There is so much to see here, and I have only begun to scratch the surface! Nevertheless, I think I have already found my favorite part of this city: the ecological reserve sandwiched between the glass skyscrapers of Puerto Madero and the yawning mouth of Río de la Plata. It is peaceful there, even though it's just a few hundred meters from urban life. I cannot explain why, but I find the river alarmingly beautiful. I stood on the shore this morning and fell under its spell.
I like the work here, although it has made me confront the difficult reality of education in poverty. I admire the foundation and the people who work there are capable and hardworking, but I cannot help but feel that the scarce resources here are not put to the best use. Wednesday and Thursday of this week, for example--and you must keep in mind that the program only runs three days per week--none of the children came because it rained. In this town, many of the roads off the main street are unpaved, and the rain turns these streets to mud. That something as simple as rainfall prevents the kids from learning troubles me, mostly because the problem is eminently solvable. Argentina is a solidly middle-income country, richly endowed with resources. The school is not wealthy, but it is not materially desperate either; instead of buying rainboots so that the children can trek through mud to school, the school spends money on laptop computers (used almost exclusively for games). It's a frustrating misallocation of resources. Having said this, of course, I am fascinated by this country and eager to keep exploring it. If anything, seeing Argentina's problems up close--ranging from schools to rampant inflation to transit strikes--only makes me more curious. Can't wait to see what comes next.
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