Bethany's Mexican Adventure: Jugar de Futbol

Attending a soccer game in Mexico is definitely an experience. Sure, we have NFL, NBA, and MLB in the states, and we have crazy college football fans. But I've never seen fans as insane as they are here about their futbol. They literally sing, chant, play live music, wave their flags, scream and whistle the ENTIRE game. There is no down time, they never take a break. And when the home team scored a goal? It was soooo loud, thousands of people all screaming "Atlas!" in unison. It was like organized mayhem. We watched the Guadalajara team Atlas play a team from the North. Atlas won 2 to 1. It was a lot of fun, but the stadium wasn't nearly full. There is another home team, the Chivas, and they are much more popular. Hugo said when they play the stadium is packed out. So, we saw the second best team the city has to offer, but at least we got to go. It was so awesome!

Afterwards we went to this place called las papas, which literally means "the potato" They have amazing stuffed baked potatoes and tacos. The place is actually a car wash during the day and a happening restaurant all night. We've been to some really nice places to eat this week. Frank took us to a place that was like an art gallery/restaurant. It had colorful stools in a big room filled with art from local artists. It was really cool. They also gave us heart shaped sandwiches, ha it was pretty neat. Hugo took us to eat the famous shrimp burgers. It's boiled shrimp held together in a patty with cheese and bacon. It was delicious!! I was also introduced to agua de jamica, literally means water of jamacia. They take the petals from the jamacia flower and add their flavor to water. It's a dark purple drink that is so good.

I haven't mentioned yet the differences in culture. Here, it is customary for women to greet men and women with a kiss on the cheek. Men greet men with a handshake and women with a kiss on the cheek. At first it was strange to kiss someone as you were being introduced to them, but now I'm getting more familiar with the action. They kiss hello and goodbye. It really is a nice gesture, I guess it would be kinda like our hugging. Also, not many people wear shorts around here. We were wondering why we were getting whistled at from so far away on the streets; I mean, they couldn't even see what we looked like. Then we realized we were the only ones in the entire university center that wasn't wearing jeans. At night though, the girls tend to dress less modestly.

Anyway, here's some more pictures from the game!

Me and Frank