I flat out adore this job. Infact, I think that I am not going to use the word “job” to describe it. Even though it is on Saturdays, I don’t mind going in at all. I even look forward to it.
First I translating their web site, and their pamphlets that they give out at the house, into English. I did that on first contact with them. If they are still looking for Clara Anahi, they need the word to get out in Engish as well as Spanish. With such a small support system and staff however, I don’t know how long it will be until the web site goes up. Keep y’all posted.
I have previously explained exactly what the house is, and what it entails and demonstrates, so i won’t bore you again with those incredibly interesting and amazing details. And honestly, I pretty much just go there, and hang out with the people who are currently working as guides on Saturday afternoons and learn about the place as much as I can, so that I can be a guide as well. The whole association is volunteer, so there is no real formal training. Just listening and learning and hearing some pretty amazing stories (many of the people who work there were inolved in the underground movements that were persecuted by the government in the 70’s and 80’s and have fascinating stories.
The musuem is actually closing sometime in May and will reopen…well I am not sure when, knowing Argentine time, but hopefully sometime during June. They are closing it to do renovation/preservation work on the house. They finally after years and years of struggle (and a president who is finally extremely sympathetic to human rights abuses, being a Montenero – underground movement during the 70’s – herself) they finally managed to get the house into the registry for historic documents, which also means the government is obliged to give you some sort of subsidy for maintainence. They will also have a little money to possibly higher an official guide (with me to help with the english language part) for more than 3 hours a week.
Again, on my own time I have been writing to many of the travel sights and promoting the house…to the important point where LONELY PLANET (you all know how much i love those guys) wrote me back and said they would like to come and check the place out, and that it sounded like really unique experience! I am going to discuse it with the people at the Asociacion Anahi, but I would like to write an press release in Spanish and one in English to send out when they reopen the museum, to help spread the word across the world and get them more recognition and support.
I really do love this job, and the people I have the opportunity of working with are hands down incredible. In a few weeks a woman is coming to speak at the house…actually lived in the house up until 4 months before it was bombed out. She was 8 years old. Her parents worked on the printing press with the people in the house. She moved to France right before the attack. And she wrote a book about the experience in French. And it was just translated into Spanish and the woman is coming here to speak later this month. I will keep you all updated. And I can’t wait to get the book in Spanish and read it! OH DON’T WORRY…I am not ambitious enough to attempt the translation of an entire book into English….ha ha ha!
