Thanks to those good people out there!

A few weeks ago I took a mini vacation to a small coastal city 5 hours away called Mar del Plata. There was an annual film festival happening, plus beach! We went as a group of four (Pablo, Eliana, Yanina and myself) and hoped to stay with someone using CouchSurfing. Pablo emailed a few Mar del Platanos (that’s not what they're called, I just think it sounds cute), and one “Leonardo Something-Italian-That-Sounds-Very-Much-Like-Dicaprio” responded. He offered Pablo and our crew an entire empty apartment for free!! This wasn’t a joke and there was no catch. We got a fully furnished apartment with four beds four blocks from the beach for free for five days. Not only that but this Leonardo D took us out on a boat with his family, then to a big barbeque. On our last day he took us on a driving tour around the city and schlepped us to the train station. Incredible generosity!

It was wonderful to get out of the city for a little while and take in some great big waves and a few foreign films.

While waiting on line for one of the films, someone in our group befriended a local guy named Cristian who became our buddy for the next few days. An artist, Cristian’s first gallery show had just opened and he took us after hours and showed us his work. For months I had been on the market to buy a small original piece of art for my professor Alice Benston who lost her husband George this past year. Alice, one of my favorite people in the world, and her husband were together great supporters of arts of all kinds and their home is nothing less than a museum. I told Cristian the story of Alice and George and asked what he’d charge for a small painting. He liked the story so much that he insisted on making something original with her in mind! The next night we met up again and he brought me a finished black and white ink painting for Alice.




As many of you know, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday! I love the idea of getting together to actively give thanks. For me it often offers something of a New Year which I use to appreciate what I have rather than think about all the things I’d like to change. I decided months ago that I wanted to share Thanksgiving with all my international friends. With tons of help from Pablo, Laura, and others, a great feast came together! We had over 15 guests and A LOT of food. Though a turkey could not be obtained, we made some delicious chickens with apple pecan stuffing and real gravy. Others brought killer pumpkin pies, sweet potatoes, salads, desserts, homemade sangria… we had a mix of friends, students, friends of friends, Americans, Argentines, Bolivians, Kiwis, Germans, French… I think everyone really enjoyed it. I know I did. Still I’m really looking forward to an Thanksgiving with the Mindess/Sugarman clans next year :)