ARGENTINA VS SPAIN (previa)

Previa means preview, for those of you who didn't know. It can also mean pregame, if you are using it in the context of going out. If you don't understand what I mean by that, do not be troubled, its probably just a generational thing. ARGENTINA VS SPAIN (soccer game) this TUESDAY!! Guess who just picked up their tickets? Hint : She writes this blog. That's right folks, I just spent two and a half hours waiting in line, outdoors, on a drizzly day to pick up the soccer tickets that I had already bought online. Insanity. I guess it's just how they roll in this country. After taking breaks for food with my friend Julie, who waited in line with me since she had bought her own groups tickets on her credit card, I feel like I survived a truly Argentine experience. I waited in line for half an hour before Julie got there, and then as soon as she did, she held our spot while I went to buy alfajors (pronounced elf-ah-whores), which are delicious dulce de leche, chocolate, cookie type things that are going to make me SUPER DUPER FAT, and then a few hours later she went and bought french fries at McDonalds, which we split. Not the most healthy lunch but we needed to keep our energy up in the freezing cold line.

As soon as we were done picking up our tickets we headed across the street and I bought a gorgeous, official, 2009 Argentina national team jersey and had the number 10 and Messi's name printed on the front and back. ITS AWESOME, almost as awesome as being able to go to this game, but not quite as awesome. The good thing about it is that I can take it with me as a nice little reminder of how much I love this country. It took half an hour for the name to get printed on the jersey, so I went back across the street and went into the IFSA office. (IFSA, Institute for Study Abroad, is the program that I am here with) They have computers that students can use and classrooms where we can study, so I just hung out and used the computer for about 20 minutes before I went back to pick up my gorgeous jersey.

This is all kind of stupid because I have one of the Ticketex windows (the equivalent of Ticketmaster for Argentina) right next door to my building. You can pick up your soccer tickets at any of the Ticketex windows, and when I got home, the line for the one next door to me was, oh, about half as long. STUPID. At least I can be happy with the fact that I got in line at the window by the IFSA office when I did because when I was done picking up my tickets the line had just about doubled and was going around the corner of the block (a full block long line). Sucks even worse to be one of those people.

I'll give you some more photos and an update after I go to the game!!