NY WATCHES AND LISTENS TO THE WORLD CUP, TOO!

Image Credit: Luiz Pagano at blemyaeng.blogspot.com

I took today off from work to go greet my mother at the airport, along with my father and sister. She has been in her native Colombia for the last several weeks, getting all her medical examinations at a fraction of the price, and with a more human touch. She also came back with a few Colombian expressions I'd never heard before. It's no wonder one of that country's nicknames is Locombia, as in loco (crazy.) Here are a couple examples:

"Que me corte una teta si no es asi," which means, "Chop off my tit if I'm wrong."

"Esas dos son como una y mugre," which means, "Those two are like fingernail and dirt."

Once back in our neighborhood we treated mom to our favorite local eatery, a homey hybrid of Mexican and Diner by the name of Grand Morelo's, off Graham Avenue in East Billy. We knew there'd be a crowd of onlookers glued around the television since the first match of the world cup had just begun in South Africa, and Mexico was pitted against the host country's team. As a multi-international family, we wanted to be around all the excitement and watch some of the game there since we don't own a TV set. While we masticated omelettes and sipped horchata, the entire restaurant roared proudly, slamming fists on tables as goal after potential Mexican goal was thwarted by the RSA's defense.

Both of today's games ended in a tie score. That means all four of Group A's teams are tied at one point, including France and Uruguay. Three matches will be held tomorrow-- all of Group B and some of Group C. I'm hoping Greece beats S. Korea, Nigeria beats Argentina, and the U.S. beats England. I'll be listening on 1050 AM radio from inside the taxi. Hopefully, I'll get some soccer- loving passengers between first kick-off at 7:30 A.M. and the end of my shift. Perhaps I'll go find flags from those countries and sport them on my cab, and honk like a maniac if they score.

Last, but not least-- today I stumbled upon this blog that posted a really neat entry. It visuallly compares some of the different taxicabs of the world. I thought it would be appropriate for the end of this global, yet very local post of mine. Savor the taxi designs on http://blemyaeng.blogspot.com/2010/03/taxis-around-world.html