End of the Month

This week went by pretty quickly, and the fact that it was the last week of classes also added to the speed. My friend Ricardo visited for less than a day on Wednesday, but we all went out for dinner at the Colombian restaurant around the corner and then went out dancing at La Mesa until closing time. It was my first time going there even though I'd heard about it so many times. I'd been told that it was full of gringos, which it was, but it was pretty cool. It was a little dive bar with room for dancing salsa.

Ricardo left early Thursday morning and I had the rest of the week to be tired as a result. On the last day of classes yesterday my afternoon class went out with me to Pizza Hut, which was a very big deal. The Pizza Hut was a fancy restaurant with high prices, but the students loved it. The night class was supposed to come out eating and dancing also, but only 6 of the students showed up. We went out to eat and then everyone went their separate ways.

I was a little disappointed because I was expecting to go out with them, just like we did last semester. That was a really fun night, and I was hoping lightening would strike twice, but it didn't go as planned. Instead I went to a bar where my student works and had a drink with one of my students while watching the Celtics play the Pistons on ESPN International. I was totally surprised to see it on and it really made my night.

Once my student left I called up a friend and went to a house full of expats and played poker for a while. We only played for $2 each, and I came in second place, losing a dollar. We were all floored when I had a royal flush, something that rarely happens. Later on we went up to the roof, even though it was extremely cold, to wait for people to walk by and throw water balloons at. People are getting ready for Carnaval, and as a result water balloons are being thrown everywhere. These gringos decided they wanted to strike back.

The street was pretty empty, so we mostly hit a few cars as they drove by and waited for some people. As we were about to ambush 3 guys, water balloons started to rain down on us. We had no idea where they were coming from because we were on the high point. We looked all over and couldn't see anyone near by. Later when one of the guys left he got hit by about 10 water balloons and saw where they were coming from. Somehow, with terrific aim, they'd managed to hide a few roofs over and pegged us as we were sitting ducks. It was perfectly aimed and executed. True professionals. Playing with the water balloons made me feel like a kid again, and it was a lot of fun, even though it definitely annoyed the people we targeted.

As a result of being outside in the cold for too long, I have a cold again today. This is the third weekend in a row in Cuenca that I have gotten a cold. The weather has been pretty lousy, going from hot to cold in a matter of seconds and totally messing with my immune system. Sneezing is the name of the game today, and I just need to wait it out. Tomorrow is the Superbowl, and I'm looking forward to watching the game with some friends, if we can all figure out where we're going to go.