El Partido de Fútbol

Wednesday I went to one of the semi-final South America games for the World Cup 2010. It was a big game because it was between Ecuador and Argentina. My “sister,” Diana told me that it was an important game because Argentina is an “equipaso,” or a really good team. The tickets usually cost $15 per game, but it’s really hard to find a single ticket at that cost, so we paid $27 for a package of two games, but the other is in September but it didn’t matter. A few of the people on the trip waited in line for 4 hours to buy tickets…I was lucky enough to just give them money. You could also buy tickets around the stadium right before the game for $30. People stand in the long lines just to save $3 because it’s a big deal here. For me, “No pena el valor” – It’s not worth the wait. An interesting fact is that they sell as many tickets as possible, so there are usually more people wanting to come in then there is space – once the game started, you couldn’t move.

In the cab, on the way to the game

So I had classes in the morning, but after lunch about 16 of us took a really big cab from Cumbaya, where the University is, to Quito where the stadium is and where I live also. (Two side notes: the stadium is also one of the bus stops for school that I talked about before, and Cumbaya is another city in Ecuador that’s a bit more expensive than Quito – which is recognizable in the stores, people’s dress, and the feeling of security in the area.) The streets were closed about 15 minutes away from the stadium, so we walked a little before waiting in a small line to get in. The stadium was packed. It was kind of like the inauguration because there weren’t any assigned seats. Another interesting thing is that the stadium didn’t go up really high like in the U.S., and the seats were more like benches made of cement. It was chaotic. We found the nearest space and stood between the “norte” seats and the “sur” seats. The Norte are the better seats, but there really isn’t a noticeable difference because like I said, the sur seats aren’t really high up so you can still see a lot. The only difference is that you have more room because you don’t have to fight with the amount of people that have general admission like we did. Our spots were great though, as you can see in the pictures. We were really close to the field and could see really well, which is good considering we arrived 2 hours before the game started, and other people usually arrive 4-6 hours before to stand in the lines.

Waiting for the game to start is never fun, but waiting in the rain is worse, which is what we did because it started to rain about 10 minutes after we entered the stadium. I bought a “poncho” for a dollar, which was more like a really really thin trash bag with a hood, but it worked well enough to keep my bag dry. I had a hat too, which helped because it hailed. I think it’s because Quito is really high above sea level so maybe the rain doesn’t have time to melt? But anyways, the rain passed and then rained on and off during the game, which by the way was quite a cultural experience. When the game started and the announcer called out all the names of the Argentinian players, the crowd shouts swear words at them, like “punta.” They continued in this way during the game too, shouting other names. For the ecaudorians though, they of course chanted different phrases or songs: “Vamos, Ecuatorianos, tenemos que ganar” (Let's go Ecuadorians, we're going to win”; “Si se puede” (Yes you can), etc. There was so much spirit in the stadium and on the streets, in the stores, etc. The people were the most excited when the goalie successfully prevented a penalty kick from the Argentinians. I can’t even explain the intensity of the excitement – it was great.

After the first hail/rain storm

We left at half-time because it hurt to stand with our bags and around so many people, plus we knew we would easily wait for 2 hours just to leave the game with everyone else. But we definitely got the experience in the time we were there. We went to a café in the nearby mall after we left, and it was so fun to see all the workers in the store watch the televisions from a store and how they were sooo happy when Ecuador scored. Which, by the way, they did twice for a final score of 0-2, Ecuador. After we were done with our cappuccinos, which was well needed because I have a ton of homework every night (about a week’s worth in a day), we tried to find a taxi – which of course was difficult with all the people, but after walking 15 minutes or so we got a taxi and went home. Like I said, it was such a cultural experience that it was worth the rain, back pain, and cost.

And a little bit about some other things here, because I haven’t had as much time as I would like to write everything… This is my bedroom - its cozy enough

Bananas are a major export of Ecuador, and they eat them here with everything. I had ceviche on Sunday with my family in the mall, and on the side there were banana chips, popcorn, and toasted corn kernels. You’re supposed to put these in the ceviche/soup mix and eat it together. They also sell banana chips like we sell potato chips. There are platanos verdes (green) that Elena (mi madre) used to make the outside of an empanada, and platanos maduras (mature – yellow) that she uses for a variety of different sweet things, or she fries. I have bananas with my plate of fruit every morning, and on the side of whatever she serves me for dinner. Elena serves a lot of healthy food, which is good. Like lentils with rice, pan-fried chicken and tilapia (which she flavors with a little garlic powder, salt or lemon, and mustard), potatoes which cheese (a lot of things with cheese actually…), and some vegetables also. Also, there aren’t a lot of vegetables with a lot of the meals. You get most of the vegetables in soups, which I always have with my lunch and often with my dinner too (Minestrone, tomato, broccoli, pea soup, etc). However, I had hearts of palm trees in my little salad on Tuesday for dinner and I have a lot of fruit with all the bananas they serve here and my big plate of fruit with breakfast.

I have lots more to say, but I'll save it for later...

Hasta Luego!