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
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