The Road to Pergamino

I’ve been traveling a lot recently for my job. It is hard to complain about going to nice places and meeting with interesting and smart people. In the past few months, I’ve gone to a conference at Penn State University, two different meetings in Washington DC, and a conference in Los Angeles. And now I’m writing this blog on a bus traveling from Buenos Aires to Pergamino, Argentina.

¡El camino hacia el pergamino!

Last week I helped teach a metabolomics workshop to graduate students and postdocs in Buenos Aires. These are always fun but also a lot of work! I taught about 4 hours each day for the week and also spent extra time in the class meeting students and listening to other lectures. I’ve done several of these workshops over the years in different places, and no matter how much I prepare before, I’m always making last minute changes in my hotel room during the nights. Yes, I’m very lucky to be able to travel to one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Yes, I really enjoy the great restaurants and nice wine. But, it is hard work and can get very tiring. Normally, I’d be heading to the airport now to return home.

Gaucho rawhide braiding book given to me by my friend Jorge

Figure in the braiding book.

Figure in Argentinean braiding book.

Five years ago my wife and I spent 6 weeks in Argentina on a trip sponsored by a Fulbright grant. Argentina has the best rawhide braiders in the world, and during that trip, I tried to arrange time in a workshop of a gaucho rawhide braiding expert, but I never was able to do it. My good friend Jorge, who hosted the last visit, has a brother who collects and shows gaucho equipment, and this time he found a master braider, Maximo (Machi) Prado, who would give me lessons.

I’m now sitting in a bus listening to conversations in Spanish and some nice Argentinean music on someone’s boom box. I will soon meet Machi, and he will teach me gaucho rawhide braiding in his shop in Pergamino for the next 4 days! I couldn’t be happier or more excited! Stay tuned for updates.