English, Spanish, and Soccer

Ecuador continues to be great, and I've started to make friendships outside of the IES group of Americans. At my salsa class there is a guy named Adrian who I am friends with. He speaks some english and wants to learn more, I speak some spanish and want to learn more. We both want to learn how to dance the salsa. We got everything in common that we could possibly need! Anyway, last night after class I went with him to his soccer game. I met his soccer team, and watched the game with one of the other players' dad. Let me just take a moment to say that I found the Ecuadorian version of my father. This guy was very nice, had no problem talking to a strange foreigner, and when the game got started, he had no lack of things to shout. He shouted at people to pass the ball, to shoot the ball, for the ref to make better calls, and even shouted to the players to drink water during breaks. At half time he went down to where the team was sitting to talk to his son and the other players about how they should be improving their game. It was nice to see his face light up when his son scored a goal, and again when his son's team (my friend's team) won the game. They were at a real disadvantage because the other team had something like eight more players, so they switched them out more often and stayed fresher. But to no avail, Adrian's team won five to three.

It must be interesting for other people to hear the two of us talk. We both switch back and forth between english and spanish, and our conversations digress a lot as we correct each other's grammar, ask each other grammar questions, and ask for explanations of various grammar rules. Nevertheless, we manage to communicate.

My host mom asked me to teach her and one of their friends english as well, so I have begun to draw up the shadows of lesson plans. This is my first foray into the world of teaching, and it's going to be an interesting experience indeed.