Boca and its Coliseum
I woke up today full of energy and excitement that only a world city can bring. After the free breakfast that included rolls, cheese, and dulce de leche (a Buenos Aires specialty), I hit the town running.
The four guys from Brasil and I hopped onto the local transportation and headed to Boca to see a section of Buenos Aires. It was also the area where the most popular soccer team in Argentina played. So into Boca Juniors Stadium we went. We took pictures, yelled Boca chants, and gazed over this stadium. It was a cool experience to see an important landmark in the Argentinean culture, but more interestingly was watching my new friends react when they arrived in the stadium. I would compare it to when a friend of ours goes to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum or Notre Dame Stadium for the first time and are just blown away. Leonardo, Daniel, Paulo, and Raphael were posing for pictures, acting as though they played as they ran out of the tunnel and yelled chants that I never heard of, but could easily comprehend.
Thus, it was fun to watch their reactions as they recalled Diego Maradona’s “Hand of God” goal as well as his “Goal of the Century,” both of which I had no clue of. It also served as a moment for me to witness the power of soccer and how it ties countries and their fans like football does for the cities of the United States.
We returned to the hostel and began what was expected to be a big night out on the town as we continued to meet more people.
I must inform you that a night on the town in Buenos Aires does not begin until much later than what I am used to. For instance, the typical city dweller would go to work from 10:00 AM until 7:00 PM, head home for a nap and wake around 11:00 PM to get ready for dinner, which begins around midnight. From there, you would cruise over to a bar or discothèque to meet people and dance as the nights festivities would end around 6:00 AM, only to wake up for work at 10:00 AM and repeat the process.
Thus, my new friends and I sat around the hostel for quite some time. While we did have big plans for my second night in BA (local lingo for Buenos Aires) our group of friends, which started as myself and four guys from Brazil, grew to six, then ten, then fifteen, and ultimately growing to over twenty people sitting in the lounge of the hostel.
What made the night so interesting is that we literally sat and talked about what it meant to Win Forever for hours upon end.
It was incredible!
I mean take a moment and understand what happened. Twenty young adults from each corner of the earth sat in one of the hippest cities in the world with excitement at our fingertips and we chose to sit around a pool table and talk about living life, helping others, traveling the world, and ultimately what is meant for each one of us to Win Forever.
While I’m unsure of how cool or how powerful any of you may think that night was, I have to say that it was proof to me that this approach is one that has a certain power to it, a specific appeal, a definite simplicity with limitless depth.
My generation is a generation of people who have and will continue to take control of their lives and influence those around them. We are a generation of dreamers, a generation of people who want change, and a generation of people who will lead a positive, energetic, and limitless revolution of peace. And even if we don’t lead a “revolution” at least we know that twenty of us from all around the world can sit in a hostel in the middle of South America and speak the same language. The language of peace, hope, and optimism – the language of the world.
So my point in this entry is to remind all of the readers that the concept of Win Forever is a worldly one and people are jumping on board, one at a time.
So join in.
Yogi
