Georgia vs. Alabama preview

This game is receiving a lot of hype from all directions. ESPN is featuring this game for College Game day. Coach Mark Richt called for a blackout early this week. Larry Munson retired and will not be calling the action for the first time in 40 years. To add to everything, the two coaching staffs have been going back and forth in the media for the past few days. None of that will change the game - but it will be intresting. Here is how I see things playing out. The two teams are very similar. Run the ball and pass when the time is right. That being said UGA has the better running and passing game and should win the game. I would not be suprised to see the first team to 20 points win this game. A defensive or special teams score is likley (and could decide the game). Georgia wins a tough game: 23-17.

Players to watch for:

Danell Ellerbe - The middle linbacker has taken a backseat b/c all of the teams using the spread offense. Look for Danell to play a big role in stuffing the run. 8 tackels

Reshad Jones - This guy has been so so in coverage this year but I have a hunch he will pick off a pass and "lay the wood."

Knowshon - This is the perfect game for him. Just run the rock. Look for the coaching staff to save him for late in the game. I don't think he will go for a lot of yards but the yards he get will be huge.

Caleb King - With all the running that will be going on I think King will be a bigger force. One big run. I think we might see both running backs on the field at the same time. If that happens look for Knowshon to split out wide or go in motion to the slot receiver.

Blair Walsh - He might win this game with a late field goal. What is more apt to happen is that he wins this game with several early field goals. I'm goning out on a limb and calling for him to be the player to the game.

Las Canitias

Mariana took me to a really cool part of town last night called Las Canitias. This is where the locals go for fine dining. I think this is best place in town to go out to eat and I'm disappointed that I haven't tried here before. Everything is way hip and all the restaurants are themed and modern. Almost everyone that was eating out were from Argentina and professional. I could tell a big difference in age and sophistication between people here and people in places like Recoleta. Sport coats and nice shoes were items of choice. We ate at a place called Jackie O's (a tribute). We lucked out b/c everything on the menu was half off on Wednesday's. The food was just average and so was the service. I would only go back to get the discount. Nevertheless the experience was cool b/c I found a new place to go out to eat.

Estancia

Yesterday we went on a group trip to an Estancia (Farm in Argentina). This wasn't a farm as much as a tourist attraction and museum. The farm reminded me a lot of Texas. Many of the things the Gouchos did were the same kind of things that cowboys from the U.S. do. We got to see all the cowboy items in a little museum. There were spurs, pounchos, knives, chaps and everything that the gouchos used. The workmanship on some of the items was incredible. Many of the items were made of silver and endorned with decrotive patterns by hand. The highlight of the day had to be riding the horses. I don't even know if riding these horses counts as riding. These horses knew the trail and I think they could have taken us on the trail even if we fell asleep. The trip was funn nevertheless. I hope I get a chance to ride horses again when I get back to the U.S.

Happy Birthday!

Yesterday was Susannah's birthday. We all went to a nice little Mexican restaurant in Palermo. I invited Mariana. I was a little nervous. I didn't know how everyone would get along. Everything went great. Mariana was really charming and the girls in the group really seemed to like her company. I was about that. I bought Susannah a box of chocolates. It was nice to have Mexican food. The whole night was really nice. After the Mexican food most of the group went to a little bar. Mariana and I went home. I'm glad there was a big turn out for Susannah's birthday b/c my birthday is coming up. Hopefully I will be able to have the whole group celebrate my birthday.

Georgia vs. Arizona State preview

Georgia goes west of the Mississippi to play a football game for the first time in 40 or so years. This game had a huge build up in the preseason - much of that was lost when A State lost last week to a 28 point underdog. They will be out for blood. Georgia on the other hand had a hard time beating an average South Carolina team. Here is how I see the game playing out:

Look for Georgia to get off to a fast start and carry a lead for most of the game. I think this game will come down to who plays better in the 4th quarter. Georgia has the better athletes and more depth. Look for the running game to wear down the A State D. Georgia wins 31 - 17.

Players to watch out for:

Knowshawn M. Will run for 120 plus yard and a touchdown. The real story will but the O line proving running room.

Matt Stafford - Matt will out perform Rudy Carpenter on a national stage. 200 plus yards and a touchdown. More than anything no interceptions. (285 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT)

A.J. Green - This kid has been all the buzz for the past month and word is that they coaches are looking for ways to get him more involved in the game. 5 catches for 100 yards and a long touchdown catch or trick play. (Player of the game) (8 catches for 159, 1 TD)

Asher Allen - Asher has a good chance to go against a QB that likes to throw. Asher will get a pick if they throw to his side and play good run support. (Played well, had a pick called back)

The defensive front 4 - Good pass rush for the first time. 3 sacks and many hurries. (4 sacks)

I have to give myself a huge pat on the back for this one. The game played out just about how I thought. 27 - 10 final score.

Night on the town

I took Mariana to a nicer restaurant last night. The place was called Gatto. The company symbol is the word 'Gatto' with two cat claw marks where the 'tt' appears. The place was pretty chic. Everything was done in a flat red and all the furnishing were modern. The food was o.k. I had a stake and she had pasta. My stake tasted good but was a little blackened on the edges and did not have as much flavor as I would have expected. I guess the highlight as far as the food goes would be the bread that they served before the meal. The whole meal cost $33 dollars. Not bad for the expereince but expensive if you only go for the food.

This was the first night Mariana got "dolled up" for me. She looked fantastic. I had a feeling she would b/c she made me wait 40 minutes for her to get ready. She straitened her hair and put on make up. It was a big change. More than anything you could see the change in her behavior. She really shined.

Slow days

Nothing much has been going on this week. Really the past few weeks have been slow. Everything has pretty much settled down. Classes are fine. I had my first exam yesterday. The test was easy. I was happy because if all my exams are this easy I won't have to study very much.

The group is planning a trip to Iguazu Falls on the 26th. That would be a nice way to break up the classes but I don't have the 300 dollars that it is going to take and I don't want to spend 40 plus hours on the bus. Almost the entire group is going. I really hate that I'm going to miss the chance to spend time with the group. They are going to have a blast.

Teacher

Today my buddy Will introduced me to a his girlfriend. This girl (I don't remember her name) is a teacher at an English school. So I asked her some things about teaching English (pay, typical day, things like that). She basically told me that I could be a teacher if I wanted to and that the pay is quite good. I'm going to send her my resume and she is going to take that to her boss. I hope everything works out. I would love to stay in Argentina for a while. I love that their system of hiring teachers is more relaxed. She told me there would be an interview in English and then a trial period. If I did fine then I would be a full time employee. That rocks! I'm going to keep looking into the teaching opportunities - I hope something works out. I don't know how everyone back home will feel about me extending my trip indefinitely but I think I'm to a point where it is way past time to move on. Georgia is great but you are only young once. The United States will be there when I'm ready to go back.

Beat thoes cocks

Today I get to watch the my first Georgia football game in Argentina. This should be a real treat. The dawgs are playing really well. The whole group are going to watch the game at a hip bar in Recoleta. I'm sure there will be much yelling, drinking, and all around happiness. Georgia games, more than anything else, really bring the group together. Even the girls know what is going on with the team and Katie played in the band. Here is my take on the game:

Look for a receiver A.J. Green to make at least one touchdown catch. This kid is fresh out of high school and an absolute athlete. He is also from South Carolina so he will want to play well from the home state. (I was almost right on this he had 3 catches for 61 yards and a near touchdown)

Matt Stafford will probably throw for 200 plus yards and two touchdowns. (Stafford played poorly but managed a win. 15 for 25 and no touchdowns. He also did not throw any interceptions and led us to a win)

Knowshawn 100 plus yards and one touchdown. Look for at least one big run in the second half. (20 carries for 80 yards)

Rennie Curren will play well at linebacker. (I was dead on. Rennie had 8 tackles 1.5 sacks and forced a huge fumble).

Star of the game: Reshad Jones one big interception good coverage down field and no big plays in the passing game. (He had a big interception but I think he could have played better coverage on a couple of plays. This guy is going to be an All American in the coming years.)

I think the Dawgs will coast to a easy win. The first half will be close but look for the dawgs to pull away towards the second half. 38-17 Dawgs win big. (Well I was way off on the score. South Carolina played very well. Defense dominted for both teams. The dawgs have a long way to go before they are considered for the National Championship.) Huge game next week vs. Arizona State.

El Tigre

Today the entire group went to the mouth of the river that boarders Buenos Aires (El Tigre). The place is about an hour out of the city. I almost missed the whole trip. I slept in. I got dressed and ran 4 blocks to catch the bus in 7 minutes. From nearly naked to on the bus in 7 minutes. When we finally got on the road the first thing I noticed is that everyone in the group has improved their Spanish. Today is more or less one month in Buenos Aires for the UGA group. Two months for me. So I guess today was a celebration. We passed most of the day by the river. There was a flea market and plenty of cool views. Then we ate lunch. I really enjoyed lunch - it was so relaxed. We drank wine, beer, and sangria by the river and just be silly. The highlight of the whole day was the boat ride. The program paid for us to ride on a little river boat. They took a photo of me when I got on the boat. I will try and post it. That was the only photo I have because I forgot to bring my camera. On the boat we saw all of these rivers houses. Some were shacks and some were really nice. The houses reminded me of the FL coast. At the end of the day we went to measum. I was so tired. I want to go back and camp on the nature reserve. I'm pretty sure Jesse is down. I will post pics when I go back.

Tango list update

Tango list update

Two weekends ago I crossed of the Yetti Call from the tango list. I made it to the top of Tres Picos and introduced Kelly and Jesse to the Yetti. There were many moments where I could have done the Yetti and been happy but I'm glad I saved it until the end. We were fighting time and I was exhausted plus spending time with two new friends so I think this Yetti deserves to be on the list. You might recall (if you are a regular reader of my blog) that I did the Yetti call once before with less success. I'm so glad I had another beautiful opportunity to Yetti.

In other news I will most likely have to drop dancing Tango from the tango list. Every week we have tango lessons. I have missed the past two weeks. Today Emily Goff asked me if I was going to tango and I felt bad telling her that I wasn't going. David (activities) and Kelly overheard the conversation so explained why I didn't like tango even further. I felt bad that I wasn't going to be able to meet all my goals for the trip but that is part of the experience. You can't do everything only the really important thing and learning that might be the most important thing of all.

Mariana

I have not posted in a while and I have not made my phone calls in a long time. I have a lot less free time. Class takes up a bunch of time. I have fixed times that I eat and getting to know everyone pretty much takes up all my social time. Not to worry everyone. I am doing really well. I am loving life. I will call soon.

Last night was very interesting. I had a simi romantic encounter. Nothing serious PG13 for sure. I met this girl (Mariana is her name) she is from Brazil in my dorm. We talked kissed and fell asleep together. It was nice spending time with a woman in a romantic kind of way. That is something I have been missing here in BA. If the same night happened in the U.S. I would not even write a blog about it. The whole thing was innocent and I don..t think anything further will happen. I'm just so happy to spend time with the opposite sex that is a little more personal.

Gear Update

Gear Update

I took my first trip out with new gear so I thought this would be a nice time to update the gear.

Backpack: Lowe Alpine TFX Horizon 65

The backpack held up well. I threw it around the airport, I sat on it, dragged it, pretty much treated it with wreck less abandon and all the seems are fine, no rips, tears, or breaks. As far as function I can really so some clear ways this bag could be better. The side pockets is the main drawback of this bag. You cannot carry a decent sized water bottle outside the bag. You cannot stuff the zip pockets to full capacity b/c of the shape of the pockets. Carrying the bag is great and adjusting the weight is easy. Overall I'm happy with the bag but I will take the side pockets into consideration when I buy my next bag.

Sleeping bag: REI Polar Pod +20
I didn't feel cold (except for my face) once in this bag. My only complaint is that I have trouble finding a place for my hands inside the bag. That isn't really a flaw in the bag more a function of how I sleep. I found a little zip pocket inside the bag (nice touch).

Boots: Hi-Tec V-Lite FastHike Low Light-Hiking
The boots continue to impress. I would say of everything I bought the boots were the best value. I see the exact same boots on sale in Buenos Aires for 175 U.S. $ or more. I really abused these boots and they did great. We climbed rock and the rubber soles barely show any wear. The cloth on top is fraying a bit but a lighter will take care of that.

Tent: Kelty Pagosa 4
The tent did awesome in cold and wind. I didn't tie down the tent very well the first night (not knowing the wind would come at night). The second night Jesse pretty much locked the tent down and you could tell a difference. At times the wind woke me up and it seemed the tint might need to be re staked but no. Solid as a rock. There were three of us and we had loads of room. We could have fit two children in the tent with ease or one adult.

Raincoat: Marmot Oracle Jacket
What can I say about this jacket that isn't awesome. I am so glad I decided to spend a little extra on this jacket. There is nothing I have done where this jacked didn't do everything I needed.

Camera: Olympus stylus 850SW
I think buying a waterproof may have been a bad call. I really gave up a bunch of features. In particular I can only take ten second videos. There may be a way to over ride this but I haven..t figured it out. The pictures are good.

JanSport Odyssey Day pack
I..m really happy with this bag. I let Kelly use the bag to carry her camera. She seemed to like the bag. Naturally it doesn't have as much support as an inter frame but for a small bag this thing does a lot. I would feel great just carrying this bag if I didn..t want the weight of my big bag. No room for a sleeping bag.

Swiss Army Camper Knife
This is a sweet little knife. I use it everyday to open bottles and cut into plastic items. The can opener came in handy. I'm going to give this knife to my nephew Kaleb for his birthday and buy a Leatherman or a bigger Swiss Army.

New Additions from Sierra de la Ventanns:

Thurmas (unknow brand) Paid: 30 dollars
The thurmus holds 1L and keeps it hot or cold. I didn't take it on the trail so I will have to update how it works later. I was going to buy a plastic water bottle but the thurmus was made out of brushed metal and added the ability to keep things warm or cold. I like that you can use the top as a cup and it came with a carry case. The only thing I'm worried about it weight. The thing is a little heavy but I guess I can carry an extra pound or so.

Headlamp: Black Diamond Spot LED
Paid: 70$ U.S.
I am not happy with what I paid for this headlamp. I need one but I paid almost 50% more than what I would have in the U.S. The light works great and is simple. I'm still sore about the extra 30 or so dollars. All the lights are over priced.