Today was the day of
the big soccer matchup between Ecuador and Peru, to determine in part who was
going to go to Brazil in 2014 for the World Cup. We all decided to go get the
yellow jerseys that the Ecuadorian team wears to show our support during the game.
We went to one of our favorite spots that had plenty of televisions to watch
it. The game started at 9 so we just hung out after class ended at 6:30. We had
a good time but unfortunately Ecuador lost to Peru 4-0, which no one expected.
They played in Lima and from what I could gather Ecuador had never lost in a
World Cup qualifying match in Lima, so understandably the country was very
upset at the outcome.
Soccer matches in South
America can become very contentious, so police in both Quito and Ecuador ramped
up their presence in the days before the game so that they could prevent
violence from breaking out. I asked my host dad if people fought after the
games and he told me that they got into things all of the time, which I didn't
find too surprising. Luckily, I didn't hear about any incidents of fighting
breaking out after tonight's game, but that's not to say it didn't happen.
My roommate from Rhodes
College leaves tomorrow at one o'clock. I wish I had gotten to know her better
but our schedules prevented us from spending a lot of time together. She was
very helpful when I was interacting with my host family. I wish her the best of
luck in her future endeavors.
On the issue of
jerseys, I managed to find one in a flea market for only $6. I'm pretty sure it
was a counterfeit but for that cheap it was worth it. Other people in the group
spend $30 or $40 on really nice ones but I didn't want to do that. We all
looked kind of funny walking around Cuenca all wearing jerseys! We did get a
few "Viva Ecuador" here and there from the locals, though. If only
our spirit could have rallied the Ecuadorian team to prevail against the
Peruvians. Ecuador has a match against Argentina next week. Argentina just
played Colombia but it was a 0 to 0 match.
Time in Ecuador is
going by very quickly and I find myself enjoying the country and the city of
Cuenca more and more. The group has been frequently several local restaurants
and hang out spots and we've gotten to know the owners. They really like
Americans and we really like their hospitality. Cuenca has about 500,000 people
in it but it truly feels like a small town. Walking everywhere is not a problem
and it seems like you can get anywhere on foot fairly quickly. If you don't
want to walk, a taxi is only $2. Viva Ecuador!
No comments:
Post a Comment