SI SE PUEDE!

GOOOOAAALLLLLLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Vamos Ecuatorianos
Esta Tarde
Tenemos que ganar!

Ecuador v Columbia was yesterday! They tied 0-0. We got to the game early- like 2:30 because the seats were all general admission and there were super long lines. The main streets aroun the stadium closed down and people were everywhere in Yellow, Red and Blue drinking Pilsener which is their local beer they are very in love with! lol. It was kinda like tailgating before an Msu game only everyone was a lot closer together and Latina!

I went to the game with a group of other international students and our Director, Pancho, who works at the university. He said that they love to interview foreigners and show that they are rooting for Ecuador and sure enough they ran right up to us ( mainly to me!). I was a little overwhelmed to talk spanish so i just repeated what they said- which was obviously not correct! lol. But it was fun and exciting none the less. I was also distracted by a little boy who kept calling me amiga and asking if he could shine my shoes. I was wearing brand new yellow flats ( in the spirit of Ecuador) that obviously didn´t need to be shined. lol ( remember the shoes- they will come in later)

We ended up having really great seats in the first 10 rows behind the goal. We got our faces painted for a quarter, had some snacks and enjoyed the sunshine. Then about 45 minutes into our extravaganza it started to rain. Nobody had any rain gear cause it was a really hot and sunny day up until then. The panchos went fast and it cost me $1.50 just to get a trashbag!! Some of my friends were left with nothing and are now at home sick. It rained ( cold rain) from 3:30- the second half which was about 6:30! The best part was that they had handed out huge bags of blue confetti that everyone was throwing around. Of course the blue dye from the confetti ran in the rain and stained everything from my hair to my nailpolish- INCLUDING MY BRAND NEW SHOES! Shannon is NOT a happy camper.

So despite the horrible weather, we all stuck it out and enjoyed the game. There was a lot of people faking hurt which got old after a while. It was an ok game. Ecuador did well on offense in the second half but kept heading it over the goal. It was fairly action-less. However, I did learn all the Ecuador cheers and it was a super good time to just be in the crazy atmosphere.

After the game, we decided to skip the food and just head for home- we were soaked. It took forever to flag a taxi cause the entire City was outside looking for one! However, Pancho was with us and did most of the dirty work. After a good 20 min or so he flagged me a taxi and told him abouts where to go. This was really helpful cause then we got the regular price, had we been alone we would have been charged nearly double for being gringo and it being a busy night. So, I´m riding a long in the taxi about to my house and he stops in front of the airport. I tell him its up farther and apologize cause Pancho must have said the airport without me knowing. Apparently, you are not allowed to stop where it´s yellow in front of the airport because the Policia came running and started pounding on his car. He Sped away quickly, keeping his eyes in the rearview mirror and saying ¨La Policia!¨ over and over again! I started to get nervous but wasn´t sure what to do. Then he started swerving through traffic demanding me to pay quickly ¨ Pagáme Rápido!¨ So I throw him my five dollar bill and politely ask for change. He looks at it disgustingly and scrounges for some dollar coins as he is swerving! He chucks them at me ( ok hands them quickly- but chucks sounds better) and then is yelling for directions. I tell him where to go and he swerves into the BUS LANE and turns left through un-coming traffic!!! He is now speeding at like 50mph down my tiny little street as I yell AQUI AQUI to get him to turn on my street. He doesnt use the break and quickly turns right dodging two pedestrians, a parked car and a speed bump! I then yell ¨Aqui es bien!¨ to let him know he can let me out- when he turns another corner to hide from the cops that are apparently chasing us, and he yells for me to get out as fast as possible! ¨ Sale rapído, sale rapído!!!!¨ I get out and he speeds away down the street. I laugh. My taxi driver just broke the law. hahaha. I then enter my house still wearing a trash bag and my ruined shoes only to try to explain the story to my host family! lol. They laughed so hard and said I have lots of stories to tell when I get home!!

Things just happen to me- I don´t know why- but they do! lol

This weekend I am going on a hike to 4 different lakes and then going to the Indigenous Market on Saturday. tonight the girls are going to see Sex and The City and out to dinner. I just got assigned a 250 page book to read with a 18 page paper by the 4th- so Sunday will be alll homework! oh joy!

Love you guys lots!