Today, I had the opportunity to finally meet the Zvaigs, members of our extended family who live in Buenos Aires. I had been communicating with them via email since I began planning my trip to Argentina, and Silvia, one of the cousins, did come meet me at the airport last week to help me find my way. But today we finally had the chance to sit down and talk. After years of receiving our annual Rosh Hashanah card from South America, I got to meet Adolfo, the patriarch of this part of the family. He brought pictures of the family and had lots of questions about "los Zweigs del Norte" (the Zweigs of the North). This week marks Adolfo's sixtieth year as a doctor, and he is also the grandfather of Silvia and Reuben's three children.
With Silvia and Adolfo
We had a great lunch together, and then we went on a driving tour of Buenos Aires and the surrounding province. I got to see the places that are important to my family-- the kids' school, their home, the place with the good Italian ice cream-- and got more context about life in Argentina. Many people here belong to "clubs," which function like a JCC or YMCA in the United States, with places to play different sports, shower, and socialize. It also appears that the children and adults have lots of activities in and out of school and work.
The spelling changes between the names-- Zweig in the United States and Zvaig here--preserves the same pronunciation in both languages. In Spanish, the "zw" combination is even more confusing than in English. Adolfo said when the family came from the "old country" (generally agreed upon as Lithuania, but border changes make it difficult to tell), everyone had to figure out how to spell their names in the new languages. Other members of the family ended up with "Swaig" and other combinations. Though I'm still a little shaky on exactly how we are related, I think that Adolfo's father was a cousin of my grandfather Elmer's father in the old country. It is my understanding that Adolf's family couldn't get a visa into the U.S., so they went to Argentina instead.
For me, it was just nice to know that there is family here in case I need anything. Building networks of support is an important step in getting acclimated in a new place, and knowing that my family is nearby for whatever I need is incredibly comforting. One of the reasons I chose to study in Argentina was to get to know the "Zvaigs of the South." By learning more about our family here, I am able to use the study abroad experience to learn more about my own family history.