A Year (or Two) in Mendoza

We don't write here anymore

2008-10-01T13:22:00.003-03:00

So, we moved back to DC and stopped writing about Argentina - at some point we will write once again about our adventures, but for now we are on hiatus.

Thanks to everyone who stayed in touch with us via this blog -- we will talk to you all again soon.

If they lose they should kill themselves!

2007-06-29T10:08:00.000-03:00

The U.S. played Argentina in futbol (soccer) last night in the Copa America. The general response to folks here was -- well, it was something like a collective yawn. I tried to get some guys together to watch the game. Usually a national team game is an easy excuse to get some beers (and Fernet). But this game didn't really register. The only response I got from folks was that it wasn't going to be much of a game. Hence, "If they lose, they should kill themselves."

And, after looking at ESPN.com and Foxsports.com this morning, it looks like they were right. ESPN says "US Outclassed by Argentina", Foxsports says "Class is in Session."

Normally this wouldn't bother me. My football starts with 350 lb. men who run at sprinter speeds and have the IQ of my old tennis shoe.

But two things kind of got to me this time. One - the newspapers down here are talking about how bad Argentina played. I mean they were behind for 11 whole minutes and the final score was ONLY 4 - 1. You would think they were blown out from a World Cup game. Two -- Janalee's kid was cheering for Argentina. She thinks it was great.

It seems to me that we work on this sport some. Doesn't every kid in the suburbs of every city in the U.S. play this crazy game? Can't we find 23 athletes who are willing to give up the outrageous salaries of the NBA and NFL to play soccer? Where are the sports patriots (asks the guy who is an ExPat)? Maybe Beckham can save us. Oh yeah, he is English -- so much for that idea.

Outlet Shopping in Mendoza

2007-06-11T17:57:00.000-03:00

So, it seems that suburban U.S. has finally come to Mendoza (in addition to us that is). Yesterday while I was walking down the street I noticed a new sign (down here they post signs everywhere - on fences, buildings that no one lives in - really anywhere is fair game). The sign read "Sex Outlet".

I haven't been to this shop. I doubt that I will go. There are just some things that I don't think you should buy at an outlet store. Sex is pretty high on that list. Truth be told, sex is not something I would buy retail either (I am from Utah after all). But, purchasing it at an outlet store seems especially bad. Don't they send stuff no one wants to buy to outlet stores? You know, things from last season that no one purchased. Pants with crooked stitches come to mind or maybe pink boxer shorts with little monkeys on them (I don't have a pair of those - really I don't).

It is probably best that I stop right here with this line of thinking. Janalee is going to check out the blog eventually and then she is going to delete this whole piece.

Flamenco in the Family

2007-06-01T16:27:00.000-03:00

It is Flamenco month in Mendoza and so we have been watching Flamenco shows. All very exciting, but nothing compared to watching the little Flamenco dancer in the family. I have added some photos here for those who want to look.

Hope you are well and enjoying the summer.

The Cycle of Life......

2007-05-26T11:38:00.000-03:00

For me (Jan writing now, not Vince… though I’m sure you will be able to figure that our in about two more lines), one of the things I love most about living here is our connection to the land--the soil, the grapes, the seasons, and the ways in which they connect us to the cycle of life. (Is anyone else feeling the urge to sing the theme to the Lion King? VM).

This is the second year we’ve celebrated Mia’s birthday abroad. Last year our Argentine friends asked us if we found a place to have the party, wanted to rent a moonbounce, etc. We said, “What? Are you kidding? She’s only four… we’ll have a fun party in the back yard! All we need are a few kids, a cake and some balloons.” Then, we began to attend Mia’s friends’ parties. We clearly misunderstood Argentine birthday norms. So, this year, we went all out -- depending on who you asked, we probably barely managed to pull off a reasonable facsimile of a birthday party como Mia’s amigos -- complete with a jugador (an entertainer), a giant cake for the 40 + kids in attendance, empanadas, tea sandwiches… and a piñata! I must admit; it was great fun!

This is also our second year to celebrate the harvest in Mendoza. Since the Vines of Mendoza team has grown from about 35 last year to almost 60 this year, it was a huge celebration. We picked about a hectare (just over 2 acres) of grapes in about 10 minutes -- OK, it took a little longer than that, but not much! -- and then enjoyed an asado in the vineyards, prepared by Marcelo our new Chief Financial Officer.

Mia left for home covered in dirt and grape juice, as did many of our staff members. A perfect day!

25 de Mayo - El Acto

2007-05-25T14:50:00.000-03:00

There is just nothing like a school play. The type of school play that you attend when your kid is in kindergarten or first grade is an especially unique event. That is not to say that I don't love school plays - because I think they are great -- they just require a certain blindness to truly appreciate.

Yesterday we attended Amelia's school play - Viva La Patria - the celebration of the Argentine May Revolution. Being the overly proud father that I am I was certain (and remain so) that my daughter would play a part that was central to the Argentine Revolution. So, of course Amelia played one of several lavanderas (women who wash clothes). I need to read a bit more about this particular holiday to get a sense of the role of the lavandera (or the candle sellers that boys in Mia's class portrayed) in the bloodless revolution of May - but I am positive they were central players in the overthrow of Spanish rule.

For now, I will rejoice in the joy of watching my five year old sing the song of the lavandera, smile like she has just won an Oscar and hug every friend in sight. The joys of being a parent!

For those of you interested, you can see pictures of the big event (her third play - she is a regular on the stage) here. I really only expect Amelia's grandmother to look at these pictures - let's be honest this was no High School Musical.

Felice Dia Del 25 de Mayo!

Winter is Coming

2007-05-23T15:24:00.000-03:00

It is true. Winter is once again coming to Mendoza. I guess you could say I am jumping the gun a bit on announcing winter because it is really just Fall. But Winter follows Fall, so I feel like I should go ahead and say Winter is coming - it is inevitable.

A couple of things about Fall and Winter in South America that have been true both years that we have been here. First, I spend all of the Summer (October through April) reminding everyone I know who lives north of Costa Rica that it is Summer where I am and Winter where they are. That joke is not nearly as funny when it is Winter here.

Second, inevitably someone from the U.S. will ask me a variation of the following question: “Isn’t it strange to have Christmas in June?” I was surprised last year when someone asked me this and more surprised when two people asked me this question this year (I thought I only knew one person who would come up with that question). So, just to dispel the myths that abound in the North. The day on which we celebrate Christmas does not change when you pass over the equator. Argentines use the exact same calendar (in Spanish of course) that we use in the U.S. It seems to me that someone would ask what it is like to celebrate Christmas when it is 95 degrees – that seems stranger to me. But, no one asked me that question.

Now that we have that clear – on to the topic of the Day: Fall. We have added some photos of the change of seasons in Mendoza – you can see them here. Pretty spectacular photos (I didn’t take them).

Expatriate….

2007-05-14T00:57:00.000-03:00

Wikipedia says that an expatriate is “a person temporarily residing in a country and culture other than that of the person’s upbringing or legal residence. The word comes from the latin ex (out of) and the greek patria (country)…..”

As strange as it may seem to us sometimes, we are expatriates. Though we have many Argentine friends, we’ve also created a rich friendship network with other ex-pats, primarily from the States, Italy, and Great Britain (or “ENGLAND -- I’m not Scottish,” as our friend Haisley would say). Not quite as romantic as the “lost generation,” but ex-pats nonetheless.

Today, we said so long to Sam -- our ENGLISH (Italian -- well, technically, he’s ENGLISH, but he lived in Italy for over 15 years before moving here with his wife -- who is ARGENTINE but lived in Italy virtually all her life, and family, whew -- they are REAL ex-pats) amigo who is moving back to Italy to work for at least another couple of years (what he needs to earn his pension) for the European Union. Fortunately, we don’t have to say goodbye to Monica and the kids yet….

For the last few months, we’ve spent many a Sunday “asadoing” while the kids played in one of our backyards… Drawn together by our love of Argentine wine and beef, lots of laughter, and the exhilaration and strangeness of living in a foreign land, we have become fast friends.

Here’s to you Sam -- not quite sure what Vince and Haisley will do without you! Suerte y buen viaje - Nos vemos pronto, amigo!

Argentine Transplant - by Shoshana Davis

2007-05-07T19:35:00.000-03:00

“Miiiiiiahhh, where are we going again?” sighs Charlotte, a newly four, overly poised, yet quiet and thoughtful red headed child. “We’re going to Argentina,” answers her best friend, Mia with a subtle eye roll and toss of her bobbed blonde hair. She can’t understand why Charlotte does not remember. It’s the same place they go every time they go on a trip. The bottom two steps act as their airplane seats when they travel around the world.

Ameila known to most by her nickname, Mia, is a slightly older (almost five) four year-old, and is the type of little girl always found wearing a pink skirt. She prefers dark pink and everything must match. She thinks anything pink matches. Polk-a-dots, stripes and stars match. It just has to be pink and if possible bright. Currently, she’s outfitted in pink sweat pants, under a pink flowered dress, and topped with a hot pink and orange fleece poncho.

“Where is Argentina?” asks Charlotte still attempting to comprehend how they are going to get there via the staircase of her parents’ Victorian style, northern Virginia home. “It’s faaaar away,” says Mia as she packs up one of their two Fisher Price strollers with her favorite doll, Bitty Baby, and her stuffed brown dog, known simply as big dog.

“Is Argentina more far away than Africa?” Charlotte asks as she continues her inquisition. Charlotte’s class at the Waldorf School recently learned about Africa. She really enjoyed learning about the drums. Mia pauses as she buckles Bitty Baby into place to collect her thoughts. “Well, Argentina is at the very top of the stairs and Africa is at the middle of the stairs,” she says as she points up from her perch on the bottom step. “We have to go far to get to Argentina. It’s not very close.”

“We are going very very far away?” Charlotte asks again. “Reeeaally far away and we have to take macaroni and cheese. They don’t have even Annies in Argentina!” Mia squeals as they both burst into uncontrollable four year-old girl giggles.
While most American children her age are going to pre-school and debating hot topics like what finger paint color looks the best on red construction paper, Mia has already lived a double life. For the past year, she has lived in the wine country of Mendoza, Argentina after her parents decided to take a lifestyle sabbatical.

Vince and Janalee, aka Mommy and Daddy, fled their suburbia existence in Clarendon, Virginia, quit their suit wearing, high stress Washington jobs, sold their cars, rented their house and left on a year long adventure to help a friend’s start up wine tourism business. And they’ve just signed on for one more year abroad. To many people it sounds like living a dream.

While in Argentina, Mia’s mom and dad switched caretaker roles leaving Vince to act as a stay at home dad. Mia’s mommy is the chief of staff for their friend Michael’s wine business, which often leaves Mia asking “Where is Mommy?” instead of her typical “Where is Daddy?” Although they both worked in the states, Mia’s mom was home two days a week.

This quick transfer left Mia on a lifestyle sabbatical of her own, which is why on a week long vacation to the states, Mia constantly tries to explain life in Argentina to her best friend, or “twin” as she calls Charlotte.

Yet, Mia does not make her shift from a yuppie neighborhood where everyone drives energy efficient cars and shops solely at whole foods to a country where they nightly have celebrations that serve solely meat (Asado), seem difficult.

“I go to school all day, and I play all day. Then I go to the pool and swim. They give me lollipops - strawberry lollipops,” she says as she giggles and lets out a lady like snort that’s only endearing when you’re under the age of six.

Mia’s new school is much different from the one she left in Clarendon. The old establishment was in an ancient brick church building and housed a total of 35 Arlington pre-schoolers with arguably over attentive mothers and fathers. In Mendoza, Mia attends school with 300 kindergarten through eighth graders all dressed in the same uniform with a St. Andrews cross on their chest. Her father always brings Mia to class which is very different from the typical societal norms in Argentina. He is the only father in a sea of women.

Mia also notices a difference in how people are disciplined at school. “If you say a bad word, or something, they leave you alone. I don’t know really, I don’t do it,” she clarifies, just in case her parents read this. “In my old school, they would say ‘now don’t say that,’ but in Argentina they just leave you alone.”

During the day, Mia’s new teachers, Ms. Savina teaches in Spanish for the first four hours in the morning and Miss Anita teaches in English for the rest of the day. When she first started at Colegio San Andres, the only Spanish she knew was from Dora the Explorer. Now, she’s not only fluent, but sounds like she she’s a true Argentine in both language and spirit.

She cheered for the Argentine soccer team by shouting “Vamos, Vamos, Vamos Argentina”, wore a jersey and painted her face during the world cup. She wore a falda de pisana (a type of skirt) and waved a handkerchief during her class’ Argentine Independence Day play. And one of her favorite things to do is sing in Spanish.

“La cucaracha, La cucaracha, Ya no puede caminar!!” screeches Mia at the top of her lungs in perfect dialect as she slides on the wood flooring in her pink striped socks. “Charlotte, do you know what that means?” She asks. “The cockroach can’t walk!” Again, both girls break into intense giggles.

Within seconds, the two are serious again. “We have to bring the car seat with us,” instructs Mia as they continued to cram vacation necessities into their strollers. “They don’t use car seats in Argentina. Only babies use car seats there. We need to bring our own. I don’t like slipping around in the car.” She says confidently, as if she’s obviously used this explanation before to show that she is not a baby.

To Mia, the biggest difference is in the driving. “They drive sooooo fast in Argentina. They just drive crazy!” she explains excitedly. Her young brain soaked up the language quickly and clearly one of the results of Mia’s transplant is apparent as she accidentally goes in and out of Spanish.

“First we walk to the car, then I put on cinturon on then we go to the store.” Charlotte looks at Mia bewildered as she tries to figure out what her best friend just said. Mia quickly realizes her mistake and says “First I walk to the car, put the seat belt on and then we go to the store.”

This isn’t the first time this has happened. And don’t be fooled, sometimes she’ll even do it for her own entertainment.

“It’s so fun here. If someone asks you something, you can explain in Spanish,” she laughs “And only some people know what I’m saying! People here can’t speak Spanish either. They sound funny!”

By this time they’ve also added many sweaters, scarves and gloves to the growing pile on the stairs. But surprisingly the two have also found bathing suits and sandals. The amount of stuff has quickly exploded out of their two strollers and into cardboard boxes known as suitcases to the busy four year-old crew. Mia explained to Charlotte that they need both sets of clothes because it’s winter in America, but summer in Argentina.

It was leaving her friends as well as Annie’s Organic Macaroni and Cheese, her favorite comfort food that causes the most anxiety.

“I like America better, I don’t have Charlotte or Sarah or David in Argentina,” she explains as thoughtfully as any four year-old can waving her small stubby hands in the air for emphasis. “And Argentina is a lot different. They don’t really make pink stuff.” Her five year-old priorities are definitely in the right place.

“Charlotte-Darlotte, let’s go to Argentina!” Mia says in a sing-song voice as she drags her friend’s hand to the staircase to take their pretend airplane seats where their jam packed strollers and random articles of clothing are strewed about. “We have to stop in Miami first,” she giggles. “Are you sure you packed the macaroni and cheese?” asks Charlotte earnestly. “Sure!” She shouts as she and Charlotte depart on their last trip via the staircase before she and her “Papi” board their actual flight across the equator. “Say goodbye through the window!”

Whither the blogmaster?

2007-05-06T10:06:00.000-03:00

Some of you may be wondering why there are so few posts this year. Last year, my husband wrote at least once a week, sometimes twice. In fact, sometimes, I had to beg him not to blog….”you don’t have to share every detail of our lives on-line…”

So, que pasa este ano?

It seems that our blogmaster has gone back to more than part-time work outside the home… While he still does some consulting, and he’s still Super Dad, he’s also resumed a modified version of his former life in the states.

In January he was asked to return to Earth Force, and serve as President there. This presented a tough choice for us; we had decided we really wanted to stay in Argentina for at least another year. So, Vince and the Earth Force board arrived at a shared leadership arrangement -- he serves as president and is responsible for raising money and working with the Earth Force team to set direction -- while one of his colleagues, Lisa Bardwell who has led the Denver Earth Force office for many years, serves as CEO and oversees the day-to-day operations.

Thus far the arrangement is working well. It does mean, however, that Vince spends a lot more time in the states than he used to, and these days, he’s much more likely to be working late at night than he is to be practicing his Spanish -- or blogging.

So, alas, it seems that I will need to take up the blogging mantle. In homage to Vince:
* I promise I will try to be funny (my friends always comment that they can tell when I have written something, by the “serious nature” of the post -- read BORING)
* I will write one silly blog/month, just because
* I will make sure to include lots of pictures of Mia (first I have to learn how to insert pictures…..)

Bilingual and Worried

2007-05-06T09:48:00.000-03:00

Amelia is bilingual. I am not. It is not that I haven’t tried to learn Spanish (though I could certainly try harder) and it isn’t that I don’t speak some Spanish (I can order meat at the local butcher), buy my Spanish pales in comparison to Amelia’s.

On the whole I am incredibly excited by Amelia’s fluency in Spanish (or Castellano as she corrects me). But, having a child who speaks a language that you don’t can be an interesting experience. A case in point:

A few months ago Amelia went with me to my Spanish lesson (which I no longer take – another story). She was playing in the area, making fun of my accent and correcting my grammar, and generally hanging out with some of our friends. Suddenly, I could hear Amelia yelling at a friend of ours (Florencia – one of 50 friends named Florencia). Typically Amelia doesn’t yell much. She laughs really loudly and screams in delight when she can trick you in some way, but she is not much of a yeller. Anyway she was yelling. I could here her say two things to Florencia:

Callate!!

Te mato!!

The downside to having a child who speaks a language you don’t is that they say things you think might be cute, but they aren’t. I had no idea what she had just said. Since I was in the middle of a Spanish lesson, I asked my instructor.

Her response was, “I was wondering if you understood that”. I think that might have been a personal dig – what did she expect after only 12 months of Spanish lessons! Sadly, the answer was no. I admit it. My five-year-old kid can speak a language I cannot. But, I can order wine at a restaurant and she can’t! Well, she could (and better than I can), but they wouldn’t give it to her. There are limits to what a five year old can do!

Anyway, I called Amelia over - “Mia, we don’t talk to people like that.”

Mia - “Como”

Me – “You know what you said and I don’t want you talking like that. Apologize to Florencia.”

Mia – “No hice cualquier cosa mal.”

Me – “You know what you said. Now, apologize.”

Mia – “Era un chiste.”

Me – “It wasn’t funny. We don’t talk to people like that. Say you are sorry.”

Mia – “No”

Me – “Yes”

If you want to get a sense of the full extant of the conversation you can re-read that section several times.

After several minutes Amelia saw the error of her ways (or realized I am entirely too stubborn to make it worth the time) and apologized. We had round of besos and abrazos all around and play could resume.

I learned an important lesson. I need to study all of the Spanish words that could be used to insult people – and quickly!

Today, I realized Amelia is picking up some Italian. She has been playing with some kids whose parents are from Turin – their kids speak Italian to each other almost exclusively.

I guess that means I need to start to learn Italian insults.

Dining (and Drinking) with the Masters

2007-03-04T11:44:00.000-03:00

One of the very best parts of our Mendoza adventure is having the opportunity to really be a part of the wine and food industries, and to do it in a place where things are booming.

Two weeks ago, Vince and I participated in the first ever Masters of Food and Wine South America. For the past twenty years or so, the Masters event has been held in a gorgeous seaside hotel in Carmel California. The Hyatt recently purchased the hotel, and has decided to take the event abroad…so, first stop, Mendoza, Argentina, up and coming wine region.

The event brings together amazing chefs, in this case from Latin America and the States, to join in a series of food and wine dinners, seminars, pairings, etc. The Vines helped sponsor the event here, along with a number of high-profile partners. In addition to a lovely champagne brunch at the Vines, the highlight for Vince and I was dining at Andeluna with Ken Oringer, chef at Clio restaurant in Boston.

The day was perfect -- 75 and sunny -- and the food and wines were stunning too. Andeluna is co-owned by an Argentine wine making family, the Reina’s, and Ward Lay, of Lay’s potato chip fame (he actually joined us for lunch that day). Pasionado is my favorite Andeluna wine. It’s a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Cab Franc… and it’s incredibly rich and full. I get a lot of chocolate and spice when I taste it.

On the day of the event, we drank Pasionado paired with roasted lamb, slow cooked over an open fire. Amazing! The lamb was complemented with a starter of ceviche with octopus, shrimp and clams alongside grapefruit, yellow peppers, kefir lime and avadcados… For dessert, we devoured (at least I devoured mine!) a chocolate tart, with Caramel, rich vanilla ice cream and banana coulis.

As I said earlier, amazing…..

Salud!

Feliz Ano Nuevo (Fluent Spanish Speakers Please Forgive Us...)

2007-01-01T00:24:00.000-03:00

It's 2007 here in Argentina... can't quite believe it. This time last year, we were ensconced in a "castle" in New York (it's a beautiful house at a YMCA camp in the Catskills) with about 40 friends ringing in the New Year, while our little ones danced to Donna Summer and watched the snowfall.

This year, we had planned to be at the Vines New Year's party, but instead spent the evening feeding Mia pudding and water (all she will eat tonight) to help her get through a fever.

We knew it was officiallly midnight when the lightshow began -- we're surrounded by neighbors with rocket launchers -- there are literally "weapons grade" fireworks going off all around us! And parties around the block, big family parties...with little kids screaming feliz ano neuvo!

Vince and I sipped a bit of espumante at twelve o'clock and toasted our good fortune -- to have lives rich with love, adventure, discovery, kindness, wonder, a few challenges now and then, and lots of joy.

Here's to 2007! Let the fireworks begin....

Playing out the string

2006-12-15T18:03:00.000-03:00

So, it is time for us to come home. When we started this adventure we gave ourselves a year to experience a new culture, try to learn Spanish and take some time away from the hustle and bustle of life.

It hasn't worked out quite as we thought it would. We have experienced a new culture (and we love it!).

Mia has learned Spanish (right now she is talking to her babysitter and I don't understand a word she is saying). But, Janalee and I are struggling with it some. The difference might be that Mia spends her days with people who only speak Spanish and we spend our days with people who speak English.

And, Janalee works more now than she ever has. Janalee is the Vice President of Staffing at The Vines of Mendoza which has grown from 6 people when we arrived (two of whom were being paid) to 49 (with all of the challenges of hiring, firing and yes paying). It has been incredibly invogorating for her. And Me? I have a small consulting business that takes up more time than I seem to have and I spend an incredible amount of time with Mia (which is more fun than I ever imagined it would be). The "stay at home dad" part of my life has been both eye opening and overwhelming. But, I don't think I would trade the time for anything.

So, what does all of this add up to? We are going to stay for at least eight more months and perhaps a year. Janalee wants to see what happens with this great adventure that is The Vines and I really want to learn Spanish and I am enjoying my consulting work.

What about Mia? She thinks she is Argentine. She speaks only Spanish with everyone except her parents and sings Vamos Vamos Argentine on a regular basis. (The only thing missing is for her friend Charlotte to move here.)

Now that we have finally decided what we are doing I promise to blog more often -- I swear!

Yoga and Wine

2006-12-15T18:01:00.000-03:00

Yoga and wine, sounds fun or potentially life threatening (doing a headstand and drinking just doesn't seem to go together). The New York Times found a place where exercising and wine tasting combine harmoniously. At Bliss Flow Yoga in Madison, WA. they focus on sensory experiences and being in the here and now.

The co-founder Angela Gargano, who has a background in wine, said “practicing yoga completely brings you into the moment so that you can appreciate one of life’s great pleasures, which is wine.” Agreed. Even though hard-core yogis scoff at this combination - the most serious of the yogi’s refrain from all alcohol, it is very popular with the untraditional yogis that are focused on fun. Yoga + Wine workshops are going to be held through the U.S. next year.

This solves a huge problem for me. Janalee thinks I should start yoga, but it just doesn't seem like something I could really do -- with the help of a little Malbec it is going to be much easier.

AWOL

2006-11-19T10:39:00.000-03:00

OK -- I realize we haven't been posting for a while. No good reasons, we have a lot to write about. But we have been visiting with Jan's parents and trying to get ready for summer. A bunch of Spring posts are coming........

Flying in the Andes

2006-10-18T19:12:00.000-03:00

This weekend we celebrated Dia de Madre – Mother’s Day. For some reason Janalee got two Mother’s Days this year – it doesn’t quite seem fair since I am the one slaving at home all of the time, but I do get to do it in Argentina.

We spent Mother’s Day celebrating in the mountains. To be exact we spent the time doing a canopy ride. Canopy rides started in Costa Rica where people ride a zip line through the tree canopy. There are very few tall trees in Mendoza, so they make up for it by making the zip line really high. In fact, the zip line is about 190 feet above the ground.

Being the overly protective parents we are, we took Amelia along for the ride. I am a bit afraid of heights (anything bigger than a stepladder is killer for me – ok sometimes stepladders are too much), but Amelia doesn’t seem to have acquired that bit of fear from me. In fact, she loved the entire thing. At one point she was getting on board with one of the guides and I could hear her laughing all the way across the canyon. You can see photos of the entire thing here.

So there we are with our child riding on a zip line 190 feet above the ground and I started to wonder just how safe this really is. Some of you are thinking I should have thought of this before. Some of you might be thinking that you should call child protective services at about this time, but it will do you no good – we live in Argentina and CPS would have a hard time getting to us.

I gave up worrying about safety when I looked over and Janalee was hanging upside down with her hands reaching out for the ground while flying on a zip line 140 feet above the ground. How dangerous could it be if Janalee was willing to do it upside down?

Maybe I should be wondering about the sanity of my wife. Hasn’t anyone told her she is over 40 now? (That last comment is going to cost me – but it is well worth the fun of writing it)

The company that hosts the zip line is Argentina Rafting– when you are in town I highly encourage making the trip – what a fun time!

River vs. Boca SuperClassico

2006-10-18T09:36:00.000-03:00

Here is a sad fact. Among the billions of people who live on this planet I am among the minority when I say that I am not a futbol fan. I don’t mean football (I am a fan of football even if both the Dolphins and the Sun Devils are taking losing to new heights), I mean futbol – the sport played with your feet by a bunch of guys less than 6 feet tall. So, it somewhat ironic that I got tickets to the River/Boca game – surely this is an experience that should go to someone who at least knows the rules. But life is not fair. I got a ticket and I went.

River vs. Boca is not just any game. It is the sporting event that Sports Illustrated says is among the 10 best sporting events in the world. The Guardian Observer (UK) says River vs. Boca is THE sporting event you need to go to before you die. I don’t plan on dieing soon, but that didn’t keep from going.

Being a bunch of gringos we hired a professional guide to take us to the game. Our guide started off with a simple rule. We were to cheer for River (since our seats were in the River section). If Boca scored we were to boo. If we didn’t he couldn’t guarantee our safety. I think what he was trying to say was if we cheered for Boca he was going to stand by and watch us get beat up – but he wanted to say it in a nice way.

So there we are in a big white bus on our way to the stadium, When we were about a mile from the stadium we noticed that the police were forcing the fans for the two teams to use separate side of the street. I thick what caught our attention was the tank (as in big gun on tracks) they were using to divide the fans. They seemed pretty serious about keeping the fans separated

River Stadium seats about 75,000. Of those seats about 5,000 are reserved for Boca fans. You can tell where the Boca fans are by looking for the 12-foot fence with razor wire. An hour before the game River fans has had already started singing. I think the first song was the ever popular, “I hate Boca fans”. Luckily the 5,000 Boca fans had their own “I hate River fans” song. So, here we are locked in a stadium where the fans are so passionate that the police don’t let them walk down the street together and 70,000 people are taunting 5,000 who are being kept in a section surrounded by razor wire – and people say American football is violent.

About 30 minutes before the game started the teams were introduced. The introduction of River was followed by the hard-core River fans entering the upper deck of the stadium. About 1,000 fans stream out of entryway carrying umbrellas and playing drums and singing the River song – as they come in someone released red and white smoke, which just about filled the stadium. Here is a link to some video of the event – not ours, but I found it on the internet.

Then the announcer introduced Boca and all kinds of mayhem broke out in the Boca section. Same kind of thing with flags, singing and dancing – only this time the River fans were singing even louder (they really don’t like the thought of singing a Boca song in River Stadium). At one point in this process I looked around and noticed that about 7,000 were giving the Boca fans the “bird” – not sure why, but it was as good a time as any to get your frustrations out.

Once the game started you could see that the passions applied to the players as well. Within 4 minutes of the start of the game two players had been removed on stretchers – this was going to be an intense game. I hope they brought extra players.

Boca scored first. We thought about cheering because it was an amazingly athletic move, but then we looked around and decided that being the only people cheering who were not separated from the crowd by a 12-foot fence might be an invitation. We booed – really loudly.

Then River scored. I thought I might go deaf – they say that Seahawks stadium is the loudest in the NFL. Jon, a guy from Seattle who goes to those games, said this was the loudest thing he had ever experienced in a stadium (or he might have said that he was experience cramps in his cheering arm – it was really loud and hard to hear). Thank god half time is coming.

Half time entertainment was a folk singer. He sang his little ditty (George Bush eats excrement) while nice looking young people carried an enormous banner that read “No Mas Violencia”. Somehow I don’t think that is going to keep this crowd from getting after each other – but I appreciated the effort.

The second half proved to be a fantastic game. I have seen several Major League Soccer games in the U.S. and as much as I like those guys, this was an entirely different sport. The players on both teams played with such speed and their skill with the ball was just amazing. I can’t do the game justice, but it was an amazing display of athleticism.

River scored two more goals in the second half – Boca was shut out. Interestingly the Boca fans didn’t sulk or make their way out of the stadium quietly. Instead they stood defiantly singing and chanting. A couple of minutes before the end of the game the people running the stadium asked that everyone stay in their seats at the conclusion of the game. They had decided to allow the Boca fans to leave the stadium first. Following the lines of good sportsmanship that had been displayed throughout this game the Boca fans remained in their seats chanting and singing for about 90 minutes after the game ended. Finally the police had to remove them from their section – I guess they were tired of the Boca fans burning things in the stands and throwing whatever they could rip up down onto the seats below them.

So, including all of the pregame chanting and the post-games displays we were at the stadium for 6 hours. And, the crowd never stopped cheering and singing. It is indeed something you need to see to believe.

Sorry about the long post – I would blame it on Jan, but I can’t think of a reason….

Not a Winery, but a good time

2006-10-05T16:16:00.000-03:00

Tapaus is not an Argentine winery; it’s an Argentine distillery. But, it gets a bit of a pass because all of their products are made from Malbec grapes and the structure itself is well worth a visit when you are in Mendoza. After having made my second visit in two weeks (I couldn’t let either Peter and Zoe or David and Abby go home without trying this could I?) I can give you the history back and forth. But you are going to have to make the visit yourself to get that angle.

Here is what I will tell you. Tapaus’ unique approach to spirits and liquors is an interesting change of pace. All of the products use grapes as their base, but once distilled the alcohol is mixed with a variety of flavors from grapefruit to honey (we spied about 10 jugs of raspberry liquor that is awaiting government approval). The resulting products are fantastic (what I remember of them is that they are fantastic – they are also a bit powerful). My personal favorite is the Triple Sec, everyone else that I have taken has loved the Mandarina or the Pomelo. The other big favorite is the Miel (honey) liquor that tastes like the honey my mother used to keep in the cupboard in a plastic bear (I bet that plastic bear is still stuck to the cupboard).

If you are not into brandy and orange liquor, the architecture is in and of itself enough to warrant a trip. Tapaus boasts a truly “green design” and employs stones from the nearby Rio de Mendoza and recycled materials from old oil and gas operations in its design. Be sure to check out the hand made stills (they will remind you of re-runs of M*A*S*H – those of you that are old enough to remember M*A*S*H) and the outdoor garden where water from the river is filtered for use in Tapaus’ spirits. The folks are more than generous with their tastings (assuming you do the individual tour – you don’t want do the bus tour at Tapaus it usually full of Chileans and no one understands a word they say).

I am feeling a little strange about the fact that an entire page of notes in the guest book come from friends that I have brought to Tapaus – I should wait a week before I go again……

Domaine St. Diego

2006-09-29T15:27:00.000-03:00

Domaine St. Diego is one of the more picturesque bodegas in the Maipu region sitting at the base of terraced foothills that one can leisurely stroll through on a self-guided tour among an alternating stamds of grapes and olive trees. When Peter and Zoe were in town we took them out for the tour -- well worth the effort (it was killer we had to drive about 20 minutes from our house on a beautiful day and then spend an hour walking through a beautiful vineyard).

The famed Mendocino oenologist Angel Mendoza (I read somewhere that he is famous) and his son Lucas (not yet famous) have focused their attention on small harvests from only the best vines and produce a well balanced and smooth tinto vino. They also produce the famed Angel Mendoza Damajuana (a damajuana is a big jug of wine) Domaine St. Diego uses the riddling process, hand turning each bottle to produce a wonderful sparkling as well. This bodega is one of our favorites to visit in the spring and summer especially as the terraced fields and walking trails are in full bloom during that time of year.

Peter and Zoe took some time out from the arduous trip to sit on the bench that the Familia Mendoza has built from old vines -- they are such newlyweds (they still call each other "honey" and "sweety" -- that will wear off). And, then we were off to see the Tapaus Distillery -- not wine, but made from grapes -- more on that soon.

Adios

BBQ Pizza

2006-09-25T15:23:00.000-03:00

BBQ Pizza is a delicacy in some small towns in the US, but it takes on a whole different meaning when you are actually cooking the pizaa on a BBQ (or parilla if in Argentina) instead of adding some BBQ sauce to a chicken pizza. I find it hard to imagine anything much worse than chicken and BBQ sauce on a pizza – not so with pizza made on a parilla. David, one of the partners at Vines, was the chef -- In addition to the pizza David made some of his famous hamburgers – just in case the pizza didn’t work out.

While the first couple came out a bit on the well done side (I have included a photo to the right to give you a sense of what it looked like). Once David got the technique down the pizzas were quite good. OK, so that is not a picture of the pizza – it is the cover of an AC/DC album – but you get the point. Not that I am complaining.

The night also logged the end of a long day for some of the staff who were giving a tour to a pair of architects from the US who are helping the team design the Vines Resort. John & Hadrian, the architects, had spent the day touring the countryside to get a feel for the Mendoza lifestyle – so they were a little bit tired from the long day (and not being used to Argentine scheduling, they were probably ready for bed when we started cooking at 10:00 PM).

And on that note, I am out like the lights.

Zoe - Guest Blogger Eats Way Through Mendoza

2006-09-22T10:06:00.000-03:00

Aiy aiy aiy! Where to start? We've been visiting Vince, Jan, and Amelia for a few days. It's amazing how much we've crammed into a very short time--we've been drenched by the only rainstorm in the last nine months, seen snowflakes in the Andes one-quarter the size of my hand (the Andes!!! Mi dios! Holy vaca! Que lindo!!!!), giggled with Mia for hours in the backseat of a long car ride (ok, Peter was in the front seat, but still...), tasted Pablo's Torrontes (do not pass go, do not collect $200, order mucho of this vino from the Vines immediately), visited the most beautiful vineyard ever and had a private tour from the owner's son who taught us about the tears of the wine (not its legs like we say in the US), and ate ourselves silly.

Have you ever recuperated from a carne coma? Jan and Vince threw us an asado the other night--con choripan, morcilla (that's blood sausage to the uninitiated), grilled queso (mmmm, the queso!!!) {Editor's Note: We call that Provaleta -- she is correct it is great}, lomo, bife, pollo, y mas, y mas, y mas. And then the postres. I think there were some veggies too, but who really cares about them {Editor's Note: there was a vegetarian citing at the Asado -- scary, we are going to have to fumigate}. We ate and ate and ate, then ate some more {Editor's Note: They ate just as much as she claims - it is the first time anyone has ever eaten four servings of provaleta}. As a result, we spent all day yesterday recuperating from the meat hangover {Editor's Note: Isn't that a vision you want in your mind -- meat hangover}. Perfecto!

Computadora

2006-09-04T22:04:00.001-03:00

All right then -- no word on my old computer. And, to be honest I don't really expect any. As I left the Mendoza Police station the officer called out to me that they would call me when they found something. The only problem with that was they didn't ask me for a phone number. They didn't expect to need one, and i don't expect to hear from them.

Luckily for me some friends were in the states and I now have a new computer. One with a nifty little camera right in the screen. What do you think of this photo I took of Amelia? Gotta love this technology stuff. Next trick will be video Instant Messaging -- anyone want to be the test case?

Now if I can just keep this computer from being stolen all will be good in Mendoza once again.

Lost and Remembered

2006-08-25T00:34:00.000-03:00

Today started out as the worst day in my recent memory. So bad in fact that I am amazed at how well it ended. But to get to the moral of the story you have to read why I had a bad day.......

Getting to School: Today Amelia didn't want to go to school. Once I got her out of bed the battle to get dressed and in the car began in earnest. All of the best 4 year old tactics were on display: laying on the floor screaming; claiming to be sick; refusing to eat breakfast; and, culminating with kicking her father. The last step elicited a sharp retort that sounded distinctly like, "One more of those and you will spend the rest of the day in your bedroom." (I think I was channeling my mother) Eventually she settled down, but not until my nerves were pretty well shot.

The Walk: When I finally got Amelia in the car so that we could go to school, my lovely young wife suggested that I walk downtown today -- just to clear my head (not that she didn’t want to ride in a car with me given my mood). A great idea -- I went back in the house and grabbed my Ipod and preceded to head out. Two steps down the walk my allergies kicked in. I went back to the house, took some Benadryl, grabbed my tissues and off I went. Within two blocks I having a full-blown allergy attack and my Ipod battery had died. This was turning into a great little walk.

The Construction Company: I have been helping out the Vines by overseeing a construction project and the installation of new telephones. When I arrived today I found that neither company had shown up on time, one company was trying to move us back by an entire week and we installed a couple of phone jacks in the wrong place. All aggravating and nothing I won’t live through, but enough to add to an overall bad mood and to convince me to skip my Spanish lesson (something I can hardly afford to do).

The Theft: Today I was reminded that we live in a city and one with some poverty. Janalee had taken notice of my generally shitty mood and suggested we have lunch together. We don’t spend enough time together (I am in the guest room in the middle of the night writing a blog after all) and so off we went. We were sitting at our table when a strange guy bumped into me and kind of turned me to one side. He started talking to us about diabetes or something - I really couldn't tell (I knew I should have gone to the Spanish lesson) -- and then he ran off. When he left we started talking about how strange the encounter was and about 10 minutes later I realized my backpack was gone. The strange guy had distracted me so that his friend could steal my bag. In my backpack I had my computer, my Ipod and everything that I have been working on for the last few weeks.

All of that left me in a pretty foul mood. But, there is a bright side to this little tale.

The Offer: Janalee and I arrived at the school to pick up Amelia after my trip to the police station. (The interaction with the police is worth a blog all its own – at a later date.) Jan doesn’t usually go with me to pick up Amelia, but given how my day was going she thought it might be best to accompany me (and keep me away from sharp objects). She also wanted to tell me that she had talked to our friend Michael who is in the states for a visit. She wanted me to know that Michael called to volunteer to bring a replacement for my computer back with him. Nice to have people who want to help without you even thinking to ask.

The Mac & Cheese: When we got to the school we ran into some friends of ours who just moved here from the U.S.. And, they had a gift for us (chocolate chip cookie mix, syrup, macaroni & cheese – you would be surprised what you crave after being away from home for a few months). The gift couldn't have come at a better time (Mia ate her first pop tart today -- woo hoo, cavities here we come).

The Love: As I got to the door to retrieve Amelia she ran to me with a picture she had drawn. On the back she had written, “Te Amo, Papi” and signed it “Amelia”. (Did I mention that Mia has learned to write? Pretty cool, don't you think.)

By the end of the day I was reminded that what I lost is nothing compared with what I have.

And, that is about as emotional as I am going to get on a blog.

Veinte Años

2006-08-15T18:51:00.000-03:00

It was 20 years ago today that Jan and I agreed to play. While we wondered if it would last, it has actually been a blast. We have been going in and out of style (I am out of style), but we seemed to have lasted a while.

Podrá nublarse el sol eternamente;
podrá secarse en un instante el mar;
podrá romperse el eje de la tierra como un débil cristal.

¡Todo sucederá!
Podrá la muerta cubrirme con su fúnebre crespon;
pero jamás en mí podrá apagarse la llama de tu amor.

Thank you to Janalee for twenty exciting years.

Dia del Nino

2006-08-14T23:07:00.000-03:00

It is becoming increasingly clear to me that Argentina has far more holidays than the we have in the U.S. Every week there seems to be a holiday. On Sunday we celebrated Dia del Nino -- the day of the child. Dia del Nino is the day when all of the parents give kids presents and let kids decide what the family is going to eat, what the family is going to do and generally be in charge. So, it was pretty much like every other day of the year for us.

We purchased Mia a bike for Dia del Nino. A purple beach comber with great big training wheels. By Monday she was riding all over town. In fact, she rode the bike all the way to Janalee's office (pretty close to a mile). Luckily it is downhill to the office and there is an heladoria on the way -- a chocolate milk shake really helps on your first long ride. We didn't really stop to have ice cream, but if I would have thought of it earlier we surely would have.

I have to run, we need to get ready for Thursday -- San Martin Day. Not the anniversary of his birth that we celebrated in March, but the annivesary of his death. We didn't celebrate Air Force Day (last Thursday) and I am still sad, I need to find out when Navy Day is......

As they say in Mendoza, "Feliz Dia" (just in case you don't know what holiday it is, but you are certain it is one you can just say happy day thus avoiding the need to mark a specific holiday).

Earthquake - hide the glass!

2006-08-05T13:26:00.000-03:00

We just had our first earthquake! We have no idea how strong it was, but I am pretty sure it was a 7 – maybe a 10 (Ok -- it was a 5.5, but that is nothing to sneeze at). If you are interested you can read all about it on the USGS website.

When the quake hit Amelia and I were sitting in a poof (beanbag chair straight from the 70’s) and Janalee ran across the room to join us. It felt like the house was on water. Swaying back and forth. Knocking over picture frames. It must have lasted 3 or 4 minutes (Janalee guessed two hours). Good thing we live in a short house -- our friends in high rise apartments said it was wild.

Now that I think about it, a poof in the front room might not be the safest place to ride out an earthquake. But, we didn’t really want to go outside – it’s a bit cold and all. Better shaken than frozen I always say.

Once the quake ended Amelia asked why the air was shaking. I don’t know the answer to that one – any input would be appreciated.

Keep on shakin’.

Caca de Pájaro

2006-07-28T11:20:00.000-03:00

Why me? A question often asked by a person who has experienced bad luck. Why did the piano fall on my car? Why did my wife buy new boots? You all know the kind of bad luck I am talking about.

Why me was the question that I asked after I was hit with caca de pájaro. (For those of you reading along in English I will tell you that a pájaro is a bird – caca you will have to figure out on your own.) Since I moved to Mendoza I have been hit with caca de pájaro five times – cinco! In my entire life before moving to Mendoza I had it happen once – uno.

What is up? Do I look like a bird bano? Is my hair the color of a bird nest? Is it just a random occurrence? Is it some kind of kharmic payback for something I did as a kid? (I swear I didn’t do anything to any birds – it was Mike Olsen. Caca on him.)

Whatever it is I give up – it is someone else’s turn. Please, please caca somewhere else.

The bird pictured here is not the culprit. I just happened to see a Red Capped Cardinal the other day and thought is was amazing. For that coincidence it gets to be associated my rant. It is probably flying around right now asking itself “Why me”.

Feliz Dia Del Amigo

2006-07-23T14:31:00.000-03:00

A little late, but Feliz Dia del Amigo - Happy Friends Day for all of you playing along in English. In Argentina they celebrate Dia Del Amigo by reaching out to friends that they might not otherwise see day to day. For us that means pretty much everyone we have made friends with over the last 20 years.

We spent Dia Del Amigo driving to San Rafael, a wonderful little city about 4 hours south of Mendoza. The drive reminded Janalee and I of our time in Arizona, Utah and Colorado. The country here is very much like the Southwestern U.S. -- where many of our friends and family still live. (Mia spent the time wishing we weren't in the car).

We hope that Friends Day finds you all happy, healthy and enjoying the heat wave!

Independence Day Asado

2006-07-23T14:08:00.000-03:00

It has been a hectic couple of weeks and I keep putting off writing this little piece. I must be getting lazy. So, what has been up in Argentina that has been distracting me? Independence Day, horseback riding and Mia’s winter vacation have all taken some time. Now that I write it, it doesn’t sound like much. How about if I just say we have been enjoying the winter (average of 60 degrees – more like Spring really).

So, back to Independence Day – the big holiday is July 9th and proved to be a lot of fun. After finishing with Mia’s play at school we spent the weekend on the piece of land that Vines of Mendoza has purchased to build their resort and winery. There we rode horses and ate meat – there might have been some bread and vegetables around, but I can’t confirm that rumor.

Horse back riding was fantastic! It was really my first time on a horse and the horses were muy tranquilo (very calm). Which was good. At one point I was riding along with Pablo the gaucho (Argentine Cowboy) and he convinced me that I was ready to gallop. I went along with the idea. The only problem being that my attempt at galloping was, in a word, hilarious. So funny in fact that I thought Pablo might fall off from HIS horse – he was laughing so hard. Needless to say that was my last attempt at galloping for the day – better to spare everyone the risk of hurting themselves.

Amelia and Janalee were great on the horses. Mia absolutely loved it and has asked us to enroll her in a horse riding school that is near our house. I don’t know if we will go that far, but we will at least find more opportunities to ride.

After riding we all made our way to a dry streambed where we cooked an Asado. I don’t think I can really describe the entire process and do it justice. But I can honestly say that I have never been to a BBQ in a streambed before, so this was the best streambed BBQ I have ever had. The food was good, the friends were great and the day was beautiful. We have put the pictures here.

Not a bad way to spend a winter day. Hope you all had great Independence Days as well!

9 de Julio

2006-07-11T09:58:00.000-03:00

So what do Argentines do for Independence Day? If you have a kid in school you attend a school play or El Acto. Mia’s school presented a three-act one-hour ensemble piece highlighting the most important elements of Argentine independence. And, we had a great time.

Mia danced in her Falda de Pisana (kind of a cowboy skirt) and waved her panuelo (a blue handkerchief) with the rest of her class. She was quite cute and spent a good deal of time making sure her parents were still in the audience. You can see some photos of the event here.

I won’t go through how hard it was for me to find a skirt, basket and panuelo – I will just say that it went much better when I finally took Mia with me to explain what we needed. She chatters away in Espanol now – good thing she isn’t old enough to play really mean tricks on her dad – I would never know what was happening to me. Yes, my Spanish is still that bad.

I am going to write a bit more about the Asado we had on the actual Independence Day, but I am waiting for some more photos. The short story is in Argentina you spend the Independence Day eating meat and in our case riding horses.

Talk to you all soon.

Thinking of Jose

2006-07-06T23:20:00.000-03:00

I have been thinking about this post for a long time -- which inevitably means it is going to be disappointing to both me and whoever reads it. I find that if you think about something too much it kills the best part of whatever idea got you started in the first place. But, in this case, I really had no idea where this post was going and so there is very little chance that I will kill the best part of the idea.

So, what have I been thinking about? General Jose de San Martin. Mendoza (and really all of Argentina) is riddled with statues, plazas, streets, schools, monuments dedicated to General José de San Martin. Why am I wondering about General San Martin in the middle of the night in the dead of winter? No reason really. But it is amazing to me how many things are named for San Martin in Argentina. Every city we have been to, regardless of size has a street named for the good general. It is usually the main street in town.

Random side note: In Utah the main street in every town is “State Street” – who was State and what did he do to have every main street named after him?

Who was San Martin? Are you crazy? That is like saying who was George Washington! Ok, a bit over the top there. But it is time for a bit of Argentine history.

San Martin is revered (not just liked or honored – revered I say!) in Argentina as the military hero who brought independence to the country; in Chile as the general who helped Bernardo O'Higgins oust the Spanish royalists; in Peru as the man who ended the vice-royalty system and liberated the country. His honorary titles included:

Generalissimo of the Ejército Unido de los Andes y de Chile
Fundador de la Libertad del Peru
Knight of the Andes
Santo de la Espada – Argentina’s greatest hero

One historian put San Martin’s legacy in these terms: He knew how to win. Not a bad way to be known if you are a general.

San Martin began his military training at age 13 in Madrid. While in Madrid he became fast friends with Bernardo O'Higgins, who would become the other half of a famed duo that would oust the Spanish from South America.

A side note on Bernardo O’Higgins: He was sent to study in Europe by his father, Ambrioso O’Higgins. The elder O'Higgins failed to publicly acknowledge the young Bernardo as his son (the younger Bernardo was the child of a local Chilean lady of some prominence – not the elder O'Higgins’ wife) and never really new him. The elder O'Higgins was the Spanish Governor of Chile at the time and later became the Viceroy of Peru. So what is the payback for not getting to know your son? He grows up and liberates Chile and Peru from Spain – I bet the Spanish were none to pleased with the elder O'Higgins after that little indiscretion.

Anyway, San Martín started his reputation for defeating the Spanish in 1813 when he rousted royalist forces at San Lorenzo. While he felt good about pushing the Spanish out of Argentina, he recognized that Argentina could not be free until the threat from Chile and Peru, both strongly Spanish royalist, ended.

In 1817 San Martin and O'Higgins led their combined armies over a pass nearly 15,000 feet high in the Andes Mountains. The march over the Andes has been memorialized in Mendoza at the Hill of the Glory.

Following Chile's independence, San Martin was offered the supreme dictatorship of Chile. He refused the honor. A few years later when he pulled off a similar victory in Peru he was offered the supreme dictatorship of Peru, which he also refused. Perhaps he was looking for a better offer.

There is a lot more to the story, but suffice it to say General San Martin did a lot. For all of his efforts he has a park (Parque de San Martin,) and a plaza (Plaza de San Martin,) named after him in Mendoza.

Hope that wasn’t too boring – like I said it has been banging around in my head for a while – I should have let it out earlier.

Random Note concerning the 4th of July

2006-07-06T12:04:00.000-03:00

So the other day I was talking to someone in the U.S. and they asked, “What do Argentines do to celebrate the Fourth of July?” The answer is nothing. In Argentina they celebrate the 9th of July – Argentina’s Independence day. I don’t know what they do on that day, but I am willing to bet it includes cooking meat and drinking wine. We will post some photos for anyone interested next week.

Until next time, be strong and independent.

We went to the Zoo (and lived to tell the story)

2006-07-06T11:55:00.000-03:00

Ok, so it has been said that I exaggerate once in a while. I don’t really agree with this assessment, but I realize that others think this it true – so I accept their opinions (not really, but it sounds nice).

Anyway, I am not exaggerating when I say Mia and I had the most up close and dramatic experience we have ever had at a zoo. In Mendoza the people are separated from the zoo animals by a metal bar about 3 feet high and a chain link fence. Sounds ok when you are talking about a Toucan – not so great when you are talking about a 350-pound Bengal Tiger. The upside – you can really see the animals in Mendoza. And, you get to see what happens when stupid people get drunk and have the chance to stand incredibly close to animals that think people are food. Two stories for you to chew on (this pun will be funny in about 30 seconds):

#1 There we are at the lion’s cage – maybe three in the afternoon – and two guys who have clearly had too much Frenet (the local equivalent of Tequila) decided that they are going to scream at the lion. At the National Zoo (in DC) these fools would be 100 yards away from the lions and zookeepers would be on top of them in a matter of minutes. In Mendoza these guys were 2 feet from the lions and there were no zookeepers in sight. And, the cages are essentially chain link fences (very much like the fence that used to separate our house in VA from Jose's house). Needless to say, the lion got a little bit perturbed. I found myself wondering how long that fence could hold that 400 pound lion and rooting for the lion. When I had this thought I decided we should visit the Llamas – no one was screaming at them.

#2 Puma are everywhere at the Mendoza Zoo – they are the local equivalent of mountain lions and they have a lot of them on display. So Mia and I are walking past the third Puma cage when a little boy standing near us sees a red ball in the cage and decides he wanted it. The boy runs, jumps the three-foot high guard rail and starts to reach into the cage. The Puma is no fool; he waited until the prey is close and then made his break for the boy. The mother arrived a split second before the Puma. No one seemed to think this was a big deal, except Mia’s overprotective father. At this point I thought it might be a good idea to visit the ostrich -- they didn't seem to be too interested in the kids hanging around.

Besides being a great adventure, it was a great reminder that animals are animals after all (and Rhinos are huge – especially when you are only four or five feet away). So, I have some photos from the day and you can see them here . I didn’t take as many as I would have liked, I was busy trying to keep one hand on the kid. Maybe next time I will be a little less nervous. Maybe not.

In the meantime, bless the beasts and the children.

Kicking the Winter Blahs

2006-07-06T10:33:00.000-03:00

So, I haven’t been posting lately. A bit of the winter blahs have set in here in Mendoza. At least that is the excuse I am using today. But, to tell the truth it is hard to say it is really winter here – today it is 65 degrees and sunny. Maybe it is just that we have settled into living here and in some ways the excitement of living in another country is starting to wear off. Or perhaps, I have just been lazy. I don’t know and I am pretty sure no one cares.

But not the point. I am actually writing to mention that I have decided that it is winter and to celebrate I have added a set of Winter Photos. They all have stories to go with them – I have started writing the stories that go with the pictures today. I will post them sometime soon.

I just realized why I have the blahs – Argentina was robbed in the World Cup! We demand an investigation!

Hope you are having a great summer!

Plaza Italia

2006-06-23T19:12:00.000-03:00

In our continuing effort to photograph all of the plazas in Mendoza the three of us visited Plaza Italia a couple of weeks ago. Plaza Italia is probably the second most visited plaza in Mendoza and while it has a certain beauty to it, it differs from Plaza Espana in two ways:

First, where Plaza Espana attempts to glorify the presence of early Spaniards in Mendoza, Plaza Italia makes no such attempt. In fact, it has been really hard to determine when the Italians first arrived in Mendoza and what they have contributed to the city. But, after much considerable research we have found the answer. There were two waves of Italian immigrants to Argentina in the last century. The first was in the late 20's and early 30's. This group was made up of mostly socialists and communists who were fleeing the fascist government. The second was in the late 40's and early 50's. This second group was primarily fascist sympathizers who were fleeing the socialists and communists who were in charge of Italy at the time. So, sometime in the late 40's they all got back together in Argentina. That probably goes along way to explaining the varied political leanings in Argentina. And, you can imagine the first time the group of Italian expats met in Mendoza – “Didn’t you used to try to oppress my family for our political leanings?”

Second, where Plaza Espana has beautiful tile work, Plaza Italia has great sculpture. The centerpiece being the sculpture of a woman riding a horse coming out of the fountain. It is an interesting piece and takes a couple of looks to realize that it is indeed a woman on a horse. But, once you get the idea it is quite pretty (some photos).

That is about it for this Plaza. Next on our list is Plaza de San Martin, one of several hundred memorials to the Protector of the Andes. More on that in a couple of days.

Chau

Vamo, Vamo, Vamo Argentina

2006-06-16T15:24:00.000-03:00

”Some people believe futbol is a matter of life and death. I'm very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.”
Bill Shankly, Manager, Liverpool FC (English Soccer Team)

Welcome to our life in Argentina during the World Cup. While I have always thought of myself as a fairly big sports fan, nothing in my past prepared me for the World Cup in Argentina. I thought it was pretty amazing that on a Saturday afternoon the streets were empty and you could barely order a pizza – but that was just the warm up. No one here was that excited to beat the Ivory Coast after all – I mean the challenges facing the Ivory Coast are pretty legendary. And, Argentina only scored two goals (to the Ivory Coast’s one goal).

But following the 6-0 whooping that Argentina put on Serbia/Montenegro you would have thought that the Argentine government had found a way to resurrect General San Martin himself. The streets were filled with people honking horns, running around draped in the Argentine flag and wearing jester hats in the Argentine colors. I think the closest thing I can image in the US would be living in Phoenix when the Cardinals win the Super Bowl (but we all know that is never going to happen).

While I agree a big win like that in the World Cup is a big deal, I guess no one here is taking into account that Serbia-Montenegro was without three of its best players or that the Serbian government recognized Montenegro as a separate country one week prior to the game. You have to think that having your country come apart the week before a match would hurt team morale some. On the other hand it could create a great rallying cry “this is the last time before our divorce”.

An interesting side note: the star for Serbia-Montenegro was a young man named Milosevic. I have heard that name somewhere before…..

Anyway, without saying anything to offend our deeply nationalistic soccer friends (if we have any such friends) we have become Argentine Futbol fans for the year. Mia proudly wears her Argentina camioseta (t-shirt) and I wear my Argentina training shirt on game days (Jan wears black because black doesn’t attach her to any nation/state and allows her to continue to fight the oppression inflicted by hegemonic power systems). Even Mia’s school got into the act with all of the students watching the game and painting their faces. As we drove past another school the entire student body was standing on the street jumping up and down singing “Vamo, Vamo, Argentina”.

I have to admit I am not a Futbol/soccer fan and never have been, but being here during the World Cup is as much fan as I have ever had rooting for a sports team. When Argentina wins everyone in town is celebrating including us (I don’t know what will happen when they lose). We are still rooting for the US team to make a comeback against Italy (so we can hold our heads up in this soccer crazed world), but rooting for Argentina is an amazing amount of fun.

OK enough of that. I am off to get our flag waving (Argentine flag that is) kid from school.

Vamo Estados Unidos! Vamo Argentina!

Mis Amigas….(written by Janalee, so she thinks it is not funny). This Month’s Food and Wine piece

2006-06-12T09:03:00.000-03:00

Just a short note to share two adventures with friends…

The first took place in late April, when my friends Karen, Margot and Sarah flew down to celebrate Margot’s 40th b-day. I met the girls in Buenos Aires, where we spent two whirlwind days shopping and sightseeing, sin ninos. It was GREAT FUN – we strolled the streets of Palermo Soho, and savored all the wonderful little shops and cool new restaurants. We stayed in an amazing place called Hotel Bobo (named after – David Brooks book, Bobos in Paradise), where each room is different and fun. Sarah and I decamped in the Minimalist Room…

On Friday, we flew to Mendoza, and had a wonderful time touring bodegas, including Domaine St. Diego – (some photos), the only terraced vineyard in Mendoza. Specially designed by local wine legend Angel Mendoza, the vineyard is truly spectacular, each rock wall was built by hand. Later, we had lunch at a very special place called Almacen Del Sur, where all the ingredients are grown on the property. They created a fabulous birthday cake for Margot –with quince, peaches, meringe… we were happily stuffed at the end of the day.

The second adventure occurred just last weekend. My old friend Emma, and her friend Hilary, arrived via bus from BA, which, as Emma says, “was BY FAR the best form of public transportation she has ever taken….” The bus line features fully reclining seats, movies, dinner and champagne, all for about $30 US.

On Saturday, we got up early and journeyed to Valle de Uco, where the Vines property is located, very near the Andes. It was cloudy at first, but as the day wore on, the sky cleared and the mountains were out in full-force. We had lunch at Altus, a new bodega which features a small, intimate restaurant run by a local chef. We were invited to the open kitchen to watch the chef prepare a series of delectable appetizers, including grilled polenta with locally-grown sun-dried tomatoes, and tiny bowls of pumpkin soup, all cooked over an open-fire. The main course included a lentil stew… And the desserts were “to die for.” Here are some photos of the day. We celebrated Vince’s birthday later in the weekend, and had a lovely time just catching up. (Editor's note: Janalee forgot to mention the wine of the month which is the Altus Torrentes -- great white wine with a great fruit flavor.)

I miss my buddies already!!!

Funny, or Not, Here I Am

2006-06-03T23:15:00.000-03:00

The strangest thing that has happened to me since we moved to Argentina is the reaction some people are having to this blog. While we were in Virginia a couple of weeks ago several people mentioned that they read the blog (that is surprising in and of itself). Almost every person also said "I had no idea you were funny". Me either (or me too -- I just can't decide which).

The reason it seems so strange to me is because I feel like I have a really hard time being serious. So, I decided to ask a couple of people I have worked with whether or not I am funny -- here is what they said:

"Your humor is dry -- like sand....in the desert"

"Someone takes you seriously? Who?"

"Its not that you are funny, its that you say whatever you are thinking. That surprises people."

So, there you have it. A post that has absolutely no purpose other than the fact that I just happened to be thinking about it, so I said it. Janalee is sitting next to me wondering why I am not writing about the wonderful day we had at a vineyard today. No reason really, just wasn't at the top of my mind.

I will be here all week, don't forget to tip the waitress.

Small World pt. 4

2006-06-03T23:07:00.000-03:00

So, I am once again astounded by the fact that it is such a small world. A friend of a friend is staying with us this week and just happened to mention that her mother grew up in Utah. I asked her where and she said, "a small town - you have probably never heard of it". It turns out that her mother graduated from Orem High School -- the same high school that I graduated from.

A coincidence? I think not. Perhaps Mendoza is really an island, and we are not visiting here, but our plane crashed and now we are part of a psych experiment. Or, maybe I have been watching too much Lost on my Ipod (I may be in South America, but I can still download things....).

Alright, gotta run. I am "watching" game six of the Suns/Mavericks playoff series on my computer -- you gotta love technology!

An American in America

2006-05-25T16:57:00.000-03:00

So, we were back in the US. Two weeks of what was supposed to be a vacation for the family. You know spend a little time seeing friends, check out the neighborhood and maybe take in a movie without Spanish subtitles. But really it has turned into a trip that was too short with Janalee working everyday and us trying to see everyone that we miss when Janalee is not at work. Thankfully our wonderful friend Sarah has been willing to share child care duties (the kids call them “switch days”) so that I had a little bit of time to procure a laundry list of items that people have asked us to take back to Argentina. Any guess of what item is was most requested? Velveeta. I didn’t bring any back (with two bags over the weight limit the Velveeta was sacrificed for another bottle of Zinfandel – red, not white).

The strangest part of going to the states was being a social oddity everywhere we went. There are only so many times you can have people say to you, “you are the guy who moved to Argentina” before you run out of things to say. For me the number of times I heard that statement before I was tired of it was once. I think I am a curmudgeon (I spelled that correctly without spell check! Really, I did!) or at least a little bit antisocial.

The best part of being in the states was seeing our friends and neighbors (sounds like something Janalee would force me to say – I will neither confirm nor deny that rumor). I think this was especially true for Amelia who got to play with her friends (Mom, these kids speak Ingles!). When you are 4 it is really important that your playmates understand things like poopy diaper head and for some reason that just doesn’t translate to kids here. In what must be a strange case of karma gone bad, Mia’s best friends in Arlington are named Charlotte, Amelia, Charlotte and Sally. Charlotte is Mia’s friend from a nanny share we did a couple of years ago, Amelia and Charlotte moved in across the street last year. The kids had a ball, but the parents get the names screwed up all of the time. A sad note Amelia and Charlotte are moving to North Hampton, MA (with their parents Jolie and Alden). I guess we will have to visit North Hampton next year. Sally is just odd man out in this one (perhaps we can get her parents to change her name to Amelia). I will add a photos page in a couple of days (having a bit of technical difficulties (some bug in the system -- couldn't be anything that I am doing).

We timed our visit to coincide with our friends Peter and Zoe's wedding. Fun event! I have to say it is much different getting married when you are 30 something (I am being generous Peter) than when you are 21 (Janalee was a babe when I got her to say yes). One big difference we noticed is that there were no butterflies involved. My mom really wanted to decorate our entire ceremony in butterflies -- lord knows I loved the woman, but there are some things you just can't do. That is not meant to say that it is bad to have parents involved (I had better stop now, Jan's mom claims to read the blog...). Anyway here is picture of the big event.

Food choice of the month – Metro 29 Diner on Lee Highway – best pancakes, best omelets, the best breakfast. And, it is much closer than any place in Mendoza for those of you who are not going to make the trip.

I would go with the Orange Juice -- no wine with breakfast (we have to have some standards afterall).

Pink Punk

2006-05-25T16:40:00.000-03:00

At the Lyon Park fair Amelia decided that she had to have her hair painted – being the ever giving in parent, I said yes. A couple of minutes later this is what we had – a pink headed kid.

OK, so having your hair painted at the neighborhood fair is not so punk, but did you notice that she is wearing a cat collar? If you look closely you can see that she is wearing the collar of one of our cats (and it looks great). I guess she couldn’t find a studded dog collar (sometimes you just have to make due with what you can find). If you can't see it (bad eyes, too small of a computer screen) you can double click on the photo and it will give you a full screen version of the photo. Anyway, on the way home I could hear her singing:

Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go
I wanna be sedated
Nothing to do
Nowhere to go
I wanna be sedated

It is only a matter of time before she grows her hair so it hangs in her eyes and starts dressing in all black (perhaps she will be a punk in pink). If she starts playing the guitar really poorly and snarling we will all know that she has been hanging out with Peter Loge too much (our only friend who actually likes the Ramones and not just says that he likes them).

This message is not meant to infer or suggest that 4 year olds should be sedated (the management).

Later!

Lifestyle Sabbatical

2006-05-11T17:19:00.000-03:00

One thing I love about modern society is that everything eventually gets a name. Here I was thinking that I was doing something unique. You know, how many people walk away from their job, move to South America and take time away from their life? As it turns out, quite a few people do. At least enough have to have Newsweek give it a name “Lifestyle Sabbatical”. It is really nice to finally have a simple answer for people who ask me what I am doing this year. And, not only does it have a name – it has a URL as well. Thanks to Newsweek I feel validated as a person.

The next time someone asks me what I am doing I can just say, “I am on a Lifestyle Sabbatical”. What more could you ask for than a formally sanctioned way of life?

Guanaco Rule

2006-05-07T16:13:00.000-03:00

So I am contemplating the amazing guanaco. A beautiful beast that languishes in the shadow of its much more famous cousins the alpaca and llama, guanacos are natives of Argentina. In fact, though its cousins are far more famous, the truth is llama and alpaca are just domesticated versions of guanacos. The guanaco is closely related to the camel, with a reddish-brown back, and paler, almost white, on the underside. Its tail is about ten inches long. The neck is long and slender; the head is long ending in a somewhat drooping upper lip, which is cleft in the middle. The ears are long, upright and mobile. Guanacos are endangered (meaning that you won’t see one on a parilla anytime soon).

Why do I know so much about the guanaco? Because Amelia’s assignment for her Dia del Animales project was to find a picture of an animal that was native to Argentina and report on what it looks like, eats and where it lives. Seems simple, but the translation didn’t quite work out for us and I sent Amelia to her school without a picture, but with the report. She brought it back with new instructions. This time I sent it back with the picture, but without written material. She brought it back with new instructions. After the third time, I think we got it right.

Makes me think that going back to school might not be a great plan for me at this point.

I still love the Suns

2006-05-07T15:51:00.000-03:00

So I may have said bad things about the Suns a couple of weeks ago, but I am back on the bandwagon this week. What a crushing game last night (for the Lakers). I can't say that I am watching these games since they usually start at about 10:00 PM our time (the fact that we don't have a TV doesn't really help either), but I do check the scores at about 2:00 AM every day. Janalee usually asks what in the heck I am doing -- I tell her it is time for her to take a shower (she has work to do after all).

On to the point -- Steve Nash (plays for the Suns -- you gotta stay up with the conversation) won his second MVP award this morning. For those of you who don't follow the NBA this is nearly a miracle. Not only is he the only Canadian to be the MVP (not that there is anything wrong with being a Canadian), he is virtually a midget (standing barely 6’ 3”) and has what might be the worst haircut in all of professional sports (which inspires my latest style). I have included a photo for those of you who are sports impaired (of Nash, not me).

Here in Argentina they believe that Andres Niconi or Manu Ginobili should have been MVP (the only Argentines playing in the NBA) – but that is just crazy.

I have to run. Janalee just found out that I am blogging about sports and is threatening to start editing my work. Can’t have that – I just proclaimed myself editor in chief and I'm not willing to give up the title so quickly.

GO SUNS!

Fall in May

2006-05-03T15:10:00.000-03:00

It is finally Fall here in Mendoza with the leaves quickly turning amazing amarillo y roja (and piling up in front of the casa). While it seems slightly strange to be thinking about the Fall in May, it is quite beautiful to watch the colors change in the vineyards (we don't live near one -- in case anyone was wondering).

I have added some photos so that anyone who actually looks at this site can see the colors. I didn't take the pictures . Our friend Michael took them on a recent outing. Janalee, Amelia and I were in the mountains that day -- without our camera (we are always prepared just like the scouts).

Two funny things about the change in seasons:

Amelia said the other day, "Soon it will be winter and then it will be your birthday." Funny to hear, since my birthday is in June. (I added that to remind my wife that my birthday is coming.)

A friend of ours (who shall remain nameless) said the other day "Isn't it exciting that it is getting be Fall down here? Soon you will celebrating Christmas in Argentina." While is true that we will be celebrating Christmas in Argentina, Christmas is still in December. For some strange reason they don't change the date commemorating the birth of Jesus when you move south of the equator. Just a note for anyone who might be confused.

Happy Holidays!

The World Continues to Shrink

2006-04-30T21:03:00.000-03:00

Just a quick (and not surprisingly, random) note. Vines of Mendoza has hired a new COO. An interesting young lady from Austin, TX. For some reason that I have yet to fathom she was reading my bio somewhere and noticed that I worked at Earth Force. She then called me to tell me that she was the President of the Board of Directors of YouthLaunch -- the Earth Force affiliate in Texas. Between that and having the Mormons down the street I am starting to feel little freaked out.

Good night and good luck (great movie, even with Spanish subtitles).

Plaza Espana

2006-04-30T19:52:00.000-03:00

One of the best parts of living in Mendoza is that the city has great outdoor spaces. For instance, there are five plazas commemorating the growth of the city. Over the next couple of weeks Mia and I are going to explore each of them. Mia hasn’t exactly volunteered for this duty, but each plaza has a playground and I am guessing that she is willing take trips to five different playgrounds. If she won’t go willingly, I will just throw her over my shoulder and carry her. One of the great benefits of being roughly 15 times larger than your kid is you can always just carry her wherever you want to go.

So, we started our tour of the plazas with Plaza Espana. Plaza Espana celebrates the Spanish heritage of Mendoza. Here is the basic story:

The Spanish arrived in Mendoza in the early 1500’s. At the time the Spaniards arrived, the territory of Mendoza was occupied by the Huarpe Indians, in the Uco Valley, North and Northwest, the Incas at Uspallata and the Mendoza River Valley and the Puelches to the South of the Mendoza River. Of these tribes the Huarpes stand out because they had developed a network of irrigation channels in the Huentota Valley (city of Mendoza today), which enabled them to grow potatoes and corn. The Spaniards loved this clever system and named it "Dique de la Toma de los españoles" (Spanish Capture Dam). Today these channels are called Acequia’s – the original Huarpe name for them – so much for victors writing history.

The Huarpes were a peaceable, sedentary and agricultural people. And so, on March 2, 1561, Pedro del Castillo founded a city where the Huarpes lived and named it Mendoza (after the governor of Chile, Don García Hurtado de Mendoza). Establishing Spaniards in the place, who preferred the beaches of Chile, was so difficult that four years after Mendoza was founded only 12 Spaniards remained. The governor of Chile took drastic measures (he couldn’t have the city named after him have only 12 Spanish residents). Once the governor got serious, the settlement started to grow and in the year 1600 the population reached 80 Spanish settlers. The rest (as they say) is history.

The Plaza Espana commemorates these early years. In other words, it is a celebration of Spanish domination of the natives. OK – that might be a little bit of an unfair characterization of the role Spain played in the development of Mendoza. I could have said that the Plaza Espana is a rememberance of the hardships the early settlers overcame to establish the city. There is probably a bit of truth in each statement. And, since I know that it is important to cover both sides of the debate, I remind us all that the Spaniards brought the first grapes to Mendoza, so they get very big check mark on their side.

Enough quasi-political debate, on to the important stuff – photos of the plaza. All in all, it is a great little plaza with amazing tile work. I have been told it is the most beautiful Plaza in the city – I will get back to you on that in a few weeks.

The plaza features a craft market on the weekends. You can see a photo of the glasswork of a local artist to the left – it is typical of the art you can you find on this plaza. If you need a scarf or an Asado knife and fork, this is the place for you.

I think that is it for tonight's scribbling -- time for me to cry over the Phoenix Suns terrible showing the NBA playoffs -- the Southern Hemisphere is not far enough away to make that series look good.

!Suerte!

2006-04-23T12:56:00.000-03:00

“Suerte”

“Suerte”

Suerte is a very important and oft-used word in Argentina. It virtually defined our trip to Buenos Aires and Uruguay two weeks ago….

First, our flight from Mendoza to BA was canceled, so we were scheduled on an earlier flight. We arrived at the airport to discover that our new flight was delayed too --- “suerte,” said our friend Julian who dropped us off….

When we got to BA, the cab driver who was waiting to pick us up – and had been waiting for over an hour (meter running, by the way) – grumpily showed us to the cab and we began driving to the apartment we rented for the weekend…When we arrived at the “address” of the apt – or rather at the addresses on either side of where the apartment should have been, our cab driver said, “direction no existe!” We parked, got out, began scouring either side of the street, and frantically trying to call of the number of the apartment management firm… soon, a whole group of people were gathered round us, trying to help us find the address (and, reminding Janalee that it is not safe to leave your bag sitting on the side of the street). We located someone who spoke English, and he translated.

New BA friend, “He (the cab driver) says the address doesn’t exist.”

Jan, “We KNOW that. We’re trying to figure out what to do…”

New friend, “The cab driver says that you should call the company that rented you the apartment.”

Jan, “We HAVE called them… no one is answering the phone. Do you have any recommendations for a hotel?”

New friend, “I’m not from around here, sorry. She (helpful neighbor who was attracted by the excitement of the frantic search for the non-existent address) says that there is a Hilton just a few blocks from here.”

Jan, “OK, let’s get back in the cab and have him take us to the Hilton.”

Everyone, “!Suerte!”

We climb back in the cab, and begin what we think is the journey to the hotel, and next I find myself talking with the dispatcher, who speaks English.

Dispatcher, “The cab driver asks where you would like him to take you….”

Jan, “To the Hilton”

Dispatcher, “Give us the address and he will take you there.”

Jan, “I THOUGHT he knew where the Hilton is… I don’t know where it is.”

At this point, frustration is mounting. It’s Friday night, we have no place to stay, we’re tired, we’re hungry (there was no snack on the plane because we flew through a horrible thunder storm. Everyone on the plane was saying “SUERTE” and crossing themselves… When the plane landed safely in BA, we all applauded), and we want to give up and go home….

So, we slow down to look at our guidebook and find a new place to stay. At that very moment, someone leaps out at us from the curb…

Rolf (the owner of the apartment management firm), “Where have you been?”

Vince, “What? Are you Rolf?”

Rolf, “Yes, where have you BEEN?”

Vince, Jan and Mia, “YOU SENT US TO THE WRONG ADDRESS!!!!” (It turns out that the number was right, but the street was wrong… because we turned the corner and happened to slow down at just the right moment (SUERTE!!!!!!), we happened to find Rolf.

Rolf (who is German, has lived in Australia for the past 10 years, and whose Spanish is very thickly accented) then apologized profusely and paid the cab driver, whose fare has now escalated to over 100 pesos!

The cab driver happily drove away, shouting “SUERTE!…”

The rest of the trip was pretty calm after all that. On Saturday, we took a hydrofoil to Uruguay and spent the day in a lovely town called Colonia (see photos)… On Sunday, we wandered around the Recoleta neighborhood of Buenos Aires, and walked up and down the Recoleta cemetery (same photos), from my perspective, one of the most amazing cemeteries in the world.

We made is home safely late Sunday night. When the cab driver dropped us off in Mendoza, you could here a faint, “suerte” as he drove away.

Lessons in Language (aka Lessons in Humility)

2006-04-19T16:10:00.000-03:00

So, my language skills continue to fascinate me -- or should I say my lack of language skill continues to amaze me. Even though I have extremely low expectations at this point, I have managed to hit a new low. Being a former debate coach I have several points (ok - two points, but they are good ones) to document my argument.

#1. My Spanish teacher quit – it is one thing to admit that I am not great at learning languages – it is another to be so bad at it that my teacher quits. Not only did he quit, he quit to take on a client who is paying him less. I have reached a new low.

#2. The other day Amelia and I were riding in the car with a friend from Mendoza and a friend from the U.S. At one point the friend from Mendoza was trying to pronounce an English word and Mia piped in with the proper pronunciation. A few minutes later, our friend from the states was struggling with a word in Spanish. Mia immediately piped up with the proper pronunciation in Spanish (she has an amazing accent). I didn’t understand what either the friend from Mendoza or the friend from the U.S. was saying. My four-year old has a better grasp of both Spanish and English than I do.

I think that is about all the humility I can take tonight – where are those brownies that Mia cooked last night?

Our First Cosecha: Participating in the Wine Harvest

2006-04-02T18:04:00.000-03:00

One of the most amazing things about living in Mendoza is really living in the wine culture. During the beginning of March, the province of Mendoza celebrates Vendimia – the harvest festival. There are parties across Mendoza, and a queen is chosen from each of the 18 departments (think counties). Wine is everywhere – in every store window, at the cleaners, at the bakery – you name it. Everyone has wine on display.

On Wednesday we participated in our first cosecha. To give you a sense of how deeply wine is embedded in the culture, when we told Amelia’s teachers that she would be out for the day joining a cosecha – they all knew exactly what we were talking about. “Uvas, por favor,” they said, “please bring back grapes for the children to share.”

We began the day at one of Pablo’s family vineyards – the Gimenez-Rilli Merlot vineyard – just east of Mendoza city. To give everyone at Vines of Mendoza the opportunity to participate, we closed the Tasting Room and Information Center and traveled by caravan to the property. Everyone, including Mia, got an opportunity to pick. We received crates, scissors, and a little instruction in proper cutting techniques, and then we were off.

Once we filled our crates with grapes, we took them to the foreman who gave us a token for each crate we filled. If we had stayed the entire day, we could have exchanged the tokens for pesos at the end of the day – each filled crated earned us 90 centavos (almost a peso). Instead, we gave tokens to the farm workers and left with a much deeper appreciation of how important (and challenging) their work is. (Editor’s note: We picked 1 tub in 2 hours -- a good picker picks 60 in a day - we are really bad at picking and could never survive on our picking skills. Did you notice that I just named myself the editor?) We have added some photos of the picking here. For even better photos, check out the pics the professional photographer took (not that you aren't a professional, honey!).

From the vineyard, we traveled to the winery, to watch the next step in the winemaking process. After the grapes arrive on the truck, they are sorted and put through a de-stemming machine. They are then loaded into big metal containers which are hoisted up to the top of large tanks, and carefully dropped down into the tanks to begin a process called whole-grape fermentation. As the grapes are layered on top of each other, juice flows out of the bottom of the tank and is then pumped back up to the top. Typically this process, which is called remontage, lasts about 40 days.

After we finished touring the winery, we joined Pablo’s family and the Gimenez-Rilli staff for an asado. It was a beautiful day--the winery is located in a gorgeous old colonial-style building—and the food and the wine were fabulous. I met two women from Washington DC, Lauren and Heather, the night before at dinner, and they joined us for the day. As Lauren said at one point, “This has been an amazing day!” And it was for all of us…

March Food and Wine Recommendations

2006-04-02T13:04:00.000-03:00

So another month has passed and once again we have spent several nights eating at the best restaurants in the area. We are truly blessed to live in a time when the exchange rate is in our favor – but I will reserve discussions of the exchange rate for another time. Where was I? Oh yes, eating at the best restaurants.

As I mentioned we have once again eaten at some of the best restaurants in Mendoza this month and yet none of them show up on my Food and Wine recommendations for the month. In fact, the place that I have selected to highlight is what is known as a “resto-bar”. I am not all sure what the means, but I am pretty sure it is not a five-star eating establishment. This month’s food recommendation is El Planque. At El Planque you sit in gravel and if you get there early and are lucky you can score the comfortable director’s style chairs – if you are unlucky you sit on some wood/woven chairs that are not designed for people with backsides as large as mine. Since we are Americans and accustomed to eating before 10:00 PM (22:00 locally – in the U.S. we call that military time, the rest of the world calls it time) we are very often lucky enough to have the big chairs.

Ambience aside, this place has some amazing food. We generally start the evening off with a hot plate of Papas Fritas. Having eaten Papas Fritas in virtually every city I have ever visited I have a lot of confidence saying these are among the best French Fries in the world. Mia would eat a plate all by herself if we gave her half a chance. We follow that with a plate of various of empanadas (jamon y queso, choclo and carne being the favorites). When we finally get down to really eating we focus in on pork chops stuffed with fontina cheese and red pepper. Somewhere in there Janalee usually orders an ensalada verde – not sure what she does with it, but I see it on the bill a lot. All together it makes for a great (if potentially heart stopping) meal. Luckily we live about 1/4 of a mile away from El Planque and we typically walk to and from the place. Certainly not enough exercise to keep us healthy, but it helps with digestion.

After reading this I can see how you might not be jumping right on the El Planque bus – but the food more than makes up for everything else – really it does.

This month’s wine comes from a little winery that Janalee and I visited with our friend Julia Riches. Julia paid us a surprise visit in March and thank goodness she did – it really shook us out of our stuck in the city approach to life and gave us an incentive to get out and see the area, not the least of which is seeing the wineries of the region. Anyway, we visited a winery called Hacienda Del Plata and tasted some great Malbec, Cabernet and Syrah. Their 2003 Mayoral Malbec is really great. It is a big-bodied Malbec with a burst of fruit and a really nice finish (I actually wrote that – strange). I am told that it has outstanding structure – I have absolutely no idea what that means, but it makes me feel really intelligent to say it. I don’t have a picture of this wine, but I have included a picture of Amelia waiting for us while we tasted the wine – good thing she is a patient girl. Perhaps the coolest part is we got to meet Juan Pablo, a member of the family that runs the winery. Juan is going to be riding his motorcycle from Alaska to Mendoza starting in June and we have offered him housing at any of our friends' houses in Utah, Colorado, Oregon and Arizona -- I hope that is ok with all of you. By the way Juan Pablo has a cousin named Juan Reyes (middle names they share the same last name), they were born 2 weeks apart.

Which brings me to my random note of the day. The other day I asked Mia where she had put her tennis shoes. You can guess the situation – it was 8:55, school starts at 9:00. So, I ask her where her shoes are and her answer back was, “I have absolutely no idea”. Where do you think she picked that up? I really need to talk to her teachers about what they say in the classroom – you never know what kids will pick up.

Buenos Noches

Driving Miss Mendoza

2006-03-29T19:25:00.000-03:00

So, we broke down and bought a car – we keep telling ourselves the only reason we bought the car was to ensure that we got Mia to school on time each morning, but the truth is that we like the freedom that comes from having a car (and we just couldn’t afford to have Janalee walk past all of the clothing stores everyday). So, it seemed cheaper to buy a car (that is a lot of shirts at 20 pesos a pop).

A picture of our car is on the right. It is a Suzuki Fun, which is essentially the exact same car as a Chevrolet Corsa. I took the picture from above because it makes the car look much bigger (muy grande even) than it actually is. While not a big car it is a fun car to own in Mendoza (you knew I was going to say the Fun is fun at some point so I got it out of the way early on). In truth I don’t think we would want anything larger here – it would be too big of a target. Which gets me to the point of this blog – driving in Mendoza.

Now that I drive regularly I have a much better sense of why the State Department lists auto accidents as the number one health threat to Americans traveling to Argentina. Driving here is nuts. So, here are my tidbits for anyone hoping to drive in Argentina:

Pedestrians – in the U.S. pedestrians have the right of way. In Argentina pedestrians have the right to get out of the way and they should know enough to exercise that right. If you are walking don’t think a crosswalk means you will be safe – it only means drivers know where you are (for a better shot at you). Janalee has gotten to be so adept at not stopping for pedestrians that the other day when she nearly ran over an older couple and they had the temerity to holler “this is a cross walk” she hollered back “stupid tourists”. True story.

Stop Signs – Don’t stop at stop signs. I am not at all certain what stop signs are meant to signify, but if you stop at one you are very likely to be hit by the car behind you. The correct procedure is to slow down and look for oncoming traffic. If the oncoming traffic is right on top of you hit the brakes and hope the person behind you doesn’t think you should go. If the oncoming traffic is a little way down the road slow down and place approximately 2/3 of your car in the oncoming lane and gun the engine until you can go (you could also honk the horn and scream at them for being slow).

Stoplights – Stop for red lights. A yellow light also means stop. When the folks driving in the oncoming lane see that your light has turned yellow they start going – regardless of whether or not there is someone already in the lane. By the time a red light has turned green the first row of cars has already crossed the lane. If you try to shoot through a yellow you will probably hit two or three cars, maybe a bicyclist and if you are having really bad luck that day a couple of dogs.

My advice, don’t drive in Mendoza until you have had a chance to watch the process up close and personal. If you must drive in Mendoza it is important to practice OFFENSIVE driving (take that anyway you want). Really, if you are going to come and visit we will drive you – it is probably more frightening at first, but we have a slight advantage because we have some experience.

Happy Birthday Mia

2006-03-24T21:42:00.000-03:00

This week marks Amelia’s fourth birthday and it is off to a great start. The day before her birthday she was treated to a party at her school. The whole thing was a bit of a surprise for us. When we arrived at school in the morning we were met by five kids who gave Mia presents and then four older kids (they must have been 10 – I mean OLD kids) sang Happy Birthday. Mia was a bit surprised and spent the entire time hanging onto my neck whispering, “What are they doing?” I think she was excited, if surprised, and it was great to see the student body of Colegio San Andres reach out to Mia. She didn’t know what to do, but it was pretty cool for me to see. And, the birthday party was only starting. At snack time I showed up with a cake and juice boxes for Mia’s class. Her class sang Happy Birthday in English and then in Spanish and finally a group of girls from the classroom next door sang it in Italian. The festivities continued into clase de musica where we wore big foam hats. All in all, the kids probably sang Happy Birthday 12 times (and each time better than the time before). You can see the photos
here.

To top of the day we had dinner at one of Mia’s favorite places – El Planque. I will write some more about El Planque later, but suffice it to say that Mia loves the Papas Fritas and Jamon y Queso Empanadas. So, I helped her eat two or three orders of each. So much for the diet, but how many times does your kid turn four? I guess that depends on how many kids you have.

Good night to all.

A Swimming Demon

2006-03-13T10:16:00.000-03:00

Mia’s swimming lessons have continued and she is making great progress. Last week she topped off all of her hard work by swimming to her teacher without any kind of floatation device (no paddle board, no floaties and no tube). While her swimming includes as much time underwater as above water, she is becoming quite the swimmer (in her father’s eyes that is). I have visions of her swimming the 200 M Butterfly in the 2022 Summer Olympics (or perhaps watching them on TV – but who is to say she won’t be swimming). Of course, this vision assumes that she inherited exactly none of my physical prowess.

Anyway, being the overly proud father that I have become I made a photo album to share with everyone. You can see the photos here.

On another random note someone emailed me and asked why you don’t see any photos of me on the website. The simple answer is that I am the one who writes the blogs and takes the photos – I don’t want to put photos of me on the site, so I don’t. There you have it – no more reason to wonder about that.

And, one final shout out to our friends who recently got much older. Peter Loge marked another year over 40 (sorry about “outing” you with the American University Co-eds, but they were going to find out eventually). And, David Stempien joined the ranks of the over 40 crowd. My only piece of advice is that being over 40 is not as bad as it seems – there is life after 40 (at least that is what I hear from Janalee – how would I know what it is like to be over 40?).

May the road always rise to meet your feet!

February’s Food and Wine Recommendation

2006-03-08T15:31:00.000-03:00

Can it be that we have been here three full months? I doesn’t seem like it, and yet here I am writing my second installment of monthly wine and food highlights. The month of February was filled with Janalee working, Mia starting school and me battling hormigas and the pileta (swimming pool) – somehow we still found a way to taste some amazing wine and food.

This month’s food highlight is what is know here as an Asado. We have now hosted four Asado’s, each featuring a wealth of wonderful food. Interestingly I have found a way not to cook at any of these events and still I have had plenty to eat. Michael has become the unofficial Asador (fancy name for cook) at our house. Mia and I have two favorites at these events: Chorizo (an amazing type of sausage - not like the American or Mexican chorizo we have tasted) and Lomo de Cerdo (pork loin). The meat is cooked for 2 hours over a wood fire and is amazingly tender. Mia has been known to battle for her chorizo if she doesn’t get an adequate supply and I am happy to say that the Lomo de Cerdo usually arrives at the end of the meal when the poor planners among us have eaten their fill – leaving plenty for Mia and I. I have added a photo of Michael working the Asado (with phone attached to ear).

This month’s wine is Carmelo Patti’s Gran Assemblage 2002. Carmelo Patti is something of a legend here in Mendoza and has built his reputation on being the master of fine wines in the area. The Gran Assemblage is his masterpiece. It is a blend of his other wines and is as smooth as any wine you will ever have – the taste of fruit jumps out at you and the finish is amazing. Carmelo ages his wine for a year in the tank and another year (at a minimum) in the barrel before it goes to bottle – to say he is a perfectionist is to underestimate his work.

I am not the only person who finds his work amazing – I found the following on the web about Carmelo and his wine – I don’t know who wrote this, but I added a link to their site so that you can read the full article.

“As we tasted the wine from his winery, Carmelo was excited to talk about his production as if it was one of his children. He described its birth and the cares he had had to take as it grew up, always alert to every detail. Already in the casks, we tasted a riper wine and its incredible assemblage, a blend of four varieties, which awakens amazing sensations as it is sampled. It is hard to describe. When I met Carmelo, my vision about wineries changed completely. I understood that there is something irreplaceable beyond technology to make a good wine: the art and the love transmitted by a good enologist.” Here is the link .

Why am I diverging from my usual (as if one month creates a trend) naming of a restaurant in Mendoza? Because we have had a series of great meals in our own home and last week was typical of that event (if smaller). Last week we hosted 7 people, drank wines from the business’ “Reserve Room” and talked about life in Mendoza and the future of the wine business here. It was a fun evening (it is hard not to have fun drinking $200 bottles of wine and eating steak slow cooked over a wood fire) and reminded me that we came here was to reconnect to old friends, make new ones and experience the world in an entirely new way. The dinner last week accomplished all of that – I guess we can come home now (yeah right -- I believe it is still winter in DC -- I am not planning on seeing snow or temperatures below 50 anytime soon).

Happy Trails!

Feliz Cumpleaños

2006-02-28T12:04:00.000-03:00

Mia’s grandmother is having her 29th Birthday today (same age as her daughter – they are a miracle family) and Mia wanted to send her un beso.

So, here it is grandma – she says to tell you that she loves you and misses you.

See you soon and happy birthday!

Mia's First Day of School in Mendoza

2006-02-28T12:01:00.000-03:00

This marks Mia’s first week of school in Mendoza. Despite the fact that she doesn’t speak Spanish, and the first four hours of class are all in Spanish, she seems to really like school. Her teacher (maestro for those of you keeping score on my Spanish) is Miss Natcha and seems to have a real gift (but, working as the lone teacher with twenty-five 4 years you had better have a gift or good mental health care). The school is quite nice and has 300 students in its K-8 classes. It is quite an adjustment to go from Mia’s school of 35 students in Arlington to a K-8 setting, but Mia is one fearless kid and seems to be really enjoying herself. The best part is she gets to play with other 4 year-olds on the playground – far better than trying to get her father to jump on the swing.

Perhaps the strangest part for us is the uniform. We love the idea and Mia looks mighty cute in hers, but having our daughter wearing the St. Andrews cross on her chest everyday is going to take some getting used to. I don’t think her mom shares my obsession with the uniform – but she worries about different things than I do.

If you want to see some photos of Mia’s first day they are here.

Dad - Where is Mom?

2006-02-28T11:55:00.000-03:00

Mia and I have this conversation twice a day everyday – so I thought I would share it:

“Dad, where is mom?”

“At Work”

“Where”

“Downtown”

“Why”

“That is where the office is”

“Why does she work”

“Guilt” (Actually I say because she enjoys making a contribution to society – really, I do)

“Why”

Ok, so you get a sense of how this goes. The story behind all of this is that Janalee has been working quite a bit at Vines of Mendoza, our friend Michael’s blossoming business. With the first major element of the business (a downtown tasting room) opening this Friday, Janalee and her team of Hormigas have been working night and day to ensure that the staff is ready to pour wine.

And, it has been quite a month of work. After renting a home three weeks ago the place has been transformed into a full-fledged wine tasting room that will be ready to open. Quite a transformation – congrats to everyone on the Vines team. You can see photos of the entire thing here.

Now, I just need to find a way for Jan to work all of these hours and do the laundry and cook – I have more work to do on that front. Stay tuned……

Boutique de la Carne

2006-02-20T09:26:00.000-03:00

How can you go wrong with a name like that? Just one of the many wonders of our neighborhood. We can walk down the street 3 blocks to the butcher shop and a great panaderia (La Parra, Su Panaderia). On almost every corner there is a locutorio (a shop where you can make phone calls, use the internet, etc.), drugstore (typically like a locally-owned 7-11), farmacia (I think you can figure that one out), or an almacen (a small grocery store).

It’s great fun getting to know our neighborhood shops and shopping locally. One or all of us walk to La Parra every day, (Vince and Mia go twice a day to purchase gallititas) and to Boutique de la Carne at least three times per week. La Parra is known as the best bakery in town. Every time we meet a new friend from Mendoza they say, “do you know that you live just down the street from the best bakery in town?” – we do know and we have the chocolate spots on Mia’s clothes to prove it.

While it is great to visit the shops, our conversations with a shopkeeper are always a little stilted. Usually, the conversation goes something like this:

“Hola”

“Hola”

“Como estas?”

“Bien, y vos?” (This is Argentina after all… people say vos instead of tu)

“Bien, muy bien…”

And, then everything pretty much breaks down after that. On occasion we are able to pronounce breads and meats properly… or to say, “quiero un kilo de pechugas, por favor,” (I want a kilogram of chicken breasts, please)… but often the conversation goes more like…”quiero catorze gallitas” literally, “I want 14 crackers,” when I was trying to say, “quiero cuarenta gallitas,” I want 40 crackers. By the time we leave the shop, we inevitably say “estoy apprendiendo Espanol!” (I am learning Spanish) about five times, and have a good laugh with the merchant, who inevitably says, “I only speak a little English” (perfectly, of course).

As you might imagine, we are very popular residents of the neighbor. Everyone knows that when we come in, they are going to have a good laugh!

Now, off to buy some bread!

Vince 1 - Hormigas 0

2006-02-20T09:25:00.000-03:00

We won the first round in our battle with the hormigas – I was able to successfully negotiate a relationship with the exterminador (like a matador for bugs) and our yard has been sprayed. One challenge is that within 24 hours we have found a new hormiga hill. They were quickly dispatched with some foul smelling (and probably incredibly toxic) liquid. Even with their last ditch attempt to reestablish their infestation I am claiming victory.

Now that I have proven my dominance over small bugs, I am on to bigger things: language. Just kidding, there is no chance whatsoever that I am going to claim a victory in the language category. At best I am like the US in cross-country skiing – I try really hard, but everyone knows that others are destined to win. Have I mentioned how strange it is to be talking about skiing in the middle of the summer?

Ants

2006-02-15T16:56:00.000-03:00

As a part of our continuing saga we have discovered ants in our house (and in our yard, and pretty much everywhere else right now). The first clue as to our situation was when Janalee’s foot started to swell up from fire ant bites. I think she will live through the experience, but not without some serious counseling – I think we will need to go to the Freud Institute of Mendoza to ensure that all of the issues are resolved. Anyway, the real story here is the ant infestation. After a few sightings around the house we have now found them in la concina, el living and la bano. I think we can safely say we have ants. Now, the question is what to do with them.

At home we would call an exterminator and have them come out and take a look. In Mendoza we will do the same. The big difference will be my mastery of the Spanish language. Given my current abilities with the language I am not sure what will happen – the only guarantee is that I will call what I think is an exterminator in the phone book and ask them to spray for hormiga. Assuming all goes well we will be rid of the ants. If it doesn’t go well, I will have a year’s supply of Hormel products.

Random note of the day: A hot dog (in a bun) is called a “Pancho” the best hot dog place in the section of town where we live is called Pancho Villa – essentially a nice house for hot dogs. So, here is the random part – when I mentioned that Pancho Villa was the rebel general of the Mexican Revolution the response I got from the person who pointed it out was: “You must be mistaken”. It wouldn’t be the first time that my memory of history was wrong, but I really feel like I have this one right. Off I go to buy a book on Mexican history, in Spanish of course.

Buenos Tardes

Mia is fearless

2006-02-10T16:50:00.000-03:00

Mia is having her first swimming lesson even as I write -- again technology is amazing me. Anyway, after about two minutes on the kicking board Abel, her teacher, went deeper in the pool to get something -- next thing you know Amelia has grabbed the kicking board and jumped off the side - solo!

Being the proud father that I am -- I had to add photos and a blog to the event. Enjoy the photos!

The Randomness of My Life

2006-02-10T16:34:00.000-03:00

It has been one of those weeks when I am really left wondering about why things happen like they do. Earlier this week Janalee and I were walking to our friend Michael’s casa when I started taking a closer look at the church that is on our route. That is when it hit me that the church we have been walking past for a week is a Mormon church. Perhaps not that significant to everyone who reads this post, but to someone who grew up in Utah it is pretty surprising to move half way across the world to live down the street from a Mormon church.

If that wasn’t enough the next morning (morning being a relative time period that happens before afternoon) I was having a muffin at Deli City (the only place in town that sells muffins), and I was talking to the manager, a great guy named Guillermo. I asked him about his Klein t-shirt (Klein makes bicycles and I want to buy one). With my Spanish being what it is, he thought I asked him if he ever lived in the U.S. (t-shirt/U.S. – my Spanish is obviously coming right along). Anyway, Guillermo ended up telling me that he had lived in Provo, Utah for six years – not more than 10 miles from where I grew up. Seems kind of strange to have so many ties to my youth when I am so far away from Utah (in so many ways).

In a similar vein, this week I ended up at the only Mendoza bookstore (called a librería) that sells books in English. The place was full of people from the States – the funniest part was watching all of us trying to ignore each other. None of us wanted to have our Mendoza experience tainted by others from the States. With the peak of tourist season upon us, we all are going to have to get used to running into each other quite a bit. A note to potential visitors – if you want to avoid folks from the states you are going to have to come during the winter (our winter, not yours) – otherwise this place is crazy with gringos.

To cap it off, we have hired a Spanish teacher (professor de Espanol) whose English is impeccable. In fact, if you heard him speak you would guess he was from Missouri -- which is to say that his English is better than mine (needless to say his Spanish is better than mine as well). No randomness here -- but I did want to say that Janalee is the teacher's pet. So much so that we had to split up our lessons (we were learning together) because I couldn't stand being the slow student in a class of two. I have included Dario's (the Spanish teacher) photograph to the left (izquerda). He is a great guy -- it's Jan that is bugging me -- she gave him an apple today. How far will she go?

Like so many of my posts this one has no point – or perhaps the point is that it is a small world – very small.

We Host An Asado

2006-02-07T16:11:00.000-03:00

We have been in our house for a week and we have already had our first Asado, not to be confused with Asadha the fourth month of the year on the Hindu calendar. An Asado is essentially a barbeque with three substantial differences:

1. The meat is cooked over a wood fire and it is cooked for between an hour and ninety minutes. I didn’t actually cook – my first time and all – but the cooking took place on my parilla (grill).
2. No one in their right mind starts to cook an Asado before 9:00 PM. While men in the U.S. are slaving away over a hot grill in the hottest part of the day, our Argentine counterparts have it all figured out and cook during the coolest part of the day. The hottest part of the day is reserved for the pool. And, I have to tell you that drinking wine with the fine cuts of meat you have at an Asado was far better than standing over a hot grill in the middle of the day.
3. As far as I can tell there are no vegetables at an Asado – just lomo de carne, lomo de cerdo and chorizo (basically beef, pork and sausage).

But, I digress – this post is about our Asado. We had a great time hosting our first Asado. The great friends we have made in Mendoza together with amazing meat (all varieties) made for a memorable day. I forgot to mention that they deliver helado here (imagine, ice cream delivered to your home at 11:00 PM). Now, that is what I call a great finish to the day!

That is it for me today -- I am off to explore the wonders of siesta.

Saludos!

January's Food and Wine Recommendations

2006-02-02T08:47:00.000-03:00

Since a big part of our reason for coming to Mendoza was to enjoy the local wine-making culture and experience the fine food in the region, we have decided to add a monthly update on eating and drinking in Mendoza. Sort of our recommendations of the best of Mendoza. Besides, needing to write in the blog about the best food and wine, is a good excuse to taste the best wines and eat at the best restaurants.

Our favorite wine this month is Gimenez Rilli Perpetuum Merlot. We drank some of the 2003 vintage last night, and it was just amazing. It has an incredibly fruity flavor with notes of cherries and raspberries and a smooth finish (yes, Janalee wrote that part). We wouldn't normally pick up a Merlot (we have seen Sideways seven times after all), but this one was muy rico. It is available in the states, but on a limited basis -- if you see it, buy it. Or, you can buy it through VinoTourism -- the link is to right.

Our favorite restaurant of the month is 1884 Frances Mallman. Probably one of the best meals we have ever had. Between the Suckling Pig, the Sirloin and Amelia's favorite, the Chocolate Addiction, this meal was amazing. They don't start seating until 10:00 PM (the traditional dinner hour here in Mendoza) but it is worth staying out late to eat at this place. And, the price can't be beat (thanks to the exchange rate). Our total bill came to about $40 (US) per person for seven including appetizers, meals and desserts as well as plenty of really good wine.

So far our eating experience is far outstripping my desire to get in shape – my excuse is that I am still on vacation. The only question remaining is how long I can continue to use the excuse.

That is it for January’s Gastronomic update – next month best bar food (not that we go to bar’s regularly) and perhaps a white wine.

The Wonders of Technology

2006-01-31T09:17:00.000-03:00

This is probably obvious everyone -- but I am still amazed at how technology has changed the world. This morning Janalee and I are sitting at our table in Mendoza, Argentina (calling this thing a table might be bit of a stretch since it is made of plastic and wobbles like a weeble) each working on our various projects. While we are working we are listening to WNYC (NPR Station), sending email to friends and colleagues across the globe, talking to Comcast Cable on an Voice Over Internet Protocol telephone with a 703 area code (trying to disconnect our service -- I am on hold of course) and having conversations with folks in Mendoza via instant messenger. And, we are doing all of this without a single wire connecting any of our computers or telephones. To put it into perspective the computer course I took in college taught students how to program computers using punch cards! I once had a business teacher who wouldn’t allow you to write your papers on a computer because they weren’t practical – I guess that guy must be totally freaked out by now (Janalee thinks he might be dead – a comment on my age I think).

Janalee thought we should add a photo of me at the table – I didn’t want to do that to any one who might read this post. The work at home rumors are true – no shirt, no shower, no shoes. I think you can do without that picture (the rumors of me getting in better shape on this trip are still only rumors despite how photogenic I have become as you can see in my photo).

There is not much of a point to this post – just a bit of a rant to start the morning.

Scaling Aconcagua….OK, Maybe not Scaling, but Viewing

2006-01-29T21:15:00.000-03:00

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of activity. We’ve found a house, moved in and begun setting up (thus far, Vince hasn’t purchase a single poof—so much for his “I’m running the house now” bravado), made a lot of new friends—including Guillermo at the little deli down the street, who, when he learned we would be here for a year, gave us his number and told us to call him if we needed ANYTHING—and begun working and touring the city.

Our arrival in Mendoza was timed perfectly. A number of new Vines of Mendoza (Vinotourism’s new name) interns arrived just before us, and Michael’s parents Polly and Jo arrived just a few days after we did. In order to acquaint everyone with just a taste of what Mendoza has to offer, Michael and his business partner, Dave, charted a van and took us all to the base of Aconcagua.

What an amazing experience – Aconcagua is breathtaking – literally, at over 20,000 feet, it’s the highest mountain in the Americas. Vince and I grew up in the North American West, but neither of us had ever seen anything quite like Aconcagua up close and personal. When we arrived, the clouds were just beginning to move in. We were able to see the entire mountain for about 10 minutes before it was obscured by cloud cover. After a brief hike, we returned to a hostel just a little further down the mountain where Dave and his girlfriend Gabi had prepared an asado for us, a perfect end to a perfect day.

This is high season for climbing, so there are hikers in town from all over the world. One night we went to dinner and met a hiker leaving for base camp the next day; then later during dinner, we met a group of hikers (including a woman from Colorado) who had just finished their climb. Who knows, maybe next year at this time we’ll attempt it!

Saludos!

Things are a changin' here in Mendoza

2006-01-26T08:27:00.000-03:00

For those of you who have visited before you can see the blog has changed this morning - for those of you who this is your first visit, you will have to take my word for it.

That's not the only change in our household this morning. Since Janalee is busy working with both VinoTourism and Collaborative Communications I am in charge of furnishing the house. As you can imagine this situation has Janalee more than a little nervous. Right now she is trying to find reasons why I should wait for her input before buying anything. While I cherish her point of view, I relish the chance to give her the same level of input that I have traditionally had in our home purchases - none.

So, Amelia and I off to purchase 100 bean bag chairs (they call them "poofs" here) and all of the chrome tables we can find -- I love those things!

We Have A House

2006-01-25T08:12:00.000-03:00

No more saying we hope we have a house -- we actually signed the lease yesterday morning and the got the tour from the owner in the afternoon. All that is left is to purchase some furniture to put in it and we are ready to move in -- we should be in by January 28th and our month of living out of suitcases will be over. You can see photos of the our home in our photo album.

I have also added a calendar of visitors to our blog. If you think you are interested in coming to see us this year check out the calendar to see if when other folks are coming. We have a lot of room, so that is not a worry, but you might want to see who will be in town to make sure it is someone you want to hang out with!

Take care and we will see you soon.

Learning to say Helado (as well as Boca, Manos Y Pie Enfermedad)

2006-01-21T08:31:00.000-03:00

Well it has been a wild first nine days. As I write that I am having a hard time believing we have been here for nine days. The last nine days have been filled with fun, great time with old friends, meeting new friends and a little bit of worry as well. There really is nothing liking jumping in with both feet. So where to start on our story so far? I guess I will start with some of the fun things we have been doing and work my way to some of the things that have been challenging:

Helado: Mia has found a new favorite place the Ferruccio Soppelsa Heladaria – a great ice cream shop she refers to as the “blue” place. I am not sure why she calls it that since the shop is white, but when she asks I know what she wants: Milk Shake en Chocolate. I think in our first nine days she has been there 7 times. Probably a little indulgent, but she has really needed the protein and calories – more on that in a minute.

Asado: We got to experience our first asado and it was great fun. And, it gave us another opportunity to celebrate Janalee’s birthday (interestingly she has been 29 almost as long as we have been together). The asado was hosted by Pablo a new friend and a business partner of Michael. Mia spent a good part of the day playing with all kinds of new friends – you can see the pictures in our photo album. After a few hours of swimming we moved onto eating carne and chorizo that had been cooking for two or three hours (and drinking wine of course) – not a bad way to spend the day.

Casa: We have made some progress on a house, or at least we think we have. It is an amazing place with four bedrooms, a pool, a recently updated kitchen and a tree growing in the living room. Probably much larger than we need, but we are planning on having a bunch of visitors and we thought – “why not”.

Boca, Manos Y Pie Enfermedad: Amelia has contracted Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease which is not terribly serious, but has had us worried nonetheless. We think she probably got it our last week in the states and it is now in full blossom. Her situation has been somewhat complicated by the an attack from about 6 million mosquitoes on her legs. Between the disease and the mosquitoes her body has been covered with red welts and her nose has been running for a week. We did get our first experience with the Argentine medical system – which went really well. I think the thing that surprised us the most is that the doctor kissed Mia on the head several times – reminded me of going to the doctor when I was a child. Thank goodness our new friend Jime (pronounced HE MAY) was there to help – we probably would have come home thinking Mia had hoof and mouth disease.

This marks two times that our posts have been a bit too long. The next post will have to be much shorter. We hope you are all well – with special thoughts going out to Silas Newsome who broke his jaw last week. Maybe his parents should bring him down to each Milk Shakes with Amelia ;).

Take care – and we will talk to you all soon.

Janalee's First Entry -- Our Adventures at Carrefour

2006-01-12T15:15:00.000-03:00

Hola Amigos! Now that we’ve officially arrived, I thought I would give the blogging thing a try. Have patience, this is my first post. I might take awhile to get the hang of it!

I think we’re all still a little shell-shocked. None of us has ever moved on a plane before. When we moved to Washington, DC from Arizona, we packed up all our stuff, loaded it into a Ryder truck and drove cross country… this time, after saying goodbye to our house, storage shed and many friends, we simply got on a plane with a few bags and took off. It’s great to be traveling so lightly, but frankly it also feels a little strange—like we’re part of a country ballad or something weird like that.

We’re staying at our friend Michael’s until we find a house, which may be fairly soon (at least I’m sure Michael hopes so—when he said “mi casa, su casa,” I don’t think he anticipated one piece of luggage fully loaded with every possible item Heavy Baby—Amelia’s favorite doll—might need). Later today, we’re meeting a friend of his to go house hunting. She’s already got five places lined up for us to see in La Quinta (the fifth district of Mendoza), so I’m sure we’ll find something soon. We may also look at apartments. There are some lovely buildings near General San Martin Park (http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/119875.html; I borrowed this picture from someone else’s blog—do you think that violates some kind of blogging code???), a huge park laced with walking paths, ponds and lakes, etc. that spans most of the length of the city. Yesterday, after taking a long and much-needed nap, we picked up some empanadas—deliciosio!—and then walked to the park for a small picnic.

Other than being a little dazed and confused—I’m up writing at 5:30 a.m. this morning. You would be too if your friend took you to Don Mario’s, a place famous for serving steak “bigger than your head”—we’re very excited to be here.

Last night we made our first journey to Carrefour, a French grocery chain. You can find everything there—in fact, along with yogurt, fruit and cereal, we bought a little bed and bedding for Amelia. (With Heavy Baby, a few toys, and a new bed, she’s ready to move in permanently with Tio Michael!) Part of the adventure of living here is navigating places like grocery stores. In that sense, Argentina feels very European – milk comes in square cartons; peanut butter is almost impossible to find; and you can forget mac and cheese. But that’s also part of the fun. Last night I found myself completely overwhelmed with about 20 different kinds of dairy products with the name “crema” in them… I thought I was looking at yogurt, according to Tio Michael, not so. For the record, he’s not sure what they are either, but he knows they are NOT yogurt.

I can’t wait for you all to come and visit. We’ll have great fun exploring the city together… we haven’t even gotten to the wineries yet. This year will truly be an aventura grande!

Desede Mendoza

Abrazos, Janalee

Finally, The Day Has Arrived

2006-01-11T14:39:00.000-03:00

At least we have arrived in Argentina. The trip was great – even taking into account that we were in a plane all night. It was all worth it when we got to see the sun rise over Aconcagua which was absolutely spectacular. The pilot announcing that we are at 20,000 feet and seeing the mountain above us with the sun streaming behind the peak. Mia summed it up for all us with a resounding "Wow". After that the rest of the day has been a blur.

I have to admit that I am old enough that I am still amazed that I can sit down in airports around the world and log onto the internet wirelessly. At 7:00 AM this morning we sat down in a cafe in the Santiago, Chile airport and checked our email. I even instant messaged with a friend in Florida. I am amazed at how connected the world is. Not that Chile is some backwater, but all I had to do was open my computer in Santiago and I was online – I agree with Mia, “Wow”.

Enough waxing poetic about WiFi. The real news is that Argentina is rounding out to be as amazing as promised. The people are great. Amelia and Janalee struck up a friendship with a mother and a daughter in the Santiago airport and by the time we left everyone was taking photos and giving hugs. A photo of the event is on the right. The weather is beautiful. It is about 90 today. A great dry heat with just the right amount of breeze. All that is left is to have some of the food. So far all I have eaten is some chicken that our friend Michael cooked up with mashed potatoes. Better than eating Mia’s Clifford Crunch (a cereal for those of you without kids), but not really the great food I had been led to believe I would experience. I have only been here for three hours, so I guess I should have some patience.

That is it for today – the battery on this thing is just about to give up. We miss everyone all ready and hope you are well.

A New Year A New Country

2006-01-06T13:11:00.000-03:00

While I would love to say we are actually in Argentina – but not quite. We are out of our house. I guess that is similar except that being OUT of a place doesn't mean you are IN a new place. Thank god our friend Zoe is letting us use her house. The photo at the top is a picture of Zoe’s place. She calls it the Castle – you can see why.

Actually that is not a picture of Zoe’s house – though Zoe’s place is plenty nice and it is a castle to us. That is a photo of The Castle at Frost Valley YMCA in Claryville, NY. We spent New Year’s Eve there with seven other families (including 9 kids under the age of 10). We had a great time. As the clock struck midnight we were drinking fine wine from Italy, dancing to fine tunes from the 70’s and generally having a fun time. You can see the photos here. We even had snow – 4 inches! I think Janalee and I enjoyed the snow more than the rest of the folks at the Castle. After all, it is 88 in Mendoza today and we are just 4 days from now we will be basking in the sun. So, what is a little snow when you are looking at days and days of sun? Does that sound like gloating? I don't mean to gloat -- just to mention that it is summer in South America.

I think that is it for today. I am writing from a coffee shop while working out the final elements of our homeowner’s insurance – I am sure that sounds like more fun that it actually is.

Next post will be from Argentina – at least in theory it will be. I guess I will believe it when we land -- until then it is just a really busy dream.

We found a Renter

2005-12-18T21:22:00.000-03:00

We found someone to rent our house in Arlington! A big deal for us – but probably not that exciting if you are visiting this blog for the first time. I promise this space is going to be the home of much more exciting news in the coming months. The truth is right now we are wholly focused on the mundane activity of moving (and, of course, Christmas).

So perhaps our renting out our house is not earth shattering news. Other than renting the house the most exciting thing that happened this week was the Christmas tree fell. Dropped like a rock. Flat as a pancake. Looked like George Washington had come to town and gone after that thing with an axe. Luckily no one was injured in the process (other than my pride). We are still picking up the million or so pieces of red glass that were spewed around the house.

But, what do we care – we are renting the place out to someone else and they can clean it up for the next year! By the time we get back from Argentina they should have every piece of glass picked up. What a deal!

After reading this post Janalee became incredibly worried. What would happen to us if VA Child Protection Services logged on to this incredibly well publicized blog that must have dozens of visitors a month. Between the glass on the floor and the bump on the head (you can read about the bump a little lower on the page) I must be seriously challenged when it comes to child care! So, we need a disclaimer -- our child is well cared for, we promise (honest, no kidding, we wouldn't lie about this). You can see photos of her here (MIA). None of the photos have been retouched - I swear.

We had it and then we didn't

2005-12-16T20:00:00.000-03:00

My last post described how excited we were about the house we were renting. That house is a thing of the past. In the end it was a good lesson in the difficulties of working across continents. Unfortunately, the landlord wanted to change the terms of our contract (about 10 times over the last week). Every time we would agree to something, he would add a new element. While we thought we had an agreement he was just getting ready to renegotiate the terms. Perhaps if he had only met me in person we could have worked it out. Not likely -- perhaps if he had met Amelia we could have worked it out. Anyway, the whole thing was too much drama for us and we are back on the market for a house. Anyone have an empty house in Mendoza you are hoping to rent to a friendly couple with a cute kid?

Meanwhile back here in the U.S. I have finished my tenure as the President of Earth Force. You can read about them by following the link in the right hand column. The new president – a great guy named Chuck – started this week and it is off to a great start. Chuck also became a grandfather this week – talk about having a lot going on in one week. Good Luck Chuck! (I really couldn’t help myself).

And, with that update we are off to the races. Over the next 14 days we are going to move out of our house and celebrate Christmas. Good thing Jan’s parents are coming to visit. That reminds me, where are my bothers – get out here and help me move! Pretty persuasive approach - don't you think.

We Found a House! (and need to find someone to rent the other)

2005-12-07T20:51:00.000-03:00

Thanks to our friends Michael, David and a bunch of others we haven't met yet, we may have a house in Mendoza. We have pictures and it looks great. I think it has four bedrooms - leaving plenty of space for everyone who has said they are going to visit - and was recently renovated. Looks like a great place. Strangely I don't know the address of the place or really anything about the location (close to a park, near Mike's house). Not that an address would make much of a difference really at this point - since I don't know anything about Mendoza. I think it is the first time I have ever rented a place without really knowing much about it - good thing I have a high tolerance for the unkown. You can see pictures of the place in our photo albums -- the link should be in the right hand column.

Several people have asked me how I like Mendoza -- to which I say “they have a great website”. I haven't ever been there. I guess I should have visited before moving there. But, since Janalee has visited and says there is a great coffee shop in Mendoza it must be great. One small problem, I don't drink coffee. Janalee, on the other hand, thinks that any place that has a great coffee shop will be a great place to live. For me, great places really need to have a football team – I guess that means that I will have to become a Boca Junior fan.

Just two big hurdles left in our quest to move. We still need to rent our house (feel free to tell everyone you know that we are looking for renters) and we need to sell the Saab. I am emotionally attached the Saab, so that one is going to be challenge for me. Janalee is emotionally attached to the house, so that one is going to be easy for me. Once we get those little things out of the way we can focus on the easy stuff like packing everything we own, putting most of it in storage and picking five suitcases worth of stuff that we are going to take with us to Argentina. After Janalee gets her two suitcases of shoes packed (or did she mean we are going to bring two suitcases full of shoes home?) the rest will be easy.

Enough for tonight – I still have a ton of work left to do before I leave Earth Force and Amelia needs to blow her nose (the same cold for 3 months). Good night to all – said Charlie Brown.

The Case of the Big Bump

2005-12-02T23:46:00.000-03:00

This what your head looks like when you fall on your face -- without breaking your fall with your hands. I am told that it is bad form to post photos of your kid with a big bump on her head -- but she was pretty proud of it and she got to come home from school early that day -- so it all worked out. And, no worries she is going to be just fine. The only strange side effect seems to be that Amelia wants to spell her name with a Q. I am not entirely sure where that comes from, but the good news is she is really excited about the alphabet.

Getting Ready To Go

2005-11-30T19:48:00.000-03:00

While the blog has been named "A Year in Mendoza", we are still spending a month in Washingtion, DC. The next six weeks will be spent furiously getting ready to move the three of us to Argentina for a year. When we first decided to move it seemed like a fairly good idea to move at the begining of the new year. I don't think we were really thinking about what it would take to move right after Christmas. In hindsight I have noticed that the holiday season is pretty busy without trying to rent your home, sell your car and pack everything you own into a 10 x 20 space.

Our focus this week is on trying to figure out what we need to get done before we go -- once we get the list worked out we will start doing everything. Seems like a good, if simple, plan. The truth is we won't do most of the things we need to do until way past the time we were supposed to have them done. Really, if we had started getting ready in June we would still have the same amount of work to do today. It is probably better that we didn't start earlier - we saved ourselves a lot of time that we would have spent worrying.

Since this is my first post and I haven't told anyone this bog exists, my guess is that no one will read this. Perhaps the next one will be longer and someone will read it. For now this blog is like a tree falling in the woods -- no one hears it -- not that you can hear a post on a blog anyway.....