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.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
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
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