Montevideo to Buenos Aires

Okay, so it took so long to get to this address (including time spent writing to Martin back home and having him answer my e-mail) that there's really not much time to actually WRITE. Nevertheless, it has been a real adventure from start to finish.

My first night here in Montevideo, (Thursday) I woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of a trumpet sounding. My heart raced, and I thought, "Here comes the Lord, and it's all over now. Whew! Am I ever ready!" Wimon mumbled... "It's a horn," and went back to sleep. Eventually I realized it was just traffic noise from the city, and drifted off, too. Marcella, I know you are rolling your eyes and thinking how goofy your mother is. But some day, and maybe soon, I will be right and the Lord will be back. Just wait and see. But for now, I'm not in heaven; just Uruguay.

We got up the next morning while it was still dark, and I tried to guess what it would be like so that I could pack adequately for our weekend in Buenos Aires. Wimon and I took our luggage and the tickets which Dr. McKelvain had provided (that man does think of everything!) and rode a taxi to the bus station. Nice place, for a bus station! We had time for a wonderful continental breakfast there, before boarding.

Morning. Cafe con leche, pan, y dulce de leche. Perfect weather. Even when it's drizzly and gray, it's not too hot or cold now. I know... I've seen winter here, and it goes to the bone. But now, it is perfect.

After a long bus ride, we went through customs and got on a ferry. We met a couple from California who are traveling here and know no Spanish. They wondered why so few Americans had discovered this place. Then we met a man from France who is traveling around and plans to be back in a month or two to travel in Argentina, too. The ferry reminded me for all the world of the one at Dover. Deja vu. Only it was daytime, and Castellano was everywhere.

Dr. M (the man who thinks of everything) had a car waiting for us on the other side, driver bearing a sign with our names on it. Great guy, our driver. Great ride. Without a problem (as long as you don't watch the traffic too closely, naturally), to the hotel. Nice visiting with someone who speaks Castellano in just that special way. He was able to talk about Pilar and the old days and Moron and so many other things we wanted to hear about. Surreal, really, being back after so many years. The sights, the traffic, the sounds, the smells, are all the same. The driver said, "So much has changed," but I was thinking how much has stayed the same. Waves of sheer joy and desperately sorrowful feelings washed over me. I knew right away that one week would not be enough for me to sort it all out. I would just pile on more feelings that "someday" I might sort out. Loosen up, and enjoy the ride.

Dr. M. had us at a very nice hotel. Not like the "old days" at all, those childhood days when my family did not spend money. Not at all like those days when I was in my twenties, of militares and their artificially contrived exchange rate, when our day-laborer friends had more money than we did to live on. Wow. A luxury hotel. Luxurious, like the life I live now in America. More feelings to sort out.

It was great meeting all of the ACU kids. What a great bunch! I keep thinking that, with every interaction. They are all impressive in so many ways.

Saturday afternoon we went to the church where we met the jovenes, and surprised Glen Henton and his wife Kathy (we are all so much older now, and Glen's Castellano is great. It's what 25 years in a place will do to you). Chris Kelley was there! What a deep satisfaction to hear him sounding so Argentine, being so much at home and beloved by the brethren here, and seeing him with his son and gorgeous wife, who is pregnant again. They're expecting a daughter on July 4. It did my heart good to see them and hug them and hear them, just for a little bit. We go back a ways... so many years.

After lunch, we handed out flyers for a campaign. I worked with a sweet girl named Paola. She organized us, quietly gave us advice, modeled the job for us, and set us free to work. Very impressive young lady. Melina Rangel and I visited and worked together. She seems shy and introverted and sweet, but at the same time, she never failed to stop and talk to people on the street as she handed them an invitation. It felt so GOOD to be outside walking, doing something. I don't think it's exercise that I dislike: it's exercise for its own sake. Moving was a deep-down satisfying experience.

People are back, now, and my time to write is over. So I will leave it there, in Buenos Aires on a Saturday afternoon. Not a bad place to stop and enjoy the memory...

To be continued...

from Rosalinda in Uruguay

I arrived in Montevideo, Uruguay! It was a long trip, and I'll write more about it later. Just wanted you to know I'm here. Naptime....

Rosalinda

Puppy

Before school started, as I was trying to convert a portable building into something that fourth graders and I would want to live in for nine months, a puppy showed up. She had no collar. She wandered around all day, looking for company. The janitors and the other teachers said she would get run over, that it happens all the time. When the long day was over, no one else was going to take care of Puppy, so I took her home.

It was not an intelligent thing to do. I was alone at home, and had a lot of preparations to make at school. Not to mention the in-service days and receiving my family back from the Northwest and from Mexico. I had hoped they would love Puppy. Instead, they all agreed I'm certifiable.

Puppy really does have a sweet personality. And she's cute. Well, she would have been cuter if she could have stayed away from the mud puddle in the back yard. Still, the white soft fluffy coat and dark black eyes and nose were irresistible... to me, anyway. She was big for a puppy, up to my knees, and a bit rambunctious. But that's how puppies are.

And Mom loved her, when she visited us. Then my sister and her family came to drop off Emily for college, and they loved her, too. In fact, they came back the very next week and took Puppy home with them.

The vet says Puppy is going to weigh 120 pounds when she grows up. She is apparently a 14-week-old Great Pyrannes. She will love living in the country and running around with Jenny's three boys.

Maybe I am certifiable. But I will get enormous pleasure from visiting my sister next time, and seeing Puppy grow.

I love my fourth-graders, too. While they work, sometimes I pray for each one of them. They tell me of friends in gangs, and strange happenings. I try to envision their version of a huge place in the country and a very nice and loving family.

Surprise!

I have a surprise for the traveling Walkers. Not even in your wildest guesses will you get close. Go ahead... TRY!

Who'da guessed?

You never can tell, at the start of the day, what will happen. This morning I was left alone to go to work while everyone else drove off to a missions conference in Dallas. I could envision their running into old friends and making new ones, hearing great speakers, and relaxing... all this while I would be working hard at the last bit of teaching, and giving final exams, and averaging and reporting grades. Ho-hum. My life is just boring.

Well, my visions came true for them. But I got a surprise! Some of my students who had finished their exams yesterday and should have been sleeping in and lounging by the pool, came by to see me, instead. They brought a card and a big bouquet of roses and a delicious cake with "My favorite teacher..." written on it. It was so unexpected, so out of the blue, that I just stood there and cried. They laughed and said to each other, "I told you she would!" Then they came inside and shared the cake with the students who were taking their finals. And they got a photograph of them with me. I hope I will get a copy of it. What a nice memory we made today! No, you never can tell what kind of day it is going to be.