UN AÑO DESPUÉS: ANNIVERSARY UPDATE

An iconic shot of the Caldén tree captured in the province of La Pampa
 (May 2011)

One year and one week ago, I landed for the first time at Ezeiza Airport in Buenos Aires, weepy for the community I was leaving behind in Providence but tremendously excited for the adventure that lay ahead in the Argentine Republic.

Lately and routinely, I return to Argentina in my dreams. My nocturnal escapades are certainly more cost effective but not nearly as satisfying as the actual months I spent there exploring, observing, questioning, building bridges.

The dreams, coupled with encouraging comments from several of you readers, have reminded me that I never closed this blog and that there is more to share. What happened? As you might recall, the entire project had a delayed beginning. Plus, my work (and play) as a Fulbright fellow snowballed in the final weeks of my stay, making it more difficult to keep up with postings. I had every intention of writing much more last August after I had returned to the U.S., but...but...excuses, excuses! Hey, maybe leaving the blog open and incomplete was an unconscious means of sustaining the experience.

That said, my goal this week is to post a daily, brief snapshot-memory from last year sprinkled with fresh thoughts from today. Let's see how this goes: Take 2!

Me, at Paul Cuffee School in enthusiastic storytelling mode presenting
a slideshow to the school community on what I learned in Argentina (December 2011)