Where to begin....this trip seems to be all about people...

When I decided to take this trip I thought it would be great fun to return to Argentina to learn Spanish, revisit a lovely country, meet artists and volunteer in the medical clinic in La Rioja that I visited two years ago with a group from Nova Southeastern University College of Osteopathic Medicine. I think when you plan too carefully the planning can get in the way of a multitude of experiences you might miss because of your plans......so I contacted an old friend and asked her to join me on my semi-planned adventure. To my great surprise and pleasure she agreed to join me. To say that in the short time since our departure we have had a world of unplanned experiences would be an understatement.

So to begin....the flight from home to Buenos Aires would have been less then memorable except for the young American woman of Brazilian/Swiss descent sitting next to me, who was studying for the MCAT exam. During the flight we talked about the practice of medicine and what her alternatives might be. A great opportunity to discuss osteopathic medicine. An idea she had not considered, but I believe she may now investigate....one for the good guys! Upon arrival in Buenos Aires the excellent driver sent by Universidad de Barcelo was kind enough to give my new acquaintance a ride to San Telmo (the area of Buenos Aires most famous for Tango) where she was meeting friends at the youth hostel. As she departed with her backpack I thought how fortunate I was to be headed to something more civilized like a real hotel....little did I know that my adventure would soon parallel my young friend's.

Although Buenos Aires was quite cool for my South Florida blood my friend (who thankfully arrived within about 5 minutes of me) and I were able to spend a relaxing day in Buenos Aires seeing the amazing architecture, the beautiful murals at the Galleria Pacifico and wandering through store after store of Argentine leather goods, crafts and food. Finding a "local" phone to use while in Argentina was the beginning of what has been an electronic challenge. After several phone calls about local phones to determine where I should buy a sim card for the phone I brought with me we headed off to find a phone store....we of course I would find out picked exactly the wrong one.....we spent a couple of hours going back and forth and up and down in the phone store only to find out the phone that someone from the states loaned to me for the trip had a passcode I did not have....more phone calls later pass code in hand I felt confident I would have a working phone for La Rioja.....wrong.....Anyway, we were well rested the next day for our trip to La Rioja. A very good thing......stay tuned......