Raja and I have started volunteering at a place called Fundacion Banco de Alimentos. We're working in the warehouse, packaging food and other products to be distributed to food shelves and soup kitchens around Buenos Aires. It's a pretty cool operation that takes in over 250,000 kilos of food per month!
Our route to get to our volunteer site has been an exciting transportation challenge. First we walk about 40 minutes, then we hop on the suburban train at Scalabrini Ortiz Station towards Villa Rosa, we travel 4 stops and get off at Munro Station, and walk another 15 minutes or take bus #333. In total, approximately one hour and 30 minutes door to door.
On our walk, we've had a chance to discover some of the greener areas of Buenos Aires. Although you're not allowed to walk inside the Golf Course (think high chain link fence), the Campo de Golf provides a green lush respite from city noise and traffic. And the Lago de Regatas has lots of joggers, fishers, and families who enjoy the birds and plants around the lake. Then we walk through a little neighborhood of houses and apartment complexes before arriving at the Parque de las Americas and crossing a pedestrian bridge to Scalabrini Ortiz station, which is located in the middle of the highway.
The first day I did this route by myself and got quite lost. The most humbling moment was when I stood on the wrong platform and watched my train go by. Why? Because the trains here were built by the British and thus travel on the left and not the right like in the US. One way cost for the train trip is 75 centavos or less than 25 American cents. Wow!
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