fame and glory

we received so many supportive comments after the last post, that i thought you all deserved something pretty to look at. welcome to our neighborhood.

just one of the many amazing views of the mountainous greenery
surrounding buenos aires

this particular hike is always referred to as "el rancho"
apparently, once there was a thatch roofed structure at the top of the hill
although it burned down, there's no other name for the place

an hour and a half UP, and we still got great cell phone reception
we hiked up here a few weekends ago with our "adopted" host sisters

vulture, in spanish, is zopilote

being a peace corps volunteer is a lot like being a celebrity sometimes, except without all the fortune, and a very limited radius of fame. but people smile and greet you on the streets, they talk about you behind closed doors, and you are often given access to services and information that the general populace knows nothing of. our first week in buenos aires, we had a private meeting with the mayor. now i realize buenos aires is a small place, but i'm pretty sure my neighbor would have to wait in, por lo menos, a really long line to get a chance to talk to the mayor.
today, our counterpart made a few phone calls and got us personal meetings with coordinators at the local medical clinic, the municipality, the police station, the ministry of health, and the red cross. i currently have statistics on my flash drive concerning the entire county of buenos aires, including population, common diseases, education level, housing conditions, births, deaths, you name it.
i can change the flow of an entire school day just by showing my face on campus. we recently started getting extra plantains with our produce purchases at the local grocery store. the neighborhood development association changes their meeting dates to fit into our schedule.
now, i'm not saying i'm all that, but i'm kind of a big deal, if you know what i mean. but don't worry, we won't let it go to our heads, or anything.

coy getting ready for his visit with the mayor
(that's a joke, in case you couldn't sense the implied sarcasm)

spending too much time at school is actually hazardous to your health
they gave me this strange candy that tasted terrible at first and later was strangely delicious
the amount of gum in the center was totally inadequate and it left my mouth this color for several hours