Confetti Galore!

Yesterday was my bday! Big 21! Although not so big here, since I can obviously drink here with no prob. To celebrate, the Pitzer group and I all went to a Liga game. Liga Deportiva Universitaria is Quito’s fútbol team which everyone here is obsessed with. The game was fantastic! Probably one of the best sporting events I have ever been to. When we got to the stadium, which is pretty close to my house, there were tons of people out on the street and in front of the stadium. It was crazy! There was a huge pre-game celebration since it was the opening game of the season and Liga won Ecuador’s championship last season. On the field there was live music and then an awesome fireworks display. Then, when the Liga players came on the field, huge, and I mean huge, amounts of confetti fell everywhere. Everyone was completely covered in white hole punched paper circles.

All the major fans were cheering during the entire game on the goal sides. They jumped up and down and ran up and down the stairs switching spots with each other, all while singing, beating drums and chanting to various different songs about Liga being the best and drinking cervesa. Liga ended up losing to Atletico de Medellin (the Columbian champions) 0-1, but it was still quite an amazing atmosphere to be celebrating my bday!

Oh, and I also had my first “legal” drink at the game. Jessica bought me a huge cup of beer that got confetti in it despite my efforts to cover it. It still tasted good :D