You might say "what?!" or simply roll your eyes at me or celebrate with me if you're reading this from here in Argentina, but yes, it's another holiday here (Monday, I mean) which means it was a three day weekend for me! Happy Flag Day from Argentina, and happy belated father's day which we also celebrated yesterday. What an awesome, awesome weekend it has been. I'd actually venture to say that it has been my best weekend here yet considering everything that I've had going on socially and all the wonderful people with whom I've had the pleasure of spending my time. Without further delay, I'll provide my update on the extended weekend and some of its memorable moments:
Friday night marked a huge game for our basketball team. We played against Villa San Martin, another club team in Resistencia who has apparently been the city's reigning champs for years and years. I could tell by the way that my teammates were conversing on Thursday (yes, we found out the day before the game that we would be playing the next day) that there was a nervous excitement building about the match-up. Friday evening we got to the gym and I could quickly see why this team is so well renown; we were clearly the underdogs in stature and age/experience. Nonetheless I was excited and enthusiastic about the game and for good reason. We came out and played quite well, leading for a majority of the game. Unfortunately, our youth got the best of us (as far as ball-handling and high-pressure, end-of-game situations) and we lost by a mere three points! I hope we meet again in competition while I am still here in Resistencia. Critically reflecting on the game, I'd like to note that it was the most "under control" game that I've played in yet here. That isn't to say that the game was "under control" as I understand and have learned the game in the United States. ;) With just seven seconds to cross the half court line and a twenty-four second shot clock like the NBA, you can imagine how much up and down the court action there is in a game.
Immediately following the game, we went to celebrate the birthday of one of the guys who is close friends with the team. To be completely honest there are some days that I love being a walking dictionary of English and other days that I rather dislike being the person everyone can turn to and ask ¿Cómo se dice ________? (How do you say _________?). Occasionally, I just hate being the oddball and wish I could blend in seamlessly with whoever I am spending the evening. However, the fact of the matter is that I always will be the foreigner and that, fortunately, I don't mind (most of the time) being the person who gets to share many linguistic and cultural nuances that come along with my ability to speak English. I say all this because it was a major part of this Friday evening that I spent with friends. As we talked about a variety of things, I often found myself answering questions about how to say particular words of interest in English, what my home is like, what the lyrics said for any particular song that we were listening to, what my family is like, etc. Of course I answered questions regarding the seriously, the silly and the downright make-you-double-over-with-laughter. On the sidewalk in front of Marcos' house, music blaring, grill with hot coals for hamburgers, a cold drink in hand, we passed several hours just talking, laughing and occasionally dancing. I <3 Argentina.
Saturday I had the pleasure of having lunch at the house of Mabel Novoa, UNNE history professor, with her family. Besides the fact that Mabel is a wonderful, wonderful cook and extremely welcoming, I always find family dynamics fascinating to observe. Thus, seeing yet another family in action here in Argentina was a real treat. Around our lunch table sat: Mabel and her husband, Mabel's daughter Nuria who was home for the extended weekend from Buenos Aires, two of Nuria's friends, Alejandra (the family's maid) and Mabel's son Peter (She also has a daughter who is studying Geology at Mississippi State). I won't go into any details here but gender interactions continue to fascinate me, especially within the context of family dynamics. Following lunch, I mostly enjoyed listening to Nuria and her friends catch up on life as they do not see each other very often. The three of them are all engaged in the profession of architecture. Nuria, already having received her degree, works in Buenos Aires (but noted that she doesn't especially like it) while friend number one just received her degree and is working on a variety of projects in Chaco and friend number two is still amidst her university studies. It was interesting to hear them bounce between a number of subjects but mostly return to discussing architecture-related things and then actually laugh at themselves and comment that they talked about architecture too much.
Saturday evening I went to church for what I knew was going to be a grand celebration. The church that I have attended was celebrating its 23rd birthday and all of the church's satellite campuses from the nearby towns had been invited to join in the celebration. If I had to guesstimate, there were probably over 500 people in attendance at the evening's service! About mid-way through the service, my friend Adri asked me if I wanted to accompany her to the church's nursery to prepare for the post-service social. Little did I know what my response of 'yes' would mean for the rest of my evening... There in the nursery Adri and a couple other friends were dressing up as clowns and there happened to be an extra outfit. You guessed right...I said, "why not?!" and grabbed the extra costume, pants, shirt, crazy hat and all, to join in fine fashion with the celebration. The post-church service activities included some food but also games such as a bat/stick spin race, a carry-a-small-ball-between-your-knees-to-a-bucket race, and a group ski race (imagine a single set of skis with four feet loops and four people walking together as their feet are constrained within the loops. hilarious!). My part in all of this activity included entertaining a small group of children who had gathered and were anxious to play the games that had mostly been designed for the older youth in attendance. The most hilarious moments had to be when the kids looked at me strangely and finally asked, "Why do you talk funny?" I just had to laugh at their question because it's amazing how, even at their young age, they recognize my accent to be different. Of course I briefly explained that I'm from the United States and why I am here in Argentina. However, the real topper for my interactions with the children was when one little boy asked me, "Sos salteña?," meaning that he was inquiring if I was from the Argentine province of Salta. That's certainly not a mistaken identity attributed to me thus far in my time in Resistencia! Ha! After the social I went out with a group of friends to get some ice cream. Not sure if I've made this commentary before, but ice cream here is absolutely divine. It more closely resembles an Italian gelato than typical ice cream made in the United States. I might be a little addicted; the family that owns the ice cream shop on the plaza where I live recognizes me when I come in. Guess I need to be lacing up my running shoes a bit more because I don't think I will be giving up my once or twice weekly visits to the ice cream shop anytime soon.
On to Sunday and back to Puerto Tirol! I celebrated Father's Day with Viviana and her family in Tirol, enjoying an asado of pig and lamb (and chicken that everyone was too full to eat by the time it was being cut). Another day of family interactions to observe, this time with many more older folks in the picture, I enjoyed a peaceful afternoon outside of the city. This was the second time that I had met Viviana's parents and I wish, I wish, I wish that her father and mine could converse in a shared language. Knowing the interests that they share and their personalities, they would end up being a real show. :) Vivi's father enjoys teasing me about any given subject of conversation and he's usually pretty on-point with the sarcastic comments that he decides to make. Yes, definitely an amusing afternoon of interactions with the grandmother, both sets of parents (of Viviana and her husband David), and brothers and sisters present for the asado.
Finally, today, Flag Day, I won't share exactly what time I finally pulled myself out of bed. I accidentally forgot to set my alarm (oops!) and didn't get up quite as early as I'd hoped. Nonetheless, I was definitely productive and went this evening to our weekly dinner with my referente's family. In addition to being the family's celebration of Father's Day, we also celebrated the birthday of one of my referente's nephews with a cake and singing (including the English version of Happy Birthday which I was asked to lead...). Conversation topics around the table ranged from pain killers to what time we have to get out of bed in the morning for work to if people in the United States know what empanadas are. Yes, we talk about a little of everything. Also, if you haven't noticed yet, a great deal of what I do, and what Argentine's do in general, revolves around food. Food and gathering around a shared table is sooo important here. Not only do I love the food piece, I really appreciate the sense of community that I see developed around a shared meal, or afternoon mate and merienda, or midnight ice cream with friends or family. Happy Father's Day (especially to my dad!) and Happy Flag Day, good weekend, and great people. I am blessed beyond words.
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