Is it really November already?! I have been in Mendoza for two and a half
weeks now, and I am starting to find my place.The presidential elections have come and gone. Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, the current president's wife, swept the vote from the other
13 candidates. I've been trying to gauge Argentinians' reactions, but no one seems that interested in discussing it. I find it fascinating that South America has elected female presidents (in both Argentina & Chile) before the U.S. has.One of the highlights of my time so far has been my soccer team. I still don't know what kind of league or club it is, but I just show up and play! I take the trolley to the field, which is at the edge of the big park and actually on a military compound. It's not so much a field as a small, hard court. I'm trying to learn more soccer terms in Spanish so that I can actually communicate with my teammates while playing! It's fun to have a coach again, and she's a solid role model for the girls. Besides the fact that I'm in love with playing soccer, it also allows me to see a different side of Mendoza other than the well-off city center. All the girls I play with live in the campo (outside the city), they range in age from 15-25, many aren't in school, and a fair number of them have kids. It's pretty wild to see one of my teammates descending from the village to soccer practice with her kid on her back. It's truly a great privilege to play with these girls. I am in constant admiration of them, not only because they are female soccer players coming from few resources, but also because there are some kick-ass soccer players who've only been playing for a few years. I have my first game with the team this weekend!
Highlight #2 was discovering that there actually is a Jewish community in Mendoza, consisting of about 400 families. I went to the Israeli consulate when I first got here, and he told me about an organization called Sociedad Israelita de Beneficencia, which is not far from my hostel. It seems to be a community center that also has social action programs. And a synagogue! So last Fri I went to services there, which was average in terms of the actual service but great in terms of meeting friendly people. And, crazy enough, the person who sat down next to me goes to Macalester! (studying abroad here)
Another great occurrence was discovering Intercultural, an institute for foreigners to learn Spanish and Mendocinos to learn English. Last week I went there for an intercambio linguistico (language exchange) where I ended up being the only person not from Argentina! Everyone wanted to know what I was doing in Mendoza and all about Minnesota. It takes place every Mon, so I'm planning on making that a weekly activity. On Wed night we had a fabulous International Food Dinner/Fiesta there.
I am really loving Mendoza and have decided to stay longer than I originally
thought. I am now planning to live here until March and then travel the last two months. I'd rather travel a little less but be able to fully immerse myself in one city. I continue investigating volunteer/job/housing possibilities. I am starting to recognize familiar faces in 
the streets and run into people I know. That's how I can tell I'm finding my place here! Besides the beautiful park, quaint plazas,
walkable city, plethora of cultural events, and laid-back atmosphere of Mendoza, what I have most enjoyed is people's friendliness and eagerness to engage in conversation. Almost every day I end up exchanging emails/phone #'s with someone new. So I have many acquaintances, but making good friends takes a bit more time.As always, it's a surprise as to what will happen by the next time I write! Have a good weekend...
