer, but I am sure it will be in the next months here.  It seems like our May/June here.

The bus filled with our soon to be Argentine team was pulling into the area to pick us up right away, and many of the Chicos were waving and smiling.  Luis, Jessi’s husband and Robert Bruneau’s brother, jumped out to greet us.  We said hello and loaded up.  The excitement and joy of the Chicos was inspiring.  They broke into song and we traded songs back and forth.  One group would sing, while the other group would listen, wide eyed.  Laura and I sate up front with Bessi, Luis and Jessi.  We talked about many things.  It was a good time to listen, try to speak Spanish and understand.  It was hot on the bus and I quickly realized that from this point on, we will probably not have ac, so get used to it!  We sweated on the bus and prepped for a sticky 10 days.  (I was glad that I had changed into my chacos at the airport)  About and hour and a half later, we arrived at the camp.  The sites on the way looked like very poor areas with an obvious lack of infrastructure.  Giant gates opened at the end of a street to welcome us into the walled camp.

We arrived into camp.  We quickly made our way to lunch.  It seems that food and rest are very important here.  Sounds good to me!  I sat next to Luis’ daughter Pamala (who doesn’t quite know what to do with me yet) and 2 Chicas, Ale and Juli.  They were very sweet as we pieced together our languages to attempt conversation.  They were very kind to me and bore with my attempts to speak Spanish.  Laura helps translate as needed, praise God!

We ate, and then were introduced to the pastor and his wife who were bringing the first round of children for camp tomorrow.  They said hello, and then everyone broke for siesta, while Laura, Chris, Bessi, other leaders and I stayed to work out details.

Everything went rather good, except there were many new surprises and problems to tackle.  It seemed that whenever we would solve one thing, something else would come up.  We discussed: Meals(Dinner at 9pm!). Opening/Closing. Schedules. Bible Study. Worship. Cabin Assignments. Numbers. Ect.

And then we discovered that the camp was without power.  And that there were not enough beds for everyone to sleep.  Chris went to nap because he was not feeling well.  The rest of us (Laura, Bessi, Agu and I) went to solve the bed problem.  I quickly drew a diagram of the cabins and found that we would have to have mattresses on many of the floors in most rooms.  We are hoping that after the kids come tomorrow that we will have enough room for everyone.  This was a stressful, but a great opportunity to work together calmly.

I mentioned Agu.  We met Agustina earlier as one of Bessi’s leaders in training.  She had been promoted to be the “program director” of the 2 camp sessions.  She is 19 years old, yet looks and acts much older.  Her English is very good.  Hopefully, we can get to know her and teach her anything she would like to know.  At one point, we had to remind our girls to “mix it up” with the Chicas.  I find it is easy to stick with your own culture in this environment.  But we have little time, and each minute is precious to get to know these great people.  My girls responded so well, and in no-time they were hanging out with everyone.

We met at 5 and let Bessi speak to us about how she wished we could have been in communication throughout the year.  It seems that the current way things are in South America are not quite where they need to be (which makes sense because of how far it is and how early the development is).  Since I don’t have a lot of experience with this, I am learning as well.

We gathered up on the grassy area and started orientation.  Although I was so tired by this point, it was one of the sweetest moments of my life.  Chris and I taught while Hannah translated.  I couldn’t help but smile most of the time because of how amazing it was to sit and talk through these things in a foreign land with new friends that I could barely communicate with yet.  We did some team-building, and talked about our philosophy, our mission and why we are here.  Meanwhile the sun was setting and the breeze was stopping.  We finished with cabin assignments, and did the best we could to make it PC style.  But one goal this whole time is to not just be like PC, but to allow them to but their own cultural style that is in line with the right philosophy.

The counselors moved into their cabins and spent time together, and then we came together for snack, not dinner!

Soon after, as Bessi, Chris and I were meeting, teh Chicos were outside teaching our staff many dances.  We quickly joined them outside and it started to rain.  Neal went and got his iPod and we taught them the Soldiers dance from the Shores.  The learned quickly.  It was a very special moment.  Already, the barriers were falling and outside in the rain, instead of words, music, dancing and laughter united us.  After that, we played soccer (futbol) in the gym.  We played with an oversize bouncy tennis ball, which made it very tricky, but way fun.

Finally, I attempted to shower at 9:30pm but could barely because it was so cold.  They bathroom I was in was harsh, but not a big deal.  Spiders are almost welcome to join on the wall as long as they rob a mosquito or two from the air.

Then, it was dinner time at 10pm!  They eat very late here.  The chicos wanted to serve us and it was very special and kind.

Finally, goodnight around 12. It was hard to sleep that first night.  So tired yet couldn’t sleep.  After a long night of flying and then a FULL day, it was weird to lay in my bed and sleep.  Neal and I shared a small room in the boys cabin. (little did I know this was the only night I would sleep on a bunk)  No blankets.  Just listen to the sounds of wild dogs, crickets and try not to sweat.

All in all, although we could make things better for all of us with better planning and communication, we are just fine.  I am anxious to see how this will unfold with campers.  It is not easy, the conditions are different and therefor difficult and the language is touch to break through.   I miss Brooke.

But I am glad to he here!  It is refreshing to break from American culture.  The people so far are beyond easy to love.  They Argentine guys and girls who are helping are joyful, gentle, patient and kind.  I have lots to learn from them.