Day 17: August 31, 2007 In Salta

  Salta, Argentina
Friday, August 31, 2007

Day 17: August 31, 2007 In Salta

I got up at 7:00 and showered. There was a beautiful sunrise. Elena was really tired but got up and was ready when Luchi arrived at 7:45. Once they were out the door, I made some soup and coffee and fired up my Mac to get caught up on my journaling, with CNN in the background.

Sunrise over Salta

I wandered down to the office at 10:15. I discovered a travel blog site that appears to be just what I'm looking for so I joined it and put everything up to today on it. I like it better than the MySpace blog site and it links to both MySpace and Facebook with ease. I can also link to it from my website but don't have to store it on-campus. It should work just fine.

I also downloaded the PRF application packet and informed John Hardt and Ken Duke of my intention to seek an ACS-PRF Grant to fund three years of research in Argentina. If successful, it will provide money for student stipends/scholarships for both field and laboratory work. I'll develop the proposal over the next few weeks.

Daytime View of Salta

Being Friday afternoon, I was winding down early and went back to the apartment around 6:30. At about 7:30, the phone rang, signaling that someone was at the gate. I answered it and heard Elena's voice say, "Abajo, por favor." She had taken the bus and gotten off on the road below us. I pressed the correct code and let her in.

She had a great day at school. During one of the recesses, she was kicking a soccer ball around in the courtyard with a bunch of guys. The balconies filled up with people watching her. Women just don't play futbol in Argentina, for some reason. Most people had never seen a girl play. I think she is already making her mark here.

We were both getting hungry and she still wanted to get a soccer ball so we took a bus into town and got off a couple of blocks from the Plaza 9 de Julio. The sidewalks were jammed with people, typical of Friday nights. We stopped at a librería on Caseros and bought her a bunch of school supplies. She hadn't explored the Av. Florida peatonal (pedestrian street) yet so we walked down it. Within a block we found a sporting goods store and she bought a ball fo about U$S 9. She can get a better one to take back to the states with her just before she leaves. We tried to get her a blue and white striped Argentine futbol jersey at another place but they seemed to have every size but hers. We'll find one somewhere else.

As we wove through the crowd on our way to La Posta, Elena spotted two of her classmates, José and Marian and introduced me to them. It has always amazed me how often I run into people I know in the streets of the big cities in Argentina. It has happened to me four times in Buenos Aires and numerous times in Salta and San Juan.

Elena had a chicken and pasta dinner and I had breaded boneless chicken. As usual, the food was great. We took a cab home. Elena went to bed. I sat down to watch the news but soon fell asleep, not awakening until 3:00 when Jorge came in.