Growing up in Minnesota, springtime was more of a concept than a reality. Despite the calendar passing from equinox to solstice, the weather tended to teeter totter between extended winter mode and a soggy, mushy, muddy, gray and drawn-out thaw. When it started to feel like spring, we were probably actually bordering on summer. Anyway, all of this is building up to help explain my awe towards springtime in Cordoba. The trees have been taking turns showing off their colorful blooms in a rather methodical way throughout the past two months. One week all the light magenta trees were in full bloom; the next week the trees with the red flowers that resemble pipe cleaners; after that, the lavender-colored ones; and so on. It's like they had a tree meeting where they all got together and decided which weeks each flower color would blossom this year so as to not overlap. As I'm sure the Minnesota trees put on a show this fall with all their colors, so have the trees down here in the southern hemisphere. In conclusion: October still holds the title of Best Month of the Year, no matter where you are in the world.
Besides tree watching, this spring I've also been able to travel a bit to the mountains of Cordoba and the Tigre delta in Buenos Aires as I helped out with some English camps. I also obtained permanent residency after only three trips to the local immigration office, the last one being on my birthday (there are worse things one could do on their birthday, but there are also many things that are much better than spending two hours at the immigration office on one's birthday). We wallpapered one wall in our bedroom and live to tell the tale. Our little kitten has gained a few kilos, and we've planted some basil, oregano, parsley, and other herbs. Emi's football team won the league championship in Cordoba and in the coming weeks the Cordoba city team will face off against Rosario and Buenos Aires. It has been an eventful springtime, and perhaps the most exciting thing for Argentina this spring has been the presidential election.
As predicted in the August primary, the incumbent would not come out on top. This means there will be a new president in December with a new economic policy and the whole works. For the time being, the bank is maintaining the exchange rate around 60 pesos per US dollar by placing a strict limit on the number of dollars that people can withdraw/buy. There were predictions that the rate was going to skyrocket to 90 pesos per dollar after the election, but that hasn't happened (yet?) mainly due to this intervention. Time will tell how the new president and his
peronist policies are received. I know many
Cordobeses whose expectations are low but are trying really hard to stay optimistic.
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| Roses everywhere! |
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