First of all let me say I hate selfish people. The inauguration of the museum for Argentinos Juniors wasn't quite what I expected. Let me clarify, I went for two reasons. First, that the man heading the creation of the museum is the same one that has helped me soooo much with my thesis, Dario. So I thought that helping with this was the LEAST I could do to repay him. Second, obviously because soccer gods from past years were going to be there. ugh. Ok. Well I got there early...simply b/c I wasn't on the guest list I was afraid if I didn't I wouldn't be able to get in. I was looking for something to do so I wouldn't feel completely useless. I did a last minute sweep of the floor, helped move some supplies out of the room, and one of the women on the committee, Mariana, says to me, "Help me operate this stand where we're going to sell some of the books written by members and some other little museum trinkets? I'd like another pair of eyes. I'm only one person and they're going to be a lot of people there. Don't want anyone to just walk up and take anything." Ok...so originally I was like "Good. I can make myself useful."
Um...more like she meant to say to me, "Can you operate the stand yourself while me and my boyfriend go take pictures with all the famous people that are going to be there??" I did not get ONE photo in until after all the super oober famous players had all gone in. 5 players from the 2009 team were there, Maradona was there for like a second and a half, but all his family stayed there a while, Peckerman, Peterzoli, Sainz, 3 players from the 1960 team, a couple of mayors, Redondo...and they were ALL posing for photos. Did I get out of this stand to get any pics?? Oh no. Meanwhile I stood watching this woman get all these photos in and of course I wasn't going to leave b/c then anyone could've taken anything b/c I was the only other one watching it. It just burned me up so much.
I mean...this woman is on a first name basis with everyone on the team. She's sat down and talked with like all of the coaching staff...like I HAVE TWO MORE WEEKS HERE. She'll have the rest of her life time to take those pics. but noooo....lets put the american to watch the stand. Ughhh.
Dario also forgot to name me among those who had collaborated with the museum. So the hours I spent shining trophies and cleaning the dirtiest places in the museum went unrecognized. That kinda ticked me off too.....but I can forgive that because Dario has had sooooooo much on his mind this past week that I understand he was nervous and preoccupied. Plus, he must've apologized like 10 times.
So I have a few pics of the last minute preparations. I also got to chat briefly with the man who holds the record for the most goals scored during a single game for the team and got a picture with him. Also...the man who is the official historian for the team (who originally really ticked me off by not showing up to an interview after I had traveled over an hour on public transportation in 90 degree weather) who is also a doctor agreed to look at my knee and my shins...which are currently bothering me again. :) So it wasn't a total waste.
I got in all the pictures of the whole museum committee which will go on the team's official website...so you could say I went down in the clubs history. But the whole picture dilemma was still a little bit of a let down. *sigh* Guess i can't have everything, right??
So I"m finished with all my work now and I have the next two weeks to really enjoy myself!! That's all for now in Buenos Aires.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Some lists...think of it like Letterman's Top 10s but without all the marital scandals!!
Top 10 Argentine Things That Would NEVER Fly in the USA
1. Jorge Videla- Enough said
2. A police officer blowing kisses at you and telling you "hey beautiful"-- any American officer would lose his badge and there might be a law suit
3. Being told you can't get into a casinio because you dont have original documentation
4. Being asked for original documentation ANYWHERE
5. 48 hour subway strikes
6. Cartoneros going through peoples garbage on a daily basis--they'd definitely be arrested
7. The Barras Bravas (anybody whos confused feel free to ask)-- no one chants at American sporting events and there'd be a huge outcry if a certain group were given free tickets and not everyone...I smell a law suuuit!!!
8. Kioscos not taking credit cards--lets be honest...7-11 is like the only place in Gettysburg that takes credit cards without a minimum!
9. Hamas--- don't quote me but I do believe it's legal here to be a Hamas member
10. Corruption--- since most people are poorer here than other places corruption is a generally excepted fact of life...there'd be no Bernard Kerik trials here b/c people would slap him on the wrist, shrug their shoulders, and congratulate him for finding people who'd build his country house for free!!!
Top 10 American Things That Would Never Fly Here In Bs As
1. Professors starting classes five minutes early
2. Suing McDonalds for excessively hot coffee
3. Starting ANYTHING on time
4. Barack Obama-- while Argentines seem overwhelmingly supportive of the Obama presidency in America, pigs would fly out of my nose the day a black man is elected in Argentina! (no racism- just truth)
5. Retardedly high prices for tickets for sporting events--- the best seats in the house in Argentinos Juniors Stadium are the equivalent of US$ 15
6. Excessive traffic ticketing----just does not exist here!!! Cops don't sit in wait for some unsuspecting speeder here plus when they do catch you I'm told you can just pay them off.
7. Hummers---people are on the most part very fuel economical with their cars...people do drive sports cars but I have not seen a Hummer in all my 5 months here. We'll consider it a symbol of American over the top-ness.
8. The Ghetto Fabulous Culture---you know the one that told Plaxico Burress that its ok, with all his millions, to carry around an unregistered gun and then shoot himself in the leg with it?? The same one that tells so many kids every year that it's cool to talk like you're from the hood and where your pants half way down your a$$??? Yeah, overall people from poor areas here do not wear their economic status around their necks and being "hood" is not at all fashionable.
9. Weight watchers--- obesity here is not something that is nationally broadcast and overweight Argentines sometimes do not even go out of the house because they are so looked down upon by Argentine society.
10. Getting your food wrapped to-go at restaurants---just doesn't happen here.
Top 10 Things I Miss About Cranbury
1. Late night excursions to Dunkin Donuts(Dunkin Donuts and coolatas in general)
2. CLEAN AIR
3. QUIET
4. Cranbury Pizza---any one who has tried it would know there's nothing like it in the world
5. Bagels and cream cheese
6. Cheese steaks and other such LARGE sandwhiches
7. My car!!!!!
8. My parents :)
9. Advanced cellular phones
10. Banks that keep regular hours...none of this 10-3 Monday to Friday business
And that's all for now! Hope you got a kick out of my Top 10s!
1. Jorge Videla- Enough said
2. A police officer blowing kisses at you and telling you "hey beautiful"-- any American officer would lose his badge and there might be a law suit
3. Being told you can't get into a casinio because you dont have original documentation
4. Being asked for original documentation ANYWHERE
5. 48 hour subway strikes
6. Cartoneros going through peoples garbage on a daily basis--they'd definitely be arrested
7. The Barras Bravas (anybody whos confused feel free to ask)-- no one chants at American sporting events and there'd be a huge outcry if a certain group were given free tickets and not everyone...I smell a law suuuit!!!
8. Kioscos not taking credit cards--lets be honest...7-11 is like the only place in Gettysburg that takes credit cards without a minimum!
9. Hamas--- don't quote me but I do believe it's legal here to be a Hamas member
10. Corruption--- since most people are poorer here than other places corruption is a generally excepted fact of life...there'd be no Bernard Kerik trials here b/c people would slap him on the wrist, shrug their shoulders, and congratulate him for finding people who'd build his country house for free!!!
Top 10 American Things That Would Never Fly Here In Bs As
1. Professors starting classes five minutes early
2. Suing McDonalds for excessively hot coffee
3. Starting ANYTHING on time
4. Barack Obama-- while Argentines seem overwhelmingly supportive of the Obama presidency in America, pigs would fly out of my nose the day a black man is elected in Argentina! (no racism- just truth)
5. Retardedly high prices for tickets for sporting events--- the best seats in the house in Argentinos Juniors Stadium are the equivalent of US$ 15
6. Excessive traffic ticketing----just does not exist here!!! Cops don't sit in wait for some unsuspecting speeder here plus when they do catch you I'm told you can just pay them off.
7. Hummers---people are on the most part very fuel economical with their cars...people do drive sports cars but I have not seen a Hummer in all my 5 months here. We'll consider it a symbol of American over the top-ness.
8. The Ghetto Fabulous Culture---you know the one that told Plaxico Burress that its ok, with all his millions, to carry around an unregistered gun and then shoot himself in the leg with it?? The same one that tells so many kids every year that it's cool to talk like you're from the hood and where your pants half way down your a$$??? Yeah, overall people from poor areas here do not wear their economic status around their necks and being "hood" is not at all fashionable.
9. Weight watchers--- obesity here is not something that is nationally broadcast and overweight Argentines sometimes do not even go out of the house because they are so looked down upon by Argentine society.
10. Getting your food wrapped to-go at restaurants---just doesn't happen here.
Top 10 Things I Miss About Cranbury
1. Late night excursions to Dunkin Donuts(Dunkin Donuts and coolatas in general)
2. CLEAN AIR
3. QUIET
4. Cranbury Pizza---any one who has tried it would know there's nothing like it in the world
5. Bagels and cream cheese
6. Cheese steaks and other such LARGE sandwhiches
7. My car!!!!!
8. My parents :)
9. Advanced cellular phones
10. Banks that keep regular hours...none of this 10-3 Monday to Friday business
And that's all for now! Hope you got a kick out of my Top 10s!
Monday, November 9, 2009
How many endangered species of insect meet their death everyday on a tourbus?
Hahaha. Ladies and gentlemen, I am officially back from my trip to Iguazu Falls! And yes, I did spend more time on a double decker bus than I actually did at the falls, but let me tell you it was SO worth it, and I am SO glad we went!
First of all Natalie and I had planned to go a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately we were both piled with work that just could not be put off. So we postponed it. I had made these reservations a week before I found out I had mistook the date to hand in my final paper for my Political Science class. A week before I found out I had 2 weeks to research and write a 15-20 page paper in Spanish. But Iguazu was a trip that just could not be put off! We told ourselves that if we didn't go this weekend we were never going to go!
So the weekend started Thursday at 6:45 PM when we left for the bus station, which was a short train ride away. Nat and I decided to pack all of our things together in my big red bag, because I had to bring that due to lack of anything medium sized to put my clothes in. It was hilarious because we got there and both realized that we had no idea exactly where the bus station. We got there 10 minutes before the bus came, and 15 minutes before the bus left!!! Yup those big bus companies do not play! I mean, Nat and I thought that of course everything was going to be on Argen-time (read: Argentine time), but the bus pulled in at 7:55 and was out of there at 8:05!
So, I really wish someone had told me that these big bus companies do not do a straight shot from the Retiro station in Buenos Aires to Iguazu falls (which is located in the north-eastern most province of Misiones)!! That's what I had anticipated. On the way up there we must have stopped like 8 times to pick up more passengers at various stations. At times we were stoped for like 45 minutes! So, the ride up there took like 21 hours!!! I was DYING of boredom by the time we got there, simply because I can do nothing else on a bus other than sleep because I get severely motion sickness. Since Nat and I took the cheapest bus up that the company had to offer the seats were far from comfortable.
So we got there Friday afternoon and it was HUMID. I read the weather when we got to the hostel (which was really more like a low-end hotel, it had a pool, internet, wi-fi, pool and ping pong tables, and a tv in every room) and the humidity was at 94%!!! We did homework all Friday night and went to bed early. Then we blocked out all Saturday for the park!!! It is safe to say that Iguazu falls was the most beautiful natural landmaark I have EVER been too. It even tops Macchu Picchu in Peru!
But you know those places that give you the illusion of being in the middle of nature, which is in reality, nothing but an illusion?? Yeah, this place was obviously one of them.
Iguazu falls is located in the National Park of Iguazu. It costs 60 pesos to enter. I swear there must be like 5 or 6 restaurants spread out throughout the park plus a Sheraton Hotel and I do believe another hotel as well. There are miles and miles of cement and asphalt walk ways and steps as well as miles of metal walkways that cross waterfalls and such. Needless to say, with the tourism this place receives every year the animals definitely know where the people are. So..we didn't see too many "exotic" creatures. A couple of kuwatis (think tail of a racoon, and body and head a quarter of a size of a regular ant eater), a lizard, some crazy spiders, and some birds, and LOTS of butterflies!
It POURED for the first 2 hours but after that it was gorgeous! I don't have pictures yet, because only Natalie took her camera (it was raining when we left the hostel, so I figured why get two cameras wet?) and her internet isn't being too kind to her now. But really? I don't need pictures. I can safely tell you that Iguazu Falls is the most beautiful natural wonder that I have seen in my 21 years on this earth. Absolutely incredible magnitude that just makes one feel small in the face of this beautiful earth God has created for us.
I'm glad we went too! Because from today there is 1 month and 2 days left until I board the plane for Miami. I'm trying to do one interesting thing every day to make my time here worthwhile. Today I went to this drum show called La Bamba with Quiana, a friend from Gettysburg College who is here visiting from Chile. The rhythms were complicated and intertwined, the show was exciting, but the atmosphere was absolutely horrible. I left early.
So that's all for now in Buenos Aires!
First of all Natalie and I had planned to go a couple of weeks ago. Unfortunately we were both piled with work that just could not be put off. So we postponed it. I had made these reservations a week before I found out I had mistook the date to hand in my final paper for my Political Science class. A week before I found out I had 2 weeks to research and write a 15-20 page paper in Spanish. But Iguazu was a trip that just could not be put off! We told ourselves that if we didn't go this weekend we were never going to go!
So the weekend started Thursday at 6:45 PM when we left for the bus station, which was a short train ride away. Nat and I decided to pack all of our things together in my big red bag, because I had to bring that due to lack of anything medium sized to put my clothes in. It was hilarious because we got there and both realized that we had no idea exactly where the bus station. We got there 10 minutes before the bus came, and 15 minutes before the bus left!!! Yup those big bus companies do not play! I mean, Nat and I thought that of course everything was going to be on Argen-time (read: Argentine time), but the bus pulled in at 7:55 and was out of there at 8:05!
So, I really wish someone had told me that these big bus companies do not do a straight shot from the Retiro station in Buenos Aires to Iguazu falls (which is located in the north-eastern most province of Misiones)!! That's what I had anticipated. On the way up there we must have stopped like 8 times to pick up more passengers at various stations. At times we were stoped for like 45 minutes! So, the ride up there took like 21 hours!!! I was DYING of boredom by the time we got there, simply because I can do nothing else on a bus other than sleep because I get severely motion sickness. Since Nat and I took the cheapest bus up that the company had to offer the seats were far from comfortable.
So we got there Friday afternoon and it was HUMID. I read the weather when we got to the hostel (which was really more like a low-end hotel, it had a pool, internet, wi-fi, pool and ping pong tables, and a tv in every room) and the humidity was at 94%!!! We did homework all Friday night and went to bed early. Then we blocked out all Saturday for the park!!! It is safe to say that Iguazu falls was the most beautiful natural landmaark I have EVER been too. It even tops Macchu Picchu in Peru!
But you know those places that give you the illusion of being in the middle of nature, which is in reality, nothing but an illusion?? Yeah, this place was obviously one of them.
Iguazu falls is located in the National Park of Iguazu. It costs 60 pesos to enter. I swear there must be like 5 or 6 restaurants spread out throughout the park plus a Sheraton Hotel and I do believe another hotel as well. There are miles and miles of cement and asphalt walk ways and steps as well as miles of metal walkways that cross waterfalls and such. Needless to say, with the tourism this place receives every year the animals definitely know where the people are. So..we didn't see too many "exotic" creatures. A couple of kuwatis (think tail of a racoon, and body and head a quarter of a size of a regular ant eater), a lizard, some crazy spiders, and some birds, and LOTS of butterflies!
It POURED for the first 2 hours but after that it was gorgeous! I don't have pictures yet, because only Natalie took her camera (it was raining when we left the hostel, so I figured why get two cameras wet?) and her internet isn't being too kind to her now. But really? I don't need pictures. I can safely tell you that Iguazu Falls is the most beautiful natural wonder that I have seen in my 21 years on this earth. Absolutely incredible magnitude that just makes one feel small in the face of this beautiful earth God has created for us.
I'm glad we went too! Because from today there is 1 month and 2 days left until I board the plane for Miami. I'm trying to do one interesting thing every day to make my time here worthwhile. Today I went to this drum show called La Bamba with Quiana, a friend from Gettysburg College who is here visiting from Chile. The rhythms were complicated and intertwined, the show was exciting, but the atmosphere was absolutely horrible. I left early.
So that's all for now in Buenos Aires!
Monday, November 2, 2009
Coronel Juanjo and Leiutenent Hernan take the troops to do battle in San Nicolas
Ok well let's be honest, it wasn't really a battle. It was more like a massacre. We lost 15-0, but I get ahead of myself.
To remind new readers, I am playing on a soccer team here. The female football team of University Torquato Di Tella. The coordinator of sports is Juan Jose (Juanjo), and our coach's name is Hernan. We're a group of girls from 19-24, only one of whom actually goes to Di Tella now! Ha! The rest go to different schools or have already graduated from Di Tella! We play for fun, in all honesty. Some games get competitive but it's mostly for kicks. A couple of months ago we were told that we were going to play a tournament in Mar de Plata. That is supposed to be a really nice beach town! I was so excited! Then we were told that this university we were going to play couldn't get enough girls together to form a team. Sadness. Then Juanjo said he had received an email from the coach of a girls team in San Nicolas, west of Buenos Aires inquiring about the possibility of playing a scrimmage.
This team is part of a foundation that, through soccer, works with girls from extremely poor neighborhoods helping them to finish school. The team is called the Pumas. The team has two divisions, one of girls 12-16 and the other from 16-26. They're a great bunch of girls and they were so nice, but WOW were they good. They played a different kind of soccer than we did, with noticeably rehearsed plays and it was obvious they were used to playing a field for 11 v 11 when we only play on a field for 8 v 8. We never stood a chance.
I fought hard though! I hurt my knee when one of the girls ran into me and I fell quite badly. But after some ice and advil it's feeling better. I'm sure it's nothing serious. I was flying too! But those goals just kept going by! It was good that they one though. I mean, of all times I don't mind losing that badly it would definitely be this one. It was interesting to see some of the real Argentina too, I mean like Argentina outside "the paris of south america", which is what they call Buenos Aires. It was really something to think that these girls come from absolutely nothing and could do soo much on a soccer field! It was neat too that, when we got to talk to them afterwards plus the day after, they were sooo fascinated by the fact that most of Di Tella's team can speak more than one language and have traveled extensively. They asked me and the other exchange students all about what America was like and they thought it was the coolest thing that one of the exchange students could speak Japanese!
So we came home with some battle wounds. One of the forwards sprained her ankle, another had a HUGE welt on her left shin, and of course I'm still icing my knee. But I think everyone enjoyed the comraderie and the learning experience and I know the Pumas enjoyed smashing us on the soccer field.
In other news I have a 15-20 page paper due in a week, and five pages due by Wednesday for another class, and four for another class. I've basically forgotten what sleep is, but I'm reading some poems tonight at a huge bookstore for the famous poet Mario Trejo that I wrote about a long while ago! Come on folks, who really needs sleep when you're in the Paris of South America??? I come home in 6 weeks and I feel like I've got sooo much left to do here!
Anyone interested can follow the link to the album of photographs. Sorry all the captions are in Spanish!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060126&id=19304269&l=14a9d6a8ad
To remind new readers, I am playing on a soccer team here. The female football team of University Torquato Di Tella. The coordinator of sports is Juan Jose (Juanjo), and our coach's name is Hernan. We're a group of girls from 19-24, only one of whom actually goes to Di Tella now! Ha! The rest go to different schools or have already graduated from Di Tella! We play for fun, in all honesty. Some games get competitive but it's mostly for kicks. A couple of months ago we were told that we were going to play a tournament in Mar de Plata. That is supposed to be a really nice beach town! I was so excited! Then we were told that this university we were going to play couldn't get enough girls together to form a team. Sadness. Then Juanjo said he had received an email from the coach of a girls team in San Nicolas, west of Buenos Aires inquiring about the possibility of playing a scrimmage.
This team is part of a foundation that, through soccer, works with girls from extremely poor neighborhoods helping them to finish school. The team is called the Pumas. The team has two divisions, one of girls 12-16 and the other from 16-26. They're a great bunch of girls and they were so nice, but WOW were they good. They played a different kind of soccer than we did, with noticeably rehearsed plays and it was obvious they were used to playing a field for 11 v 11 when we only play on a field for 8 v 8. We never stood a chance.
I fought hard though! I hurt my knee when one of the girls ran into me and I fell quite badly. But after some ice and advil it's feeling better. I'm sure it's nothing serious. I was flying too! But those goals just kept going by! It was good that they one though. I mean, of all times I don't mind losing that badly it would definitely be this one. It was interesting to see some of the real Argentina too, I mean like Argentina outside "the paris of south america", which is what they call Buenos Aires. It was really something to think that these girls come from absolutely nothing and could do soo much on a soccer field! It was neat too that, when we got to talk to them afterwards plus the day after, they were sooo fascinated by the fact that most of Di Tella's team can speak more than one language and have traveled extensively. They asked me and the other exchange students all about what America was like and they thought it was the coolest thing that one of the exchange students could speak Japanese!
So we came home with some battle wounds. One of the forwards sprained her ankle, another had a HUGE welt on her left shin, and of course I'm still icing my knee. But I think everyone enjoyed the comraderie and the learning experience and I know the Pumas enjoyed smashing us on the soccer field.
In other news I have a 15-20 page paper due in a week, and five pages due by Wednesday for another class, and four for another class. I've basically forgotten what sleep is, but I'm reading some poems tonight at a huge bookstore for the famous poet Mario Trejo that I wrote about a long while ago! Come on folks, who really needs sleep when you're in the Paris of South America??? I come home in 6 weeks and I feel like I've got sooo much left to do here!
Anyone interested can follow the link to the album of photographs. Sorry all the captions are in Spanish!
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2060126&id=19304269&l=14a9d6a8ad
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
