El tercer partido

Our bus arrived in Córdoba a little before 6:30 in the morning, so by the time I caught a cab and got back home I had just enough time for a short nap, to eat breakfast, check my email, and then head to the university. After having the long weekend class wasn’t bad at all, and it was kind of nice getting back into a routine. I had been emailing with Vicky about hanging out for the next World Cup game, and we had decided to meet in Casa Verde after my class to decide what to do. So, when I walked out of 318, Vicky and Carlos were both waiting for me. They took me to lunch at a pizza place in downtown that is apparently one of the most popular in all of Córdoba, and after eating there I definitely know why! You could order pizza by the “fourths,” and so we each chose a different type and then shared. The kind I ordered was the same type that I had had in Buenos Aires and I already knew I loved it! It’s called Napolitana and it has big slices of tomato, oregano, and one whole olive per slice. I also tried some of the type that Vicky ordered which, although it looked strange, I ended up really liking it as well! From what I could tell it had thin pieces of ham covered by cheese and some sort of vegetable that I didn’t recognized and drizzled with a pink sauce. The vegetable-whatever tasted kind of like artichoke, and when I asked her what it was she said they were palomitas and came from palm trees (??). Then I asked her about the sauce and didn’t recognize the name of it either, and she told me it was like a mixture of ketchup and mayonnaise (again, ??). However, even though it wasn’t like anything I’d ever seen back at home, it was really good! This is why I love that she took me out; I never would have considered ordering it, but with her I get the full Argentine experience and am encouraged to try new things that otherwise I wouldn’t. The game started at 3:30, so we left straight from lunch to go to one of Vicky’s friend’s houses to watch it. Her friend lives in a little suburb of Córdoba (apparently near where Vicky’s house is), so it was about a twenty minute or so drive out there. Again, it was fun to be with her because if I didn’t know her I never would’ve seen this part of the city! Once we got to Luicita’s house Carlos dropped us off (he wasn’t too excited about watching the game with a group of girls) and we went inside. The house was extremely nice! Vicky had told me that Luicita’s family was well-off and she wasn’t exaggerating! Vicky is friends with a group of eight girls that she always talks about (they’ve all been best friends since high school), and they hang out together all of the time. She calls them “the nine,” and after hearing so much about them it was really cool to get to meet some of them! Five of “the nine” were there yesterday, and it was fun to just listen to their conversations. Being typical girls, even once the game came on they just had it playing in the background and didn’t pay much attention to it. They talked about everything they could think of, brought out some mate (tea for me), and Luicita actually started fixing one of the girls dred locks (which I discovered in Spanish are called rastas). Towards the end when Argentina started scoring we all started paying more attention, and I got to listen to the girls critique the players’ physiques. I learned many different phrases to describe good-looking men, and it was funny to listen to them talk about how they wanted to marry the two players who made the goals. If you aren’t aware, Argentina ended up beating Greece 2-0 and it was fun being with Argentine fans to celebrate. The game ended a little after 5:00 and Vicky had class at 6:00 (her 4:00 class had been cancelled for the game, of course), so we had to leave quickly and Carlos picked us up. We drove back into the city and they dropped me off a few blocks away from my apartment and it was fun to walk the remainder of the way home through all of the crazy festivities! People of all ages were cheering and honking horns and blowing on coronetas. The city was once again in complete celebration! When I got up to my floor of the apartment building I was met with extreme excitement from Hugo and Zulema, who had been watching it together. I unfortunately had to study for my 312 midterm and wasn’t able to spend more time amidst the celebration, but I definitely heard it from my ninth-floor window well into the night. ¡Vamos, Vamos Argentina!