Where All My Dreams Came Through in 3D

Disclaimer: This blog post is a special one-time post about a special event that happened to me today and doesn’t really have to do with the rest of the posts.

I’ll start by saying this, if you do not know what my favorite movie is you do not know me. If you don’t know that I can quote this movie from start to finish or if you haven’t heard me quote parts of it, then you’re probably not my friend.

When I heard that this movie was coming out in 3D for two weeks only while I was going to be in Argentina, tears came to my eyes. I seriously contemplated flying back to the US just to see this movie. However, I found out it was also coming out in Argentina, I just had to wait a couple more weeks.

I now know why I started learning Spanish. It was for no other reason but to be able to watch The Lion King in Spanish and be able to understand and compare it. Today, I was able to fulfill my destiny. Here is my story:

I arrived at the theater 20 minutes before the movie started.  I like to think of myself as a person who does what he wants to do regardless of what people think, however, even I felt a little embarrassed to ask for one ticket to “El Rey de León”.  

That's 25 pesos haha

When I went in I was the only one there. Score! Now I get to take the best seat! Sheldon would’ve been proud. (Big Bang Theory reference) 

That's one cool cat...no
pun intended.

After a few more people entered, the movie started. A HUGE grin spread across my face. I was happy as can be. Now there were certain things that concerned me as I started watching my favorite movie of all time in another language. I know that when movies and tv shows are translated, some things get lost in translation. The 3 things I was going to pay attention to were 1. Songs 2. Voices 3. 3D experience and general observations.

Songs

Circle of Life – Loved it, this song sounds just as good in Spanish as it does in English.

I Just Can’t Wait to Be King – Mmm unfortunately I’d have to say this was my least favorite translated song. It just didn’t have the same jovial feel

Be Prepared – I had the most difficulty trying to compare this song because some of the vocabulary is hard in English so obviously I didn’t catch all the translations. Also, some parts don’t sound as intimidating in Spanish.

Hakuna Matata – This would be my favorite song in Spanish. As soon as it came on I started chuckling to myself and tapping my feet.

Can You Feel the Love Tonight – This one felt a little weird to me, like it was missing words. I guess this was the hardest one to translate rhythmically, but it was ok.

Voices

Mufasa – This was the most important voice as far as I was concerned. If Mufasa didn’t have a deep, manly, fatherly voice, I would’ve walked out during the first scene. The voice they chose was good, not as good as the original, but good enough.

Scar – he sounded evil, but not as scary as the English version. I remember when I was a kid Scar creeped me out, and I just didn’t get that same feeling in Spanish.

Zazu – sounded annoying. Check.

Young Simba – had no problem with young Simba, he sounded like a girl in English, he sounded like a girl in Spanish. Consistency.

Grown Simba – had a deeper voice than he did in the English version which is good because I think his voice shouldve been deeper.

Rafiki – Mmm didn’t like it. In English he sounded old, wise, but crazy. In Spanish just old and wise. The craziness makes this character.

Timon and Pumba – They both were accurate in my opinion so, Hakuna Matata.

Ed – Spot. On. Haha

3D and general observations

•  It was pretty obvious that the original Lion King was not made in 3D. Some parts didn’t look great, but when Mufasa came out of the clouds it looked awesome. That’s all I cared about.
• Some of the jokes didn’t translate well, like when the hyenas were joking around when Simba, Nala, and Zazu went to the elephant graveyard. Pig latin doesn’t translate from Spanish. Or the jokes that Timon told when they first found Pumba
• I cried when Mufasa died again. It’s just as sad in Spanish.
• And can you believe that they changed the only Spanish words in the movie! Un-believable. (When the hyenas come in to Scar’s den after he’s king to tell him there’s no food. One whispers, “I thought things were bad under Mufasa, Scar hears and yells, “What did you say!?!” He replies, “Qué pasa”. For those who couldn’t recall)

Overall, I thought it was great and I really enjoyed as well as worked on my Spanish haha. For those who are wondering if I’ll see it again, I reply, Sí!

El Último

I can't believe it has finished already. It seems like yesterday I was arriving to Argentina trying to figure out why the restaurant I was supposed to eat at was closed at 7 pm. I know it's been a long time since I've written my last blog, but I just haven't had the time to just sit down and write it. But now I'm here so let's recap...

We made the playoffs! I had to start it by saying that because it went all downhill from there. We lost the first two games on the road on Wednesday and Friday. We then traveled back home for our must win game on Wednesday. We practiced hard all week but unfortunately we came up short on Wednesday and thus we were eliminated from the playoffs.


I haven't seen my parents since December and some of my friends for almost a year, so needless to say after our season was over I was eager to get home. So eager in fact, that I was ready and willing to leave the next day! But unfortunately my story will end how it began, with airport problems.

Thursday morning my teammate, my manager and I went to the travel agency to change our tickets. The first words out of our mouths were "How soon can you get us home?" Well, it turned out that the earliest that I could leave was Monday. Ugh! Well, it wasn't so bad.


I was able to hang attend the celebration dinner with my teammates on Friday.

Great group of guys!

On Saturday and Sunday I was hung out with a lot of the friends that I made in Río Tercero. At the end of it, I was glad I stayed those extra days.

Finally Monday arrived and it was time to leave, and I was supposed to arrive home Tuesday. Unfortunately, my flight was delayed overnight and I wasn't able to get home until Wednesday. Since then I've been running around visiting family and friends. 


Well, that's it for this year. I hope you all have enjoyed my blog and I thank you all for following it. Until next time.

But, We Made The Playoffs

The stage was set. After all we'd been through we only had to win two of our last four games to make the playoffs. After all the long bus trips, close games lost, and the misfortune, we still had a chance to make it. However, three of the last four were on the road, and we all know about our road woes. We definitely had support from everyone in the city though. As we were leaving there was a huge crowd of people gathered, cheering and chanting, and wishing us good luck in our upcoming battles.

Last week Friday we played a team all the way in the north of Argentina, so it was hot! But no worries, the gym we were to play in was one of the nicest gyms in Argentina and it had air conditioning...or so I thought. Now the gym has air conditioning, but for some reason they did not have it on when we played. It was actually the hottest gym I have ever played in; as soon as I stepped on the court I was in a full sweat. Now when I play basketball I usually have one goal in mind: to win. That day I had two: to win and to survive. 

Despite those obstacles, we started of the game very well, and even had a 22 point lead in the first half. Then fatigue started to kick in. 22 became 19, 17, 13, 9... all the way until with about a minute left in the game they took their first lead in the game. Very next possession, BOOM, slam dunk from yours truly. Now we are up one and just need one more stop to do the improbable. Sure enough, we force them into a turnover and win the game!!! HUGE win. Some of my teammates and the coaches were jumping around celebrating the victory. Some were even sliding on the floor! But I was wayyyy too tired from sweating so much, but I accomplished my two goals: to win and to survive.

Now we only needed one more. Unfortunately we came up short last week Sunday, but we knew we had a home game coming up so we were not discouraged.

Friday. Biggest game of the year. We win and we are in. You know how they say a picture is worth a thousand words? Well...

NUEVE TIENE HUEVOS!!!

It became official. We made the playoffs in our first year in the top division and we were safe from reclassification for another year. Mission accomplished!

So we had made the playoffs, but we still had one more game to play against the same team on Sunday.

From this point on I'll call this entry: You Can't Make This Stuff Up Part 2

We left at 2 o'clock on Saturday for our 7 hour drive to where we were to play our last game. The plan was to get there, practice for a little, and get ready for Sunday. I had a bad feeling a soon as I walked on the bus and saw how filthy it was. You could literally smell the dirt in the air. The seats could not even hold my body weight; I leaned back and the chair leaned back without me pushing the button. But, we made the playoffs!

About 4 hours into the drive the bus cut off: in the middle of nowhere of course. Apparently something was wrong with the belt or something. We did not call a mechanic, but after an hour by the ingenuity of some of the bus drivers and the coaches we were able to get the bus running and make it to a car shop.

Just enjoying the scenery.
Used to this by now.

After about an hour the bus was fixed and we were on the road again. After exactly 50 minutes, the bus broke down again. Seriously. But, we made the playoffs!

Another hour passed, and they were able to get the bus fixed again. At this point was 10 o'clock and we still have another three hours ahead of us. Guess we were not practicing. We reached the city at about 1 am and then we had dinner. (Actually not that unusual.) Afterwards, my teammate and I decided to walk around the city for a little. (Not unusual either, there were a lot of people out and about.) It was during our little adventure when I heard the two most random English phrases ever spoken to me. We walked by two guys who were sitting on a bench when one shouted, "Double Dribbley", and the other jumped up, made a smoking gesture with his hand, and shouted, "Smoking grass poo". We decided that it was indeed time to return to the hotel. 

The next day we ended up losing the game. We did not put our best foot forward because we wanted to rest people. But, we made the playoffs! After eating and learning which team we were going to play in the playoffs, we set off for our home at about 2 am...with the same bus...

At about 5 am we all felt that familiar feeling, the bus shut off. It was 5 am on a Sunday, so I did not  know how we were going to find a mechanic. However, they were again able to start the bus back up in a record ten minutes. My teammate then jokingly said, "Watch the bus cut off again in 30 seconds." Of course he was wrong, it only took 20 seconds. 

After another 20 minutes we were told that there was another bus behind us that was  full of people and we were going to join them so we needed to grab our stuff. Seriously? But, we made the playoffs. 

We joined them and we set off again at about 6 am. I even took a picture next to my seat buddy...

We were both kinda groggy

A couple hours later we made it to the bus station, changed into a bus of our own, and then drove another two hours home. So now we are resting for the day, and leaving again tonight at 11 for another 8 hour trip to play our first game on Wednesday. That will make two straight nights on the bus and three bus trips in four days. But, we made the playoffs!

Maybe We Just Need to Be Underdogs

Hi everyone, did you miss me? I can't believe there are only 2 weeks left in the season with 4 games left! Four games have passed since we last talked so let's recap what happened:

Rewind all the way to last Monday. We played against the 3rd best team in the league at the time. The last time we played them they beat us handily. So on paper they were going to beat us again right? Nope. We probably played our best game as a team all year and beat them by 30. BadaBOOM!

Wednesday we played our first nationally televised game versus the team we lost to in overtime by 2 on the road. At this point they were second to last in the league and we were playing them at home. So on paper we were going to get revenge and win right? Nope. Now granted it was probably the worst officiated game I've ever played in, but we still had a chance to win although we ended up losing by 2 or  3.

Now we had a bit of a break before our next game the following Friday. The reason was because there was the all-star game and all-star festivities that weekend. Yeah, I feel like I should've been there, but I'm not bitter. It's cool. I looked at the team and they selected to veteran big guys. It's cool. I have to wait my time that's all. But, yeah I didn't watch the game. Hmmph.

On to Friday. We were playing against the last place team at home, whom we had beaten twice before pretty convincingly AND we had over a week to prepare for them. So of course we kicked their butts again right? Nope. They smacked us by 20 and it was our worst home loss of the year. I played so poorly that I should buy the team some wine. Haha.

Yesterday. The teams below us had been winning so we were on the brink of dropping into the bottom four. We HAD to win that game to stay out of the bottom four. But wait, who did we have to play? A team in the top 5 who had beaten us not once, not twice, not thrice, but four times! (is there a word for the fourth time?) So we had no chance of beating this team and we were definitely going to lose right? Nope. We came through and pulled out the victory; but boy, it was by no means easy.

So let's recap: We lost to the two teams we were supposed to beat, and beat the two teams we were supposed to lose to. Maybe we just need to be underdogs. Now we are in 11th place with 4 games left. WE MUST HANG ON!

Oh yeah I almost forgot, if you haven't seen my highlight video yet you can find it here! or in the related links section on the right. I put a lot of time and effort into it, I hope you enjoy.

And for the sake of a picture here is one of my funny faces caught on camera.

Mommy, he hit me :'(

Tic Tac Toe, Three in a Row

Been a long couple of weeks so let's get to it! After the big win against our rival, we played on Friday against the team with the best record in the league at home. We came out on fire! Nothing makes you appreciate playing at home more than a 24 hour bus trip, I tell you. Before you knew it, we were up 20 points with one quarter to play. But because they are a good team, they did not give up. They came all the way to within 4 with a couple of minutes left. And then we all witnessed the biggest play of our season; a player from their team drove to the goal, one of my teammates stepped in front, the referee blew his whistle and the ball went in the basket. I was elated when I saw the ref pump his fist in the other direction and call a charge! (From my angle it looked like a block, but when I watched it on film, it was a good call. Whew!) The player had committed his 5th foul, was outraged at the call, and picked up two technical fouls. Game. Set. Match. My teammate definitely had huevos!


Sunday. Next Game. There was a referee that just had it out for me. He called every one of my 4 fouls (I disagreed with every single one of them. Nothing makes you improve your Spanish faster than trying to plead your case to a ref.) and limited me to 20 minutes that game. BUT, we won. All that matters. That's three in a row!...but that's not what the title is referring to.


We had a quick turnaround with road games Wednesday and Friday. Bus trip! (Round trip to 2 destinations and back home was 24 hours. Still can't believe I did that in one sitting.) 


We were going to into the perfect situation; we were confident having won 3 games in a row and we were playing one of the last place teams which had recently changed coaches. But like a dog backed in a corner, they rallied, fought, and beat us. 


Speaking of dogs, after the game I walked into the restaurant minding my own business. I pulled out my chair INSIDE the restaurant and then a dog ran across my foot! I have never been so close to screaming like a girl because that was the last thing I expected. However, I am a manly man and I held the scream, it definitely caused a reaction though and my teammates loved it.


Friday. We had to play a team that was only a half game behind us. Huge! We stayed in the nicest hotel I've stayed at since I've been here in Argentina. Apparently it is owned by Manu Ginobli! (I dislike him a little bit less now haha). Even the seats at the gym were comfortable...

Could've used these my first 3 years
at Virginia..I'm just saying

Oh yeah. For the title. So as we were leaving for the game, we go outside and find out that our bus is broken down. Tic Tac Toe, Three in a Row. Three road trips in a row that we've had our bus break down. Carpool to the game!


Unfortunately, we came up short again. Oh the road woes. Luckily, we are still in 10th place and we have two more games coming up tomorrow, 8 total. MARCH MADNESS.


And now what you've all been waiting for... BABY TIME.

She can't walk on her own yet but...

If you haven't figured it out by now, I love babies!

David vs. Goliath

The stage was set. David vs. Goliath. Atenas. Runner-up in the top league vs. Nueve de Julio. First year in the league. Rivals, separated by one hour driving distance. They were second in the league and we were 13th. We had played them 8 times already and only won once, and that was before their Americans arrived. My teammate at this point had played in more games with us than he had practiced (2 to 1). AND we were on the road. We had only won one game on the road all year and that was against the last place team. So on paper we have no chance, right? Well, that's why you play the game.

It was definitely one of the most physical games I've played in, and my teammate said that in his 6 years of professional basketball he had never come close to a game as physical as that. There was pushing, shoving, grabbing, holding, and trash talk. Two mid-air collisions. One ended in stitches and broken teeth, the other a broken nose and a dislocated shoulder. Yeah, not exaggerating on the physicality.

Yeah I got fouled, but look at those triceps!

One of the greatest atmospheres I've ever played in. We had just as many fans as they did even though we were on the road. One side cheering for you, the other booing you! (Made shooting free throws very interesting). There was never a silent moment; the crowd for both sides was electric.

It was a close game throughout, but when the smoke cleared and the dust settled, we came out victorious! I had a great game, 20 and 9, and so did my teammate.

After the game, our crowd chanted at the top of their lungs, "NUEVE TIENE HUEVOS", the staple chant for our team. It literally means Nueve has eggs, it's figurative meaning...well, I'll let you do the math.

When the celebration was over, we stopped at a restaurant to eat. My teammate and I went outside when we finished eating to use the Internet. 20 minutes or so passed, and I noticed everyone was standing outside talking. I was tired and ready to go home, so I went over to rally the troops...and that's when I saw the mechanics...
Yep, another tire needed to be changed. 

At least this time didn't take
them an hour and a half
to get there!

Ironically, the same one as last time. All you can do in that situation is laugh. I was just glad we won.

We only have 12 games left! We are currently in 11th place and 12 teams make the playoffs. So yeah, every game from here on out is the most important game of the year. Let's go!

You Can't Make This Stuff Up

So it's been two weeks since I've written a blog, and my plan was to recap the last two weeks. However, due to the events of the last few days, I'll start at this past Monday night.

My teammate and I were sitting down having dinner before our 9:30 departure when my teammate told me he had just been cut. I was in shock. He had been packed and ready to go on the road and everything. I said goodbye to him and wished him the best, and then got on the bus to start the 14 hour bus drive for our Wednesday night game. 

When I got on the bus I learned two things: 1) I was going to get another teammate, who was supposed to arrive Tuesday night; 2) There was a 22 hour drive between the city that we played in on Wednesday and the city we played in on Friday. 22 hours. No, seriously 22 hours. We wouldn't even have time to practice.

Tuesday comes and my new teammate still hasn't arrived; they then said he would arrive Wednesday morning. Tuesday night after practice I was fortunate enough to meet up with one of my former teammates who was playing for a different team in that city. We hung out for a little while at the casino (got my 50 pesos back haha) before I tried to head home. Key word... tried. I ended up getting lost of course. After wandering for a while, I asked someone where I needed to go and they told me I was about 8 blocks in the wrong direction. Luckily, he was kind enough to give me a ride back to the hotel...glad I was in Argentina because I highly doubt as a 6'9 black man I would've gotten a ride from a stranger at night in the US.

Wednesday. The day of the game. My new teammate still hasn't arrived; I assume he wouldn't play that day. Uno, dos, tres NUEVE! We break the huddle to start the game, and I see my new teammate getting rushed with his bags to the locker room to change. I guess he is playing...and he did. 

We ended up losing the game. Afterwards, I spoke with my teammate and he was still in shock from traveling 36 hours. He joked about how when he arrived at the gym he didn't even know what team he was playing for.  I then told to him that we had a 22 hour drive starting Thursday morning. His jaw hit the floor. I laughed, patted him on the back, and told him, "Welcome".

Next morning. I had a feel that this would be an epic trip so I documented some of my thoughts and feelings. Enjoy:

10:45 am we leave. My teammate is still in shock. Laughing at him makes me feel a little better. I think about putting on a movie, but I didn't sleep much last night so I put on the music and went to sleep... Not very comfortable.

1:30 I feel the bus stop. I look at my watch and realize that we have to eat now because everything closes at 2. I look outside and we are beside a little outdoor restaurant that has barbecue. Not really a restaurant, more like an outdoor shack. Not only did it not have Internet, it didn't have electricity. We sit down and of course there are flies everywhere. Great! Teammate is still in disbelief. Now for the food. Greasy fries, greasy sausage, greasy beef, and a little salad. Mmmmm. I'm so glad I have food with me because I'll be hungry in an hour; or maybe not because it'll take my stomach a while to digest all the grease. Here's a picture of the fun times.

Look how happy we are!

6:30 just finished playing the same game for four hours. It was great. Making great time not feeling bored. But now I feel like watching Shrek Forever After.

7:30 the bus is stopped. Food time? I look at my teammate and asked what happened. He said "we blew a tire". I said "come again". He repeated his last statement. I burst out laughing. You can't make this stuff up. You. Can't. Make. This. Up. This is beyond funny. I wonder how long it'll take now. I love my life.

It looks like a samurai

stuck a knife in this tire. 

7:51 I was charging my computer on the bus because I just found out it has a plug, but now there is a shortage and the power keeps going on and off. I guess no more charging.

8:20 the mechanic arrives. The plan is to see if the tire can be fixed but it looks unlikely because the differential is broken. So after waiting for the mechanic for an hour we may have to wait even more to get a new bus. I'm starting to get hungry. Oh yeah we have only been traveling for a little less than 7 hours which means we have about 15 left, and a game tomorrow...

8:41 false alarm. Still no mechanic

Oh yeah, that's how mechanics roll

9:03 he's here! Yessss. Check out his ride.

9:18 it's fixed! So it took 15 mins to fix...but an hour and a half to get here. Oh yeah.

9:21. We're on the move again.

11:00 pm we change buses. More time added to the trip. Still no food. I'm starving. McDonalds is proposed as a place to eat and I am not a happy camper. McDonalds for dinner and the greasy food we had for lunch would not bode well for our game tomorrow, but everyone else wants it so I am being forced to eat it. 

11:40 we finally find a McDonalds after the first one is closed.

11:49 they lock the doors. We literally JUST made it.

12:24 on the road again. Oh. You think we ate on the bus because we are already so far behind? Nope. We sat and ate leisurely. 

12:31 we stop at a shell station...there was one right beside the McDonalds but we drove down the street to another.

12:34 we pulled off minus 4 players and a coach.

12:40 we actually pull off with everyone

12:51 we are speeding so fast every time we hit a bump I fly out my seat...I guess our driver doesn't know we just blew a tire...

4:00 I am finally about to go to sleep. I don't even want to think about how many hours are left

11:10 I wake up from my slumber if you want to call it that. Looks like we are in a city. Hopefully the city of our destination. We have now reached the 24 hour mark on travel time.

11:20 we made it. They trip is finally over.

At the hotel, we tried to get as much rest as possible before the 10 o'clock game. We gave it all we had during the game but unfortunately we came up short.  After dinner, we drove back to Río Tercero. It was 8 hour drive, but that was nothing compared to what we had just been through. Out of curiosity, I calculated the distance that my new teammate traveled in the last 96 hours and I came to an approximate total of 14,073 km or 8745 miles. Wow. 

We have another game tomorrow against our rival Atenas. Hopefully, we can get some better officiating than we did in the past two games, but I'm not hopeful. I still can't believe I survived that 24 hour road trip.