El fútbol

When I woke up this morning, my cell phone, watch and computer all had a different time. How this happens, I’m not quite sure. The phones in Argentina (boo Movistar) are not as intelligent as phones in the US--you set the time yourself every time you change the battery--but I have no idea how it managed to slow down. Regardless, I still got to work 20 minutes early and once again, was the first one to arrive to the office. Argentina: A place where on time is early and late is on time.

After finishing a Spanish writing assignment and a day at work, I'm having a lot of trouble writing in English right now, so I wrote my accounts of the day in Spanish first to help me out (que extraño! / how strange!, see bottom of this post).

Mi pasantía / internship

My project of the day (and possibly the entire week) was researching and media planning on the internet for Espacio Forum, a company that works with event planning for businesses. The facility is a convention center for business meetings and conferences slightly outside of Buenos Aires, with the technology to video-conference speakers and more. Reading up on event planning made me curious, so I looked up what starting salaries for event planners were in the United States--specifically in the Chicago area & southern California. They averaged $59,000, more than I anticipated. Maybe you'll see me as an event planner someday...

El fútbol / Soccer

The big manager at Entercomm is named Miguel, and he is my boss (Brenda)'s boss. He gets amusement out of calling me Kati *Kah-tee*, as the AY sound is difficult in Spanish, especially when not presented with the letter E. You should hear them say FACEbook, it's great. Anyways, he asked if I was a soccer fan and if I was familiar with the Boca Juniors, the soccer team in Argentina. When I told him not really, he came over to my computer and opened YouTube. He spoke highly of Diego Maradona, a legendary Argentine soccer player who played in four World Cup's (Copa Mundial) and even coached Argentina's national team from 2008-2010. The first video was called the Hand of God, a play where Maradona basically scored with his hand and the referees didn't see in the 1986 World Cup. The next one, notoriously called the "Goal of the Century," is another phenomenal goal scored by Maradona. Watch the video, and listen to the announcer scream GOAL!!! at the end. My manager told my co-workers to be silent while he taught me about Argentina's fútbol history, got down on his knees in the middle of the office with his arms in the air, and screamed along. GOAL!!!!!!! That's passion.

If this doesn't prove Latin American devotion to fútbol, I don't know what does. But there's more. He explained that this wasn't just about Maradona's awesome goal, but was about making a comeback after the Dirty War in Argentina in the early 1980s. In the 1986 World Cup, although Argentina beat Alemania (Germany) in the finals, they beat Inglaterra (England) in the above two videos during the semi-finals. Miguel said this symbolized relieving themselves from the Dirty War and meant a lot to both countries. I was fascinated. It's amazing to see the effect of a sport, especially fútbol, and makes sense how the popularity and competition of soccer lives on in Spanish-speaking countries.

Comida nueva y cosas pocitas / New food & small things

• Jordin & I tried "choripan" yesterday at La Boca, which is what it sounds--a mix of chorizo (sausage) & pan (bread); a hot dog but better. It costs $3 USD or less and is incredibly tasty and filling!
• Stacey's new credit card finally arrived....to her house in Texas. They thought her BILLING ADDRESS was in Argentina but that she needed the card in Dallas. And it took them two weeks (double the promised maximum time of five days) to send it nationally, who knows what will happen INTERNATIONALLY! A fail on Wells Fargo's part, pobre Stacey yet again!
• Our cleaning lady, Monica, came for the first time today and I finally realized how luxurious it is to have a perfectly clean home! There is not one crumb in the kitchen, the floor is mopped, we have new sheets and towels, how spoiled are we? Might as well appreciate it now because it's not like I'll ever be able to afford a cleaning lady! Thanks J-School!

Español para la gente que puede entender (Spanish for those who understand)

Empecé el día con el clipping y trabajo de Brenda. Fue para un sitio de web que se llama Espacio Forum, negocios para pensar eventos corporativos y empresariales. Busqué información en los salarios para estos personas, y fue más de $60 mil! Es posible que todavía puedo hacerlo en el futuro! Este proyecto tomaba mucho del día, y el resto de la oficina charlaba y hablaba un poco de los fines de semana y más. Miguel gritó KATI! y me mostró videos de la Copa Mundial en 1986 para probar la importancia de fútbol en la Guerra de los 1980s. Explicó la situación y me fascina fenomenal mirar su feliz cuando miraba el video, y toda la oficina conoce a la situación. Después, almorzaba con Brenda y Vane y hablamos de nuestros fines de semana, vida en Argentina y más. Me encanta pasar tiempo con ellas.

En términos de comida, ayer Jordin y yo comimos choripan, una mezcla de chorizo y pan. Chorizo es carne y fue como un perro caliente muy bien. Como los fotos ayer, también comimos manzanas con dulce y palomitas. Hoy, tengo mi bocadillo favorito para el viaje. Es el yogur de dulce de leche con OREOS que compré en la discoteca! Mmm. En otras noticias, la casa está tan limpia porque Monica, la mujer de limpio, vino hoy para el primer tiempo. Me encanta!