Gripe

Gripe (in Spanish), aka the Swine Flu, aka H1N1 (oh so politically correct), has been all the rage here in Argentina for the past couple of weeks. Last Friday, the death toll in Argentina was 44. As the regular flu season continues, & it indeed seems to be a bad one, the media is doing a wonderful job of reminding everyone about the swine flu epademic. At the first sign of sniffles, people are rushing to the hospital to make sure it's not the deadly N1H1.

All schools have been let out & the government has issued safety recommendations such as staying a meter away from each other at all times, not having public gatherings, washing your hands (origional!) & wearing masks. Talk is that the government may decide all stores must close & public meetings be suspended for as long as 3 weeks. Interesting that the government didn't begin making a scene until directly after the elections 2 weeks ago.

Last night Beth & the other CA leaders decided to suspend the Intensive seminar we have been preparing for. But because a deposit has already been put down for the retreat location, Beth & I along with the other leaders are still going up Sunday-Tuesday. It's a beautiful place in the mountains. I'm looking forward to a change of pace & scenery =).

Although I am skeptical of all the Gripe hype, I certainly hope it doesn't affect my trip home in 3 weeks. So please pray things begin to calm & return to normal.

I'm beginning to work on my final report for the internship. In doing so I'm reminded that I still have a life back in Tallahassee. This summer has been a chain of events so unlike any I've ever experience. Part of me finds it unbelievable that I'll be going back to anything remotely similar to what I'm used to.

~Michaela Rae