Vamos Ecuatorianos!

Ok so rewind a week.  Tuesday the 4th of September Ryan and I returned to conquer Pichincha.  Here I am standing at the peak!  I would have taken more pictures except we were inside a cloud and there wasn't much to see.  People that say it doesn't snow in Quito haven't been inside a cloud at 15,500 feet.

Also there are roller coasters at the base of Pichincha at VulQano Park.  $2 to ride.  This is the bigger of the two, called "Montaña Rusa" which means roller coaster.  The other is a kiddy ride but of course I had to ride it.  How many times do you get to ride roller coasters in Ecuador?  My count is up to 203 now!  Anyone that wants the excel spreadsheet is welcome to it.

Friday the 7th we went to a preschool which I'm certain has the cutest kids in Ecuador.  I think some were hoping for a school with older students so we could get a taste of what we'll see in Chile (I still don't know what age I'll be teaching) but I loved every minute.  The students range from infants to 7 years old.  I hung out with the older students.

It only took about ten seconds to find the mini Noah Franske.  Sebastian was quite the little mover.  He loved to jump and run and climb and do anything that involved danger.  My kind of kid.  We got along just fine.

I learned a valuable lesson on Friday.  If you pick up, toss, hug, piggy back, or shoulder one child, you must be prepared to do the same for 25 of them.  Probably two or three times.  And then your back hurts at the end of the day.  But it was great.  Unconditional love is a wonderful thing, and having 7 gringos come to your school is very exciting.  We didn't stop moving for 3 hours.  Great fun!

Friday afternoon we went to watch the Ecuador vs. Bolivia soccer game.  Soccer is a religion here.  I was at a bar tonight talking with and Ecuadorian about how I wish we had something like soccer to unite Americans.  Sports that anyone cares about all seem to be contained in our country with the exception of the Olympics, but we don't even get all that jazzed about them either.

We sat in the same end a few blocks over from the crazy fan section.  They shot confetti, blew colored smoke, and unfurled this giant flag to show their support.  There are lots of cheers including "Si se puede" (yes we can) and "Vamos Ecuatorianos" (let's go Ecuador) as well as a song and some cheers that don't need repeating directed mostly at the ref.

When Ecuador scores people go nuts.  Mostly beer flies everywhere.

But I really didn't get to see a real goal.  The only goal of the game from either side was scored by Ecuador on a penalty kick.

On Tuesday the 11th Ecuador played Uruguay.  Once again, the only goal scored by Ecuador was from a penalty.  There should have been a second penalty shot when the goalie tripped our striker but hey, you can't win them all.  Uruguay scored a real goal so it ended in a tie.  Good for one point each, which keeps Ecuador in 3rd.  Top 4 teams go to the world cup in 2014.  The next game is against Chile on October 12th, so I might have to root for the other side!  It's hard to believe we're leaving Ecuador in 2 weeks.  Time flies when you're having fun!