B-I-N-G-O!

Ken and I ventured to my school this evening to play a little BINGO. The PTA was having a big fundraising event with loads of prizes and food so we thought it would be fun to go for a bit. We didn't know at the time we would end up staying for the WHOLE time and leaving at 11pm! It ended up being so much fun and I think I've got my Spanish numbers down stat now.

It was $5 per card so Ken and I decided that we would each purchase one and see where the night takes us. Ken ended up winning BIG in one of the first games. There were 6 other winners his round as well and they ended up having a BINGO off. Whoever had the next number the called would win. 2 of my students were up against him as well and were disappointed when they lost against him (they came up to tell me later that night!) He got a basket of goodies (snack packs, cookies, fruit cocktail, 100 grand bars) and an iron! Of course he came back to our table and handed me the iron saying I would know what to do with it.

Later in the night, I thought I had a BINGO too so I screamed loudly and rain up to the stage only to find out that I was missing a number still. Ha! Nothing like looking like the silly gringa but I laughed it off an ran back to my seats. Luckily, my students were still cheering for me the whole time. I didn't end up winning at all this night either. What a bummer! Ken took home the big bucks for us I guess :)

Now the reason for staying so late is......there was a puppy that was a prize late in the evening. Can you guess who wanted this puppy? He had already given it a name and a place to sleep before it was even on the table. Ken named the little huskie Kaiser and had decided that if he won the dog that we would cancel our trip to Copan for the weekend and just take care of him. We ALMOST won him too with only one number being left to call on our "blackout" card. Unfortunately, or should I say luckily, one of my students won the dog first. Ken was disappointed and was yelling Kaisers name as they took him away. He decided then and there that we would still be able to go on our trip to Copan for Thanksgiving.

It was a really fun night and by the end of it I was able to play two cards at once! My head was spinning a bit with my Spanish numbers but I was rocking it. Ken did great with his numbers too and by the end of the night he wasn't having to look up as much at the BINGO board.

I would highly recommend going to play BINGO one night in a city near you. Nothing like some good 'ole fun!

Sunday Futbol

We went to another futbol game this afternoon. It was Vida -the Ceiba team- v Olympia for a spot in the play-offs. We went with our friend Brian and had a crazy time. Man, I can not get over how outrageous futbol games are down here.

First of all, the stadium was packed. Had to be around 20,000 people there - packed! There are actually a lot of Olympia fans in Ceiba so there was strong representation from both sides. The crowd was so loud! Fans here never stop cheering or jumping or yelling or whistling. About midway through the second half the game really got intense. Vida was gaining a lot of momentum and it seemed that the tying goal was coming soon. The Olympia fan's section was going nuts - fireworks were going off (as they were most of the game) and a small fire had been started in the stands. Finally, Vida got their tying goal. The rest of the game was relatively calm - if you can call 20,000 people yelling and lighting fireworks in the stands calm. Then, as the ball is being played on the opposite side of the field, one of the Vida fans lit a string of firecrackers and through them so that they exploded right around the head of the Olympia goalie. I saw the whole thing, they started going off about 5 ft above his head and then one exploded right next to his left ear! Must have been sooooo loud! Well, the riot police and army moved in to get everyone away from the fence after that.

The game ended in a tie, which means that because Olympia was ahead in point for the playoff position Vida wont go on to the playoffs. So the game is over, and we are about to get going, when we see hundreds of Olympia fans run onto the field. We just stood in disbelief as all these people climbed the barb-wire fence and ran for their teams dug out. The riot police instantly started running at these people and swinging their batons! What! Where are we?! It was like an after-show!

After things calmed down we started to head out. Then, just as we were making our way through the exit area the mob started pushing a shoving from behind, practically throwing us out into the muddy road. For a split second I thought that the police had started shooting at people and that was why they were running. But nope, just celebrating Olympian fans. The streets were filled with people and police and army and everyone was a little rowdy but we made it home just fine.

It was a blast. I just remember sitting there, looking around at the fireworks, the people, the bonfire that had started in the stands, and the police and thinking, "Never, NEVER!, have I EVER seen anything like this before in my life!"

I can't wait for the next game.

-Ken

Rain Day!!

Well, here I am, all dressed up, hair did, waiting for the bus which should be here any minute to take me to work.

Except I we have no work today. Which means I got up, washed, dressed, ate breakfast, and waited for nothing. It has been raining since about 3 AM and the streets are flooding, again. Now that I am awake, what am I going to do? Its 7 in the MORNING.

I guess I don't know if I should feel bad for or jealous of Erika because she is at school teaching right now.

Who am I kidding... Rain Day!!! I'm going back to bed!

Sloppy Joes, Slop-Sloppy Joes

I have been craving sloppy joes recently and I happened to talk about it with some of our friends this past weekend. I had also been telling my students what my favorite foods are and this one came up (of course!) and they had no idea what I was talking about. Ironically enough, I came into work this morning to find 2 cans of "Manwich" on my desk!!! Our friends Jesse and Jessica had seen 2 cans, and only 2 cans, at the supermarket yesterday and picked them up for us.

So needless to say, tonights dinner was SLOPPY JOES, SLOP-SLOPPY JOES! It was glorious although not as good as the slow-simmering crock pot sloppy joes I get back home. It'll have to do though and my craving is now satisfied. WOOOHOOO!!!