Forming Friendships and Futbol in the Park

Hola otra vez from Buenos Aires! I have much to say but little time and less energy, so I'll try to make this a "short version" blog...then again, I try that every time and you've seen how well that worked out :)

Let me begin with some highlights from the end of last week. Thursday we went to Anne's home (another Grace student) and chilled in the pool for the afternoon. I would say we swam, but this pool was about the size of a hot tub in the States, so we mostly just sat there and chatted. It was still a great, relaxing afternoon.

Friday after my merienda (usually tea or mate and crackers around 5 pm), Ana and I played SkipBo, and we both won one game. I think it made her quite happy that we tied rather than someone losing - she's so sweet! That night at dinner, she said, "I'd like to invite you to go out for ice cream with me," and I accepted faster than you can say dulce de leche! It was really great to just sit and talk for about an hour - we chatted about movies, vacations, friends, and many other things as I savored my Dulce de Leche and Swiss Chocolate helado. (In case you don't know what dulce de leche is, it's kind of like caramel except that dulce de leche is to caramel what the ocean is to the puddle I stepped in on the way to class. It's kind of delectable.) Anyway, the sweetest part of the night was when I said "Thank you" to Ana for the helado and she said, "No, thank you. You are such great company and it makes me so happy to have someone to go out with. My husband doesn't really like going out, and since my son moved to the U.S., I don't really have anyone to get ice cream with or to just go out and be around people. I'm so glad you're here!" Let me just say that made my night! Here I thought she was just being nice and buying me helado, but in reality just eating ice cream with her was an opportunity God had given me to show her love!

Saturday also brought a very sweet comment from Ana, but let me give you the context first. That morning, I went with Cacho and Ana to the house of a woman whose husband had recently passed away. I didn't really say much because I never know what to say to a person who is grieving. Plus, they started talking about pensions, retirement, and lots of other complicated and legal things that I don't understand in English! Still, I think just the fact that I went meant something to both the woman and the Basalos. As we were leaving, though, I offered to carry a bag for Ana, and she turned to her friend and said, "She is just great. Hosting her for six months is like having the daughter I never had!" That was so great to hear, because I have been so worried about what they think of me, and I keep wondering if I've offended them or if they don't like me. But just through Ana's few words,  I was reminded that God definitely has me in their home for a reason, and I pray that He will accomplish in and through me what He desires for this time and place.

That brings me to youth group Saturday. This Saturday involved small group time, worship, a message, a crazy sandwich competition, makeshift baseball with a Coke bottle (we started that :) and several rounds of Uno that lasted until about two in the morning. The novelty that night was the sandwich making competition, and most of the teams made sandwiches in the shape of something - a cow, Sid the Sloth, Sponge Bob, a house, even a human foot with a flip flop! I was thoroughly impressed. But since we (the Grace girls) had no idea what the competition was actually about, we decided to throw in a twist and make ice cream sandwiches! They thought we had made it up, but we assured them ice cream sandwiches really do exist in the U.S. Pablo (Elisabeth Balasa's host brother) loved them so much he made us promise to make them when we watch the Superbowl at his house. Plus, the craziness of our sandwiches won us the title of "Most Original" and a liter and a half of Coke. The only way it could have been better was if we had had a working freezer...our ice cream sandwiches were melted messes by the time they were judged, but the youth group still loved them!

Beyond the ice cream competition, though, the night brought several little blessings: going to small group with the girls and hearing something God had taught each one through His Word that week; praising God in Spanish and finally having lyrics on a screen so I could better understand and better worship; hearing a great message about the importance of not just reading Scripture but doing what it says (a message accompanied, of course, by a futbol analogy); and feeling more and more a part of the group by continuing to make relationships and spend time with people I hadn't met the previous weeks. I really love this group, and I hope I get to spend plenty more time with them!

Sunday was incredible as well, despite the fact that I only got three hours of sleep Saturday night :/ After some mate cocido and facturas, I was good to go for church. The worship time was incredible and totally Spirit-filled, and the sermon was a great reminder that we are part of a spiritual kingdom, and that we are to "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God." (Col 3) Then, after the sermon, one of the pastors asked for those who wanted renewal from the Holy Spirit to stand, then asked the people around them to pray for them. Cacho, Ana, and their friend Ilse all stood and we prayed together as the pastor also led in asking God to pour out His Spirit afresh on this church. It was incredible and I'm so glad to be going to a church that takes seriously seeking after the Lord and being filled by His Spirit!

Monday was a fairly typical day of classes, dinner with the family, and watching an Argentine soap opera with Ana. (and here I thought our soap operas were dramatic!) Yesterday, on the other hand, was a less than typical day because after classes we went with Pablo to a park to play some futbol (soccer for you Yankis) and it was an absolute blast! We started out playing with Pablo and six girls (four of the Gracies, Pablo's sister Ivana, and Allison, a girl from our class who plays for Stanford), and before we began he said, "Don't be surprised if you get an audience. You don't ever see girls playing futbol here, so people might stop and stare." He wasn't kidding. Within the first five minutes, we had probably about ten people watching (some discreetly from a backyard about fifty feet away), and every single person who walked past did a double take when they saw us playing. As Pablo explained later, many Argentines have a machista (male chauvinist) attitude toward futbol, so it really is rare to see girls who play.

After each team had put a few goals through the arco (which consisted of our backpacks laying on the ground), some younger guys started to join the game. Little by little a few more people joined, and we had a decent-sized game going. (This made Pablo a little nervous because - playing protector again - he didn't want any of us to get hurt or any of the guys to say anything innappropriate to us. But in the end there weren't any problems.) I was pleasantly surprised that the guys still passed to us a decent amount, despite the fact that we are females. But needless to say, these guys could trick our socks off like none other - even the kid who was half my size and maybe 9 years old. It seriously looked like they had the ball on the string and they were just pulling it around and changing directions at their slightest whim. Plus, they could put spin on the ball like I've never seen before! As Pablo told me later, though, he liked our style of play better. He said, "Those guys will do a million tricks but never actually go anywhere with the ball. But your style of play is lindo (~pretty) because you have lots of little quick passes and good ball movement that you share among your team." I thought that quite a big compliment coming from an Argentine, and I hope we made Coach Voss proud. Overall, it was an absolute blast and we all thoroughly enjoyed a chance to play a little futbol in the park South American style!

As I mentioned briefly, Allison (one of the girls from our class) played with us, and she spoke Spanish with us almost the whole time! We've been getting a lot more opportunities to interact with the other students even though at times that has meant speaking some English. We ate lunch with another girl from the U.S. one day last week, and we've eaten lunch a couple of times with Roberta, a girl from Germany. Roberta even showed a little interest in our church here, but she leaves at the end of the month and plans to be traveling the rest of the weekends :( But it's been cool to see that God has answered our prayers about wanting to have more interaction with the other students, and I hope He continues to give us opportunities to further build those relationships.

Before I go, I want to tell you a few cultural things I've picked up on during my time here. First, they always wear shoes in the house. Krystal mentioned that part of the reason for this was an old wives tale that you could get electrocuted if you opened the refrigerator while barefoot. Also, when eating bread at dinner, you leave the piece of bread on the table instead of putting it on your plate. Here, stop signs are treated more as gentle suggestions to slow down or maybe just be slightly aware that there is an intersection. Also, we almost always have fruit for dessert after meals, which I am a big fan of! I'm not a fan of the fact that here, it's not fairly culturally acceptable to leave your dog's waste on the sidewalk for any unsuspecting pedestrian to discover - gross! What's also funny is noting a couple things that aren't different here - like Ana telling Cacho to slow down because he drives too fast, using some of the same phrases I've heard from many wives in the U.S. :) Or the fact that watching a TV show like Candid Camera or Punk'd is funny in any language!

Overall, the past few days have been amazing, and though I still have "those days", I'm feeling more settled in and I'm loving the relationships that I've been building here. And as I go from day to day, I'm trying to keep in mind the words of a praise song we sang at youth group - that every day we can look to tomorrow with hope because we know God will be with us and all that truly matters is that He will be faithful to us and continue to grow us as we walk with Him.