I wasn’t able to go to The Alamo and watch the football games since I had a lot of work to do. This upcoming week is midterms, so I guess its ok to start getting serious with school work.
I met up with Kate around 3pm, and we went to a café with a quiet upstairs sitting area with Wi-Fi internet. We ended up eating and working all day there, and it was great. I had a take home mid term exam paper for my culture class that I had to finish. We worked from 3 till about 7.30, and then took a dinner break. I ordered a steak, since I felt I was in the mood for some red meat. I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular since it was just a café, but it was actually excellent. That’s why I love this country. For 20 pesos (6 dollars) I get a great steak, just as good at one in an American steakhouse, at a random café.
By about 9.30pm we had all finished our work, and decided to reward ourselves, we would go catch a movie to end the weekend on an upbeat note. Kate and I bought tickets to see the Bourne Ultimatum. It was in English with Spanish subtitles. The movie was great, but I would have been very lost if I had to read and watch the action at the same time. I walked home and passed out since I was tired. A good weekend all in all. A busy week ahead.
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Friday and Saturday - Yom Kippur
Friday I did not have class in the morning since it was Dia del Estudiante and the Primero Dia de Primavera. That being the case, all schools were off, but most adults still worked. I worked on my take-home midterm paper for Spanish Culture class that was due Monday for most of the afternoon. I went out for a lunch and read some homework while I was out. I talked to my mother for a little, and before I knew it, it was already 3.45pm. My Brazilian visa was ready from 4-5, so I decided to go pick it up quickly before I was meeting Zoe, Sara, and Sarah for our last meal before Yom Kippur at 5. I arrived at the Brazilian consulate at 4, waited online till 4.30 without anyone helping the line. At that point, I realized that I had to leave and get home to get ready for Kol Nidre. I took a cab home, hopped in the shower, and got ready as fast as I could. I showed up at Zoe’s to an almost fully prepared meal for the four of us. Some fresh bought pasta and some other torts were a great last supper. After dinner Zoe and I went off to temple at the Chabad, while the two Sara’s went to the reform temple I went to on Rosh Hashana.
Zoe and I arrived a little early for the service, and found some good seats. Since this was a religious synagogue, I sat downstairs on the main floor and she sat upstairs in the women’s section. When we arrived, the only ones already in temple were very religious black hats with beards, and I felt a little out of place. I didn’t have time to shave and clean up my own beard, but I actually felt that it might have been a good choice given the extensive beards that these good Jews were sporting.
Once more people arrived; the congregation seemed to be a good mix. People were in suits, jeans, and every other thing. Its funny since the Jews in Argentina are mostly decedents from the same people American Jews are, how similar the two groups look. The service was nice, but a little long. I felt like I knew many of the prayers and the tunes that they were sung. I don’t think that I could always go to this kind of service, but there is something nice and nostalgic about your religion when you participate very similarly with the religious when they try and be as similar to the people in the bible. IN short, it’s comforting to think that this grouping of men with hats and beards singing is the same thing that happened 1,000 years ago. I understood a good amount of the rabbi’s sermon, and it was about not making excuses and being inspired to become more religious.
After 3 hours, I was happy Kol Nidre services were over. They were serious, but still fun, since the rabbi had a great personality and a great energy about him. On the walk home, Zoe and I decided we liked it, but we would try a new temple for the next day. I tried falling asleep even though I was already feeling hungry.
Saturday - I met up with Zoe in the morning and we walked over to the new temple, the only conservative congregation I could find online. We arrived and were interrogated by the security outside. It is strange for foreigners to come, and since security is so high after the bombings at the Israeli Embassy in the 90’s, they question all non-members. After we passed the quick questioning, we entered and only found standing room in the balcony.
The service was nice, and we got seats when some people left right before Yisskor. I enjoyed this temple, but still didn’t feel like home. I don’t think Ill ever find somewhere that feels the same as the Temple I grew up in.
After services I went home and laid in bed while watching some episodes of The Office on my computer. I then took a quick hour nap, and read and did some homework. We went 24.5 hours, and broke around 6pm. We ended up just going to a great café/restaurant very near where we live. It was great. We all ate sooo much. After dinner, around 8.20pm, which is very very early in Argentine standards, we decided to break up and meet up later again to go out.
I went with Sara and Zoe to Sara’s homestay to hangout and watch a movie. She lived in an amazingly giant and beautiful apartment, and it was nice to see it. We watched Saved!, and then started to drink and chill before we met up with everyone else.
Around 12.30am, we met up to go out to a club. We split two cabs, and got there and went inside. It ended being a cool place, and after some drinking and dancing, we left around 3.45am. It was a fun night, but felt like a really long day.
I got home and was not looking forward to all the work that was ahead of me on Sunday.
Zoe and I arrived a little early for the service, and found some good seats. Since this was a religious synagogue, I sat downstairs on the main floor and she sat upstairs in the women’s section. When we arrived, the only ones already in temple were very religious black hats with beards, and I felt a little out of place. I didn’t have time to shave and clean up my own beard, but I actually felt that it might have been a good choice given the extensive beards that these good Jews were sporting.
Once more people arrived; the congregation seemed to be a good mix. People were in suits, jeans, and every other thing. Its funny since the Jews in Argentina are mostly decedents from the same people American Jews are, how similar the two groups look. The service was nice, but a little long. I felt like I knew many of the prayers and the tunes that they were sung. I don’t think that I could always go to this kind of service, but there is something nice and nostalgic about your religion when you participate very similarly with the religious when they try and be as similar to the people in the bible. IN short, it’s comforting to think that this grouping of men with hats and beards singing is the same thing that happened 1,000 years ago. I understood a good amount of the rabbi’s sermon, and it was about not making excuses and being inspired to become more religious.
After 3 hours, I was happy Kol Nidre services were over. They were serious, but still fun, since the rabbi had a great personality and a great energy about him. On the walk home, Zoe and I decided we liked it, but we would try a new temple for the next day. I tried falling asleep even though I was already feeling hungry.
Saturday - I met up with Zoe in the morning and we walked over to the new temple, the only conservative congregation I could find online. We arrived and were interrogated by the security outside. It is strange for foreigners to come, and since security is so high after the bombings at the Israeli Embassy in the 90’s, they question all non-members. After we passed the quick questioning, we entered and only found standing room in the balcony.
The service was nice, and we got seats when some people left right before Yisskor. I enjoyed this temple, but still didn’t feel like home. I don’t think Ill ever find somewhere that feels the same as the Temple I grew up in.
After services I went home and laid in bed while watching some episodes of The Office on my computer. I then took a quick hour nap, and read and did some homework. We went 24.5 hours, and broke around 6pm. We ended up just going to a great café/restaurant very near where we live. It was great. We all ate sooo much. After dinner, around 8.20pm, which is very very early in Argentine standards, we decided to break up and meet up later again to go out.
I went with Sara and Zoe to Sara’s homestay to hangout and watch a movie. She lived in an amazingly giant and beautiful apartment, and it was nice to see it. We watched Saved!, and then started to drink and chill before we met up with everyone else.
Around 12.30am, we met up to go out to a club. We split two cabs, and got there and went inside. It ended being a cool place, and after some drinking and dancing, we left around 3.45am. It was a fun night, but felt like a really long day.
I got home and was not looking forward to all the work that was ahead of me on Sunday.
Thursday - Tango Dancing Club
Thursday I slept in since I was tired from going out all night on Wednesday. My internet had come back, so I was really happy to sleep late, read in bed, and then surf the web for a few hours. I talked to some friends, which was also nice.
After getting a little homework done during the day, I made plans after dinner to go out with Kate to a Milonga, or a dance bar to go and dance tango. Both of us had an assignment for culture class to go and write about our experience. Her assignment also included asking questions and conducting interviews.
We got the address and got out of the cab. We thought we were at the wrong place. There was no sign outside the door, just looked like an abandoned warehouse door. The only signal was the number address on the door. We walked in, and followed the light upstairs and walked into a giant space of a room. We paid the 15 pesos cover charge and were brought to a table at the back of the place. When we got there, only 3 or 4 couples were dancing. These clubs are not for professionals, but just people who like to dance tango. Although there were a lot of couples, there were a good amount of groups of single men and women who come to ask each other to dance. My favorite person was this single old man sitting by himself at the table next to us. When we got there we figured he just liked watching the dance. But half way into the night, he went over, asked one of the youngest best looking girls, and danced with her for most of the night. Tango isn’t about your looks or age, it has a much deeper purer root.
The room was dimly lit and had chairs and tables made out of broken material. I was sitting on a broken office chair, with just the single metal support beam as my back rest. Kate sat on a chair which was supported by a broken crate placed underneath the cushion. Local artwork and some other random stuff were hanging from the walls. This was a real tango experience. The women at the door and the waiter seemed confused that we foreigners even found the place or knew where to go.
After a little while, the music lowered and some professional dancers put on a show for us. They were great, and showcased a few different styles of tango. Even those who danced tango themselves seemed to be very impressed. A little while after the show we left and called it a night. It was a great experience and one not many tourists really get to have.
After getting a little homework done during the day, I made plans after dinner to go out with Kate to a Milonga, or a dance bar to go and dance tango. Both of us had an assignment for culture class to go and write about our experience. Her assignment also included asking questions and conducting interviews.
We got the address and got out of the cab. We thought we were at the wrong place. There was no sign outside the door, just looked like an abandoned warehouse door. The only signal was the number address on the door. We walked in, and followed the light upstairs and walked into a giant space of a room. We paid the 15 pesos cover charge and were brought to a table at the back of the place. When we got there, only 3 or 4 couples were dancing. These clubs are not for professionals, but just people who like to dance tango. Although there were a lot of couples, there were a good amount of groups of single men and women who come to ask each other to dance. My favorite person was this single old man sitting by himself at the table next to us. When we got there we figured he just liked watching the dance. But half way into the night, he went over, asked one of the youngest best looking girls, and danced with her for most of the night. Tango isn’t about your looks or age, it has a much deeper purer root.
The room was dimly lit and had chairs and tables made out of broken material. I was sitting on a broken office chair, with just the single metal support beam as my back rest. Kate sat on a chair which was supported by a broken crate placed underneath the cushion. Local artwork and some other random stuff were hanging from the walls. This was a real tango experience. The women at the door and the waiter seemed confused that we foreigners even found the place or knew where to go.
After a little while, the music lowered and some professional dancers put on a show for us. They were great, and showcased a few different styles of tango. Even those who danced tango themselves seemed to be very impressed. A little while after the show we left and called it a night. It was a great experience and one not many tourists really get to have.
Wednesday - BOCA JUNIORS SOCCER GAME!
I had class early in the morning, followed by class in the afternoon. After class in the afternoon I walked over to the IES Center with Elise. We had a great conversation about our favorite foods from home and our favorite memories of restaurants from our home town. After a while on a computer chillen and surfing the web, we went down to the corner for a seat outside in the beautiful weather for a café. During our little café session, I received a text from my host brother asking if I would like to go to the Boca Juniors soccer game that night. I immediately canceled my plans to go to ceramics class and told him I was down. I have been working to get to a game the whole time, and this was a great opportunity. This game, vs. Sao Paulo, was the Round of 16 in the South American Cup….a tournament for all the teams in Latin America to compete and see who is best.
I went home to see my host brother and thank him for the invite to the game. He then told me that he might not be able to come, that something had come up. I would still go with his friends, but he was a question mark. He told me to have a friend ready if needed just in case my host brother couldn’t attend. Sure enough, an hour later and 30 minutes before we had to leave, Santiago called me and told me he couldn’t come. So I called Nell and told her to leave right away to meet me on the corner in 25 minutes.
Nell and I met up with Jeronimo, Santiago’s friend who also works with him and the rest of my host family. Jeronimo is really nice, and I had met him once before. From there we took the Subte a few stops to meet the fourth, Marcelo, a friend of Jeronimo. After we met Marcelo near the obelisk, we took a cab to La Boca neighborhood about 5 blocks from the stadium. Since there are so many fans and such poor game day planning, streets any closer just get backed up and shut down.
We walked down closer to the stadium. The whole time we had been speaking in Spanish, and then Marcelo said something to us in English. Nell and I were stunned, but found out the both Jeronimo and Marcelo speak great English. For the rest of the night, we spoke only in Spanish, unless I couldn’t figure out how to say something, or they said something too complex for me to understand…it was a perfect situation.
We arrived at the bottom of the stadium, got frisked by security, and went to the little grilling place next to the entrance. We got these huge churipans, which were amazing. They are local chorizo, or sausage, grilled and then cut in half and put into a sandwich with French baguette bread. So good. We then entered the stadium and started our long trek up the stairs to the upper level.
The tickets we used to get in belonged to Santiago and a bunch of his friends. This team doesn’t really sell single game tickets. Only season tickets are available. You receive a card for the season that acts as a pass into the stadium. It is not a problem to borrow someone else’s card to get into any game. I believe we were assigned to a section, but didn’t have specific seats. We sat on the first row of the upper level, only one section away from the crazy fan section. This section is just general admission with no assignments. It is nuts. They are crazy and never stop singing the many different fight songs of the team. There is even a band of fans with drums and trombones and a few other instruments.
The stadium was great. Big enough to fit a ton of people, but small enough where every single person gets a great view of the field. This game was at a strange time since it was not the normal league that the team plays in, so the stadium was not full. Since they don’t sell single game tickets, there is no way to know when it will sell out or not.
The game was really fun. They ended up winning 2-1, but the other team scored with only 2 minutes left. It was a great experience and I was very very thankful for the opportunity.
After the game we walked for about 20 minutes away from the stadium to get away from the crowds and find an empty taxi. Nell and I took the taxi to Jobs, a bar not to far from my house. Some kids from GW were there, and supposively some other kids from GW that were traveling were also there. I figured it would be a fun time. I walked in, and who do I see? Ryan Smith and Lindsey Toner. I went to high school with Ryan Smith, and Lindsey Toner is friends with my roommates. Its just such a small world.
We stayed at this bar until it closed, and then as a group we all went to Sahara, an upscale bar in Recoleta Village by the cemetery. At night they have fun music. This place was so much fun. It reminded me a lot of the places I go out to in DC, since it was a restaurant that became a bar at night: meaning it had some small tables, a big bar, and a dance floor, but was not a club. We partied and danced away until they kicked us out around 5.20am. I walked home to my house, since it was only 3 blocks away.
Overall, it was an amazing night. I was expecting to go to ceramics class, come home, and go to bed early…..but the way it turned out was so much better.
I went home to see my host brother and thank him for the invite to the game. He then told me that he might not be able to come, that something had come up. I would still go with his friends, but he was a question mark. He told me to have a friend ready if needed just in case my host brother couldn’t attend. Sure enough, an hour later and 30 minutes before we had to leave, Santiago called me and told me he couldn’t come. So I called Nell and told her to leave right away to meet me on the corner in 25 minutes.
Nell and I met up with Jeronimo, Santiago’s friend who also works with him and the rest of my host family. Jeronimo is really nice, and I had met him once before. From there we took the Subte a few stops to meet the fourth, Marcelo, a friend of Jeronimo. After we met Marcelo near the obelisk, we took a cab to La Boca neighborhood about 5 blocks from the stadium. Since there are so many fans and such poor game day planning, streets any closer just get backed up and shut down.
We walked down closer to the stadium. The whole time we had been speaking in Spanish, and then Marcelo said something to us in English. Nell and I were stunned, but found out the both Jeronimo and Marcelo speak great English. For the rest of the night, we spoke only in Spanish, unless I couldn’t figure out how to say something, or they said something too complex for me to understand…it was a perfect situation.
We arrived at the bottom of the stadium, got frisked by security, and went to the little grilling place next to the entrance. We got these huge churipans, which were amazing. They are local chorizo, or sausage, grilled and then cut in half and put into a sandwich with French baguette bread. So good. We then entered the stadium and started our long trek up the stairs to the upper level.
The tickets we used to get in belonged to Santiago and a bunch of his friends. This team doesn’t really sell single game tickets. Only season tickets are available. You receive a card for the season that acts as a pass into the stadium. It is not a problem to borrow someone else’s card to get into any game. I believe we were assigned to a section, but didn’t have specific seats. We sat on the first row of the upper level, only one section away from the crazy fan section. This section is just general admission with no assignments. It is nuts. They are crazy and never stop singing the many different fight songs of the team. There is even a band of fans with drums and trombones and a few other instruments.
The stadium was great. Big enough to fit a ton of people, but small enough where every single person gets a great view of the field. This game was at a strange time since it was not the normal league that the team plays in, so the stadium was not full. Since they don’t sell single game tickets, there is no way to know when it will sell out or not.
The game was really fun. They ended up winning 2-1, but the other team scored with only 2 minutes left. It was a great experience and I was very very thankful for the opportunity.
After the game we walked for about 20 minutes away from the stadium to get away from the crowds and find an empty taxi. Nell and I took the taxi to Jobs, a bar not to far from my house. Some kids from GW were there, and supposively some other kids from GW that were traveling were also there. I figured it would be a fun time. I walked in, and who do I see? Ryan Smith and Lindsey Toner. I went to high school with Ryan Smith, and Lindsey Toner is friends with my roommates. Its just such a small world.
We stayed at this bar until it closed, and then as a group we all went to Sahara, an upscale bar in Recoleta Village by the cemetery. At night they have fun music. This place was so much fun. It reminded me a lot of the places I go out to in DC, since it was a restaurant that became a bar at night: meaning it had some small tables, a big bar, and a dance floor, but was not a club. We partied and danced away until they kicked us out around 5.20am. I walked home to my house, since it was only 3 blocks away.
Overall, it was an amazing night. I was expecting to go to ceramics class, come home, and go to bed early…..but the way it turned out was so much better.
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