Fog rising from the Snake River south of Jackson, Wyoming
Snow forecast for Utah tonight, time to get out of town again. We had snow in Jackson a couple weeks ago too. On our way out of that town, I made this picture.
Next on the flight deck: Argentina. R has a science meeting in San Carlos de Bariloche, and we are enrolling in Spanish language school for a few days prior to the meeting. I learned French in school, not Spanish, a curious and regretable decision I made in seventh grade, considering that I am a westerner and there is a lot more call for speaking Spanish. So to get ready for this trip, we've been studying. R turns on Azteca America on tv while he works out and reads Argentine Google news, while for the last 18 months I've been listening to La Gran D on the car radio.
At first, all I could understand was the station identification numbers. I remembered from my immersion experience in France that it takes a while for my brain to parse noise into syllables. I began to understand a few words, I looked them up in my dictionary, and listened for a few more. This is not a recommended approach to learning a language, but I now can understand "offer not available in all areas" and "on approved credit." Progress perhaps, but hardly useful traveling vocabulary.
Willie and Victor
Last week, I was able to ask Willie and Victor the sheepherders their names and how many sheep were in the band and understand the answer. They seemed to love having their photos made, even in the pouring rain. But I want to know more: where are they from, where'd they learn to ride a horse, and how did they get to Utah? I doubt I'll learn that much Spanish in a week, but I'll make a start.
It will be spring in Bariloche, which is at the feet of the Patagonias. Wonder if we'll get a late spring snow? Regardless, Monday is an Argentine holiday, Dia de la Raza, Columbus Day turned into a celebration of hispanic heritage. So our first day of school is a holiday - can't make a better start than that.
