Work:  My stomach improved enough on Friday to go back to the lab, although in the morning we had to run around chasing the elusive student visa, and spend 200 pesos for the privilege this time.  On Monday morning, we again went for more student visa stuff, and this time we actually got our temporary student visas!  The sad thing is, after all this effort, we are going to have to stop the process before we go back home, so we will never actually get the real student visa.  In the afternoon, I met with a couple of people down the hall who work with a different grid system.  However, I can’t use my certificate on their system.  They also informed me that they use Globus middleware, which is the same middleware that LAGrid uses, but different from the gLite middleware that EELA uses.  At least, when I get access to LAGrid, I now have a good contact to use when I get involved with the Globus middleware on that grid.  They told me that they have a node with the grid version with MPI, which I would like to get familiar with, but then said it is currently unavailable to use.  They said they have a cluster that I might be able to access, but I am already familiar with cluster computing.  As for LAGrid, the system administrator at FAU is still in the process of setting up access for that and coordinating with the FIU system administrator.  For now, I guess I’ll have to stick with the Winston Churchill quote: “Success is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm”.

Weekend Dining:  So with my stomach not at its best, it was only fitting that we had two dining adventures planned for the weekend.  Luckily, I survived both without any problem.  But first, on Friday night, Ingrid and I went looking for someplace to eat, with me keeping an eye out for somewhere that served rice, to settle my stomach.  After walking quite a while, we ended up at a place quite close to our apartments called “Mozzarella’s”.  I ordered the “arroz con pollo” (that’s rice with chicken, for all you gringos out there).  It wasn’t quite the Cuban style you find in South Florida, but more of an Italian style with some cheese and tomato sauce.  Regardless, I found it quite good and easy on the stomach.  The next day, on the way to the first planned dinner, we stopped at Plaza Italia, where they have the small Saturday flea market going on.  Surprisingly, they had an area where people sell puppies of many varieties.

On Saturday, we went to Gabriela’s (from LIFIA) home, where she and her mother gave us expert lessons on how to make empanadas (Tucuman style).  We made lots and lots of them, with varying degrees of expertise.  Actually, I just watched and made fun of the others, since I have trouble even boiling water.  A little while later, we were enjoying the spoils of our efforts, and after dinner, Gabriela entertained us with stories from when her mother visited her in Europe and they traveled together.

Sunday, it was time for Ingrid and Simone to cook everyone a Jamaican dinner.  This took place at the home of Andres (also from LIFIA).  After buying the closest ingredients they could find to the Jamaican ones, they cooked a wonderful dinner.  It was somewhat spicier than most of the natives were used to, but there was almost nothing left over when dinner was through.  For dessert, there was a big stack of the native panqueques, served with dulce de leche.

So the weekend was filled with good food, good drink, and good friends (and, thankfully, good health).  What more can one ask for?