Monday: La Boca y MALBA

Well we are back in the States after a fantastic time in Buenos Aires!

After our Sunday adventure to the Estancia Santa Susana, we had one full day left. Monday's match was not until 8:15 that evening, the rest of the day was left for site-seeing and last minute shopping.

Sammy led the group to La Boca, a neighborhood that was once the city's main port and has now been partially reclaimed and the Caminito bustles with shops and restaurants geared towards the tourist trade. The most unique thing about La Boca are the colorful houses. The team found a cafe tucked away from the fray and enjoyed lunch in the courtyard accompanied by live music!

After lunch the group split up with some going to the Museum of Latin American Art of Buenos Aires, some going off to shop and some returning to the hotel to rest. The MALBA is a very manageable museum with a wonderful collection that chronicles the history of Latin American artists from the late 20th century up through the present.

Adventure at the Estancia

Hola everyone! I am so excited to contribute my first Bates Field Hockey blog post about our trip to the estancia this past Sunday! An estancia is similar to an American ranch, and our team was able to travel there and enjoy an authentic experience, complete with horseback riding, Argentine song and dance, and an amazing gaucho show.

The estancia was located about an hour and a half north of the city of Buenos Aires. It was really nice to get outside of the city for a bit and see some of the countryside, or campo. We were greeted at the estancia by a a large group of gauchos, all offering us delicious empanadas. The entire ranch was absolutely stunning, and it was a sunny day to boot. First up, a short, easy horseback ride around the estancia. I myself chose not to ride, but almost everyone on the team did. There is no need to panic, as there were plenty of pictures taken of the gals getting on their horses. Needless to say, it was pretty hysterical.

After a smooth ride, the team laid out in the sun and watched some polo players practice on a large field next to one of the ranch´s buildings, which was amazing. Polo is such an incredible sport to watch because althougth it is so difficult, not to mention very dangerous, the players appear entirely composed as they whack the ball around.

After a bit we heard a bell being rung, which meant it was time to chow down, gaucho style! As we were entering their dining hall, you could see the long grill outside the house packed with all different types of meat. As soon as we sat down, the entertainment began, complete with traditional Argentine tango, and many classic songs that everyone appeared to know quite well. All the while, the gauchos were coming around again, and again, and yet again with chorizo (pork sausage), cuts of beef, ribs, and blood sausage, which is exactly what you think it is. The blood sausage did make some a bit queasy, but I thought it tasted delicious. I most certainly would not want to eat two or three of them, but one definitely hit the spot.

Dining in the gaucho hall was a really wonderful experience because the emcee of the afternoon entertainment read off all the different countries that the guests were from, so you could look around and interact with people from all over the world. Some of the countries included Peru, Chile, Brazil, Puerto Rico, Mexico, and Austrailia.

After feasting, everyone moved outside again to watch the gaucho show. In the show, a group of 4 or 5 gauchos led a group of 6 or 7 horses around a large ring. What was so spectacular about this was the fact the gauchos led their specific group of horses very close to the other ones and yet the groups never broke their composure or stride. Then, the gauchos would lead their group to a resting position in front of the crowd, and all the horses would automatically line up, standing right next to one another. It was pretty amazing to see such strong, beautiful creatures quietly lined up right before your eyes. The most exciting part of the show was the traditional game the gauchos played, which involves charging full speed at a dangling ring, no larger than a wedding band, and using a pencil-size spear to catch the ring. Some of the gals on the team were lucky enough to receive the rings from the oh-so-handsome cowboys. More important, three lucky ladies got to take rides with gauchos after the show for a quick spin.

The trip to the estancia is one I will not soon forget. The countryside was truly beautiful and the food at the estancia was incredible. It was an awesome way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.

That´s it for now! I better get to packing because we head home so soon! Keep on reading and posting to the blog. It has been great to read your comments!

See you back in the Lew this fall!

- Zoe

Sabados en BA

After a long week and a busy Friday, which started bright and early with a clinic run by Mariana, a back on Argentina´s national team, everybody needed a bit of R and R. Sammy led us on a recovery-run-tour of the neighborhood she has come to know so well. Well, mostly recovery run - apparently there are no leash laws in Argentina, and some of the mutts don´t take too kindly to tourists, so we did incorporate a bit of sprinting.


After showering and a buffet breakfast, we went to Recoleta for some shopping in an open air market. The team managed to purchase roughly our weight in souvenirs ranging from (Christmas spoiler alert!) hand painted copper plates to bracelets to backpacks and other local wares.


From there we traveled to Saint Catherine´s to watch Mariana´s club team play and grab some lunch. We were lucky enough to witness three national team players in action, playing for two of the best clubs in Argentina.

We came back to the hotel and had a bit of time to nap before heading out for a team dinner - one that started much later than most American meals (9 PM is considered early for dinner here). Most of us ate - surprise - steak. Any cows left in this country? Doubtful, with the way we´ve been eating. We had a great time and even got to sleep in a little on Sunday before heading to the Estancia Santa Susana - more on that soon!

Besos,

Semita and Helenita

Buenisimo

Hola,

Well today is day four here in Argentina. We are having a blast. Yesterday the team had the morning free so we traveled to a section of the city called Palermo SoHo and Palermo Hollywood. In this part of the city, there is a street lined with shops selling leather goods. Leather is much cheaper in Argentina than back home so the team eagerly searched the shops for boots, jackets, purses, etc. After getting our fill of the leather shops we headed to one of Sammy´s favorite restaurants called Oui Oui. The fifteen of us took up nearly the entire cafe, but the waitresses were incrediblly kind and accommodating as most Argentines seem to be.

After eating a lunch ranging from eggs benedict to crepes to ham and cheese sandwiches with an egg baked on top, we decided it would be in everyone´s best interest to walk the thirty minute route home. The girls are feeling a little bit sore as they often do in the first week of the season, but they are troopers.

Shortly after returning to our hotel we headed out to the children´s educational center outside of the city limits. The dichotomy between much of the city of Buenos Aires and the area just outside of the city where we traveled to visit the children´s center was eye-opening. The center is an incredible place that exists soley to help the children of this poorer community. The center provides a place for young children and teenagers to come and study, tutor, be tutored and further improve their studies and skills. It is essentially an after-school program that keeps the children off the streets. The center is one of many in the surrounding areaa and helps more than 100 children in the community.

One of the teacher´s at the center took us for a tour in part to thank us for our donations. We donated clothes and sneakers of all kinds, and for all ages, for the center to distribute to the children and the community on a needs basis. I think the trip was important for us to take to make us aware that while Argentina is a bustling metroplis sharing similarities with Europe and USA, it is also still a developing country with a lot of people in need.

From the center we traveled to our next game at the hockey club called Hindu (pronounced Indu). This game was even more competitive than our first game. We played the club´s third team. Hindu would score the first goal of the game and lead 1-0 at halftime, but our Bobcats came back to tie it up in the second half. Sophomore forward Lindsay Thompson carried the ball up the right side of the field and sent a beautiful cross ball to the center where junior forward Sema Kazarian was waiting to smack in into the back of the goal cage. The game ended in a 1-1 tie so we are still undefeated down here. After the game we went to the clubhouse to have tea and bread with our opponents. The teams exchanged trinkets and then began trading game gear as some of the Bobcats now have Hindu warm-up jackets, kilts and game socks and vice versa!

It was a great day for the Bobcats!

- Carolyn

First Day of Training

Hola,

We have had a great night´s sleep and were well rested for our morning training session.

What a incredible opportunity to work with one of the elite coaches in Argentina. Lalo Junquet provided a wonderful first day of hockey- observing the team and then running them through a series of drills that built upon one another and helped them with not only their technical skills, but also their vision and tactical game.

It was cold and gray with sprinkles towards the end of our two hour session, but none of that dampened the enthusiasm or insensity that our team showed. The slight language barrier turned out to be a good thing as Lalo demonstrated the skills and the team had to listen carefully and figure out what it was he wanted them to do.

We have our first match this evening, so we will see how things get put together!

We are also trying to figure out how to post photos- we will do our best!

Ciao!

Hola from Buenos Aires,

Upon arriving at Logan Airport yesterday at approximately 12:40 PM, we were all quite distraught about the weight of our checked luggage. After shifting items between bags to ensure that all weighed in under the hefty 50lbs, we lined up to check in to our flight. The first half of the team passed the weight test successfully, however, Kelly McManus failed the bag test. Fearing that she would have to pay extra for her 57lb bag, Kelly looked around desperately for an excuse. To her luck, she noticed the perky flight check-in lady had her foot, and apparently some of her weight on the bag scale. Nice try.
The flight to Atlanta was mostly uneventful, except the fact that the plane accelerated into the landing, which made things interesting.
Atlanta airport, full of gourmet meal options, provided us with a large, yet healthy "first" dinner. Little did we know that we would indulge in a second dinner on the plane... either saran wrapped chicken or cold and moist pasta. How scrumptious. As budding athletes about to bloom into season, 2 dinners was essential to our strength and core building, and of course our physical appearance. 10lbs heavier, we were all ready to sit and watch the Oscar nominated ¨"17 Again", featuring Lindsay Thompson´s celebrity crush, Zac Efron. However, the looks and charm of Zac could not keep a majority of the team from entering a deep "food coma" or sleep.
Things were going well and everyone seemed in a nice slumber, when at 2am Delta Airlines decided to play "Star Trek". When watching this film at home at a decent distance from your television, you probably won´t notice the very severe flashes of light during most scenes. However, on the airplane TV, the lights were extremely vibrant and woke most of the team from their deep sleep. Some resulted to wrapping their blankets around their heads, leaving small gaps for their nose and mouth, but no one came more prepared than Wynn and Suzy, who brought eye masks to literally mask the light emitting from the television.
Breakfast included of a soggy version of an egg mcmuffin. We all left the plane, now 12lbs heavier.
We landed in Buenos Aires and walked onto the 40 degree ramp. We were greeted by our tourguide, Gerry, who taught us how to exchange dollars to pesos. The exchange rate, in favor of the dollar, made us all feel as though we had more "money in the bank". We sat through rush hour traffic, which is at about 9-10am here (must be nice to be able to get up that late for work). After an hour and a half we finally pulled up next to our hotel, where we met former teammate Rachel Greenwood´s sister, Liz Greenwood, and Sammy, who spent her spring semester in Argentina. After Sammy pounced on and wrestled Zoe in the lobby, which made Wynn kind of nervous considering that we have 2 subs, we checked in and got our roommate assignment. Luckily our rooms were ready so we got to shower before taking our tour.
We then left our rooms to find a quick bite to eat. Sammy took us all to one of her favorite places where she ordered all of us pizzas in perfect spanish. After another meal, we boarded our double decker bus for a tour of Buenos Aires. Our first stop was at the 3rd most famous cemetary in the world. It caught many of us by surprise because we had know idea we were about to enter such a beautiful and unique place. The tomb stones were incredible and decorated with detailed sculptures and engravings. We were fortunate to see the tomb of the famous Evita of Argentina. Our next stop was in the center of Buenos Aires where we walked around and looked at the beautiful architecture. Some went and visited the insideof the city´s famous chapels. We then ventured back for the hotel to take naps and get ready for dinner. Dinner was amazing. We ate at a steak house where we each received enormous steaks for our meal! Flan was served for desert and Jenna was especially intrigued by its ability to jiggle.

Now some of us are asleep, up in our rooms, or chillen down (Jenna and Lindsay). A few teammates are going to witness and perhaps participate in Tango dancing later on tonight!

We have a clinic tomorrow and then a game at night so wish us luck!!

We´ll be updating you very soon.

Hasta Luego!

Jenna y Lindsay estan my consada y tenemos que ir al sus camas y domimos hasta la manana.

Sincerely,

Lindsay T and Jenna D

Arrival in Argentina

Hello everyone,

We have safely arrived in Argentina. We have had a busy day so far with an incredible sightseeing tour of the city. I think most of the team is napping at this point before dinner. Everyone is looking forward to our first game tomorrow. I will have the players write much more later, but I wanted everyone to know we are safe and having fun.

Write more soon,

Carolyn

All checked in and ready to go!

Countdown!

We are on the final countdown to departure to Argentina! Packing, last minute errands, double checking documents and trying to stay cool in the Maine heat. It is hard to believe that in two days we will be deep in the southern hemisphere, where it is still early spring.

This trip has been over a year in planning and I can not wait to see everyone at the airport tomorrow!