Hace Frio

Winter is in full swing. This week we’re having the coldest days of the year so far. The low temps are around freezing and the highs are upper 40’s (degrees F). The morning news headlines this week are all about snow - apparently snow is falling in Buenos Aires, just not in Ballester. The weather doesn’t sound too bad in comparison to what I’m accustom to in the mountains back home, but it feels so much colder than the thermometers read. The big differences are the high humidity and the lack of indoor heating. Many buildings don’t have heating systems like most buildings in the US have. Most indoor heating here consists of a gas space heater. I have one in my apartment and it keeps me warm enough. It doesn’t blow out heat though, so I put a fan in front of it to carry the heat a little farther. I also turn the oven on sometimes to help warm it up. In the mornings, I’m grateful for the sun beating in my windows heating the apartment. Another way I warm up is by going for a run.

I’m sharing this with you not to complain, but in attempt to convey to you the Buenos Aires winter. As I’m freezing at the comedor (this morning, I could actually see my breath inside the building), it dawned on me that it’s probably like that in most of the homes of the children in that barrio. I’ve never been to their homes, but I know they aren’t built to keep the heat in - most are probably built from scraps (wood, corrugated metal, cinder block/brick if they’re lucky). And most of them probably don’t have nice gas heaters like I have in my home. I feel very grateful for the heating I’ve had in my homes in the US and it is one of the things I’m looking forward to when I return, even though I’m not going to need it since it’s summer there. In realizing how cold the homes are of these children whom I love so much, my thoughts and complaints of “I’m so cold” or “it’s so cold” have faded. I can suck it up for 6 hours a day. These children have to live with it 24/7.