First four days in Cordoba

Before I begin I have to apologise for the lack of pictures, I promise they will be on the way soon.

I have been in Cordoba for 4 days now. What a city! First impressions were that it feels a lot like Barcelona or Madrid. However, it is ridiculously hot here, almost unbearable when I have to wear trousers to work. At the moment it's averaging around 30 degrees, it's meant to get hotter next week...
One lasting impression I will have is the buses. As people will know, I avoid buses at every opportunity. Here, that is unavoidable. I will never be complaining about buses in the UK again. Every journey is an absolute nightmare, especially as the roads are jammed with pot-holes

The family I am staying with are very nice and accommodating. They cannot speak any English though, which means my Spanish has been pushed to the max. I am also living with an Australian girl who is on the same Project as me. She speaks no Spanish and watching her try to communicate is hilarious.

Before I arrived I had very little idea what my job was going to entail. I found out pretty quickly that I'm going to be working at a correctional facility for teenage boys. Most of the crimes they have committed are trivial things. However, as you can imagine I was pretty terrified for my first visit, especially as I was told to leave any valuable items at home as they will most likely nab them. On Monday I am visiting their houses in the slums of Cordoba. The aim is to get to know their families and build up a connection with them.

I also have to write 2 essays while I am here on human rights issues in Argentina. For some reason my Project Coordinator thinks I am really interested in military governments in Argentina. I am not. However, to keep up the facade I am writing my first essay on the Dirty War in the 70s in Argentina. It is most famous for the forced disappearances of up to 30,000 dissidents. It is well worth a look on Wikipedia as in the UK we know very little about what went on.

This weekend I am off to a Wine Festival in Mendoza with the Australian girl I am living with. There is a bike tour which we will take. I think that by the end I am going to be too sloshed to be riding a bike though! I will make sure I take lots of pictures.

Will be blogging again in a few days :)