Argentina Goodbyes

Our time in Argentina was absolutely wonderful.  It is an amazing place to visit and travel to, while at the same time it was really special for us to meet so much family.  Jonathan had met some of the family in Argentina previously as a child, as some of the family visited them in New York after Jonathan's father died and also before Jonathan's grandfather died.  But to be able to know them as an adult, and to be able to spend so much time with them was really awesome.  I cannot say enough about all of the family in Argentina.  They were so welcoming and generous to Jonathan and I, and we have certainly created memories we will never forget and relationships we hope will continue to grow.  The word family has several different meanings.  In one sense, it means nothing more than shared genetics.  In another sense, it means everything.  They are the people in your life that you can rely on and trust, the people you share with the most important experiences in your life, and the people you love spending time with an care to be close to.  The family we met in Argentina absolutely blew us away.  It was so special to spend so much time talking, eating (a lot, of course), telling stories, and creating new memories together.  They are family in the truest sense and Jonathan and I will forever be grateful for all they did for us.  In our last few days in Argentina we had to go around and say goodbye to all the family in Buenos Aires.  It was really sad :(.  It's hard to say goodbye and kind of strange to know that you wont see them for several years.  A lot of the family has email and is on facebook, so we hope to keep in touch until we can all visit again. 

Here are a few photos of our time with Graciela, Jon's mom's first cousin.  They live a few blocks from where we stayed in Rafael Calzada, so we spent several afternoons with them :). 

Here are a few pictures we took at Tino's (Nora's brother and Jonathan's mother's first cousin) home when we went over to say goodbye:

Jonathan and I made an American style BBQ for Nora and Jorge's family as a way to begin to say thank you for everything, and of course, to imperialize Argentina with American food :).  Jon made some delicious hamburgers (for a country that eats so much beef, it's surprising that they don't really do good hamburgers) and I made macaroni and cheese.

Here's a photo of Jon being the grill master and the family enjoying their lunch.  I also put in a few photos we took with Nora, Jorge, and Sebastian right before leaving for the airport.  How I miss them so already!!!