Well...it was fun while it lasted...

Well...it was fun while it lasted...
I had a great time there and I will never forget some of the memories I had. Though at times I was frustrated , I will always cherish the relationships I made. I'm sure going to miss...that hotel. Haha, had you for a moment didn't I? I'm soooooooo happy I have an apartment now. The hotel was nice and everything but after FOUR AND A HALF WEEKS, it got on my nerves. I will miss the people there though. We would mostly only say, "Hola", but they would always smile and wave, and they always knew what I wanted to eat for breakfast... :)


But here, take a look at my apartment

I have a shower curtain!!!!!!

Do you know what the first thing I did when I moved in? That's right. I went to the grocery store; which is right around the corner. GREAT location.


If you haven't figured it out yet; IT'S OFFICIAL, I MADE THE TEAM. The process has taken a lot longer than I thought, but it was well worth it and I'm extremely happy. So happy, in fact, that I started singing when I heard the news - like this!  I would also like to take this time to thank the little people who have made such a big difference, aka the guards who passed me the ball; I couldn't have done it without you!
Disclaimer:  I am not responsible for busted speakers or cracked windows due to my singing!


Up until now, I have tried to make this blog as lighthearted and funny as possible, but we all know that life is not all fun and games. Unfortunately, my teammate has moved on to another team. I was definitely sad to see him go; he has been like a big brother to me and my experience so far would not have been nearly as great without him. But, I realize this is a business and I always have to keep that in mind.


More bad news. Earlier this week the unthinkable happened - my bike broke! I almost cried. My bike and I had really bonded over these few weeks. We had explored the city together, gotten lost together, and gotten chased by dogs together. I even named it. And all that happened was that my weight caused the pole beneath the seat to bend all the way backwards. Guess I'm eating a little Too Much... (Sorry I don't have a picture; I got it fixed before I remembered to take it. Snap!)

So last week, we won our game against a good opponent and my teammates wanted to celebrate afterwards. I've been here for about a month and I haven't seen the night life yet, so I figured, why not? I had only heard rumors about how they don't start partying until 4 am and they don't stop until 7 or 8 AM, but I still needed to see it. Sure enough, we went to one of my teammates' place at 2:30 and headed to bars at 4. Now I thought I had a little bit of celebrity status in Charlottesville with fans that wanted pictures and autographs, but nothing compared to here. I swear I took about one hundred pictures that night. And you don't need to know the language to know when people want to take one either; they just take out their cameras and wave them. I took a couple of my own, just for memory sake.

Taken at approx. 4:45 am

So after doing the salsa for 2 hours, my teammate and I decide to go home. The disco was still packed. A lot of older people were out too; these people party hard! I had fun, but that night really made me appreciate our smoking laws in the US. Cough cough.

But going back to the celebrity thing; there was one moment earlier this week that had me grinning from ear to ear. Now I try to be humble with everything I do, but this one got to me. I was walking in the gym to see if the main court was open for me to shoot. As I walked, I saw that there was a volleyball tournament going on for teenage girls. As I was walking by them, all of a sudden I see an arm and then a flash! Sure enough, one of them had taken a photo of me as I was walking by. If they would've asked me I surely would have allowed them to take a picture, but no, they just snapped a picture as if I were Justin Timberlake (just the first celebrity that popped in my head). I couldn't stop smiling for the rest of the day.


One more thing that still blows my mind. Now I understand that in Argentina, and other countries, dogs are allowed to roam free without owners and leashes. And besides the occasional bike chase and dog poop, I'm fine with that. However, I just think they get a little tooooo much freedom. On Sunday, we were playing an away game. I had just fouled out of the game with a minute left and we were down by 2. After my initial frustration, I look up from the bench and see a dog walking on the court...and no one even flinches. I thought I was going crazy. I rubbed my eyes, looked to my left and my right, but no one seemed to care that there was a dog walking on the court as the final seconds were ticking in this very close game. It just trotted off the court as the play started moving towards it and then went on about it's business. We ended up losing the game by 4 (I had 21), but the dog was the lasting memory in my mind.


You can keep read up on games, (with google translator-that thing is a beast) see the schedule, and I think watch the games when the season starts, here.


Sorry for the long time between blogs; trust me I wanted to write a few but I was determined to have this be my next one. If you are reading my blogs regularly, leave a mark (not you mom). Leave a comment or become a follower, I just want to know Hoos been reading. Thanks.