What was the World Cup like in Argentina you ask? Well it was basically one big party. People were actually happy and nice and excited. You could really feel a change in the city. I think people were really excited for each game to start, well each game that Argentina played in. All the other games were basically time fillers in between the real games which were the Argentinas games.

 The argentine flag was everywhere and world cups banners and posters celebrated Messi and the rest of the team were everywhere. I've never seen a whole country rally around one sporting event like the  Argentines did during the World Cup.

We were able to go downtown to watch a game in the park where the city had installed giant screens to watch the game. It really was an experience. I've never heard so many old men cuss and yell in Spanish. La puta que te pariooooo, la concha de tu madre, la puta que le pario fue falta... Even my wife let out a couple,, every time Argentina scored we cheered and jumped and everybody kissed, I guess in Argentina it's really important to kiss the person you are with when Argentina scores, luckily I had Monica. It was fun, smokey, (lots of people smoked) crowded and exciting.

The rest of the World Cup was entertaining and luckily for the country Argentina made it to the final, I think people were more nervous than excited and were really disappointed not to have beaten Germany. It felt like the whole country had died and forgotten the joy and good spirit they had had for the whole tournament. People went back to their daily lives and people started talking about crime and inflation and the good times were forgotten. It was amazing to see what soccer could do to a whole country and something that the United States and Americans in the usa really will never understand about the soccer.

They say that Buenos Aires is the Paris of South America. I don't think that is accurate but if you ignore everything about the city and only focus on buildings you may see something that may resemble Paris or Europe. Of course as soon as you look back down to the street you quickly realize you are still in South America.

 

There are some cool spiral staircases in old buildings

 

 

As a newly married couple Monica and I are starting to feel the vibe that all young newly weds feel. A vibe or expectation everyone else feels on behalf of newly weds is also felt. Kids... As Monica and I do not have kids of our own we get to play the role of the cool uncle and aunt. Monica's sister Andrea had a baby almost two years ago and he is a cute little kid, easy for an uncle to say, as I don't have to deal with changing diapers, tantrums, or other baby related problems. My only job with little Simon is to make him like me.

Therefore my only job with Simon is to play on the floor with him, help him race his little cars, and trucks, pick him up, and give him books to tear up. He loves trains, and to come and visit his cool uncle John he gets to ride in the train. Fortunately for Simon not only does he get to ride in the train but he also gets to see trains as they pass by the apartment window. It is easy to know when a train passes because Simon flutters his little hands, and makes a panting noise. He loves watching the trains and I imagine would look out the window for hours.

Recently Simon has grown in confidence and now likes to climb on me and give me kisses. He also likes to push me over when I'm sitting on the floor and climb on my back. Unbeknown to his parents and his aunt Monica he is also learning English with me. He is going to be a smart kid. It is fun and interesting to watch him grow up and develop his motor skills. Perhaps some people might say this is good training for a future son of our own. Who knows?

 

 

 

 

 

After lots of paperwork, photocopies and train trips to San Miguel, we were finally ready and able to get married in San Miguel, Buenos Aires. On May 30th we tied the knot in a little registro civil in San Miguel. To me San Miguel feels like real Argentina, dirt and grime, the real nitty gritty, real Argentina. Dusty, dirty, smelly, full of characters, buses, old rusty cars, stray dogs, trash, puddles, dirt and concrete.

 

Mom and dad arrived from the airport the day of the wedding and were able to take a taxi straight from the airport to San Miguel and the wedding. They were waiting in the taxi when I showed up after taking the train and a Remis. It was weird to see them in such a place and moms English hello rang out like a screeching eagle in the desert. It was nice and amazing to have them in Argentina for such a special and important day.

 

It was fun showing them parts of Argentina that most tourist would never see. The chaotic, dirty streets of San Miguel.

The wedding was nice and quick, exactly how we had planned it. After the wedding in the civil registry we took two remises to the temple. Dad was hurting but he never complained, which is amazing after surgery and kidney stones and kidney infections. We made it to the temple and things were great. The wedding was very nice and romantic.

 

A day never to forget.

 

We took the bus to the temple, a fun 2 hour bus ride. I didn't know where the stop was but on the map it looked close to the temple and fairly easy, I was wrong. We turned before the temple and by the time we stopped we were far away. We had to walk along a busy, dusty, freeway to get to the temple but we finally got there and it was a good preview for our wedding.