16 June 2013 - First week in Argentina

So we are officially settled in now in Santa Fe.  Monday was my first day of work at the university.  Here is the building I work in.  It is very large, and comprises the schools of engineering, science and technology.  It's actually laid out kind of like UVU, where it's all one large continuous building, but with open spaces and walkways that connect the various parts of the building together.  It covers the entire city block.

This is my office.  Pretty fancy huh?

The office does come with a great view of the lagoon.  There's a parrot building a nest in the tree on the left.  Sometimes I get distracted watching it work.

Having fully embraced their geeky-ness, the university has themed their cafeteria after The Big Bang Theory. Good food and lots of geeky company to be found here.

I was walking around campus at lunch one day, and this university van reminded me too much of the TV show Lost, so I had to take a picture.

This is our apartment building.  The university fixed us up with the penthouse on the 13th (top) floor.  The ring you can see going around the top is our wrap-around balcony.  You can walk around the entire building on the balcony for 360 degree views of the city.

Here is one view of the city of Santa Fe from the balcony.  The population of Santa Fe is larger than I had originally thought -- about 350,000.

This is looking over the edge of the balcony.  It's a little dizzying.

The girls have been enjoying the amenities of the apartment, along with exploring the city while I'm at work each day.

It's not all vacation and comfort though.  Very few people have clothes dryers in Argentina, and we're no exception.  Most of our clothing has to be line dried and ironed.

The girls have found time to explore many of the city parks.  While playing at one this week, Madeline slipped and hit her arm on one of the steel pipes.  We had to take her to the hospital for an x-ray.  She wasn't too keen on 3rd world medicine, but we were relieved that it wasn't broken and we only had to treat it with ice and ibuprofen.

Last week I posted a Kika store and Madeline stuffed animal store.  This week the girls found a bonboneria -- a candy shop.  Emily appreciated this store very much.  We all did.

We have a store with a great name across the street from our apartment.  The bishop informs us that the guy who owns the store is so tired of missionaries going in there and telling him that his store is religious.  It's a kitchen counter and cabinet store.

On the walk home from church, the girls found some big flowering trees.  Madeline stood next to this one so it would look like she was wearing a giant flower in her hair.

In primary on Sunday, the kids made me Father's Day treasure chests.  There was lots of chocolate inside, which I appreciated.  The primary president has two kids, so with Emily and Madeline, there were four kids in primary on Sunday.  The primary president speaks English, so it was a fine experience for the kids.

On Sunday afternoon, the girls made me a steak dinner and topped it off with an orange cake that tasted remarkably like Froot Loops.  It was a very fine Father's Day gift.