There have been a lot of things to think about this week, but I think we´re OK.
Thursday our friend and leader came to see us for a much-appreciated visit (all hail esteemed leader). She and I and Joni went off to a children’s home a couple of hours away where we are preparing a placement for a short-term volunteer who I will be supervising when she arrives. Here we met up with another team member, who we brought back to San Francisco with us for a couple of hours until he was off on the bus to Buenos Aires.
Friday I had an appointment in Cordoba which involved leaving the house at six in the morning (the pain, the pain), so I left husband, son and our TL to each others´tender ministrations. They were all still alive when I got back. Meeting in Cordoba went well, probably should have done that months ago. Couple of hours later and TL was also off on a bus to Buenos Aires to continue her rounds.
Saturday Martin was off to the prison, later brought back with him our friend Miguel. They didn´t manage to bring the car back as it had a flat battery, so Martin had to organise someone to pick him up to go and start the car. Miguel left again, destination home-village some 50kms away. Martin arrived back. A different Miguel (it´s a common name, Michael) came by unexpectedly to collect some stuff that he had stored in our house, so we spent a happy hour taking mate, catching up and shifting furniture. Another neighbour popped in; he was on his way to see someone else only they weren´t there so he came to hang out in our house for a bit. Later in the evening, some friends called with a present for Joni for “Dia del niño” (children’s day) which is an (over commercialised) Argentinean tradition in August, except Joni had already gone to bed, so we put his present for him to find in the morning. They´re good people, they’ve appointed themselves as aunt and uncle to our kid and he very much rates them.
Sunday and I was on Sunday School duty, so we had to be on time to church (doesn’t always happen). We picked up a chicken on the way home, as has become our tradition after church. In the afternoon we called round to take mate with the afore-mentioned aunt and uncle characters, with a this-time awake Joni. That took some persuading because he understood “going to say thank you” as meaning that we were going to give the present back to them, cue many tears and “no give the lorry back, I don´t want to come, Joni stay here…” but having persuaded him into the car, and then out of it at the other end, he had a good time and even let adopted aunt play with the lorry with him on the table. Daddy and Joni headed home where I later found them watching a ripped off Thomas the Tank engine DVD in Spanish that they´d picked up from our corner shop (DVD’s only come in one format around here, and that’s ripped off). Meanwhile I went to catch up with the church treasurer who needed to give me money to take to Quebracho Herrado, while we are currently a month behind on the rent. That turned into a neat opportunity to spend half an hour with someone I don’t often get chance to talk with, so we sat at her kitchen table and found out a bit more about each other.
And here we are on the eve of a new week. What will this one hold?