after day 2 - big day for the CONCACAF

After the arrival of Greg, an old Winchester soccer teammate and friend, along with two of his college friends, we were able to truly enjoy the World Cup spirit. At the time of their arrival, the England match
against Paraguay had already begun, but we were able to catch the end of it downtown.

At Friedensplatz in downtown Dortmund, the World Cup Fan Fest has been set up with a very big TV for fans to view all games of the tournament. If time allows it, I will be trying to see as many as possible down
there. So far in the tournament, I have seen most of every single game too!

The three newcomers were thrown directly into the crowds of Swedish fans as they prepared for their Group B match against Trinidad and Tobago here in Dortmund. The yellow crowds greatly outnumbered any other group, although there were some Trinidad and Tobago fans later.

After eating ice cream dowtown, we headed to watch part of the match at Friendensplatz before going to the Stadium/Westfallenhallen to see the rest of the match. On the way, we met an anxious T/T fan, whose plane was delayed two hours. She asked for the score and we assured her that it was 0-0 at halftime. She was relieved a little before running off to the stadium.

The Sweeds were obviously dissapointed following a tie game. Heads down and their faces in their hands. The game was obviously dominated by the Swedish, but despite being a man down, the Trinidad and Tobago team showed a strong defence and a relentless effort to deny the Swedish strikers of a go-ahead goal. What a showing for the CONCACAF region!
With a strong T&T side, maybe a little more respect will comee from our North American division. I guess we'll have to see how Mexico performs
today against Iran and the United States tomorrow against the Czech Republic.

Before the Argentina-Ivory Coast match at Friedensplatz, the three American visitors were able to rightfully enjoy Germany with a Donor Kabap from Star Donor, only the best in Dortmund. Highly satisfied, we complemented our dinner with some gelato ice cream.

At halftime of Saturday's final match, the sleep was a bit too much for the newarrivees. We headed back to my apartment and settled in for the night, while watching the rest of the match on my TV.

Today we are heading to Cologne for another Fan Fest and to see the Portugal and Angolan fans partying around the world-class Cathedral.

ecuadorian guests and a german victory

Just after the first day of the World Cup here in Germany, the Germans are full of life wearing jerseys, facepaint, scarves, etc in a show of nationalistic pride that I had not further scene during my time here in Dortmund.

Last night, I got together with some local Germans and other international students at the university dining hall to see the game on the big screen.  Every goal was met with a great applause from both Germans and internationals alike.

Before the game, I remembered that I had a Costa Rican jersey at home, but I decided it wasn't the best idea to wear that around due to my lack of connections with the country. Although two goals were scored and some doubt was cast upon the team, we were able to celebrate the 3 points in the group late into the night at a local student summerfest party!

For the second game between Poland and Ecuador, my hopes were completely split. On one hand, I have been hanging out with Polish people here in Dortmund for quite some time and I have even traveled around the country a little bit.  However, on Thursday evening, I received couchsurfing visitors from England and Ecuador excited and ready to see Ecuador's chances in the cup and not really expecting too much into further rounds. I hung out with them most of Friday and I think the Ecuadorian spirit rubbed off on me a little bit because I found myself excited each time that Ecuador scored a goal.

After the Poland-Ecuador match, my Polish friends in Dortmund were obviously stunned, upset, and fearful of the next game against Germany. With their faces in their hands and their mouths open in awe, I couldn't help but feel their pain.

When I returned home to my apartment early Saturday morning, I discussed with Pablo (Ecuadorian couchsurfer) his experiences at the Ecuador-Poland game. He was still livid with excitement as he had seen friends and celebrities from Ecuador that he had not seen in about two years.

He said after the match, the Polish were great sportsmen and congratulated the Ecuador team and fans on the victory. He said he traded away his Ecuadorian scarf for a Polish hat and all the other fans were joining the fun during the exchange.

When I woke up this morning, I found an Ecuadorian welcome bag for me as a reminder of their visit and a small token of appreciate for letting them stay. In basically about one day of hanging out, I must say that Lucy and Pablo were great guests, warm people, and I hope to see them again!

Now its time for day two.... Greg, a friend from Winchester is arriving this afternoon with some other Americans and we have three games to see today!