Thursday of week fourteen was my last day of school. After school, I talked to our class advisor one last time and he wished me "feliz vacaciones." Then some classmates asked me if I liked to shoot pool and I said yeah and we headed to the pool hall down the block. When we were finished I returned home and while I was on the bus I realized that it was Thanksgiving. What's Turkey-Day without turkey? I guess it's the first day of summer vacation.
Saturday was my 18th birthday. I told my family here that I didn't want a party or anything big. All I really wanted when Saturday came around was to teleport home for 24 hours. Skype was the next best thing, and it was nice talking to my whole family at once. I introduced my host family to my real one... what a trip that was! I was able to translate the little thoughts that each end was able to come up with. That evening, Lucas came by to wish me a happy birthday. He told me to come over to his house the next day, so I did.
Lucas greeted me at the door with a 2006 Racing Club jersey, signed by all of the players from that season's team. What an awesome gift, right? It was a long time coming, but the signed jersey placed my fandom in the corner of Racing Club de Avelleneda. Our neighborhood friend and fellow Racing supporter, Dante, was also at Lucas' house. Dante is the craziest fan I have ever met. When questioned "illness on a family member or a championship season for Racing," he chooses Racing. During games, he holds a lucky spoon in his hand and waves it at the TV screen when the other team is attacking. It's awesome.
On thursday, Lucas came over to see what I was up to. I had no plans, and he told me that Dante was acting in a show at 9 and suggested we go see it. We went over to Tobias' house to get Tobias and headed off to the theater. The play was called "La Fiaca." It was about a guy who just won't go to work, not because he has a stomach ache, or a fever, but because he has "fiaca." It was pretty hard to follow the dialogue but I got the larger picture and Dante was very funny and very natural on stage. After the show ended we greeted him and told him that he had to come with us to see Racing the next day. It didn't matter if he didn't have the money for the ticket, we would pay for him.
The next day I threw on my Racing jersey after lunch and headed over to Lucas' house. From there we got Dante and walked to the train station. We arrived in Avelleneda at around 6 and walked the 8 blocks to the stadium. We got there about 3 hours early because we wanted to be sure to be able to get our tickets. We bought our tickets and headed out to find something to eat. Then we returned to the stadium and waited for them to open the gate. At around 7:30, they opened it and we went through the security check and looked around for a spot with a good view. We settled on a spot and sat and waited for kickoff.
The stadium slowly filled with people and I could feel the anticipation building in the air. I turn to Dante and he is very nervous, almost shaking. At around 8:45, 30 minutes til kickoff, the stadium is full and everyone is singing. I look around and people in the upper sections are hanging up their flags. Above us, people were preparing the giant flag that is a tradition in Racing's stadium. I mean GIANT flag: http://sp3.fotolog.com/photo/3/45/68/tecomolaboca_09/1256309287483_f.jpg
With about 5 minutes until kickoff, the giant flag starts cascading, people helping it down on it's way. It covers us up for a few minutes until they pull it back up just in time for us to see Racing take the field. When this happened, confetti machines around the field filled the air with blue and white. People shot off the fire works they managed to sneak through the security check. We watched the players take their spots on the field through the blue haze caused by people's smoke machines.
Some 15 minutes into the game I experienced my first professional goal. The stadium errupted. Lucas hugged me and then Dante and then the people in front of us. We were screaming, jumping with joy. Dante let out a shout of what must have been relief. A few minutes into the second half, Racing scored again. It was on the other end of the stadium but we saw it perfectly. The two goal lead didn't stop Dante from throwing up his devil horns at every corner kick that the other team had. With about 2 minutes left in the game, the giant flag came down once more and people were going nuts underneath it. They pulled it back up just in time for us to hear the final whistle and we sang one more song and applauded our team.
Monday, December 6, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
weeks twelve and thirteen
On Thursday of week twelve I had soccer practice. I went to Lucas' house after for a glass of juice and at 10, I headed out so I would be back in time for dinner. As I turned onto my street I heard a kissing noise, so I turned to look. It was really dark, as my street isn't lighted, but I made out two women on my corner. I biked down my street until I reached the gate, and I looked at the corner and saw a girl waving. I was a little confused because I couldn't see very well. I wasn't sure if she was waving at me or what, so I waved back to see if that would do anything. She started walking towards me. She stepped into a patch of light and I noticed she was very fat, so I opened the mailbox to grab the keys. They weren't there. By this time she was close enough for me to see that she was in fact a he. I started ringing the doorbell like a madman. My dad was a little slow answering the door, and the transvestite prostitute got her question in, "Quieres algo?" (want anything?) I was flipping out. I think I managed to say no and then finally the door opened, and it left. As it was walking away I showed my dad and we shared a laugh.
My classmates and teammates had a good laugh at this story, too. They all know the kissing noise means run away. I didn't, but I do now.
On sunday I went to Buenos Aires for the first time since the day I flew in. I went with the German boy and his consejero. We met up with the AFS kids who were waiting for their bus to Iguazu Falls. We walked around a mall with them for about an hour until they had to leave. We ate at McDonalds inside of the mall, and the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese I had hit the spot. Then we left the mall to explore the city. Everything was very expensive, and I saw a lot of tourists. Most signs were in Spanish with English translations beneath. We walked a crowded street with vendors and their tables. I found an awesome pair of old sunglasses and asked how much. The guy told me 300. I said ok and then he said dollars. "Armani originals, 1200 pesos." Haha yeah right, thanks anyways.
We took the subway to a place where we could get a nice view of the skyline. It was quite nice. My friend's consejero said "Buenos Aires has many old buildings and new buildings" and we all laughed at how silly of a statement that was, but I got what he meant. Looking at the skyline there were very beautiful old buildings mixed in with very modern, fancy buildings. By the end of the day, we were all very tired. I was happy to return to La Plata. I called my house when we were close, so my dad would come pick me up from the bus station.
I was waiting for about a half hour, and my mom called me saying that he had left right after I called. I knew something had happened. He came running up and informed me that the car caught on fire when he was coming to pick me up. We walked to the car to get the chairs out of the trunk. The hood was a wreck, and the front windshield was shattered. "Are you ok!?" "Si." He said it started smoking first, so he got out. Anyways, we took a cab home.
So what happened with the soccer thing is this: I came into the picture past the deadline for adding new players, so Luis had been seeking an illegal way to get me into a game. I didn't have a DNI (an Argentine ID card) and there was no way he could put a passport number down on the roster without the ref noticing. So he said I needed to try to obtain one in order to be able to play. Yeah right, I thought. How could I get a DNI when I'm not Argentine? We tried, though. On Monday of week thirteen, we went to the government office for DNIs but they just sent us to Immigrations. Immigrations told us it is a really long process and it could be completed by April at the earliest. I wasn't going to give up, though.
We went to the league office that night, and spoke with the vice-president of the league. We told him the situation and he was sympathetic. I had prepared an entire speech for changing his mind, but he said everything I wanted to hear. He said they had never had this case before, and that the rules of the league all state DNI as the part you need to be officially rostered. He said there is a league meeting in early December with all the presidents of the clubs, and he would present the idea of making an exception for me to play with my passport. As I shook his hand and thanked him for his time, he said "I hope you play." It was nice knowing that I have him on my side. All I can do is wait. I've learned not to get my hopes up with the soccer thing anymore, but I have a feeling I will be good to go come next season in February. If I do end up playing, I will be the first foreigner to play in the Liga Amateur Platense in 97 years!
On Sunday, I went with my parents and Marco to see Gimnasia play against Velez. Velez is top of the league, so I was expecting to finally see my first goal in a professional game. The stadium is within walking distance, so we set off down the traintracks towards the stadium. All of the stray dogs in our street followed us; into the stadium even! I think there were four of them. 3 Left before kickoff, but one stayed with us in the stands throughout the entire game. The game ended 0-0, and I've still not witnessed a professional goal, but it was a very good game. Velez was an excellent team, and it was nice to see soccer at that level. After the game, Marco carried the dog home.
This is my last week of school before I get out on summer vacation. I'm looking forward to vacation, but the real work here is in the Language acquisition, and there's no break from that. This will give me some quality time to work on my Common App, though. It's hard to believe it's been almost 100 days since I left home. Time flies when you're havin' fun.
My classmates and teammates had a good laugh at this story, too. They all know the kissing noise means run away. I didn't, but I do now.
On sunday I went to Buenos Aires for the first time since the day I flew in. I went with the German boy and his consejero. We met up with the AFS kids who were waiting for their bus to Iguazu Falls. We walked around a mall with them for about an hour until they had to leave. We ate at McDonalds inside of the mall, and the Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese I had hit the spot. Then we left the mall to explore the city. Everything was very expensive, and I saw a lot of tourists. Most signs were in Spanish with English translations beneath. We walked a crowded street with vendors and their tables. I found an awesome pair of old sunglasses and asked how much. The guy told me 300. I said ok and then he said dollars. "Armani originals, 1200 pesos." Haha yeah right, thanks anyways.
We took the subway to a place where we could get a nice view of the skyline. It was quite nice. My friend's consejero said "Buenos Aires has many old buildings and new buildings" and we all laughed at how silly of a statement that was, but I got what he meant. Looking at the skyline there were very beautiful old buildings mixed in with very modern, fancy buildings. By the end of the day, we were all very tired. I was happy to return to La Plata. I called my house when we were close, so my dad would come pick me up from the bus station.
I was waiting for about a half hour, and my mom called me saying that he had left right after I called. I knew something had happened. He came running up and informed me that the car caught on fire when he was coming to pick me up. We walked to the car to get the chairs out of the trunk. The hood was a wreck, and the front windshield was shattered. "Are you ok!?" "Si." He said it started smoking first, so he got out. Anyways, we took a cab home.
So what happened with the soccer thing is this: I came into the picture past the deadline for adding new players, so Luis had been seeking an illegal way to get me into a game. I didn't have a DNI (an Argentine ID card) and there was no way he could put a passport number down on the roster without the ref noticing. So he said I needed to try to obtain one in order to be able to play. Yeah right, I thought. How could I get a DNI when I'm not Argentine? We tried, though. On Monday of week thirteen, we went to the government office for DNIs but they just sent us to Immigrations. Immigrations told us it is a really long process and it could be completed by April at the earliest. I wasn't going to give up, though.
We went to the league office that night, and spoke with the vice-president of the league. We told him the situation and he was sympathetic. I had prepared an entire speech for changing his mind, but he said everything I wanted to hear. He said they had never had this case before, and that the rules of the league all state DNI as the part you need to be officially rostered. He said there is a league meeting in early December with all the presidents of the clubs, and he would present the idea of making an exception for me to play with my passport. As I shook his hand and thanked him for his time, he said "I hope you play." It was nice knowing that I have him on my side. All I can do is wait. I've learned not to get my hopes up with the soccer thing anymore, but I have a feeling I will be good to go come next season in February. If I do end up playing, I will be the first foreigner to play in the Liga Amateur Platense in 97 years!
On Sunday, I went with my parents and Marco to see Gimnasia play against Velez. Velez is top of the league, so I was expecting to finally see my first goal in a professional game. The stadium is within walking distance, so we set off down the traintracks towards the stadium. All of the stray dogs in our street followed us; into the stadium even! I think there were four of them. 3 Left before kickoff, but one stayed with us in the stands throughout the entire game. The game ended 0-0, and I've still not witnessed a professional goal, but it was a very good game. Velez was an excellent team, and it was nice to see soccer at that level. After the game, Marco carried the dog home.
This is my last week of school before I get out on summer vacation. I'm looking forward to vacation, but the real work here is in the Language acquisition, and there's no break from that. This will give me some quality time to work on my Common App, though. It's hard to believe it's been almost 100 days since I left home. Time flies when you're havin' fun.
Monday, November 8, 2010
weeks ten and eleven
It's a little hard to believe I am writing the post for my tenth and eleventh weeks here already. Last night I looked at a calendar and saw that I have been living in this house for almost 80 days. The time flies.
Being gone for so long, homesickness can come and go, and in these last two weeks it was pretty strong. I had a lot of trouble sleeping in these last two weeks - I mean, I literally didn't sleep many nights, would go to school with a killer headache and would often have to leave early to take some advil and get some much needed sleep. My sleep schedule was a mess, and so was I. I realize now what the problem was.
About two weeks ago I started taking the modem into my room before bed so I could talk to people back home, usually my family. After we would finish, my mind would be filled with things that a person here wouldn't think about. Living in this different culture and environment, it is important to try to be as much like the people here as possible. Obviously I can't forget about my family and friends back home, but the people here aren't always thinking about people in another country when they are trying to sleep. I need to always be thinking about what an Argentine person would do. It's sorta like a WWJD bracelet.
On monday of week ten I had soccer training. Wednesday was the country census. Back home we do it in the mail, but here they have government workers come to everyone's door. So for this reason we didn't have school. The bigger news from Wednesday was that the ex-president of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, died. He was much-loved by the people here, so the whole country basically shut down for a while. School was cancelled Thursday, and the stores were closed. National mourning. All soccer games were postponed that weekend too. I found it really cool that the people here have so much respect for an old leader that they would postpone something they are so passionate about. The Boca vs. River match was to be played that weekend (Boca-River is the biggest rivalry in all of sports in the entire world, by the way), but even that match took a back seat to what had happened. I watched some of the funeral on TV with Lucas. Thousands of people came from all around Argentina to pay him respects. It was amazing.
That did mean that I didn't get to play my first match for For-Ever, but that was ok. I slept funny on my neck and couldn't turn my head, so I would have been worthless anyways.
Week eleven was a long week. The sleepless nights really caught up to me and I felt pretty miserable the whole week. On wednesday, I biked in the rain to the practice field to find that nobody from my team was there, so I biked back home. I talked to Lucas on facebook and he said that Tobias' older brother had invited us to play football cinco at 11 that night. Even though it was a schoolnight, I couldn't turn him down. I hadn't played since the 11v11 match a few weeks back, so I was excited to have the opportunity. After some convincing, my parents said I could go.
Lucas came by at about 10:45, while we were finishing up dinner, to pick me up. I forgot to grab a different jacket so I was stuck in the same one I had been in the rain with a few hours earlier. We went to Tobias' house and talked for a while. Then we set out for the indoor soccer place with Joaquin, Tobias' older brother. The other people were already there, and I recognized them from the 11v11 match. We had three teams of five, and played first to two goals wins, winner stays. Me and Lucas were on the same team and the combination of Lucas in the back and me up top, we literally won every single game. Luckily we would rotate out after winning three games in a row, because I would have passed out. Even more lucky is that my body was fully accustomed to the water here, so I was able to drink from the sink thing next to the field.
We finished playing at 1am and walked home. I was sweaty, my jacket was wet, and it was a pretty cold night. Yes, I got sick. I woke up the next morning with a slightly sore throat, but I still went to soccer practice that night. Luis told me that he didn't think I would be playing in the game on saturday. "Wait, why not?" He said it was my papers. Damn papers again.
Friday was Simon's birthday. I told my parents here that and they asked me if I wanted to call him. "SI!" I hadn't called home yet before this. I knew it was very expensive to do so, so I had been communicating with my real family through emails. I went online to see what I had to dial first for a call to the US, and dialed my mom's cellphone.
"Hello?" "Mom" "Dub!" I wasn't sure before I called if hearing their voices would make me feel worse, but it really made me feel a lot better. As I had hoped, I caught them coming home from school. I talked to Simon and wished him a happy birthday. It was very very weird talking to my Mom, Simon, and Eric. We hardly knew what to say but it felt like I was just calling her from a friend's house. My mom pointed out to me that the nighttime chats might be responsible for my homesickness, I agreed. We agreed it was nice hearing voices again, so I talked to Eric about skype. I said I would download it and they passed the phone around for I-love-yous and that was that.
That night, I went to my club for the 19th birthday party of one of my teammates. We grilled hamburgers and just hung out. I really felt apart of the team. Luis came, and he pulled me aside to talk to me. He explained everything. He said that since it is midseason, I can't be "legal legal." I would have had to be here when the season started to be fully documented with a picture and signature and all that stuff. I can be "legal," though. He has been talking with some kind of contact, I don't know if it's a league official or what, and is in the process of falsifying my papers so that if someone challenged us, I wouldn't be kicked out of the league, Luis wouldn't be suspended and Club For-Ever wouldn't be fined. He said that my papers will be ready so that I can play next weekend "si o si" (yes or yes).
Between the phone call home and finally knowing the reason why I hadn't played in a game yet, I got a long awaited good night's sleep. But I woke up really sick! I was too sick to go to the get-together with all the AFS kids in La Plata on saturday. I had a fever, a sore throat, and lots of congestion. On sunday my sorethroat was better but I still had a fever and developed a nasty cough. Even if I would have been allowed to play with my team on sunday I would've been too sick.
I didn't go to school today and I don't know if I'll be better tomorrow but we'll see.
Being gone for so long, homesickness can come and go, and in these last two weeks it was pretty strong. I had a lot of trouble sleeping in these last two weeks - I mean, I literally didn't sleep many nights, would go to school with a killer headache and would often have to leave early to take some advil and get some much needed sleep. My sleep schedule was a mess, and so was I. I realize now what the problem was.
About two weeks ago I started taking the modem into my room before bed so I could talk to people back home, usually my family. After we would finish, my mind would be filled with things that a person here wouldn't think about. Living in this different culture and environment, it is important to try to be as much like the people here as possible. Obviously I can't forget about my family and friends back home, but the people here aren't always thinking about people in another country when they are trying to sleep. I need to always be thinking about what an Argentine person would do. It's sorta like a WWJD bracelet.
On monday of week ten I had soccer training. Wednesday was the country census. Back home we do it in the mail, but here they have government workers come to everyone's door. So for this reason we didn't have school. The bigger news from Wednesday was that the ex-president of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, died. He was much-loved by the people here, so the whole country basically shut down for a while. School was cancelled Thursday, and the stores were closed. National mourning. All soccer games were postponed that weekend too. I found it really cool that the people here have so much respect for an old leader that they would postpone something they are so passionate about. The Boca vs. River match was to be played that weekend (Boca-River is the biggest rivalry in all of sports in the entire world, by the way), but even that match took a back seat to what had happened. I watched some of the funeral on TV with Lucas. Thousands of people came from all around Argentina to pay him respects. It was amazing.
That did mean that I didn't get to play my first match for For-Ever, but that was ok. I slept funny on my neck and couldn't turn my head, so I would have been worthless anyways.
Week eleven was a long week. The sleepless nights really caught up to me and I felt pretty miserable the whole week. On wednesday, I biked in the rain to the practice field to find that nobody from my team was there, so I biked back home. I talked to Lucas on facebook and he said that Tobias' older brother had invited us to play football cinco at 11 that night. Even though it was a schoolnight, I couldn't turn him down. I hadn't played since the 11v11 match a few weeks back, so I was excited to have the opportunity. After some convincing, my parents said I could go.
Lucas came by at about 10:45, while we were finishing up dinner, to pick me up. I forgot to grab a different jacket so I was stuck in the same one I had been in the rain with a few hours earlier. We went to Tobias' house and talked for a while. Then we set out for the indoor soccer place with Joaquin, Tobias' older brother. The other people were already there, and I recognized them from the 11v11 match. We had three teams of five, and played first to two goals wins, winner stays. Me and Lucas were on the same team and the combination of Lucas in the back and me up top, we literally won every single game. Luckily we would rotate out after winning three games in a row, because I would have passed out. Even more lucky is that my body was fully accustomed to the water here, so I was able to drink from the sink thing next to the field.
We finished playing at 1am and walked home. I was sweaty, my jacket was wet, and it was a pretty cold night. Yes, I got sick. I woke up the next morning with a slightly sore throat, but I still went to soccer practice that night. Luis told me that he didn't think I would be playing in the game on saturday. "Wait, why not?" He said it was my papers. Damn papers again.
Friday was Simon's birthday. I told my parents here that and they asked me if I wanted to call him. "SI!" I hadn't called home yet before this. I knew it was very expensive to do so, so I had been communicating with my real family through emails. I went online to see what I had to dial first for a call to the US, and dialed my mom's cellphone.
"Hello?" "Mom" "Dub!" I wasn't sure before I called if hearing their voices would make me feel worse, but it really made me feel a lot better. As I had hoped, I caught them coming home from school. I talked to Simon and wished him a happy birthday. It was very very weird talking to my Mom, Simon, and Eric. We hardly knew what to say but it felt like I was just calling her from a friend's house. My mom pointed out to me that the nighttime chats might be responsible for my homesickness, I agreed. We agreed it was nice hearing voices again, so I talked to Eric about skype. I said I would download it and they passed the phone around for I-love-yous and that was that.
That night, I went to my club for the 19th birthday party of one of my teammates. We grilled hamburgers and just hung out. I really felt apart of the team. Luis came, and he pulled me aside to talk to me. He explained everything. He said that since it is midseason, I can't be "legal legal." I would have had to be here when the season started to be fully documented with a picture and signature and all that stuff. I can be "legal," though. He has been talking with some kind of contact, I don't know if it's a league official or what, and is in the process of falsifying my papers so that if someone challenged us, I wouldn't be kicked out of the league, Luis wouldn't be suspended and Club For-Ever wouldn't be fined. He said that my papers will be ready so that I can play next weekend "si o si" (yes or yes).
Between the phone call home and finally knowing the reason why I hadn't played in a game yet, I got a long awaited good night's sleep. But I woke up really sick! I was too sick to go to the get-together with all the AFS kids in La Plata on saturday. I had a fever, a sore throat, and lots of congestion. On sunday my sorethroat was better but I still had a fever and developed a nasty cough. Even if I would have been allowed to play with my team on sunday I would've been too sick.
I didn't go to school today and I don't know if I'll be better tomorrow but we'll see.
Monday, October 25, 2010
weeks eight and nine
I spent a lot of the free time of my 8th week here with two teammates, Lucas and Tobias. They both live within two blocks of my house. Lucas would pick me up and we would head over to Tobias' house to play Winning Eleven Soccer on PC, drink mate, or talk about unexplainable events that we had experienced. I thought it was pretty cool that on my first day I could hardly say "yes I want to go to the stadium," and just two months later I was able to explain the time I saw a hand waving at me from behind the fireplace in my cottage. Tobias told a story about how a spirit called his friends and him "putos" through a ouiji board. Lucas told a story about how he was in his house, watching a game with his friend, and the lights cut out and they both saw a figure run across the room. It was nice being able to hold a conversation that specific.
After Winning Eleven or whatever we happened to do, we would hit the gym. The first day we worked really hard and I felt sore for two days after, but the other days were much easier. There was no soccer practice in week 8, because we had a week off. Lucas told me that Tobias is a master chef. One day he made us all pizza, and I saw that Lucas was right. I got sick the day after we had mate in Tobias' house, because the water was from the tap. My body still wasn't accustomed to the water here, so I was curled up in the fetal position under my covers the following day.
Tobias' older brother invited me to play in an 11v11 game with him and his friends, some local university students, on saturday of week 8. I was happy to accept that invitation. Tobias and Lucas came by my house before the game and we all walked over to the field. The first time I got the ball I intercepted a pass and beat the last defender, looked up and ripped one side netting. Lucas said "bien!" I proceeded to score two more goals in the game, marking my first hattrick in Argentina. I was wearing my Germany jersey, so they all thought I was German. They called me Alemania. My team won 4-2, and after the game I heard the other players saying "Alemania era buenissimo." (Germany was very good) I felt great.
We all walked home together and I told my family how it went. I went over to Valentina's house that night, and we ordered some ice cream. A delivery guy brought it to us and we ate it. Ice cream is so much better here! I think it's the cream that they use. Anyways, I went home that night and went to sleep.
Sunday of week 8 was Mother's day here. My mom's mom and my mom's sister and her husband and kids came over. We ate asado, which is like slow-cooked steak. It was great. Later that evening I went to Valentina's house again for and hour or two. On the way home I bought some flowers from a street vendor and gave them to my mom.
Week 9 was tough, probably the hardest week I've had here so far. I felt the most homesick that I have felt so far. I miss my brothers, I miss my parents, I miss my friends, I miss my pillow, I miss being able to understand people all the time. Sometimes when I feel down I think about how I am only 2 months down and 9 months to go, and I get very scared. I know I can do this, it's just impossible not to have some rough patches. Talking to my parents or brothers back home helps, but what seems to help me the most is talking to the other exchange students that I became friends with in the two orientation camps. It's amazing how deeply we can all connect with eachother. It is such a unique situation to be in, being on exchange, and sometimes the only people who can really understand are the people who are in the same boat.
On monday I had soccer training. We ran for 4 kilometers, did push-ups, sit-ups, etc. and then ran 4 more kilometers. After the first 4 kilometers, the coach passed a water jug around, but I couldn't drink it. I was absolutely exhausted when we finally finished running.
Tuesday was just a really bad day. That's all I want to say about it. Wednesday I had soccer practice but the field was such a wreck that the ball kept popping up on me, and on top of that we were in the dark again. In the scrimmage at the end I did some cool stuff, so I knew my teammates knew I was skilled. On thursday I had practice again. This time we were on a new field, if you can call a big dusty dirt strip a field, with a little more light. After this practice Luiz told me that my papers still weren't ready, and that I would only be watching this weekend's game. Dammit. But he also told me that he thinks I have very good technical ability and I am very quick to accelerate, so he wants me to be his "enganche." Enganche is the #10 position, like where Messi, Kaka, and Ozil play, oh and of course DIEGO MARADONA. My mind was racing on my way home from practice. "Wow a new position... but I have always been a forward... I can't believe he wants me to be his #10, that's so cool... I wonder if I can do it..."
I talked to my Force coach and he told me I could definitely do it. So that was that, he would know that the best. At first I wasn't sure what to think of the idea but now I am very excited about it. To come to Argentina to play the same position as Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona is just awesome. My coach told me after saturday's game that the girl in the club lost my papers. (Seriously Argentina is so unorganized) Well, great. I'm going to bring my information with me to practice tonight, though, and this saturday I will make my debut for Club For-Ever!
After Winning Eleven or whatever we happened to do, we would hit the gym. The first day we worked really hard and I felt sore for two days after, but the other days were much easier. There was no soccer practice in week 8, because we had a week off. Lucas told me that Tobias is a master chef. One day he made us all pizza, and I saw that Lucas was right. I got sick the day after we had mate in Tobias' house, because the water was from the tap. My body still wasn't accustomed to the water here, so I was curled up in the fetal position under my covers the following day.
Tobias' older brother invited me to play in an 11v11 game with him and his friends, some local university students, on saturday of week 8. I was happy to accept that invitation. Tobias and Lucas came by my house before the game and we all walked over to the field. The first time I got the ball I intercepted a pass and beat the last defender, looked up and ripped one side netting. Lucas said "bien!" I proceeded to score two more goals in the game, marking my first hattrick in Argentina. I was wearing my Germany jersey, so they all thought I was German. They called me Alemania. My team won 4-2, and after the game I heard the other players saying "Alemania era buenissimo." (Germany was very good) I felt great.
We all walked home together and I told my family how it went. I went over to Valentina's house that night, and we ordered some ice cream. A delivery guy brought it to us and we ate it. Ice cream is so much better here! I think it's the cream that they use. Anyways, I went home that night and went to sleep.
Sunday of week 8 was Mother's day here. My mom's mom and my mom's sister and her husband and kids came over. We ate asado, which is like slow-cooked steak. It was great. Later that evening I went to Valentina's house again for and hour or two. On the way home I bought some flowers from a street vendor and gave them to my mom.
Week 9 was tough, probably the hardest week I've had here so far. I felt the most homesick that I have felt so far. I miss my brothers, I miss my parents, I miss my friends, I miss my pillow, I miss being able to understand people all the time. Sometimes when I feel down I think about how I am only 2 months down and 9 months to go, and I get very scared. I know I can do this, it's just impossible not to have some rough patches. Talking to my parents or brothers back home helps, but what seems to help me the most is talking to the other exchange students that I became friends with in the two orientation camps. It's amazing how deeply we can all connect with eachother. It is such a unique situation to be in, being on exchange, and sometimes the only people who can really understand are the people who are in the same boat.
On monday I had soccer training. We ran for 4 kilometers, did push-ups, sit-ups, etc. and then ran 4 more kilometers. After the first 4 kilometers, the coach passed a water jug around, but I couldn't drink it. I was absolutely exhausted when we finally finished running.
Tuesday was just a really bad day. That's all I want to say about it. Wednesday I had soccer practice but the field was such a wreck that the ball kept popping up on me, and on top of that we were in the dark again. In the scrimmage at the end I did some cool stuff, so I knew my teammates knew I was skilled. On thursday I had practice again. This time we were on a new field, if you can call a big dusty dirt strip a field, with a little more light. After this practice Luiz told me that my papers still weren't ready, and that I would only be watching this weekend's game. Dammit. But he also told me that he thinks I have very good technical ability and I am very quick to accelerate, so he wants me to be his "enganche." Enganche is the #10 position, like where Messi, Kaka, and Ozil play, oh and of course DIEGO MARADONA. My mind was racing on my way home from practice. "Wow a new position... but I have always been a forward... I can't believe he wants me to be his #10, that's so cool... I wonder if I can do it..."
I talked to my Force coach and he told me I could definitely do it. So that was that, he would know that the best. At first I wasn't sure what to think of the idea but now I am very excited about it. To come to Argentina to play the same position as Lionel Messi and Diego Maradona is just awesome. My coach told me after saturday's game that the girl in the club lost my papers. (Seriously Argentina is so unorganized) Well, great. I'm going to bring my information with me to practice tonight, though, and this saturday I will make my debut for Club For-Ever!
Monday, October 11, 2010
weeks six and seven
I am starting to feel like I am writing a book with this blog. I felt like these last two weeks should be posted together, as one chapter, because the events of the first week developed in the second. That being said, here is chapter six.
Last week (week six) was very uneventful during the weekdays. The weekend was really awesome, though. On friday, I walked with my parents to Club For-Ever to try to see if I could play on their team. They told us that the soccer people are only there on monday, and that we should come monday at 7 to talk to them.
On saturday, I woke up to an anouncer on TV yelling "GOOOOOOOOOOOOL". I told my family over lunch that I wanted to go out to try to find a pick-up game to jump into. They said that was a good idea. So now I thought alright I'll see you guys later. But they all started getting ready. I didn't really know why, but I went with the flow. They took turns showering and about an hour later, when everyone else was ready we set out together to find me a game.
We were heading to a large open grassy area where people usually play. We walked down some train tracks but I found what I was looking for long before we would have gotten to our destination. Right next to the train tracks was a terrible dirt field, with a bunch of 20 some year old guys playing a game. "Aca!" (here!) My dad came with me to talk to one of them. He explained my situation to the guy and the guy said "sure you can play." I laced up my cleats (that felt good, it had been a while), and hopped into the game. I didn't know who's team I was on, so when I got the ball I just passed to someone else. They had the ball inside of a plastic bag, and I would soon find out why.
The ball went out and the guy my dad talked to came out of goal to clarify things. He started to point to people who were on my team but that was confusing so I just raised my hand and said "Mi equipo." The guys on my team raised their hands and that was that. The game was back on. It was a really cool style of soccer, very tight and quick - technical. I took the ball from one guy and he kicked me very hard in the leg. I looked at him but he wasn't looking at me. I realized that this guy was blind. They had a bag tied over the ball so he could hear it.
I must have scored twenty goals in that game. They called me "magico, buenisimo..." After the game, they called me "Messi of La Plata." I felt honored. They all wanted my phone number and said that they play every saturday there. I was happy to make some soccer friends in my neighborhood.
My family had been watching me for a little while, but they left after maybe 10 minutes. My dad asked me before they left if I knew how to get home and I said yes.
I returned home, and told my family all about the game. I had a birthday party later that night so I needed to come up with a costume. I remembered hearing once the idea of taking a handle mirror and holding it up to people when they ask what you are and saying "I'm you!" I really didn't have anything else, so I went with my mom and Ana to the store to find a mirror. There were mirrors, but none of them had handles. In one store, there was a pingpong paddle set and also a mirror. I said, let's get both of these and I will just tape the mirror onto the paddle. So we did just that, and I did just that.
Some girls in my class picked me up at 11, and we set out for the party. It was a half hour drive, and it was a really fun party. I got home at 5:30 the next morning and went to bed.
On monday of week seven, I walked with my family to Club For-Ever. The club is about 8 blocks away from my house. We walked in and talked to a guy about getting me onto the soccer team for my age group. He talked with my parents for a while and then I heard "Miercoles con botines y ropa para football, aca, a las siete." That was all I needed to hear of that conversation. Wednesday, with cleats, at 7. I gave my mom a high-five on the way out and we walked back home.
On wednesday, I walked with my dad to the club. The same guy we talked to the other day said that today we would only be doing physical training. I got really disappointed. He took us outside and one of the players was waiting for the other players to arrive. We passed this guy on the way in, but I thought he was a coach. We talked for a while, and when I say we I mean my dad and this guy, and waited for a half hour. The other kids were clearly not going to show, so he called one of them and when he got off the phone, he said that there had been a change. It would be a regular practice, not physical training, and that the other players were already at the field. I hopped on the back of his moped and my dad wished me luck.
We got to the field, and it was very dark. The field was a wreck, and my legs were getting wrecked by mosquitos as I talked to the coach. His name was Luiz. All the players were very nice to me. Luiz had us go on a run, and during this I got acquainted with the other players. They all wanted to talk to me and I remembered what it was like on my Force team when Moritz from Germany came for the first time. I was Moritz to these guys. I wasn't nervous, I was just really excited.
We all put our cleats on and split into two teams to start a game. There was literally no light on the field, except the moon. It was very hard to see the ball, let alone the goal. I got the ball once and beat three kids and then the goalie, and kicked it into the open net. The kids were impressed. They said "buenisimo!" and gave me highfives. I looked back to see if the coach was looking. I couldn't tell. The other kids were very good, by far the best I have played with since I have been here. I really wanted to shine, because I wanted to be on their team. I played pretty well, considering I couldn't see. At one point I asked the kid who I rode over with if they usually play in the dark. He pointed to a lit field across the street and said that they usually train over there, but that that field was occupied tonight.
After an hour or so of playing, the coach called us in to talk, but we all kept playing. It was beautiful. None of us could see a thing, but we didn't want to stop. I saw in that instant that I had realized the dream that led me to choose Argentina. I wanted to experience pure soccer. This was it. We didn't need proper goals, only backpacks. We didn't need a proper field, only dirt. We didn't even need light! We didn't speak the same language, and I didn't remember their names, but I felt such a strong bond with them in the way that we love the game. They all wanted my information: facebook, msn, phone number etc. I thought that that was a good sign; that they wouldn't want my info unless they thought I would be around for a while.
The coach told me to come to the club next wednesday at 7, to practice with them again. He told me to make a list with all of my information and bring it to the club tomorrow. I wasn't exactly sure what the deal was. Did I make the team? Is wednesday a try-out? Did the coach even see me play tonight? I had a lot of questions. When my dad and I were approaching our door, I hear "Werner!" It was one of the kids from the team. He talked with my dad for a while and we said bye. When we got inside my dad explained to my mom and I what the kid had said. My dad asked him if I was going to try-out on wednesday or what, and the kid said "No no the coach liked him a lot, he's already on the team." My mom lit up and said "That's it!" "What's what!?" I didn't know what was going on and I asked them to explain. They did, and I felt so incredibly relieved and content.
This was something I accomplished. Ernesto never followed through, as I could tell would be the case. Before, in my house it was all "Ernesto.... options, options, 9 on 9." No. I could tell that my family just didn't know how to go about this, so I finally went online to find the locations of the clubs. I found out that Club For-Ever was close to my house. My family was very supportive of this. I was happy we were on the same page, and much more, I was happy to be on a soccer team - a very good soccer team.
On friday, I went to Julio's apartment to prepare a cheesecake for the AFS reunion on saturday.
On saturday, my family and I went to the reunion. All of the exchange students in La Plata and their families were there, and so were all of the volunteers. It was pretty fun. The next day, we went to visit my mom's mom for lunch.
I didn't have school today, because it is some kind of National no school day thing, so I went with my family to see my team play. I couldn't play myself, because I am not "official" yet. I was excited to see what I had gotten myself into. All of the players on my team and on the other team were very big. It was a different style of soccer. Very fast, and very physical and dirty. There was a lot of tension between the two teams, and a fight almost broke out. There was a police officer sitting at the center line the whole time in case anything went down. I will need to adjust to this, but hey isn't that what foreign exchange is all about?
After the game, my dad and I talked to the coach. He said that this weeks practice was off because my team didn't have a game this weekend. There are an odd number of teams in the league, so this week is my team's week off. He explained to me that soccer games here are very "duro" (that mean's tough and strong) and that with me being a forward, I will be fouled a lot. He wants me to go to the club gym this week to start me on a weight lifting regimen. I can definitely see the sense in that. He also told me that this week he will talk to the club directors about making me official. Hopefully I will be able to play in the next game! Vamos For-Ever!!!!
Last week (week six) was very uneventful during the weekdays. The weekend was really awesome, though. On friday, I walked with my parents to Club For-Ever to try to see if I could play on their team. They told us that the soccer people are only there on monday, and that we should come monday at 7 to talk to them.
On saturday, I woke up to an anouncer on TV yelling "GOOOOOOOOOOOOL". I told my family over lunch that I wanted to go out to try to find a pick-up game to jump into. They said that was a good idea. So now I thought alright I'll see you guys later. But they all started getting ready. I didn't really know why, but I went with the flow. They took turns showering and about an hour later, when everyone else was ready we set out together to find me a game.
We were heading to a large open grassy area where people usually play. We walked down some train tracks but I found what I was looking for long before we would have gotten to our destination. Right next to the train tracks was a terrible dirt field, with a bunch of 20 some year old guys playing a game. "Aca!" (here!) My dad came with me to talk to one of them. He explained my situation to the guy and the guy said "sure you can play." I laced up my cleats (that felt good, it had been a while), and hopped into the game. I didn't know who's team I was on, so when I got the ball I just passed to someone else. They had the ball inside of a plastic bag, and I would soon find out why.
The ball went out and the guy my dad talked to came out of goal to clarify things. He started to point to people who were on my team but that was confusing so I just raised my hand and said "Mi equipo." The guys on my team raised their hands and that was that. The game was back on. It was a really cool style of soccer, very tight and quick - technical. I took the ball from one guy and he kicked me very hard in the leg. I looked at him but he wasn't looking at me. I realized that this guy was blind. They had a bag tied over the ball so he could hear it.
I must have scored twenty goals in that game. They called me "magico, buenisimo..." After the game, they called me "Messi of La Plata." I felt honored. They all wanted my phone number and said that they play every saturday there. I was happy to make some soccer friends in my neighborhood.
My family had been watching me for a little while, but they left after maybe 10 minutes. My dad asked me before they left if I knew how to get home and I said yes.
I returned home, and told my family all about the game. I had a birthday party later that night so I needed to come up with a costume. I remembered hearing once the idea of taking a handle mirror and holding it up to people when they ask what you are and saying "I'm you!" I really didn't have anything else, so I went with my mom and Ana to the store to find a mirror. There were mirrors, but none of them had handles. In one store, there was a pingpong paddle set and also a mirror. I said, let's get both of these and I will just tape the mirror onto the paddle. So we did just that, and I did just that.
Some girls in my class picked me up at 11, and we set out for the party. It was a half hour drive, and it was a really fun party. I got home at 5:30 the next morning and went to bed.
On monday of week seven, I walked with my family to Club For-Ever. The club is about 8 blocks away from my house. We walked in and talked to a guy about getting me onto the soccer team for my age group. He talked with my parents for a while and then I heard "Miercoles con botines y ropa para football, aca, a las siete." That was all I needed to hear of that conversation. Wednesday, with cleats, at 7. I gave my mom a high-five on the way out and we walked back home.
On wednesday, I walked with my dad to the club. The same guy we talked to the other day said that today we would only be doing physical training. I got really disappointed. He took us outside and one of the players was waiting for the other players to arrive. We passed this guy on the way in, but I thought he was a coach. We talked for a while, and when I say we I mean my dad and this guy, and waited for a half hour. The other kids were clearly not going to show, so he called one of them and when he got off the phone, he said that there had been a change. It would be a regular practice, not physical training, and that the other players were already at the field. I hopped on the back of his moped and my dad wished me luck.
We got to the field, and it was very dark. The field was a wreck, and my legs were getting wrecked by mosquitos as I talked to the coach. His name was Luiz. All the players were very nice to me. Luiz had us go on a run, and during this I got acquainted with the other players. They all wanted to talk to me and I remembered what it was like on my Force team when Moritz from Germany came for the first time. I was Moritz to these guys. I wasn't nervous, I was just really excited.
We all put our cleats on and split into two teams to start a game. There was literally no light on the field, except the moon. It was very hard to see the ball, let alone the goal. I got the ball once and beat three kids and then the goalie, and kicked it into the open net. The kids were impressed. They said "buenisimo!" and gave me highfives. I looked back to see if the coach was looking. I couldn't tell. The other kids were very good, by far the best I have played with since I have been here. I really wanted to shine, because I wanted to be on their team. I played pretty well, considering I couldn't see. At one point I asked the kid who I rode over with if they usually play in the dark. He pointed to a lit field across the street and said that they usually train over there, but that that field was occupied tonight.
After an hour or so of playing, the coach called us in to talk, but we all kept playing. It was beautiful. None of us could see a thing, but we didn't want to stop. I saw in that instant that I had realized the dream that led me to choose Argentina. I wanted to experience pure soccer. This was it. We didn't need proper goals, only backpacks. We didn't need a proper field, only dirt. We didn't even need light! We didn't speak the same language, and I didn't remember their names, but I felt such a strong bond with them in the way that we love the game. They all wanted my information: facebook, msn, phone number etc. I thought that that was a good sign; that they wouldn't want my info unless they thought I would be around for a while.
The coach told me to come to the club next wednesday at 7, to practice with them again. He told me to make a list with all of my information and bring it to the club tomorrow. I wasn't exactly sure what the deal was. Did I make the team? Is wednesday a try-out? Did the coach even see me play tonight? I had a lot of questions. When my dad and I were approaching our door, I hear "Werner!" It was one of the kids from the team. He talked with my dad for a while and we said bye. When we got inside my dad explained to my mom and I what the kid had said. My dad asked him if I was going to try-out on wednesday or what, and the kid said "No no the coach liked him a lot, he's already on the team." My mom lit up and said "That's it!" "What's what!?" I didn't know what was going on and I asked them to explain. They did, and I felt so incredibly relieved and content.
This was something I accomplished. Ernesto never followed through, as I could tell would be the case. Before, in my house it was all "Ernesto.... options, options, 9 on 9." No. I could tell that my family just didn't know how to go about this, so I finally went online to find the locations of the clubs. I found out that Club For-Ever was close to my house. My family was very supportive of this. I was happy we were on the same page, and much more, I was happy to be on a soccer team - a very good soccer team.
On friday, I went to Julio's apartment to prepare a cheesecake for the AFS reunion on saturday.
On saturday, my family and I went to the reunion. All of the exchange students in La Plata and their families were there, and so were all of the volunteers. It was pretty fun. The next day, we went to visit my mom's mom for lunch.
I didn't have school today, because it is some kind of National no school day thing, so I went with my family to see my team play. I couldn't play myself, because I am not "official" yet. I was excited to see what I had gotten myself into. All of the players on my team and on the other team were very big. It was a different style of soccer. Very fast, and very physical and dirty. There was a lot of tension between the two teams, and a fight almost broke out. There was a police officer sitting at the center line the whole time in case anything went down. I will need to adjust to this, but hey isn't that what foreign exchange is all about?
After the game, my dad and I talked to the coach. He said that this weeks practice was off because my team didn't have a game this weekend. There are an odd number of teams in the league, so this week is my team's week off. He explained to me that soccer games here are very "duro" (that mean's tough and strong) and that with me being a forward, I will be fouled a lot. He wants me to go to the club gym this week to start me on a weight lifting regimen. I can definitely see the sense in that. He also told me that this week he will talk to the club directors about making me official. Hopefully I will be able to play in the next game! Vamos For-Ever!!!!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
week five
After four weeks of "settling in," I finally felt ready to ask the question I have been dying to ask since I got here: "Is there a soccer team I can try out for?" My family informed me that there are youth age groups for all of the professional teams, but that those teams travel all around Argentina to play against the other big clubs. While that sounded awesome, I realized it was not very practical for me.
So I started to think, at the table, "So that's it? I came all the way to Argentina to not play soccer for a year. Well jeez, now I think I want to go home." But then I noticed my brother rummaging around in a stack of newspapers. He pulled out a sports section and pointed to a league table. It was for "Liga Platensa." "What is this?" I asked. He told me that in my city, there is a soccer league with two divisions, Primera A and B. He said that there are teams for my age group, U18, and that some of his friends play in the U14 category. The teams practice twice a week and play a game on the weekend.
I couldn't believe how perfect that sounded. Then my dad said that his cousin is the coach of Brandsen. I looked at the league table. Brandsen was first in Primera A. Then my mom said that the coach was next door. No way! But just as we opened our door, he took off in his car. We just missed him. But my dad knew where he was going, so my dad, Marco, and I set off in our car to go find and talk to this guy. My mom said "suerte" (good luck) and gave me a thumbs up.
I didn't know where we were going, in fact, I hardly knew what was going on. But I was very excited and very nervous. After ten minutes we stopped in front of a house. We got out, and went to the door. My dad rang the bell, and we waited. Three minutes later, a woman came to the door. She said hello from behind the door and I could tell she was very old. She struggled with the key for a while and finally gave up. She was so old she couldn't even open the door for us. She walked to a window and opened it. She kissed us all through the window and my dad talked to her for a while. All the while I am thinking "What the hell is going on? What does this old lady have to do with finding me a soccer team." I listened very closely to their conversation and made out enough to conclude that this woman was the mother of the coach, and that the coach was at his own house - a new house, but she didn't know the address. She did know the telephone number, though. "Quatro venti-dos, venti-catorze." I must have said that twenty times in my head so I wouldn't forget it.
We got home, and I felt a bit disappointed. But I wrote down his number, and my dad called. No answer. Ok now I felt very disappointed. I tried to stay positive though and realized that what had happened in the last hour or so was very good. I would have a team soon, I hoped.
The next day, my dad got a hold of him. The coach said that he wasn't coaching anymore but that he knew some other coaches and could call around to find me a team.
Yesterday my family and I went to a park to drink mate and kick the soccer ball around. My dad has some skills! Anyways, afterwards we got in the car and set off for home. But my dad made a turn and we stopped in front of a house. It was the house of the coach. My dad got out and walked down the street and rang a door bell. A few moments later, we saw him walk into the house. I was sitting in the back seat of the car with Ana and Marco, very nervous and excited. Five minutes went by and then I saw my dad and a guy in soccer shorts walking up to our car. The guy reached into the car and shook my hand. His name was Ernesto. He explained to my mom and I what the deal was. Never have I tried to understand anything so hard in my life. He said there were two options. The first one was the easier one, and it was to play on a University team that plays on the weekends for fun, 9v9. NOOOOOO. The other was to find a team in Liga Platensa, and those teams practice once a week, lift weights once a week, and play games on the weekends. YESSSSSSSS!!!!!
He named the three top clubs in the league: Brandsen, La Plata FC, and Forever. This week, Ernesto is going to call those teams to see if I can try out. Tomorrow after school I have my elective class "Rock Nacional." Last week I went for the first time and it was awesome. We just sat there, listening to cool music and talked about the styles and time periods afterwards. After Rock, I will go with my dad to Gimnasia, to talk to another cousin of his about finding me a team. I'm not sure why exactly, because Gimnasia is a big club that travels all over Argentina, but I am going to "go with the flow." I've been doing a lot of that here. I think it is a part of being on exchange. There are some times when you don't know exactly what is going on or what will happen next, but you need to stay positive and just keep moving. I don't know exactly what is happening on this soccer front, and at times I have been discouraged, but when my try-out finally comes, I won't disappoint.
So I started to think, at the table, "So that's it? I came all the way to Argentina to not play soccer for a year. Well jeez, now I think I want to go home." But then I noticed my brother rummaging around in a stack of newspapers. He pulled out a sports section and pointed to a league table. It was for "Liga Platensa." "What is this?" I asked. He told me that in my city, there is a soccer league with two divisions, Primera A and B. He said that there are teams for my age group, U18, and that some of his friends play in the U14 category. The teams practice twice a week and play a game on the weekend.
I couldn't believe how perfect that sounded. Then my dad said that his cousin is the coach of Brandsen. I looked at the league table. Brandsen was first in Primera A. Then my mom said that the coach was next door. No way! But just as we opened our door, he took off in his car. We just missed him. But my dad knew where he was going, so my dad, Marco, and I set off in our car to go find and talk to this guy. My mom said "suerte" (good luck) and gave me a thumbs up.
I didn't know where we were going, in fact, I hardly knew what was going on. But I was very excited and very nervous. After ten minutes we stopped in front of a house. We got out, and went to the door. My dad rang the bell, and we waited. Three minutes later, a woman came to the door. She said hello from behind the door and I could tell she was very old. She struggled with the key for a while and finally gave up. She was so old she couldn't even open the door for us. She walked to a window and opened it. She kissed us all through the window and my dad talked to her for a while. All the while I am thinking "What the hell is going on? What does this old lady have to do with finding me a soccer team." I listened very closely to their conversation and made out enough to conclude that this woman was the mother of the coach, and that the coach was at his own house - a new house, but she didn't know the address. She did know the telephone number, though. "Quatro venti-dos, venti-catorze." I must have said that twenty times in my head so I wouldn't forget it.
We got home, and I felt a bit disappointed. But I wrote down his number, and my dad called. No answer. Ok now I felt very disappointed. I tried to stay positive though and realized that what had happened in the last hour or so was very good. I would have a team soon, I hoped.
The next day, my dad got a hold of him. The coach said that he wasn't coaching anymore but that he knew some other coaches and could call around to find me a team.
Yesterday my family and I went to a park to drink mate and kick the soccer ball around. My dad has some skills! Anyways, afterwards we got in the car and set off for home. But my dad made a turn and we stopped in front of a house. It was the house of the coach. My dad got out and walked down the street and rang a door bell. A few moments later, we saw him walk into the house. I was sitting in the back seat of the car with Ana and Marco, very nervous and excited. Five minutes went by and then I saw my dad and a guy in soccer shorts walking up to our car. The guy reached into the car and shook my hand. His name was Ernesto. He explained to my mom and I what the deal was. Never have I tried to understand anything so hard in my life. He said there were two options. The first one was the easier one, and it was to play on a University team that plays on the weekends for fun, 9v9. NOOOOOO. The other was to find a team in Liga Platensa, and those teams practice once a week, lift weights once a week, and play games on the weekends. YESSSSSSSS!!!!!
He named the three top clubs in the league: Brandsen, La Plata FC, and Forever. This week, Ernesto is going to call those teams to see if I can try out. Tomorrow after school I have my elective class "Rock Nacional." Last week I went for the first time and it was awesome. We just sat there, listening to cool music and talked about the styles and time periods afterwards. After Rock, I will go with my dad to Gimnasia, to talk to another cousin of his about finding me a team. I'm not sure why exactly, because Gimnasia is a big club that travels all over Argentina, but I am going to "go with the flow." I've been doing a lot of that here. I think it is a part of being on exchange. There are some times when you don't know exactly what is going on or what will happen next, but you need to stay positive and just keep moving. I don't know exactly what is happening on this soccer front, and at times I have been discouraged, but when my try-out finally comes, I won't disappoint.
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
week four
Julio was right, this is a rollercoaster. There are some down hills, lots of uphills, and lots of twists, turns, and looptyloops. The first two weeks were downhill, but the "honeymoon phase" is over. This week was only uphills and loops. The language barrier has stopped being funny to me. I'm tired of feeling stupid all day.
I am, however, learning the language faster than I thought I would. The improvement doesn't simply go 1,2,3,4, but rather 1,2,4,8... Each day I learn more than I did the previous day. It has taken me 17 years to be as comfortable with the English language as I am, so I am not expecting to be fluent in Spanish after just one month. After all, I still have 10 months to go.
On monday, I got back some tests that I took last week, 8 on the math, 10 on english (go figure.) They do it out of 10 here. Didn't get the biology test back yet, but I'm not expecting much when the majority of my answers contained mostly pictures and arrows. I knew the answers too, it was just very hard to explain in Spanish when I have such a basic vocabulary right now.
The rest of the week was very normal and boring. I spend my time in school trying to understand the teachers, and my classmates. I can usually understand short sentences, but when the sentence is long, I miss a word and try to get it back, but by that time the sentence is over and I've already missed the start of the next one. It is very hard. I get headaches all the time. Sometimes I wake up with a headache. It is because my brain is growing, but I think also because I am growing as a person.
Being away from home for so long already, I feel a lot more mature and independent. My family here is nice to me and all, but I can't say I feel "at home." They are still my hosts to me, but maybe they will be my family, too, in time. In the house, I am very bored. There are three things I can do: play guitar (though my guitar here is awful), watch tv (which I don't understand), or go on the computer (which is quite boring). All the time I spend in the house, doing nothing, is time I have to think. This can be good at times but many times free time to think can be a bad thing. In these times I think about how much I miss my real family, and about how I am only one month finished and ten months to go.
I can't lie, I was pretty down by friday. I felt like I was missing something, but I didn't know what it was. The politics teacher was ill, so we had a "falta." My mates invited me to Futbol Cinco. I didn't have my shoes or shorts, but I couldn't pass up a chance to play soccer. I rolled up my jeans and played barefoot, and I expressed two weeks worth of goals and skills. I tore it up. Afterwards, I felt great. I felt I had returned to a stasis that I had been away from all week. I realized that soccer will be my savior while here. I will ask my family next week to arrange a try out. I know the bus system and the city layout enough now to be ready for it.
I thought before I left that it would be a great personal challenge to talk to people while here. I have found, however, that the challenge lies in accepting all of the attention I get. I can't walk from class to class without people stopping me to talk. I sometimes wish I could be "normal."
We didn't have school on Monday or today, because it is spring break. We only get two days off here! On sunday, there was a huge party for my school to celebrate the coming of "Primavera" in which the 4th, 5th, and 6th year students were all invited. It was in a field, in an area that for some reason reminded me of Waterford. There was reggaeton and cumbia blasting the whole time. I went with my friend Ignacio. He stayed with me for most of the party. He told me to "just keep moving." I felt like a fish, in a small pool of sharks. But I had a bleeding wound - I was foreign. They could smell my US blood from the other side of the pool. I had to keep swimming. Me and Ignacio made a code word. It was "panda." "Yeah you know, one thing I don't like about Argentina is that I haven't seen any pandas." At this point Ignacio would grab me and take me away from the conversation. This party was a lot more fun than the first, but I was still pretty uncomfortable for most of it.
This week was tough, but it can't be uphill forever. Hopefully this week was so I could fly downhill for a little while. I need that right now.
I am, however, learning the language faster than I thought I would. The improvement doesn't simply go 1,2,3,4, but rather 1,2,4,8... Each day I learn more than I did the previous day. It has taken me 17 years to be as comfortable with the English language as I am, so I am not expecting to be fluent in Spanish after just one month. After all, I still have 10 months to go.
On monday, I got back some tests that I took last week, 8 on the math, 10 on english (go figure.) They do it out of 10 here. Didn't get the biology test back yet, but I'm not expecting much when the majority of my answers contained mostly pictures and arrows. I knew the answers too, it was just very hard to explain in Spanish when I have such a basic vocabulary right now.
The rest of the week was very normal and boring. I spend my time in school trying to understand the teachers, and my classmates. I can usually understand short sentences, but when the sentence is long, I miss a word and try to get it back, but by that time the sentence is over and I've already missed the start of the next one. It is very hard. I get headaches all the time. Sometimes I wake up with a headache. It is because my brain is growing, but I think also because I am growing as a person.
Being away from home for so long already, I feel a lot more mature and independent. My family here is nice to me and all, but I can't say I feel "at home." They are still my hosts to me, but maybe they will be my family, too, in time. In the house, I am very bored. There are three things I can do: play guitar (though my guitar here is awful), watch tv (which I don't understand), or go on the computer (which is quite boring). All the time I spend in the house, doing nothing, is time I have to think. This can be good at times but many times free time to think can be a bad thing. In these times I think about how much I miss my real family, and about how I am only one month finished and ten months to go.
I can't lie, I was pretty down by friday. I felt like I was missing something, but I didn't know what it was. The politics teacher was ill, so we had a "falta." My mates invited me to Futbol Cinco. I didn't have my shoes or shorts, but I couldn't pass up a chance to play soccer. I rolled up my jeans and played barefoot, and I expressed two weeks worth of goals and skills. I tore it up. Afterwards, I felt great. I felt I had returned to a stasis that I had been away from all week. I realized that soccer will be my savior while here. I will ask my family next week to arrange a try out. I know the bus system and the city layout enough now to be ready for it.
I thought before I left that it would be a great personal challenge to talk to people while here. I have found, however, that the challenge lies in accepting all of the attention I get. I can't walk from class to class without people stopping me to talk. I sometimes wish I could be "normal."
We didn't have school on Monday or today, because it is spring break. We only get two days off here! On sunday, there was a huge party for my school to celebrate the coming of "Primavera" in which the 4th, 5th, and 6th year students were all invited. It was in a field, in an area that for some reason reminded me of Waterford. There was reggaeton and cumbia blasting the whole time. I went with my friend Ignacio. He stayed with me for most of the party. He told me to "just keep moving." I felt like a fish, in a small pool of sharks. But I had a bleeding wound - I was foreign. They could smell my US blood from the other side of the pool. I had to keep swimming. Me and Ignacio made a code word. It was "panda." "Yeah you know, one thing I don't like about Argentina is that I haven't seen any pandas." At this point Ignacio would grab me and take me away from the conversation. This party was a lot more fun than the first, but I was still pretty uncomfortable for most of it.
This week was tough, but it can't be uphill forever. Hopefully this week was so I could fly downhill for a little while. I need that right now.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
week three
Monday was interesting. I went to Language class, like I do every Monday, after I arrived by taxi to the school. About 15 minutes into class, we started to hear fireworks outside. Moments later, a group of 5 or 6 kids, in ridiculous costumes, rushed into the classroom and brought us all outside into the courtyard. There was a huge party going on. There were colorful banners flowing from the third floor down to the ground, Reggaeton blasting, and students going nuts. All of the teachers were standing around the edge, supervising. Keep in mind it was about 8 am at this time. I could not figure out how these kids were awake enough to be dancing, because I was half asleep. I later found out that the party was for some kind of anniversary, and that the kids who were partying had been doing so since the previous night, which makes it even crazier to me that they could be dancing so wildly.
Classes were cancelled the rest of the day so me and some classmates went to a park to drink mate and sit around in the sun. It was a beautiful winter day. Probably around 60 degrees F, with the sun shining. "Muy linda."
The rest of the week was as normal as a week of school in spanish can be. I found out this week that the name of the language here is "Castellano," and not "spanish." It is a bit different than spanish in the pronunciation. For example: in spanish, "Calle" is "Cayay." In Castellano it is "Cache." I've been getting used to the differences in the language here and the spanish I studied with Eulalia.
I took three tests this week. One in Biology, one in Math, and one in English (haha.) The class advisor gave me the choice to take the tests or not, but I figured I would have to take the tests eventually so I chose to do them. I knew the answers on the Biology test, but it was very hard to explain them in Castellano. I was the first one to finish the Math test, but I might have missed some of the directions. The English test was the easiest test I have ever taken, and I finished it in 5 minutes, while my classmates took the whole hour. I love English class because it is the one time in my day where I know exactly what is going on and I get to see other people struggle with language, instead of myself.
On Friday, 5 girls in my class took me to McDonalds. I got a "Cuarto Libre con Queso" with fries and a coke. The burger tasted the same as it does back home and while eating, I felt at home again, but only for a moment. After McDonald's, we went to one of the girls' houses where they showed me popular Argentine music and taught me "mala palabras" (bad words.) After hanging out for a while, we left and they walked me to the house of the Italian exchange student, Valentina.
I keep having dreams in which I am back home, and then I wake up and realize I am in Argentina. One night, I had a dream that I was making a big scrambled egg breakfast for myself. I woke up all excited to devour my meal and then realized that there were no eggs waiting for me in the kitchen, only Zucaritas in a coffee mug.
I can't lie, I miss my life back home. But I don't want to come home. Not at all. Each new day here is better than the previous one because I am becoming more and more comfortable in my new environment. On Thursday, I took the bus home after school all by myself! All of the previous days, my mom would come get me from in front of the school. Some days I would be talking to the girls in my class and then my mom would come running over to kiss me and walk with me to the bus stop to go home. I felt very childish when this would happen, and a little embarrassed. Not that I didn't appreciate her getting me, because I probably would have gotten lost without her. On Wednesday, when we were walking to the bus stop, I told her that I would come home by myself the next day. She showed me the bus stop and told me what to say when I got on. "Uno diez." I made it home on Thursday without any problems.
On Saturday, I was planning on going downtown with my mom to buy new guitar strings at 5, but David, the exchange student from Germany, called me and told me to come to Plaza Moreno to drink mate with him, Pond from Thailand, and their respective conseguirons. Pond's conseguiron picked me up from my house at 4ish and we walked to David's conseguiron's house to pick him up. We walked for about 20 minutes until we arrived at Plaza Moreno. In La Plata, there is a giant, beautiful Cathedral. It stands in front of Plaza Moreno. We walked up to the Cathedral to find David waiting for us. We went inside the Cathedral and it was absolutely amazing. (here is a photo of the Cathedral: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/La_Plata_-_Catedral_-_HDR.jpg) After walking around the church, we exited and found a spot on the lawn to drink mate and play cards. My conseguiron Julio arrived shortly thereafter.
We went back to Julio's house and hung out for a while, until it was time to take me home so I could get ready for the birthday party of two of my classmates. I got picked up for the party at 12:30 by two of the girls in my class. (That is not a typo - the parties here start very late.) We got to the party after driving for about 20 minutes. All of the kids at the party wanted to talk to me. At one point, I was outside, and slowly the party room emptied out and there was a circle of kids around me, asking me questions and saying I was "buena onda" (good vibes.) We went inside after a while because it was quite cold that night. In the next 3 hours I had to fend off 3 different drunk chicks. I felt very uncomfortable for most of the party. I was already very tired when they picked me up, so that didn't help. The drunk chicks certainly didn't help either. They kept asking me questions and then asking me the same questions 10 minutes later - very annoying. They all wanted to kiss me. "No, gracias."
I got home at 5:30 but I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was still processing all of the events of the party. I eventually fell asleep, and woke up today at 1, just in time to eat lunch.
It's now 11:05 pm, and I am very tired. I am going to sleep.
Chau
Classes were cancelled the rest of the day so me and some classmates went to a park to drink mate and sit around in the sun. It was a beautiful winter day. Probably around 60 degrees F, with the sun shining. "Muy linda."
The rest of the week was as normal as a week of school in spanish can be. I found out this week that the name of the language here is "Castellano," and not "spanish." It is a bit different than spanish in the pronunciation. For example: in spanish, "Calle" is "Cayay." In Castellano it is "Cache." I've been getting used to the differences in the language here and the spanish I studied with Eulalia.
I took three tests this week. One in Biology, one in Math, and one in English (haha.) The class advisor gave me the choice to take the tests or not, but I figured I would have to take the tests eventually so I chose to do them. I knew the answers on the Biology test, but it was very hard to explain them in Castellano. I was the first one to finish the Math test, but I might have missed some of the directions. The English test was the easiest test I have ever taken, and I finished it in 5 minutes, while my classmates took the whole hour. I love English class because it is the one time in my day where I know exactly what is going on and I get to see other people struggle with language, instead of myself.
On Friday, 5 girls in my class took me to McDonalds. I got a "Cuarto Libre con Queso" with fries and a coke. The burger tasted the same as it does back home and while eating, I felt at home again, but only for a moment. After McDonald's, we went to one of the girls' houses where they showed me popular Argentine music and taught me "mala palabras" (bad words.) After hanging out for a while, we left and they walked me to the house of the Italian exchange student, Valentina.
I keep having dreams in which I am back home, and then I wake up and realize I am in Argentina. One night, I had a dream that I was making a big scrambled egg breakfast for myself. I woke up all excited to devour my meal and then realized that there were no eggs waiting for me in the kitchen, only Zucaritas in a coffee mug.
I can't lie, I miss my life back home. But I don't want to come home. Not at all. Each new day here is better than the previous one because I am becoming more and more comfortable in my new environment. On Thursday, I took the bus home after school all by myself! All of the previous days, my mom would come get me from in front of the school. Some days I would be talking to the girls in my class and then my mom would come running over to kiss me and walk with me to the bus stop to go home. I felt very childish when this would happen, and a little embarrassed. Not that I didn't appreciate her getting me, because I probably would have gotten lost without her. On Wednesday, when we were walking to the bus stop, I told her that I would come home by myself the next day. She showed me the bus stop and told me what to say when I got on. "Uno diez." I made it home on Thursday without any problems.
On Saturday, I was planning on going downtown with my mom to buy new guitar strings at 5, but David, the exchange student from Germany, called me and told me to come to Plaza Moreno to drink mate with him, Pond from Thailand, and their respective conseguirons. Pond's conseguiron picked me up from my house at 4ish and we walked to David's conseguiron's house to pick him up. We walked for about 20 minutes until we arrived at Plaza Moreno. In La Plata, there is a giant, beautiful Cathedral. It stands in front of Plaza Moreno. We walked up to the Cathedral to find David waiting for us. We went inside the Cathedral and it was absolutely amazing. (here is a photo of the Cathedral: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/La_Plata_-_Catedral_-_HDR.jpg) After walking around the church, we exited and found a spot on the lawn to drink mate and play cards. My conseguiron Julio arrived shortly thereafter.
We went back to Julio's house and hung out for a while, until it was time to take me home so I could get ready for the birthday party of two of my classmates. I got picked up for the party at 12:30 by two of the girls in my class. (That is not a typo - the parties here start very late.) We got to the party after driving for about 20 minutes. All of the kids at the party wanted to talk to me. At one point, I was outside, and slowly the party room emptied out and there was a circle of kids around me, asking me questions and saying I was "buena onda" (good vibes.) We went inside after a while because it was quite cold that night. In the next 3 hours I had to fend off 3 different drunk chicks. I felt very uncomfortable for most of the party. I was already very tired when they picked me up, so that didn't help. The drunk chicks certainly didn't help either. They kept asking me questions and then asking me the same questions 10 minutes later - very annoying. They all wanted to kiss me. "No, gracias."
I got home at 5:30 but I couldn't fall asleep because my mind was still processing all of the events of the party. I eventually fell asleep, and woke up today at 1, just in time to eat lunch.
It's now 11:05 pm, and I am very tired. I am going to sleep.
Chau
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
week two
I started school on Monday. I woke up at 7am after tossing and turning most of the night. Typical last night of summer in that regard. It was a far from typical first day of school though. I ate some Zucaritas for breakfast in a coffee mug with milk. Zucaritas are South American Frosted Flakes. After waiting for about 15 minutes, watching the local news, a taxi arrived and picked up my mom and I.
We arrived at the school some 15 minutes later and my mom walked me into the school and into the office, where I met my class advisor, Guido. I was relieved when I heard him speak english! After a brief meeting in which I might have understood a word or two, my mom left and I felt very alone. Guido walked me out of the office and up the stairs. All of the kids were looking at me. I felt much more foreign than I did at the soccer game. Soccer is my comfort zone. No matter what language they shout "pass" or "shoot" in, I understand what is going on. This was something completely new to me and I admit, I was scared.
Guido took me upstairs to the third floor and down a hallway until we reached a group of kids waiting outside of a classroom. Literally every kid greeted me with a kiss on my right cheek. They do this in Argentina when they greet eachother and when they leave. It is called "un beso." The kids had been expecting me for about a week so they were eager to talk to me. They all asked me questions like what state was I from and how did I like Argentina so far. After struggling to communicate with my new classmates for about 5 minutes, our Language and Literature teacher arrived and unlocked the door. I took my seat at a desk in the second row and the other students settled in. Guido took attendance and motioned me to leave with him. Once outside of the classroom he informed me that they were taking a test and he said it would be a good time for him to show me around the school.
We walked all around the school while Guido pointed out all the different departments. After this we returned to the office where he gave me a copy of my schedule. He also gave me a list of electives and told me that I could choose one. I was quite disappointed to not see art on the list and I asked him why it was not a choice. He said that it was a choice last trimester but that it was not offered this upcoming trimester. I realized that I had my colored pencils and sketchbook at my new house anyways and saw "Rock Nacional" on the list, so I wasn't bummed out for long.
Guido told me that there was still a half hour left in the class and that I could go on the computer while I waited for the next one to start. Since our internet at home had been down for about 4 days at this time, I was very happy to shoot out some emails to my real family.
The bell rang, and I went back upstairs to the Philosophy room. All the kids were outside again and we talked until the bell rang a second time. The Philosophy teacher welcomed me to the class and to the school and that was about the only thing I understood in the entire hour and some minutes we were in that class. This was my last class of the day because the Biology teacher was ill. I walked downstairs with my new classmates and went out the front door and talked to them some more until my mom came to take me home. It was a good first day.
My second day of school was fine. Our Physics teacher was ill, so we got out at 10:30. All of the guys signalled me to follow them down the road and said we would play soccer. We walked into a shop, next to a restaurant, called Futbol Cinco. It was an indoor soccer place where you can buy a field for an hour. I changed into my shorts and sambas and we started to play. It is called Futbol Cinco because it is supposed to be 5 on 5. We had a lot more people than that, so the field was very cramped. The other kids were all fairly good and it was a very technical and quick kind of soccer in such a tight space. My first touch of the ball I ripped a shot far bar, side netting. All the kids started yelling "VERNER!" (that's what they all call me here.) Besides a couple good goals and nutmegs, I felt very rusty. I hadn't played in a soccer game in over a month, so I lacked the sharpness that was required in such a tight, fast game.
I felt a bit down after our timer went off, because I thought I missed my opportunity to impress with my first impression, but looking back on it, I didn't play bad at all. We exited the field and entered a room where there were water pitchers and tall glasses waiting for us. All the kids talked to me and one of the girls was pouring cup after cup of mate, giving one to each of us. We all threw in our 5 pesos to come up with the required total, and left Futbol Cinco.
"¿Vamos a comer?" said one of the guys, and we all followed him into a place called Wich down the street. I got a hamburger and after we ate, the kids gradually left. I was in the restaurant with two guys and three girls, trying to craft a text message in spanish that would tell my mom that I got out of school early and wanted to go home, when she called me. I answered and had a terrible conversation with her. I was told by a former AFS girl a few days ago that I will get headaches when I am trying to speak in spanish. She was right! After the five minute conversation in which my mom must have said ¿hola? fifty times, I had a tremendous headache. I was pretty sure that she said she was at work and would call my dad to come get me.
After waiting in the restaurant for about 15 minutes, which I felt was about the right time for my dad to arrive in a taxi, I went outside into the rain to wait for him. The two guys and three girls waited with me, and I think they felt kind of responsible for my wellbeing. I appreciated this but after wating in the freezing rain for over 20 minutes, I felt really bad for inconveniencing them. Finally the taxi arrived and I said chau to my classmates.
I got home with my dad and was greeted at the door with a guitar that my mom's sister had brought over while I was at school. I didn't end up buying one at the music store last week because the affordable ones were very bad and the decent ones were very bad for the price they were asking. I truly felt horrible but I was still very happy to have a guitar. It is quite comforting to have a guitar in my room again.
After tuning up my new guitar and playing it for a while, I popped 3 advil and took a 4 hour nap. I woke up feeling much better and drank some mate with my mom. I slept through a plan that I had made with the Italian exchange student and her host sister, who are my best friends now, but my mom called them and informed them about my situation. We rescheduled once I woke up and all was well.
Today was my third day in school, and it was a full day. My day starts at 7:50 and ends at 1:10. Most people don't eat until they go back home after school, so I was quite hungry by the time I got home. My mom made some Milanesas, which are breaded meat patties. They are very delicious and I discovered today how good they are with lemon juice. I wrecked about 6 milanesas and maybe 5 cups of mate before returning to my room for my daily siesta (nap).
After I woke up, I played guitar for a while. My mom came in and asked me if I would play in the kitchen/living room in which we all spend our free time. I was happy to play for my family and they were blown away by Stairway to Heaven, like I figured they would be.
It is now 9:30 and we will eat dinner soon. Did I mention that we eat dinner at around 10 in Argentina?!
¡Chau!
Werner
We arrived at the school some 15 minutes later and my mom walked me into the school and into the office, where I met my class advisor, Guido. I was relieved when I heard him speak english! After a brief meeting in which I might have understood a word or two, my mom left and I felt very alone. Guido walked me out of the office and up the stairs. All of the kids were looking at me. I felt much more foreign than I did at the soccer game. Soccer is my comfort zone. No matter what language they shout "pass" or "shoot" in, I understand what is going on. This was something completely new to me and I admit, I was scared.
Guido took me upstairs to the third floor and down a hallway until we reached a group of kids waiting outside of a classroom. Literally every kid greeted me with a kiss on my right cheek. They do this in Argentina when they greet eachother and when they leave. It is called "un beso." The kids had been expecting me for about a week so they were eager to talk to me. They all asked me questions like what state was I from and how did I like Argentina so far. After struggling to communicate with my new classmates for about 5 minutes, our Language and Literature teacher arrived and unlocked the door. I took my seat at a desk in the second row and the other students settled in. Guido took attendance and motioned me to leave with him. Once outside of the classroom he informed me that they were taking a test and he said it would be a good time for him to show me around the school.
We walked all around the school while Guido pointed out all the different departments. After this we returned to the office where he gave me a copy of my schedule. He also gave me a list of electives and told me that I could choose one. I was quite disappointed to not see art on the list and I asked him why it was not a choice. He said that it was a choice last trimester but that it was not offered this upcoming trimester. I realized that I had my colored pencils and sketchbook at my new house anyways and saw "Rock Nacional" on the list, so I wasn't bummed out for long.
Guido told me that there was still a half hour left in the class and that I could go on the computer while I waited for the next one to start. Since our internet at home had been down for about 4 days at this time, I was very happy to shoot out some emails to my real family.
The bell rang, and I went back upstairs to the Philosophy room. All the kids were outside again and we talked until the bell rang a second time. The Philosophy teacher welcomed me to the class and to the school and that was about the only thing I understood in the entire hour and some minutes we were in that class. This was my last class of the day because the Biology teacher was ill. I walked downstairs with my new classmates and went out the front door and talked to them some more until my mom came to take me home. It was a good first day.
My second day of school was fine. Our Physics teacher was ill, so we got out at 10:30. All of the guys signalled me to follow them down the road and said we would play soccer. We walked into a shop, next to a restaurant, called Futbol Cinco. It was an indoor soccer place where you can buy a field for an hour. I changed into my shorts and sambas and we started to play. It is called Futbol Cinco because it is supposed to be 5 on 5. We had a lot more people than that, so the field was very cramped. The other kids were all fairly good and it was a very technical and quick kind of soccer in such a tight space. My first touch of the ball I ripped a shot far bar, side netting. All the kids started yelling "VERNER!" (that's what they all call me here.) Besides a couple good goals and nutmegs, I felt very rusty. I hadn't played in a soccer game in over a month, so I lacked the sharpness that was required in such a tight, fast game.
I felt a bit down after our timer went off, because I thought I missed my opportunity to impress with my first impression, but looking back on it, I didn't play bad at all. We exited the field and entered a room where there were water pitchers and tall glasses waiting for us. All the kids talked to me and one of the girls was pouring cup after cup of mate, giving one to each of us. We all threw in our 5 pesos to come up with the required total, and left Futbol Cinco.
"¿Vamos a comer?" said one of the guys, and we all followed him into a place called Wich down the street. I got a hamburger and after we ate, the kids gradually left. I was in the restaurant with two guys and three girls, trying to craft a text message in spanish that would tell my mom that I got out of school early and wanted to go home, when she called me. I answered and had a terrible conversation with her. I was told by a former AFS girl a few days ago that I will get headaches when I am trying to speak in spanish. She was right! After the five minute conversation in which my mom must have said ¿hola? fifty times, I had a tremendous headache. I was pretty sure that she said she was at work and would call my dad to come get me.
After waiting in the restaurant for about 15 minutes, which I felt was about the right time for my dad to arrive in a taxi, I went outside into the rain to wait for him. The two guys and three girls waited with me, and I think they felt kind of responsible for my wellbeing. I appreciated this but after wating in the freezing rain for over 20 minutes, I felt really bad for inconveniencing them. Finally the taxi arrived and I said chau to my classmates.
I got home with my dad and was greeted at the door with a guitar that my mom's sister had brought over while I was at school. I didn't end up buying one at the music store last week because the affordable ones were very bad and the decent ones were very bad for the price they were asking. I truly felt horrible but I was still very happy to have a guitar. It is quite comforting to have a guitar in my room again.
After tuning up my new guitar and playing it for a while, I popped 3 advil and took a 4 hour nap. I woke up feeling much better and drank some mate with my mom. I slept through a plan that I had made with the Italian exchange student and her host sister, who are my best friends now, but my mom called them and informed them about my situation. We rescheduled once I woke up and all was well.
Today was my third day in school, and it was a full day. My day starts at 7:50 and ends at 1:10. Most people don't eat until they go back home after school, so I was quite hungry by the time I got home. My mom made some Milanesas, which are breaded meat patties. They are very delicious and I discovered today how good they are with lemon juice. I wrecked about 6 milanesas and maybe 5 cups of mate before returning to my room for my daily siesta (nap).
After I woke up, I played guitar for a while. My mom came in and asked me if I would play in the kitchen/living room in which we all spend our free time. I was happy to play for my family and they were blown away by Stairway to Heaven, like I figured they would be.
It is now 9:30 and we will eat dinner soon. Did I mention that we eat dinner at around 10 in Argentina?!
¡Chau!
Werner
Monday, August 23, 2010
week one
Hello and welcome to my blog. I am writing from my new house in La Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina. My new family consists of my mom Silvia, my dad Antonio, my brother Marco, and my sister Ana. I could go on and on about how awesome they all are but this blog is supposed to be about what I have been doing. I will say that the family is a perfect match for me.
I arrived in La Plata yesterday morning after a three day orientation camp with other AFS students from around the world. In my room were the other American boys going to Argentina, a French boy, and some Danish boys. The Danish boys were very funny. One of the American boys liked a German girl so he asked one of the Danish boys to teach him something in German to say to the girl. The Danish boy told him to say "haast der dursht fal" and said that it meant "you are as beautiful as a waterfall." The American boy built up his confidence and finally said this to the German girl. After he said it she got a shocked look on her face. It turns out that he asked her if she had diarrhea. As I said, the Danish boys were very funny.
The camp was a lot of fun but it was much too long considering I had already gone through a two day orientation camp in Miami with all 24 of the American students going to Argentina prior to arriving in Buenos Aires. At long last I got on the bus which would take me to my new home town. I got off the bus and was greeted with a kiss from each of my family members. There are 4 other exchange students in La Plata and we all posed for a picture. After that, I got into a cab with my new brother and father. Soon after we arrived home.
I walked in and was immediately surprised by how small and simple the house was. I thought about how I would have to adjust to such living and tried to remain positive. After eating lunch, Marco and I were talking about soccer. He said that Gimnasia, the local club and the one that my family supports, was playing against Colon in two hours at the stadium. After being asked if I wanted to go and trying somehow to express that there is nothing I would rather have done, we settled the fact that we would go see the game. I was pleasantly surprised at how spontaneous it all was and thought that I would like that aspect of the culture.
So we all left the house for the stadium. Ana likes Colon so she had her Colon jersey on. I was wearing my red shoes and a blue shirt which they pointed out was funny because Colon is red and Gimnasia is blue. We walked for about five minutes until we reached the street that the stadium is on. At this point, Ana and my mom split up from Marco, my dad, and I. I asked why we were not going together and they said that the visiting fans have to go through a whole different entrance to prevent fighting. I thought it was very cool that a regular season game would mean so much to the fans that they had to be separated. We walked to the ticket window and got the tickets. Then we were patted down for weapons. I guess they take soccer games really seriously in Argentina.
After passing the weapons check, we walked into the stadium. It was at this point that I noticed that all of the people were looking at me. It was an interesting feeling to be the foreigner. I was also very excited to see my first professional game. We walked up the stairs and sat down behind a steel bar, completely blocking our view. We were very early to the game so I was trying to figure out why we would sit behind a big blue bar. The stadium gradually filled up and Colon took the field to warm up. I asked my dad where Gimnasia was and he said that they warm up underneath the field. When Gimnasia took the field, everyone stood up and cheered. At this point I saw why we sat behind the bar. The bar was to lean on and we would be leaning on it the entire game. Everybody stands up for the whole 90 minutes of the game, so it was of much help to have a bar to lean forward on.
The game ended 0-0, but there was much action and close scoring chances. I would have liked to see a goal, of course, but it was still an awesome experience. Looking around the stadium I saw giant trees towering over the top rows. The stadium is called "el bosque" which means "the forest." I thought that was really cool and then Marco told me that the team is called "los lobos" which means "the wolves." I was nearly blown away by the perfect sense that that made.
After the game we returned to the house. My mom started boiling water on the stove and Marco turned on the TV. He switched around until he found the soccer channel. We got back from the game only to watch more soccer on TV. I thought that I will love my year in this culture. The water on the stove was for mate. "Mah tay." It is a very strong tea that is a tradition and social custom in Argentina. We sat around the table, sipping mate and eating cookies while watching soccer highlights on TV.
We had pizza for dinner that night and I was very tired after that so I showered and went to bed. It was an awesome first day.
Today, I woke up at 11 am to find my dad making beef and bread for Ana and Marco. I had some and it was very delicious. Then my dad left for work and soon after Marco received a text message from a friend informing him that a teacher from the school had died in a car accident and that there were no more classes for the day, or for tomorrow. So I literally sat around all day, drinking mate and watching soccer on TV with Marco and Ana. I also watched Like Mike in spanish and saw some American music on TV.
It is now 12:20 am and I am very tired. Spanish all day requires a great deal of brain function, so I need to go shower and get to sleep. No school tomorrow, so my mom is taking me to the center of the city so I can buy a guitar. ¡Chau!
I arrived in La Plata yesterday morning after a three day orientation camp with other AFS students from around the world. In my room were the other American boys going to Argentina, a French boy, and some Danish boys. The Danish boys were very funny. One of the American boys liked a German girl so he asked one of the Danish boys to teach him something in German to say to the girl. The Danish boy told him to say "haast der dursht fal" and said that it meant "you are as beautiful as a waterfall." The American boy built up his confidence and finally said this to the German girl. After he said it she got a shocked look on her face. It turns out that he asked her if she had diarrhea. As I said, the Danish boys were very funny.
The camp was a lot of fun but it was much too long considering I had already gone through a two day orientation camp in Miami with all 24 of the American students going to Argentina prior to arriving in Buenos Aires. At long last I got on the bus which would take me to my new home town. I got off the bus and was greeted with a kiss from each of my family members. There are 4 other exchange students in La Plata and we all posed for a picture. After that, I got into a cab with my new brother and father. Soon after we arrived home.
I walked in and was immediately surprised by how small and simple the house was. I thought about how I would have to adjust to such living and tried to remain positive. After eating lunch, Marco and I were talking about soccer. He said that Gimnasia, the local club and the one that my family supports, was playing against Colon in two hours at the stadium. After being asked if I wanted to go and trying somehow to express that there is nothing I would rather have done, we settled the fact that we would go see the game. I was pleasantly surprised at how spontaneous it all was and thought that I would like that aspect of the culture.
So we all left the house for the stadium. Ana likes Colon so she had her Colon jersey on. I was wearing my red shoes and a blue shirt which they pointed out was funny because Colon is red and Gimnasia is blue. We walked for about five minutes until we reached the street that the stadium is on. At this point, Ana and my mom split up from Marco, my dad, and I. I asked why we were not going together and they said that the visiting fans have to go through a whole different entrance to prevent fighting. I thought it was very cool that a regular season game would mean so much to the fans that they had to be separated. We walked to the ticket window and got the tickets. Then we were patted down for weapons. I guess they take soccer games really seriously in Argentina.
After passing the weapons check, we walked into the stadium. It was at this point that I noticed that all of the people were looking at me. It was an interesting feeling to be the foreigner. I was also very excited to see my first professional game. We walked up the stairs and sat down behind a steel bar, completely blocking our view. We were very early to the game so I was trying to figure out why we would sit behind a big blue bar. The stadium gradually filled up and Colon took the field to warm up. I asked my dad where Gimnasia was and he said that they warm up underneath the field. When Gimnasia took the field, everyone stood up and cheered. At this point I saw why we sat behind the bar. The bar was to lean on and we would be leaning on it the entire game. Everybody stands up for the whole 90 minutes of the game, so it was of much help to have a bar to lean forward on.
The game ended 0-0, but there was much action and close scoring chances. I would have liked to see a goal, of course, but it was still an awesome experience. Looking around the stadium I saw giant trees towering over the top rows. The stadium is called "el bosque" which means "the forest." I thought that was really cool and then Marco told me that the team is called "los lobos" which means "the wolves." I was nearly blown away by the perfect sense that that made.
After the game we returned to the house. My mom started boiling water on the stove and Marco turned on the TV. He switched around until he found the soccer channel. We got back from the game only to watch more soccer on TV. I thought that I will love my year in this culture. The water on the stove was for mate. "Mah tay." It is a very strong tea that is a tradition and social custom in Argentina. We sat around the table, sipping mate and eating cookies while watching soccer highlights on TV.
We had pizza for dinner that night and I was very tired after that so I showered and went to bed. It was an awesome first day.
Today, I woke up at 11 am to find my dad making beef and bread for Ana and Marco. I had some and it was very delicious. Then my dad left for work and soon after Marco received a text message from a friend informing him that a teacher from the school had died in a car accident and that there were no more classes for the day, or for tomorrow. So I literally sat around all day, drinking mate and watching soccer on TV with Marco and Ana. I also watched Like Mike in spanish and saw some American music on TV.
It is now 12:20 am and I am very tired. Spanish all day requires a great deal of brain function, so I need to go shower and get to sleep. No school tomorrow, so my mom is taking me to the center of the city so I can buy a guitar. ¡Chau!
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