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!