La Recoleta Cemetario

This past summer I wandered the streets of Buenos Aires from Google Earth so that I could get more acquainted with the city. One of the places that I stumbled upon was the cemetery in Recoleta where the rows of tombs are beautifully carved and above ground for all to see. Today we had the privilege of having class in the cemetery! It was breathtakingly beautiful! After class, our assignment was to go off on our own in the cemetery and find something (anything) to write a story about. At first I was unsure of what I was going to write about, but then something caught my attention. There was one tomb where the glass was broken so I took a closer look inside and saw a disheartening display of vandalism such as broken glass, empty containers, ratted newspaper and just complete filth. It looked like a storage closet with a coffin inside. I was not phased by being in a cemetery all day, but this view suddenly made me feel a sort of pain in my heart. Who would do such a thing in what is considered, to some, a sacred place?

Only a small portion of the beautiful Recoleta cemetery

Inside the tomb I chose to write my story on. (The screen is leaning against the coffin)

As I stated in a previous blog, we are volunteering with the L.I.F.E. Argentina organization and helping kids get off the streets. I also vented in the past about how hectic it was to work with these children. Today; however, we went to a new location and things seemed to run more smoothly this time. It seemed that the event was more organized which allowed for less amounts of snapping at each other. I fell in love with this location and I just wanted to stop and take it all in. The area was a maze of dirt-paved alleys consisting of colorful clotheslines and unfinished brick houses. It is a perfect place to have this kind of an organization where they can help the children get an education and make something better of their lives. I am just filled with awe as I am thinking back on this opportunity. Especially thinking about how little they have and how content they are with their lives as well as how much can be done to help them. These children are precious and they deserve much more.

You can kind of get an idea of what this area looked like from behind a fellow peer.

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Coloring with the kids