It's been awhile Part Dos

Welcome back to part two of my last blog: youth group and random cultural stuff. Let us begin:


Youth Group (and stuff with people from the youth group)

During this month, the youth group suffered through three birthdays – and by that I mean we had an absolute blast! First was our friend Cande’s birthday which was a huge ordeal – I’d guess around 50 people – and we ate some incredible food: homemade fried empanadas (my new favorite), tongue sandwiches (actually not too bad), homemade pizza, and a cake that Cande herself made that was layered with dulce de leche and might or might not be the most delicious thing I’ve ever tasted. The night was great and included writing and performing a birthday song for Cande, having pyramid-building competitions amongst the guys and the girls, and me having a really good conversation with some of the older youth (of course, I later realized I was the only individual sitting with three couples: one seriously dating, one engaged, and one married – I knew I should have brought JR along!) The next set of birthdays belonged to Vic and our friend Ana. At youth group we made them a cake and sang happy birthday and Cande and I attacked them with shaving cream  The next night, we were going to go out to eat at a Pizza Libre (all you can eat pizza for $15 pesos) but the cashier had a seizure right when we walked in, so that didn’t really work out. Instead we went to Burger King (have I mentioned the fast-food restaurants are really nice here?) and later to the mall to play pool.

Later on, Vic and I enjoyed a day of coffee, mate, medialunas, and chatting with Abi and Flor (two of the older “girls” in the youth group, who are now both married). Getting there was a complete mess, though. It was pouring rain; we missed one bus stop which made us go a couple miles out of our way; we had to walk in the rain, flooded streets, and mud for about an hour and a half before realizing that we were walking the wrong direction; and to add insult to injury, a colectivo driving past completely drenched us as it splashed through the puddle. In the end, I didn’t even want to talk to the girls at first because I was so wet, tired, and frustrated, but it was definitely worth it – we got to hear how both of them met/started dating their husbands, they shared their passions and talents for God, and asked us what our dreams were for the future.

Our last big adventure before Vic left came when we went to Boca with the Bachinis. (Boca is a famous neighborhood where many immigrants arrived; also contains the home field of my favored soccer team here). It was fun to see the colorful buildings, watch couples dancing tango and milongas (folk dances) in the small shows the restaurants offer, and admire all the Boca soccer gear. We were enjoying ourselves thoroughly and decided to take a picture of Krystal and Anne with their faces in a poster board of a couple dancing the tango. Bad idea. What we didn’t see was the tiny, 2x2 inch sign that said “Pictures $5 pesos”. As we walked away, this dude comes out of nowhere and starts demanding his money. We were clueless but Pablo starts arguing with the guy saying no way are we going to pay. I offer to erase the picture but by this point Pablo finds out the guy isn’t even Argentine and then he really gets ticked. He starts yelling stuff about this being his country and the guy threatens to call the police, to which Pablo responded, “Go ahead, see if I care!” I don’t know what happened next but somehow he let us guy but not without sending a threatening gesture Pablo’s way…oh boy. That night, though, things got better when Marcela made nine homemade pizzas for seven people – and they were the most delicious pizzas I have ever tasted in my life! I think I might kidnap her and have her open up a pizzeria in the U.S. Oh, but did I mentioned we didn’t get done eating dinner until one in the morning? I’m definitely in Argentina…

On that note, a small side comment: have I mentioned that going to the movies here might mean the movie starting at midnight? We went to a movie with a couple of guys, got out at 1 or 2 in the morning, and they laughed at us for being tired because it was “early”!

Random Cultural Stuff

The first tale I shall share involves a wedding. I went to my first ever Argentine wedding with Ana and Vic (didn’t even know the couple – awkward) and it was actually quite similar to most of the weddings I’ve seen back in the U.S. The first difference was that they didn’t have a wedding part. Apparently that’s not common at all here. The second is that they had a time when the couple kneeled and the parents came up to pray over them and give a blessing of sorts. The last is how much they talk about children, right there in the ceremony! In most U.S. weddings I’ve been to, the pastors wouldn’t dare assume that the couple would have kids and they certainly wouldn’t make that one of the main sermon points. Not so here! Basically the second point of the pastor’s message was about the family the couple would start and how they should raise their kids in the Lord. Oh, the other funny thing was that the ring bearer came buzzing in driving a little electric kiddie car, which was absolutely adorable! (I don’t think that’s typical Argentina, though). The funniest part, though, was after the ceremony. I call it “Miguel strikes again.” You all remember Miguel, right? The guy who unabashedly tried to set us up with his sons when he first met Vic and I? Well, he cornered us after the wedding and starts on a ten-minute discourse on how beautiful marriage is and how it can bring people from two different “worlds” together, and even goes so far as to say how Argentines respect marriage more and have less divorce than Americans (Dang, I think to myself, he must really be desperate for his sons to marry some gringas). Then he continues with, “Yeah, and it’s great how those two worlds can come together and create a wonderful new world to raise children in!” That’s when the light bulb came on – Grandchildren! That’s what he wants. The poor man is desperate for grandchildren. Unfortunately for poor Miguel, Vic and I didn’t even talk to his sons before booking it out of Dodge and escaping the wedding.

The next cultural bit involves an explanation I should have given long ago. Yoly (Vic and now Bailey’s sort of host mom/sister) invited us over for mate and a time to chat with Suzy, a young woman who went to Grace but the married an Argentine and came back to live in Buenos Aires. Well, the conversation was great getting to hear about her love story and just her experience in general that we could definitely relate to. But, what I want to explain is mate. Mate (pronounced mah’-tay) is the most popular and traditional drink here and it consists of some fairly bitter herbs and almost boiling water (and sugar for some). An individual buys a special cup (also called a mate I believe) and a straw-looking filter thing (bombilla) and fills the cup about half-way full with the dry herb. Then, they pour very hot water to fill it the rest of the way up, and each person drinking mate together takes a turn sipping it down before they add water and pass it down the line. A lot of people drink mate together basically as an excuse to chat and spend time together. The first time I tried it back in the States I absolutely hated it, but I’m proud to say I have grown somewhat fond of it and even prefer it amargo now (“bitter” a.k.a. without sugar). I’m going to try to buy some to bring back, so unless it gets confiscated since they think it’s marijuana, feel free to stop buy and try some with me!

My last anecdote is a short and very humorous story. After spending the night with Vic a few weeks ago, I had just finished eating breakfast and was heading off to class when Norma asked me “Estás engordando?” (“Are you gaining weight?” also translated, “Are you getting fat?”) Since I’m not gaining weight, I wasn’t offended by the question, but it cracked me up how direct people are here! I’m definitely going to have to re-learn tact when I get back to the States.

Well, that’s all for now, folks! Hopefully before too long I’ll get around to writing what I like to call “The parents arrive!”