Thursday 3-17-11

Hola Parientes!

Today we visited an organization known as Le Dor Va Dor, an organization that was vital in supporting the Jewish community after the economic crisis in Argentina of 2001. The organization houses both babies (Baby Help) and elderly who cannot afford basic services on their own. We were given the opportunity to play with the babies and make arts and crafts with the elderly (some of us wanted to take the babies home!). Amelia, a 94 year old woman, spoke to us about her sons and sang songs in Spanish to us (Noa and Dana). Sharing laughs and exchanging stories, we also found out that one of the women had a facebook page and wanted us to send her the photos that we took during the time we volunteered. It was interesting to observe both the similarities and differences that we shared with community members--both because we are Jewish and because we could have been victims of the economic crisis as well.

In the afternoon, we drove over to Palermo Soho, a hip neighborhood full of small boutiques and cafes where we were given free time to explore and enjoy ourselves. With full stomachs, we then headed over to the shelters of Iealdeinu. It was our second day working with the kids, and with bonds already established, we were able to easily transition into playing games and helping them with their memory boxes and photograph folders.Iealdeiunu provided us with one of the most memorable aspects of the trip so far--several of the kids even called the students their best friends, and were clearly sad at our departure.

After three or four hours of good fun, we headed over to Hillel Belgrano for some schnitzel, rice, and salad for dinner. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel, relaxed, and got ready to explore the incredible nightlife provided by Argentina. Los Argentinos saben como bailar!

Hasta mañana!

Noa, Dana, and Amanda