UB Girls Soccer: Season Two

Well after a last season finish of a sad 4th place after heading into the tournament in 1st the UB women's soccer team seemed to pick it up where it left off heading into the second season. Where in the fall season we had enough girls to form two competitive teams, this season we started off with barely enough girls to play. The first two games were lost playing a man down and Wed practices were routinely canceled because of the spring time rain, and of course, playing only on Saturdays, with a majority of the members from out of the country, we were always losing players to vacations and late-night extravaganzas (the kind you can't get up in the morning after to play a soccer game).

However, in the second half of the season we started picking up some speed. Finally playing with a full team (and believe it or not a few subs!!!) UB has started to make a name for itself again. In the last 3 games we've gone 3-0 beating what were the first, second, and third place teams. Slowly creeping back up the rankings, it will take wins in the last two games to find ourselves in the tournament for first place. So long as we play as we have in the last 3 games there is almost no doubt that the tournament will be ours. Hopefully all trips to the moon and all night drinking brigades will be suspended until the tournament so that we can compete as a complete team and bring home the trophy we let slip through are fingers in the last season. Vamos UB!!!!!!!!!!

Penguins, Seals, and Whales, Oh my! -Puerto Madryn

Founded by Welsh settlers in 1886, this sheltered port city has become a tourist favorite for the nearby wildlife sanctuary in Peninsula Valdes. After 17 hours in a bus traveling south along the Atlantic coast of Argentina, passing nothing but fields and open plains, we came over a hill and there was the little city of Puerto Madryn. Promises of whale watching and penguin sightings is what drew me to the little city in the first place, and anyone who knows my affinity for wild-life could understand that as soon as I got there I would run to the beach and look for whales. Thinking that seeing whales was a chance happening I couldn’t believe that after just an hour of being in front of the water, we saw whales jumping about 100ft offshore!!!! The locals informed us that we hadn’t seen anything yet, and boy where they right!




The first full day we took and all day tour to Peninsula Valdes. Shaped by two large bays and the Atlantic Ocean, this bleak-looking peninsula was a real wildlife wonderland. One can see Sea lions, Elephant seals, Guanacos (argentine deer), Maras (Patagonian hares), Magellan penguins, Orcas and Southern Right whales from various parts of the peninsula where these animals were colonizing. Cold water conditions from Antarctic currents and enclosed bays safe from fierce Patagonian winds makes for a safe haven for many of these animals during the most sensitive time of their lives when they mate and breed. Many of theses animals travel miles to mate and bear their offspring in this safe location. The closest I’ve ever been to a whale (besides frequenting Sea World as a kid) was on a boat ride out into the bay in San Francisco where a whale splashed its tail some 500 ft away; however, this boat trip would prove to be much different. After an hour of riding we came upon a Southern Right whale mother and her calf. They were swimming about 50ft from the boat when suddenly they turned and started to swim towards us. Barreling at us they quickly dove underneath our boat and popped out on the other side! At one point they were jumping less than 20ft from the boat itself!




From there we headed to the seal-lion colony consisting for both seal lions and elephant seals. We were told that the previous day Orca’s were seen surfing the shores and feeding on the baby sea lions. The waters were a bit rough and not quite the ideal conditions for feeding, but that didn’t stop the normal day-to-day routine of the elephant seals. The dominant male, infamous for his phallic looking nose, was surrounded by his harem of females and their babies. Slowly cruising the shore was a less dominant male looking to spread his seed or to take control of the tribe of females. He slowly crept out of the water approaching one of the females. The dominant male was sleeping on the other side of the beach but was awoken by the howling of one of the females as the other male mounted himself on her. The dominant male come barreling down the beach barking and approached the other male. Knowing that he wasn’t quite big enough to fight, the other male quickly slipped back into the water.




From there we headed to the Magellan penguin colony. Spring fever was also in the air as penguins were mating and laying and caring for their eggs. All along the coastline and up and down the cliff for two miles you could spot little black and white dots as they nested in the prairie grass. We were so close you could touch them!!!

But the best sight seeing we saw came in the next few days when we weren’t even expecting it. Warm enough to lie out on the beach we headed out there to lie in the sun. As we got to the bay, there were 12-15 distinct black blobs jumping and splashing with their tales. Only 20 ft out you could clearly see the whales in all of their majesty, and the best view point came from the pier where they would swim by. Mothers and babies and mating couples frequently passed by the pier putting on shows with their theatrics and loud baritone noises as they surfaced for air. Coming so close that you could actually see their eyes, I was in complete awe. Just merely being there and watching captured everything that I had read about and all the specials that I had seen on this very wondrous little city. The entire four days spent in this small city will forever be one of the most memorable experiences of my life.

Latin American Idol

Just when I thought life couldn’t get any better I was invited to go to Latin American Idol!!! Yes you heard me clearly, I mean the adopted Spanish version of that pathetic show where almost talented people participate and has-been judges make fun of them. The role of Paula was played by a slightly less intoxicated but equally stupid blonde, Simon was replaced by a much heavier Puerto-Rican who spoke with a Spanish accent and is known as the “malo” or bad one, and the role of Randy, who is a jolly black man, was played by a skinny flamboyant and possibly homosexual guy from who knows where.

Down to the final four, each contestant sang not just one, but TWO songs. One of the finalists was from Panama, which is how I ended up there in the first place. No, not because I have secretly married a Panamanian (pretty sure that’s not politically correct, but I’m going to roll with it) and now have duel-citizenship, but rather I have a friend who is from there and his embassy was offering free tickets to go and support the young but talented Margarita. Of course I wanted her to win, not only because she has the same name of one of my favorite cocktails of which many fond memories have been formed due to drinking one to many of them, but because as far as the talent pool goes, she’s the only one that’s got it.

To answer some of the questions, for the most part it is live. The contestants weren’t allowed to sing their songs more than once and critiques were given by the judges immediately after. However, the Latin host, although seemingly kind while onstage, turned into a heinous thinks-he’s-famous star and was demanding make-up in between cuts. I have a strong feeling Ryan Seacrest is somewhat the same. Yes, the judges do have time in-between acts to smoke cigarettes and fill their cups with “water”, so no need to worry about them having to sit for so long without satisfying their basic needs. And no, the audience is not huge; it consists of 100 people sitting in a space appropriate for 30-super comfortable.

Despite only having a few seconds of cameos myself on the TV preview the next day, and having to wait in line behind the “super-fan” (you know the one who knows the life history of every contestant and has been to every show, but has yet to make it on TV) for an hour, I still enjoyed every minute of being there. If you ever wonder why they call it “Hollywood”, I’ll tell you, it’s all so much clearer when you have an opportunity like this.

Next step: trying out for the next! Thanks to Flavio and the Panama blood running through his veins for this incredibly “entertaining” experience.






"El Malo", friends and flags!!!



PS As cameras were prohibited during the performance, I'll let you know a life was risked for these highly desired and lucrative photos.

ACORN: La Gran Choripaneada

Choripaneada? What is that? Well my friends it’s a BBQ boasting one of Argentina’s most infamous meat concoctions- the choripan. The word choripan comes from it’s parts; the “chori” is short for chorizo, which is the closest thing to kielbasa one can get, and “pan” in Spanish means bread. So put these two wonders of the world together and we get a sausage sandwich. Genius!!!!! So being the smart and savvy volunteers that we are we realized that the closest way to someone’s wallet was through their stomach (we added beer in the mix to loosen up the process a little), so we organized a neighborhood BBQ for volunteers, neighbors, and friends in order to raise money for the community center.

The night itself was quite international with representatives from the US, Argentina, Holland, Peru, Mexico, Columbia, New Zealand, Britain, and Ireland. Neighbors and volunteers alike enjoyed the great cuisine, raffles, and most importantly each other’s company as all participated in ACORN’s fundraising event. The money generated will go towards supplies for classes and a field trip for the kids. Thanks to all who made this night possible and above all a success. In times like these the madness of the world is forgotten and humanity at its finest takes center stage, if only more of life consisted of moments like these.

Mendoza

Four days of mountains, bikes, shady sidewalks, beautiful plazas, good restaurants, and above all wine, one must ask themselves can life get any better than that? I submit that it cannot!!! A definite break was need from the big city after finals, so a trip to Argentina’s mellowed out wine country was planned. Mendoza sits at an altitude of 760m and produces 70% of the country’s wine. Argentina’s wines are getting better and better and are attracting international attention. Famous for it’s Malbec, a grape only grown successfully in the mountainous region outside of the city, Argentina has earned itself a place on map, and subsequently wine tasting has become a popular tourist attraction for many passing through Mendoza.




Taking full advantage of South America’s wine region, we rented bikes and headed out for a 12km trip consisting of 12 wineries, restaurants, and chocolate factories –sadly not operated by umpa-loompas to my demise- and olive oil plantations. Thinking wisely, we headed to the furthest winery on the map and began slowly making our way back trying varieties of wine, olive oil and chocolate along the way. Despite the occasional risk of being run off the road by an 18 wheeler, a good time was had by all!!




The next day was spent in the mountains of Mendoza hiking and kayaking. Trekking through the hillsides we made our way to a waterfall and from the top we repelled down. Despite having repelled hundreds of times, the rush of hanging from a string over a cliff still stirred up the old endorphins…I can’t imagine why! The second half of the day we leisurely made our way down a river in kayaks taking in the mountains of Argentina and marveling at it’s highest peak, Aconcagua (6962 m).

After 4 days a new appreciation of wine was acquired as well as a re-confirmation that Argentina continues to be one of the world’s most incredible countries for those who love the outdoors.

The saga continues

Well the agrarian sector of Argentina continues to be at war with Argentine President Christina Kirshner and her government for considerably raising the export taxes on agrarian products. Strikes and route cutting continue to be the methods used by producers in resistance to the tax increase. The exportation of grains has been the principle economic motor for Argentina since their economic crisis in 2001, and to date Argentina is the 3rd largest producer of soy, but as of now, no one is benefiting from the fertile lands of Argentina, and as the people of Argentina begin to feel the stress of the global food-crisis, they aren’t sitting idyll.

The pictures above are from an anti-government rally prompted by farmers and landowners that was supported by many middle and upper class Argentines that have ultimately been affected by the conflict. The same day a demonstration was held in front of the La Casa Rosada (the pink house) in favor of the government. Out numbering the government supporters, this manifestation had as many as 250,000 people, waving Argentine flags, and sporting t-shirts that said, “I’m for the farmers”.

Support is split among Argentines and fingers are being pointed in all sorts of economic and political directions casting blame. However, if a resolution can't be made, both sides will be to blame for the thousands of people who have found themselves starving and unable to feed their families due to inflated prices and food scarcity. I guess I just don't see the value of dumping gallons of milk in the river to limit milk supplies in the supermarket or stopping produce trucks from bringing food supplies to the city as a form of protest, while thousands of kids are being deprived of the nutrition they need to survive. As the whole world has entered into a food crisis it’s hard to stomach watching the destruction of food products in a political showdown knowing that somewhere a mother is trying to explain to her kids why there won’t be dinner again tonight.

Bariloche : A Friend's Day Celebration

Thinking of ways to spend our second winter of the year, some of us scholars decided to plan a skiing trip to the "Aspen" of Argentina, Bariloche. Being on the other side of the globe means our seasons are reversed, and while everyone back in the states is enjoying the summer heat, here in Argentina it's a different story. Although Buenos Aires may never experience a Lake Erie frigid wind-blasting winter, it does get chilly here. Being so close to Antarctica, a large body of water, and mountains parts of Argentina experience winters similar to those in the states. Bariloche is located in the southwestern quadrant of this huge country, near the famous Patagonia region and the Andes Mountains. Over the years it has grown into a popular ski resort town filled with chocolate shops, cafes, beer breweries, and of course out-door sport stores. Weather reports looked promising for snow as the heat of the skiing season was approaching, and still little to no snow had fallen in this city known for it's white winters. So we packed up all or our winter gear and headed 18hrs across the country in a bus, which was surprisingly comfortable, and arrived in Bariloche where snowflakes were falling.

That first hour of snow would be the first and last time snow was seen the rest of the trip. After the second day of warmer temperatures and rain it was apparent that we wouldn't be doing much skiing. Fortunately Bariloche offers much more than skiing; it's mountains and hillsides make for great hiking trails, and the city itself is surround by a series of lakes. Our first day out we hiked up to the Municipal Park of Llao Llao and walked the Arrayan path, which lead to a forest of Arrayan trees. The arrayan tree is a limited species of tree that has a yellowish orangish bark. I was later told by a friend that the forests in the movie "Bambi" were meant to replicate this little forest on the top of a hill in Argentina. We had been walking through forests of trees and plants for an hour when we popped out along the lake. There is where I experienced, for the first time since I've been here, an absolutely quite and still moment. We sat on a rock along the bank that was surrounded by mountains, trees, and a crystal clear lake. Sitting in silence, enjoying it because in a big city like Buenos Aires it's a rarity, we had lunch and relished in one of Argentina's most beautiful sites. Calm and full we hiked back in the rain, hoping not to run into the group of wild dogs that greeted us on our way up. (We didn't)

The following day the sun broke and we decided to go kayaking. We rented kayaks and headed out onto Lake Gutierrez. A lake formed by glaciers and filled by the nearby mountain's melted snow, one could see down for meters. Once we reached the middle of the lake, we were surrounded my mountains on all four sides, and out in the distance a rainbow formed over the top of Mount Catedral. Another beautiful day in Argentina!!!!

But before you think us scholars were only in Bariloche to play, we also held true to our Rotary responsibilities and attended Club Nahuel Huapi’s Friend's-Day" meeting. Club Nahuel Huapi is the host club for Project Patagonia, so I had a chance to meet with the members on the committee and share in their excitement for the project. Project Patagonia was designed by past scholars of the Ambassadorial Scholarship to help bring much needed supplies and multi-media materials to isolated schools in the Patagonia region of Argentina. These schools are small, isolated, and the fortunate students who get to go, need to board there do to the long distances they are from home. Many of these schools lack food materials and typical classroom items because of their distance from government funding and the "real-world". Starting with one school, scholars raised funds and donated materials to build a multi-media center with computers, books, and games for the children. Such a success, Project Patagonia is now planning a six-school "drop-off" off of supplies in late November and early December.

Everyone was in good spirits at the "Friend's-Day" meeting because it wasn't really a meeting, but rather a BBQ to celebrate the nations holiday as well as their Rotary companionship. Roberto Wallace, the member who invited us, said to me as we walked in that that I would probably be the only female there, he was right. I walked into a room filled with men, wine, cigars, and meat. The president of the club was busy cooking what seemed like 50 pounds of meat, members were introducing their friends that the brought to the meeting, and the tables were being set for a feast. A feast it was, the cuts of meat we were served seemed never-ending, as did the wine, and wile we ate members shared stories and sang songs celebrating the good friendships they've established. We were very warmly welcomed and it was a great evening. It was far from the Rotary norms we were used to in the states, but it's not such a bad thing to celebrate something great. A special thanks to Club Nahuel Huapi for sharing their friendship with us, and a special thank you to Roberto Wallace for inviting us.