As in New Years Day tradition, I took in the Rose Bowl Game. As we do not have a television, let alone cable, I trekked into Quito to watch Ohio State take on Oregon in Big Ten-Pac-10 battle that I've watched since I was 7 with my dad, so while I've seen little football this year, and I don't particularly like Ohio State, not watching wasn't much of an option.
I should mention that bus service on a holiday is not what is normally is- fewer buses running fewer routes, which can make for some interesting traveling. From the time I left my house, it took over an hour to get into the bus terminal, causing me to miss much of the first quarter. It was fortunate that traffic was light once I switched buses and got to the bar, so that minimized the that amount of game-time slipping away. I did, however, spot a great (?) bit of America on the Ecovia- a Jeff Gordon hat.
Once the game finished, I paid my tab and quickly made it back to the Ecovia, catching of of the last two of the night (at 8:20, how late of me!). We pulled into the bus terminal and exited through the emergency door, rather than the usual exits (all the other buses were parked in way of the platforms) and I caught the final bus from the terminal back to the valley. This would have been great if the bus then left; however, we waited 15 minutes for others to find their way to the bus before we left.
Moral of the story: if it's a holiday or the day after (I had similar problems last week on Dec. 26), don't rely on buses to go where you want them or to get you there quickly, it's just not in the cards.
Friday, January 1, 2010
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Fantasy Football Champ!
Well, I did it.
I managed to not watch a single minute of NFL football, and still beat 7 others in fantasy football. While I chalk this up to beginner's luck (I didn't draft, the computer did), it's still thrilling to win. And as much as I hate to admit it, I did check progress of the final game of the night (Minnesota @ Carolina) to watch if the last player in the match-up (Adrian Peterson, RB, Minn.) could garner the 11+ points I needed him to win championship. And I was pretty nervous, as moments before FOX Sports updated me that Mr. Peterson had just caught a 63-yard pass, I typed, "so what did MIN do, pull their starters? all I need is for AP to get 8 yards," for all the league to see. The best part is I can laugh about it.
I owe thanks to James, Robel, and Colin, fellow alumni of Vanderbilt, for being in the league that kept me attached to America's favorite sport (baseball is still my past-time). Special thanks goes out to Robel for inspiring my team identity ("Robel = Detroit Lions of 2k9").
I managed to not watch a single minute of NFL football, and still beat 7 others in fantasy football. While I chalk this up to beginner's luck (I didn't draft, the computer did), it's still thrilling to win. And as much as I hate to admit it, I did check progress of the final game of the night (Minnesota @ Carolina) to watch if the last player in the match-up (Adrian Peterson, RB, Minn.) could garner the 11+ points I needed him to win championship. And I was pretty nervous, as moments before FOX Sports updated me that Mr. Peterson had just caught a 63-yard pass, I typed, "so what did MIN do, pull their starters? all I need is for AP to get 8 yards," for all the league to see. The best part is I can laugh about it.
I owe thanks to James, Robel, and Colin, fellow alumni of Vanderbilt, for being in the league that kept me attached to America's favorite sport (baseball is still my past-time). Special thanks goes out to Robel for inspiring my team identity ("Robel = Detroit Lions of 2k9").
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Fantasy Football
I got an email from a friend and former roommate in August asking if I'd be interested in fantasy football. While I love college football, the NFL has never been something that has interested me- there is way too much emphasis put onto it when there are so many other sporting events going on in the fall (like cross country!) Never the less, I joined, thinking it would be a good way to stay connected to James, Colin, and Robel while I spent a year abroad. I am happy to say, that today I am entering the playoffs as a number 1 seed, 4 games ahead of 2nd place, with an 11-2 record. This is completely unexpected, not just because I could care less about the NFL, but because I have seen a total of 35 minutes of football this year (split between 2 college football games) and 0 minutes of NFL. I've been away from all the ESPN Sports Center analysis; Fox, CBS, and NBC broadcasts; and newspapers which cover "American football".
With the playoffs starting, there is renewed pressure to figure out who to play. Luckily I found the the website helps with this (that could have been helpful in the previous 13 weeks), and I hope to make it to the championship game next week. I'll keep you posted.
With the playoffs starting, there is renewed pressure to figure out who to play. Luckily I found the the website helps with this (that could have been helpful in the previous 13 weeks), and I hope to make it to the championship game next week. I'll keep you posted.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
To quote Andy Williams, December is "the most wonderful time of the the year." Starting backwards, you have New Years Eve, proceeded by Christmas, Christmas Eve, my birthday*, the last day of Hanukkah*, and the first day of Hanukkah, all days that lead to general good cheer (*generally in that order). Well this year, we must tack on to the end of that list Feria de Quito, the 9-day festival celebrating the (re)founding of Quito on December 6, 1534.
The Feria de Quito, among other things, celebrates Quito's Spanish heritage, complete with a compliment of parades; chivas parties, occurring on large trucks with live music; and bull fights (more about that later). It's also a time to celebrate Ecuadorian culture, with local artisans touting panama hats and leather goods, available for sale in the markets and near the Plaza de Toros.
Another highlight of December is our Secret Snowflake. Similar to Secret Santa but with more irony (snowflakes in this equatorial sun?), we have all drawn names and sworn secrecy until the exchange Sunday. While a limit of $5 would stifle any gift attempts in the States, it has only spurred creativity, due to a penchant we all share for baked goods and the still-coolness of Ecuadorian markets. Shawn, Chet, and I all picked up our gifts Friday, leading to the most difficult part of me as I have to wait 6 more days to give my gift to a certain MPI hermano.
While I am not joining the seven other PDs going home for the holidays (the joys of a one-way ticket), I will have to opportunity to celebrate Christmas with my family here in Ecuador. This will be only the second time I'm not in Michigan to celebrate with extended family, and while I'll miss the snow and cold, I'm looking forward to showing off my new city to my mom, dad, and sister.
I hope to wish you and your family a wonderful December filled with family, friends, and, perhaps, a little reflection; after all, New Years resolutions are only a few weeks away (followed shortly there after by my second favorite month- February, when we break our New Years resolutions).
Besitos,
Mike
Song of the Post: "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams
A version of this post appears on Open Hands and Dirty Feet, the MPI Ecuador blog.
The Feria de Quito, among other things, celebrates Quito's Spanish heritage, complete with a compliment of parades; chivas parties, occurring on large trucks with live music; and bull fights (more about that later). It's also a time to celebrate Ecuadorian culture, with local artisans touting panama hats and leather goods, available for sale in the markets and near the Plaza de Toros.
Another highlight of December is our Secret Snowflake. Similar to Secret Santa but with more irony (snowflakes in this equatorial sun?), we have all drawn names and sworn secrecy until the exchange Sunday. While a limit of $5 would stifle any gift attempts in the States, it has only spurred creativity, due to a penchant we all share for baked goods and the still-coolness of Ecuadorian markets. Shawn, Chet, and I all picked up our gifts Friday, leading to the most difficult part of me as I have to wait 6 more days to give my gift to a certain MPI hermano.
While I am not joining the seven other PDs going home for the holidays (the joys of a one-way ticket), I will have to opportunity to celebrate Christmas with my family here in Ecuador. This will be only the second time I'm not in Michigan to celebrate with extended family, and while I'll miss the snow and cold, I'm looking forward to showing off my new city to my mom, dad, and sister.
I hope to wish you and your family a wonderful December filled with family, friends, and, perhaps, a little reflection; after all, New Years resolutions are only a few weeks away (followed shortly there after by my second favorite month- February, when we break our New Years resolutions).
Besitos,
Mike
Song of the Post: "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams
A version of this post appears on Open Hands and Dirty Feet, the MPI Ecuador blog.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Feliz Dia del Escudo
While most of you celebrate Halloween on 31 October, we can't do that here. It's not for lack of desire to dress up like the Joker, Jack Sparrow, or some feline (in effort for full disclosure, we did not see Ms. Spears in Quito), as I saw a few of these characters last night. It is, however, illegal to celebrate the day of jack-o-lanterns, witches, and trick-or-treating. In 2007, President Rafeal Correa banned the holdiay, instead insisting that children, both young and old, celebrate the "shield," the insignia on Ecuador's flag that distinguishes it from that of Colombia and Venezuela. Today, kids are learning a now holiday, one filled with national pride (sorry for the Spanish).
So what, you may ask are the ever-intrepid MPI volunteers doing to celebrate Halloween, however illegal it may be? Krysta & Haley made orange cupcakes (sorry no picture, we ate them all), and all of us (falta Erik) are headed to Canoa, a beach about 8 hours away by bus. It helps that Halloween is quickly followed by El Dia de los Muertes and Cuenca's Independence Day, giving us a nice four-day weekend to use at our digression.
As I've mentioned before, I'm on an Ecuadorian soccer team, Rumiñhaui SC. Today, Chet and I played in our 2nd and 3rd games, respectively (there was a mix up with my number), and I scored the first goal of the game. It was not pretty, but it was not a day for pretty play, as the field, which is sand, was turned into a mud pit, making for super slow play. The ball went in off my thigh (thank God for my big thighs?) and we went up 1-0, which was all that mattered at the time. Overall, we ended up losing the game, bringing our record to 1-1 with Mike playing (we're 1-2 w/ Chet, but that does not reflect on Chet's football skills, as he his way better than me). I'm looking forward to our game next week, which could either be scalding hot, a muddy mess, or a cold and dusty day. All is fun with Rumiñhaui!
So what, you may ask are the ever-intrepid MPI volunteers doing to celebrate Halloween, however illegal it may be? Krysta & Haley made orange cupcakes (sorry no picture, we ate them all), and all of us (falta Erik) are headed to Canoa, a beach about 8 hours away by bus. It helps that Halloween is quickly followed by El Dia de los Muertes and Cuenca's Independence Day, giving us a nice four-day weekend to use at our digression.
As I've mentioned before, I'm on an Ecuadorian soccer team, Rumiñhaui SC. Today, Chet and I played in our 2nd and 3rd games, respectively (there was a mix up with my number), and I scored the first goal of the game. It was not pretty, but it was not a day for pretty play, as the field, which is sand, was turned into a mud pit, making for super slow play. The ball went in off my thigh (thank God for my big thighs?) and we went up 1-0, which was all that mattered at the time. Overall, we ended up losing the game, bringing our record to 1-1 with Mike playing (we're 1-2 w/ Chet, but that does not reflect on Chet's football skills, as he his way better than me). I'm looking forward to our game next week, which could either be scalding hot, a muddy mess, or a cold and dusty day. All is fun with Rumiñhaui!
Friday, October 9, 2009
Happy Oktoberfest!
While Oktoberfest is not officially celebrated here, we are still enjoying a holiday by grilling out on the roof and celebrating Guayaquil's Independence Day. Since it's a 3-day weekend, the Manna house is a little lonely, as some have taken this as an opportunity to travel- Sonia and Ricky, her boyfriend, are in Tena exploring the rainforest, Bibi is in los Bancos, while Haley and Sarah are in Otovalo getting away from us. Most of the rest of us have tickets to the Ecuador-Uruguay World Cup qualifying game tomorrow. All in all, it should be a nice little vacation from everything Mannan
Happy holidays!
Happy holidays!
Monday, October 5, 2009
Weekend Update
Friday the Teen Center hosted its first movie night, screening I Am Legend, or Soy Leyenda in Spanish. We ended up with 7 kids, which was a little disappointing, but much of that was probably due to the early time and the rain that began as the kids were supposed to arrive at the library (which means they still had about 30 minutes to travel). Hopefully our next movie night, in two weeks on the 16th, will benefit from a later start time and more attendance.
Saturday Chet and I went to our first soccer (futból) game. We are now proud members of the Ruminhaui Sports Club (RSC) football team. The game was just up the road from out house, between Puentes 3 & 4 (all the bridges are numbered; we live close to Puente 7). After a slow start, RSC pulled out a 3-2 win over the blue and grey Hyundai (??) team. I know some of you are surprised to hear I'm on a soccer team, especially since I've only played on an intramural team in college (bet you didn't know that either), but rest assured I didn't play this past weekend, only watched, as the place that was supposed to make our uniforms ran out of material (white and blue, basic, no?). Instead, Chet and I cheered from the sides, thanking God that we got to see what we're getting ourselves into for the next 4 months. After watching the whole game, we feel good about our ability to hang in with the Ecuadorians.
In addition to Chet and me, Sarah, Krysta, Haley, and Jackie are joining the women's RSC team. They had a practice Sunday: it lasted 3 hours, complete with yelling from their coach to one of the new players to "just stand there be big!" and a visual uniform fitting that resulted in two of the women being told they should wear the same uniform sizes as Chet (just plain wrong). Luckily, the women's coach, Patricia, is the wife of Raul, our contact for the team, and always goes to our game, so I'm sure any advice will get passes on to us, in one form or another.
I fared much better Sunday, reading The Godfather (I've been trying for 4+ years) and meeting our neighbor one street up. Marcia has 4 kids in their 20s or early 30s, of which we got to meet 3; she also has a basset named Paco. After a hot fruit drink and bread (during which more and more people showed up), the all of us played Jenga, during which time we had lots of conversations in Spanglish and were invited to Byron's (a boyfriend) 25th birthday celebration in Quito Wednesday. Hooray for networking! (With Guayaquil's Independence Day Friday and Ecuador's World Cup qualifier game Saturday, this week looks to be a good one.) The evening ended with all of them (Marcia's 3 children and their 2 friends) walking us home, kissing cheeks, and giggling about our new friends.
Saturday Chet and I went to our first soccer (futból) game. We are now proud members of the Ruminhaui Sports Club (RSC) football team. The game was just up the road from out house, between Puentes 3 & 4 (all the bridges are numbered; we live close to Puente 7). After a slow start, RSC pulled out a 3-2 win over the blue and grey Hyundai (??) team. I know some of you are surprised to hear I'm on a soccer team, especially since I've only played on an intramural team in college (bet you didn't know that either), but rest assured I didn't play this past weekend, only watched, as the place that was supposed to make our uniforms ran out of material (white and blue, basic, no?). Instead, Chet and I cheered from the sides, thanking God that we got to see what we're getting ourselves into for the next 4 months. After watching the whole game, we feel good about our ability to hang in with the Ecuadorians.
In addition to Chet and me, Sarah, Krysta, Haley, and Jackie are joining the women's RSC team. They had a practice Sunday: it lasted 3 hours, complete with yelling from their coach to one of the new players to "just stand there be big!" and a visual uniform fitting that resulted in two of the women being told they should wear the same uniform sizes as Chet (just plain wrong). Luckily, the women's coach, Patricia, is the wife of Raul, our contact for the team, and always goes to our game, so I'm sure any advice will get passes on to us, in one form or another.
I fared much better Sunday, reading The Godfather (I've been trying for 4+ years) and meeting our neighbor one street up. Marcia has 4 kids in their 20s or early 30s, of which we got to meet 3; she also has a basset named Paco. After a hot fruit drink and bread (during which more and more people showed up), the all of us played Jenga, during which time we had lots of conversations in Spanglish and were invited to Byron's (a boyfriend) 25th birthday celebration in Quito Wednesday. Hooray for networking! (With Guayaquil's Independence Day Friday and Ecuador's World Cup qualifier game Saturday, this week looks to be a good one.) The evening ended with all of them (Marcia's 3 children and their 2 friends) walking us home, kissing cheeks, and giggling about our new friends.
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