Fútbol, Music and So Much Rain

I thought it was worth mentioning that on Wednesday I went to my first ever soccer game: Quito´s LIGA vs. some dumb team from Argentina in the quarterfinals of the South American Cup! Let me tell you, these people are CRAZY about their fútbol. When LIGA came out onto the field, random people in the stands were setting off fireworks. There were guard dogs between the tiny section designated for the opposing team and Quiteño LIGA fans. The other team got rolls and rolls and rolls of toilet paper (THAT´S why there´s never any in the bathrooms, I thought). Also, I can´t quite imagine how I´d feel if tens of thousands of people screamed "HIJO DE PUTA" (that´d be "son of a bitch") in unison at the sound of my name. Sorry, fútbol players of Argentina. Anyway, with our gringo blessing, LIGA dominated, so we´ll also be seeing the semifinals live in a few days!



My (relatively new) friend Alex, another gap year kid from Maryland, and I have been getting together to sing and play guitar a lot recently-- we´re covering a few boy-girl duets, and I actually can feel my mood improving because before a few weeks ago, I hadn´t really sung at all. We managed to pull ourselves together for a "concert" for Alex´s host mom´s birthday on Thursday...and even though some of the songs were pretty rough, I had the best time! It was so liberating to really sing. I´m really exciting for these jam sessions to continue, hopefully until I leave. Alex has even taught me three chords on the guitar-- that´s three more than I knew two weeks ago...!

In other news, rain has been a virtually constant presence in my life since around 3 pm Saturday afternoon. I have never felt the need to use the phrase "soaked to the bone" in a literal sense, but this week just might tip me over the edge. I really don´t think I´ve ever experienced anything like it! But the weather hasn´t stopped us-- I and my friend Anna took a trip to the Otavalo artisan market on Saturday (my final touristy souvenir shopping opportunity, I think) and a bunch of us went to QuitoFest, an annual free music concert, on Sunday. We became totally drenched both days but had good times anyway. Still hoping this rain will not continue for the rest of my time in the Quito (only 2 weeks and 5 days, if my plans stay as they are now! WHOA.)....