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The Weekend in Argentina
July 15, 2007 | Field Hockey
Argentina: Day 4
By Leah Hoagland and Holly McGarvie
Hola!
Our fourth day in Argentina was phenomenal, starting at six and ending around 4 a.m. We woke up relatively early, not too excited about the 6:45 wake-up call, but we all made it to the bus on time (five minutes late, of course). The bus took us to the Buquebus Ferry stop where we took our "high speed ferry" to Uruguay (we are talking top speeds of 10 mph.... woah.)
After a brief stop at the museum where we saw the Guiness World Record of pencils, key chains, and calling cards (don?t ask), we spent the day in beautiful Colonia, Uruguay (sea glass, shopping, FOOD, the works).
Stops at the lighthouse and a church from 1680, some of the oldest architecture in the country, as well as the quaint streets and shops made our time in Uruguay one that we won?t soon forget.
We returned to Buenos Aires the same day (such world travelers) and preparation began for our Tango lesson, show, and performance at the discoteca (and what a performance it was).
We were all pretty excited about our tango lesson, but visions of Argentine men sweeping us off our feet during the dance of love were soon squashed when we realized that our tango partners were in fact, our teammates.
After about 35 minutes of "you be the guy now" and sheer embarrassment, we went to dinner where we enjoyed a delicious meal accompanied by the steamy tango dance of love we had all anticipated.
We were able to put our moves to work after our lesson and show as we were all bused to Crobar, a discoteca. One of the things that we have all noticed since our arrival is that Buenos Aires is in fact, the city that never sleeps. We arrived at the discoteca at 1 a.m., pretty late for U.S. standards, and we were shocked to find the discoteca empty. Literally, there were maybe five people in the place. Not that that stopped us as all 20 of us girls promptly ran to the dance floor where we danced the night away.
People didn't begin to arrive until around 2 a.m., and when we left at 3:45 a.m. (exhausted and ready for bed) the club was packed and people were still filing in. Stories from Crobar will surely never be forgotten.
As Nate Franks says, "what happens in Crobar, stays in Crobar..."
Argentina: Day 5
By Paige Schmidt
Buenos surprisingly!
After a night of tango and disco, our fifth day in Argentina started around noon when we loaded the bus and headed to Palermo. We had a great lunch at a small, local restaurant called Minga. Once again, our group filled most of the tables and had difficulty reading the menu. During lunch, we learned (through trial and error) that the ?m? on the bathroom door did not stand for ?men,? but rather ?mujeres.?
After lunch, we were able to shop and explore the local markets of Palermo. It was full of trendy shops and boutiques, however, the prices were still surprisingly reasonable. There was also a market in the middle of town, where vendors were selling scarves, jewelry, mat? teacups and other Argentine goods.
Once again we loaded the bus and headed back to St. Catherine?s hockey club to watch the two teams that we had previously played. They were playing each other for the club championship, and after 70 hard fought minutes, St. Catherine?s came away with the win.
After the game we met up with the girls from St. Catherine?s that were hosting us for a home-stay that night. We collected our bags and headed to our new homes (there were two of us per household). After meeting our hosts? families and getting tours of the beautiful homes, we all met for dinner, dessert and a dancing to the cross-cultural Spice Girls.
As the party died down, everyone went to their respective houses and promptly to bed in preparation for the morning match. On the whole, it was another great day in Argentina, however, the experience was very unique in that we all got an inside view of Argentine life. The families were welcoming, and the girls were so much fun. Even though we came here to play field hockey, we won?t soon forget our night as pseudo-Argentines.
Argentina: Day 6
By Candice Arner and Kaitlyn Perrelle
After a night of fun bonding with girls from our opposing teams, we woke up this morning to experience a traditional argentine breakfast: pan tostado (toast). Our hosts kindly provided us with whatever we wanted (chocolate and dulce de leche), gathered our things from the house, and departed for our final game, once again against St. Catherine?s.
Before our game, however, we were lucky enough to participate in a ?clinic? with the argentine girls, where we were taught how to avoid their relentless defense. Considering the outcome of our game, the Argentines should probably regret their decision to help us with our offensive skills: we lost 4 - 1, much of an improvement compared to our 7-1 loss five days ago.
Following the game, we sat down to yet another ?tercer tiempo? with St. Catherine?s. Needless to say, we demolished any food in sight. After we all had received new wardrobes by trading clothing with the girls from St. Catherine?s, we sadly had to say goodbye.
Who would have expected to become such good friends with girls who speak a different language and are half a world away? Not to fear, we exchanged email addresses and are already excited to hopefully see the team when they come to tour the United States in August, stopping in Princeton of course!
Stuffed from our delicious lunch, we once again boarded the bus to return to the hotel. With a free afternoon, most of us decided to check out one of the many markets open around Buenos Aires on the weekends. These markets have anything from clothing to jewelry to leather bags...some of us may or may not have gone a little overboard with the souvenirs.
Content with our purchases and a bit tired from all of our shopping, we next headed to our last dinner in Argentina at the beautiful restaurant, El Querandi. Two hours later, I don?t think any of us had ever eaten better steak. With dinner over, we returned to the hotel with a free night ahead and not looking forward to our departure tomorrow...
Argentina: Day 7
By: Sarah Yuki and Kaitlin Donovan
Today we woke up knowing it was our last day, not wanting to leave Argentina, yet weary and aware that it was time to go home. Some woke up for a 10 a.m. breakfast and shopping; others slept in till lunchtime, still recovering from the hectic week of tourism and field hockey. We headed over to the Hard Rock Caf? for our last meal on Argentine soil; ironically, in an American establishment (it was our first encounter with bathrooms marked “men” and “women”). We then departed for the Unicenter, basically a giant mall (3 stories!) where we could get rid of our last pesos (or, get rid of our last pesos, then go to the ATM to get more pesos, then spend those...) Those who had done a lot of shopping didn't buy much; those of us who hadn't bought much to date inevitably came back with multiple bags. Yours truly found beautiful leather boots for $80 American!
Then it was off to the airport. Our return trip was essentially like going to Disneyland, except the lines were longer and there were no fun rides at the end (unless you happen to really enjoy airplane rides). We waited in line to check our baggage, then waited in line to pay a “departure tax” of $20 American, then in a line to get into our waiting area, then in a line within the waiting area to get our carry-ons checked for “liquids or creams,” and finally in line to get on our plane. We thought we were done there, but little did we know we had to get our checked baggage off of a conveyor belt in order to go through customs, then wait in a line to recheck our baggage, and finally wait in another line for passport control. Both of our flights (Buenos Aires-Atlanta and Atlanta-Newark) miraculously took off without a hitch (most likely because there was no snow either in the US or Argentina), and our bus arrived back in Princeton around noon the next day. Parents and siblings streamed in to pick up the teammates, coaches, parents, and friends. It went without saying that our time in Argentina was an experience that none of us would ever forget.