More Questions

The questions just keep rolling in, even if about 90% are from one reader. Here is a sampling?

Q: What do you do without dressy clothes for the fancy performances?
A: It is true that we have nothing dressier than our zip-on pants and long sleeve t-shirts. We often look underdressed, but have not yet been thrown out. Some of the venues have had a no sandal policy, but sneakers seem to be fine. We won't be going to any black-tie events, and I doubt that we could get into many clubs, but we seem to be fine for cultural performances.

Q: How big are the maras (the giant guinea pig things)?
A: They are the size of a medium size dog and bigger than a cat. They probably weigh about 25 pounds. More information is available here.

Q: "That picture of the Welsh home looked like it was taken through Alice's Looking Glass! Is it for midgets?"
A: Once inside, it is actually tall enough to stand in comfortably, but I had to duck to go through doorways. People were a bit shorter then, but I think the first people there probably were not professional carpenters and did the best that they could.

Q: How come most of the Welsh settlers went to Canada?
A: The came to Argentina so that they could live how they wanted without being bothered by the government. Eventually, technology meant that the government of Argentina tried to start imposing laws and rule on them as well, so most of them then left for Canada.

Q: Did people speak English in the Welsh tea house?
A: Some, but many people in Argentina speak English. The Welsh villages didn't actually speak that much English--mostly Welsh. You can still find some people around who speak Welsh and some signs, but everyone learns Spanish as their first language.

Q: What is Agosto on that sign picture that Tara posted?
A: Yeah, I wouldn't know if I wasn't married to a playwright. August: Osage County is a broadway play that Tara loves and that has been a critical success in New York. If you don't live in New York, you have probably never heard of it.

Q: What exactly is mate?
A: It is a plant and they use the leaves to brew this crazy tea.

Q: Do the two of you ever fight?
A: Just about everyday. Mostly when we are lost, because one of us wants to buy something that the other does not, or because one of us wants to go somewhere that the other one does not. Most of these fights are short and we have no lasting problems. I have traveled with a lot of people and the fights were exactly the same, so it has little to do with the two of us...