1. Arrival in Capioví

March 15th and 16th, 2018

Yesterday, Alta (my contact person and former German teacher in Capioví) and her husband picked us up from Foz do Iguacu airport. The smallest airport I have seen in a long time. The two were already waiting for us and hugged us warmly. Alta calls her husband "Papi", but unfortunately, I don't know his real name. They both speak very good German, and you can clearly hear the Swiss dialect, in addition to the Argentine accent. The two lived in Switzerland for 32 years, and their son still lives there. Unfortunately, Alta's husband has Parkinson's disease, so they are back here now, and she stopped working last November. That's why Marylin is responsible for me as a teacher, who comes to Capioví several times a week from Puerto Rico for German lessons since Alta stopped. I have already written to her and will meet her on Monday. On the way, the two showed us every hotel in the area, and let me tell you, it was a lot during the 3-hour drive! Their relationship reminds me a bit of the parents of Emperor Franz Josef from the Sissi films, especially him!

When we arrived in Capioví, we settled Alex in the "Castillo" (small castle), the town's hotel, and then they took me to my host family: Sonia (the mom), Rocío (the daughter), and three happily jumping dogs. Despite asking three times, I still don't know their names. I fell into bed like a rock!

This morning, I had a little time to myself, as Rocío was at school and Sonia was at the doctor's. When Sonia came back, I had breakfast and we chatted a bit. She told me that her grandparents came to Germany. It's not uncommon. "Papí" told me yesterday that both Capioví and Puerto Rico were founded by Swiss and German immigrants after the two world wars. Therefore, many people here understand a little German or at least speak a few words. To demonstrate, Alta asked the border officer on the way, "Do you speak German?" and he answered, "a little bit."

Later, we went shopping. There was sooooo much candy and sooooo much tea in the supermarket. After unpacking the suitcases, we had delicious ravioli with vegetable sauce. In the scorching midday heat, I then took Alex to the bus, which will take him to Oberá in a 3-hour drive. On the way back, I could already notice that what Sonia told me in the morning while shopping is true, and here, "everyone greets everyone." I still need to get used to that!

Now I'm lying on the bed, and with the air conditioning on full blast, we're taking a siesta. So far, what I've heard from other volunteers has been confirmed: you take a lot of time for everything. Let's see how the next few days turn out.

Tomorrow, I plan to go to Eldorado, a city further north in Misiones, with the volunteers who have been here for 6 months to meet Franzi, who has just arrived as a new volunteer there. Then I will ride the bus for the first time! I'll keep you updated ;*