Futbol Mania

I promised a good story, and a good story I shall write. Last Sunday was the final of Copa América. Copa America is the oldest international continental football competition and is held every 4 years. So its kind of a big deal and everybody was watching it. It just so happens that the stadium this event was taking place in is just a 10 minute walk away from my place. So after watching the first half of the game at a bar my roomates and I headed toward the stadium to see any after game festivities. As we walked to the stadium the streets began to look more and more like a tornado had gone through. The streets were trashed and the game wasn't even finished yet. We knew this would be a good night. In front of the stadium a crowd was gathering in anticipation of an Uruguay win. There was a news van parked on the side with a 10 inch T.V. screen in the back, that was surrounded by 30 people looking through every nook and cranny trying to catch a glimpse of the game. Meanwhile the stadium, a mere 50 yards away felt like it had a life of its own. You could feel the anticipation of another Uruguay goal and the tension was so thick that I swear the stadium just might implode. Then it happend. GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLL!!! The stadium erupted with a roar that would make any ordinary man insta-poop his pants. It was awesome. Two minutes later the game ended with Uruguay beating Paraguay 3-0. People poured out the stadium and it soon became very crowded. At one point there was almost a fight but then it got broken up. Dang it. So we are walking along taking it all in when we are suddenly at the front steps of River Stadium. My roomates and I look at each other for a second and then took a step up. We just walked in, no police and no dodgy looks we just waltzed in. It was suprising because 3/4 of the stadium was still full of screaming Uruguayan fans. Beside ourselves, we walked up and down the aisles looking for a good place to take videos. There were chants, tons of fans, and confetti. So cool. And there were like 10 different chants that people just kept saying over and over. Kind of like an I pod shuffle, but louder. The coolest thing for me was that you could feel the passion. It was more than a game, it is a way of life. The people from Uruguay as in most South American Countries eat, drink, and bleed futbol. As a past player of the game I can identify somewhat with the passion for the game but not at the level that they have. So instead I just soaked in the moment and celebrated alongside Uruguay. I can't wait to actually see a game.

Living in Buenos Aires

Hello All!! I have been busy this week settling into my homestay in Buenos Aires. The neighborhood I live in is called Barrio Nunez, and is in the northern part of the city. It is a really nice area and pretty ritzy except for all the poop on the ground. I am staying with 2 doctors named Alicia and Jose. They are awesome people and house students from all over the world all of the time. At this moment there are 6 students living with them including me. Needless to say there is never a dull moment in the house and at dinner. I get fed 2 meals a day and even though all of us students can speak english the primary language at the dinner table is spanish. Primarily because Alicia and Jose don't speak much english, but it's also good practice. Its a pretty sweet setup they've got. I am living in their pool house in the back with two guys from Boston.

It's pretty awesome and their meals are amazing. I am definitely blessed to have found the place, so praise God! So now I have got the housing down I just need to find a church and a gym. I went to a church on Saturday for collage aged kids near my house. It was pretty cool, except I only understood every 3rd word but I understood the overall main point of the message so that was good. So that's pretty much it, I start orientation for school tomorrow and classes begin on the 1st of August. Spanish is still hard but I am getting a little better everyday. My biggest obstacle is the understanding part. My mind still thinks in english and is still a little slow in translating things. Its just one of those things where I need to learn to think in spanish. Plus Argentine spanish is a little different than the rest of the world. For instance, any word with a "y" or "ll", in Argentina it is pronounced with a "juh" sound instead of a "yuh" sound that I am used too. And instead of referring to you as "tu" they use "vos" which is a little different but not too bad. All in all things are great I have yet to see the new Harry Potter movie but that is okay. Sorry this is more of an informative post without cool stories but I promise next post I will have great stories, one which includes me sneaking into the COPA Cup Final. Ciao!

More Dangerous Less Fun!

My good buddy Craig from Kidder Creek told me of this story where him and a bunch of his friends from home were rafting on the Klamath river. Craig explained to them that they could 1 of 2 routes. Either Rattlesnake or Dragons Tooth. When asked what the difference was between the two he said that Rattlesnake was a fun run with little risk and Dragon's Tooth was more dangerous and less fun. They decided to do go with Dragon's Tooth. They had fun with Craig's play on words and "More Dangerous Less Fun" became their motto for that entire trip and was chanted frequently. Its a bit of an oxymoron I think because sometimes more dangerous=more fun, or at least more dangerous usually means a good story. South America is "More Dangerous Less Fun." Allow me to explain. My very 1st night in Santiago Chile won there soccer game for the COPA cup. Feeling very celebratory some guys from the hostel and I went into the main square to celebrate with the Chileans. We were chanting and jumping and having a great time when all of a sudden the crowd turned on us. Wallets were stolen, cameras were taken, and even beanies were being yanked off guys heads. Luckily we had Paul. Paul was probably responsible for most of the attention anyways. Seeing as how he is a 6'6 265lb monster of a man from New Zeland, he gains a lot of attention. But his size was useful this time as he battled through the crowd and created a hole for us to escape through. We escaped with no casualties and a guy who had lost his passport actually ended up recovering it. Some people had wallets stolen and luckily I didn't have anything on me for someone to steal. There are actually quite a bit of protests turned to riots lately in Santiago over a number of reasons. These usually end with tear gas and water cannons used on the protestors by the police. Oh ya fun fact, I guess Chilean tear gas is so bad that it is illegal in some countries. I hear its nasty stuff, but I also heard that eating a lemon will help with countering its effects. I hope I never have a chance to test that. Chile is one of the more modernized countries of South America so I only imagine that the stories will get better and better. I leave for Argentina tomorrow and don't start orientation until the 25th of July. I am getting a little better at speaking Spanish but it is still hard to understand. Chilean spanish is a little different because they talk in slang and drop the "s" on a lot of words. But as with most things I know it will just take time.

Oh Chile so chily.

Arrived into Santiago,Chile after 13hrs of flying. No matter what I do I can never sleep on planes because I can never get comfortable. There just never seems to be enough room. Now I know I have an advantage over larger people because I can sit cross legged on a plane, but there is still never enough room. The flights were uneventful until deep into the 9th hour of flying,when the captain goes over the radio and asks if there is a doctor or nurse/paramedic on board to see if they could go check on a passenger. So I raise my hand and the stewardess comes to get me, and when she sees me she has this look on her face that basically says "ya sure your a doctor, dream on gringo," but then I explained that I was an EMT...but I could tell she still wasn't buying it. So I am led to the front of the plane where the seats are 10x bigger and where it smells like cucumber melon lotion and I am led to this kid that was complaining of stomach pain. So I do my assessment and check to see what was wrong. My diagnosis...constipation. But I don't blame the kid for freaking out, it was probably his first time being constipated. So I pretty much hung out with him for awhile made sure he was alright and went back to my uncomfortable seat. Upon landing and going through customs and paying a $140 reciprocity fee(thank you U.S for that) I hitched a ride with this chilean guy named Ivan. I guess he got a kick out of me because he let me ride in a cab that his company was paying for and dropped me off pretty much right in front of my hostel. Oh and did I mention it was 35 degrees outside? Ya everywhere I go I feel like im in an igloo. I couldn't check into the hostel until 1:30pm so I spent most of my day walking around trying to exchange my currency and ended up falling asleep on a park bench. All in all I am jovial and tired. The people in Chile are just great, probably some of the most genuine people I have ever met. And Santiago is pretty cool too. It's kind of like L.A. but more colorful. And there are asian people here who speak spanish. That was weird. Ok its past my nap, pictures to come. Arrived into Santiago,Chile after 13hrs of flying. No matter what I do I can never sleep on planes because I can never get comfortable. There just never seems to be enough room. Now I know I have an advantage over larger people because I can sit cross legged on a plane, but there is still never enough room. The flights were uneventful until deep into the 9th hour of flying,when the captain goes over the radio and asks if there is a doctor or nurse/paramedic on board to see if they could go check on a passenger. So I raise my hand and the stewardess comes to get me, and when she sees me she has this look on her face that basically says "ya sure your a doctor, dream on gringo," but then I explained that I was an EMT...but I could tell she still wasn't buying it. So I am led to the front of the plane where the seats are 10x bigger and where it smells like cucumber melon lotion and I am led to this kid that was complaining of stomach pain. So I do my assessment and check to see what was wrong. My diagnosis...constipation. But I don't blame the kid for freaking out, it was probably his first time being constipated. So I pretty much hung out with him for awhile made sure he was alright and went back to my uncomfortable seat. Upon landing and going through customs and paying a $140 reciprocity fee(thank you U.S for that) I hitched a ride with this chilean guy named Ivan. I guess he got a kick out of me because he let me ride in a cab that his company was paying for and dropped me off pretty much right in front of my hostel. Oh and did I mention it was 35 degrees outside? Ya everywhere I go I feel like im in an igloo. I couldn't check into the hostel until 1:30pm so I spent most of my day walking around trying to exchange my currency and ended up falling asleep on a park bench. All in all I am jovial and tired. The people in Chile are just great, probably some of the most genuine people I have ever met. And Santiago is pretty cool too. It's kind of like L.A. but more colorful. And there are asian people here who speak spanish. That was weird. Ok its past my nap, pictures to come.

South American Itinerary

The ticket is booked. It's really happening. You never quite feel like you are actually going until you receive that e-ticket on your email. It's actually quite an adrenaline rush, I would recommend it to all my adrenaline junkies out there. So first let me explain the route. Now this isn't "The Route" but just the route. I am anticipating it changing, but for now lets roll with it shall we? For the record while looking at the picture the green stands for plane flights and red shows bus routes/hitchiking/walking/riding, and the blue is a bus/hovercraft. Ok so I leave on July 11th and a day later will arrive in Santiago, Chile and will have a stopover there for about a week. Why Santiago Chile? Well to snowboard of course!! Not in Santiago but there is a resort about 1-2 hours away from the city that I will be visiting. Maybe I will stop by the beach towns of Vina del Mar and Valaparaiso and some point during the week. Nothing super big planned that week, just a nice week of adjustment to get my travel legs back under me. Then on the 19th I fly into the beloved city of Buenos Aires, my home for the next 4 months. My orientation for school doesn't start until the 25th so I figure I will travel the city for a couple of days before then. I will probably be staying with a host family of some kind, but not exactly sure who. School starts August 1st and goes until November 14th, I think. Then the real fun begins. I have no set plan really I just want to make it up to Iguazu falls somehow-

Soon after I will make my to Bolivia and visit the famous salt flats there, eat cheap food and wind up in Cochabamba Bolivia sometime in December. Its here that I will be spending 1-2 weeks working with a Christian organization called Hospitals of Hope. "The Bolivian hospital is currently the primary site where Hospitals of Hope
sends volunteers, both medical and non-medical. Hospitals of Hope has sent over 1700 volunteers on short-term missions to Bolivia, who assist the staff in caring for patients, as well as doing construction and community outreach." My hope is to serve in a variety of ministries such as in the hospital, in their community coffee shop, and with there Fire Rescue Squad. I am especially excited to volunteer with their Fire Rescue Squad and use my EMT skills to help in anyway I can. Plus I will be interacting with tons of believers and non-believers from a different culture, how cool is that? Anyways this is my hopeful Christmas destination as well. Here is the website for more info. :)
http://hospitalsofhope.org/bolivia/emergency-response-unit.html

Soooooo then I think I might go to La Paz and wind up in Lake Titicaca,(yes this is a real lake) I still haven't decided where I will spend New Years but it will be epic. For the last tail of my journey I will fly back down to Buenos Aires and then head for the south where I will be going to Patagonia

Yes it is an actual place and yes it is also a clothing company. I have wanted to travel here since I was about 15, so ya to say I am excited to see this place would be an understatement. I will see as much as I can and I will love it. To quote the most overused travel quote of all time(but it is always fitting)
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

"Stay thirsty my friends."
-Dos Equis guy

Question: Where would you go if you had a chance to travel South America? Where have you gone if you have?

Francis Chan speakin the truth.

Supposedly Francis Chan was at the Pacific Amphitheatre this weekend speaking at services.  I was bummed I wasn't able to make it because he is absolutely one of my favorite speakers.  Its his courage to just tell things how it is without sugar coating it.  Whenever I listen to him speak I feel such a strong conviction, a conviction about trying to live life comfortably on cruise control.  I know that naturally I always feel the world pulling on me away from God.  As Chan says in one of his books "The Christian walk is like running up the down escalator ; if you stop striving and running towards Christ, you go backwards.  I wish this were not true.  After all these years, I wish it all just happened “naturally” but this has been my experience too.  I guess we get a rest in heaven."  Not to say that we achieve salvation if we get to the top of the escalator, the bible clearly says we are saved by grace and grace alone, I understand this.  But I do know that when I am not intentionally meditating, reading the word, and spending time in relationship with Christ I am drawn to the worldly things that combat for my attention.  This went on as a rant, but I really just wanted to show you this awesome video, no matter what, this video always has the ability to put things back into perspective for me.  Enjoy.

The application is in!

   My application is in for the Direct Exchange Program to Buenos Aires, Argentina.  There is absolutely nothing I can do now except wait, probably one of the things I am worst at.  I don't think the reality of it has really hit me yet. I am too preoccupied with what are seemingly more important in the moment things, such as midterms, papers, and work. (and an upcoming Grand Canyon trip that will be the bomb.com...yes I just said that) But when I really do think about it that hits me is both daunting and exhilirating.  Dauting because I am leaving my comfortable existence at home to a foreign country where the main language is spanish.  Now I love Spanish, its cool to be able to spit off a couple of sentences with a spanish speaker and then nod your head when they are speaking pretending to be able to understand them.  But after about 20 minutes of this I am pooped and ready to ease my weak english mind.  I will be immersed in the language 24/7 with no way out, no teacher to ask questions to, no friends to bail me out.  It will be difficult but so worth it.  I was just reading one of Donald Miller's blog entrys this week talking about life as a meaningful story and I was intrigued:
   
    "Let me ask you this: What if your own life was so engaging that entertainment seemed boring? I mean what if you were involved in projects that so captivated you that turning on the television would be a distraction from your real life? Can you imagine such a possibility?
The elements of a meaningful story are the same as the elements of a meaningful life:
1. A character.
2. That knows what they want.
3. And is willing to overcome conflict.
4. To get it.
Do you know exactly what you want and why? And do you appreciate or bemoan the conflict you endure? Is your story more interesting to you than television? Is all of life boring or is just your life boring? Do you   believe you can make changes that will make your life more interesting? I do."

Its such a cool perspective to take that our life is a story, and the bigger and more conflict the better the story.  Not to say that we must always be in conflict or always be seeking it, but when it comes to embrace it.