First Futbol match.

Apparently Liga and Deportivo are the teams to beat in Ecuadorian football (aka. Soccer). They both play in Quito, and I think that there are two other teams that are quite good down on the coast. I haven't figured this all out lately, so bear with me.

It is kind of strange. In America, the only other country where I have ever gone to professional sporting events, we tend to think of sports as a wholesome family affair. We get annoyed when people swear, fight, and are generally obnoxious.

Here, as far as I can tell, the swearing and fighting seems to be a part of it. In New York, there is a strong police presence - and there probably should be. However, they don't stand around in riot gear and in formation or march around the edge of the field. That said, it must have been effective - there was no real violence. OK, one guy getting punched in the face - but he was wearing a Deportivo jersey and was surrounded by Liga fans. So, well, I guess that was to be expected. Even that got broken up very quickly.

However, that was where the family values ended. Granted, it didn't sound bad. A "punta" means nothing to me. It probably never really will. What I do know is that the word can be applied to the refs, members of the other team, fans of the other teams, and players on your own team when the screw up. I was told it means "whore". I learned other interesting terms, that can be applied in similar situations for homosexuals and parts of the female anatomy.

What amazed me was that kids were screaming it. At the top of their lungs. To be certain, I can swear with the best of them. But I probably wouldn't let my kids call the ref a whore every two minutes. I know that my father certainly didn't.

***Editor's note: I have it on good authority that the proper spelling is puto, not punto as used in the article. I appologize to any professionals I might have offended.

Getting started

OK, so I said I would try blogging. Here is my first attempt.

I'm in Quito now. Quito, Ecuador. If you are not one of the 75 or so people who got my e-mail, this might come as something of a surprise. I never thought of myself as the Latin American type, but maybe a bit of Latin America is just what I need.

So far, though, it has been great. Quito is a great little city - at least from what I can tell. There is a thriving night life (with lots of chances to learn to salsa), beautiful parks, and lots of neat stuff nearby.

The job seems really great. It is a friendly office; the people really seem to like each other. (Yes, I know what Vonnegut said about semi-colons.) It's also a fun place. Every Friday is beer Friday - which takes me back to my canvassing days so long ago. Drop me a line if "Party Night on Thursday" means anything to you. I also really like travel, so I suspect that the job will work out well.

Next weekend is a four day weekend, and with Halloween coming up it should be fun. Hiking and camping are strong possibilities, but I have no clue what the plan is yet.

So far today has been the only day that I have managed to get out into the city. This morning one of my coworkers took me to a market so I could, at least, get some of the essentials. However, as I am wont to do, the essentials seemed to have consisted of way to much fruit. There was so much-and it was all so tempting. There were piles of fruit like these people were trying to recapture the glory of the pyramids. I have been making a pig of myself all afternoon.

This afternoon I headed to the Centro Historico - the old part of town. A maze of narrow streets, small shops, street performers and glorious cathedrals. I almost want to become a Catholic just so I can have transcendent experiences in these places. Say what you like about sweat lodges - they do lack for architecture.

I am also coming up with my "to do" list of Quito. So on days when I am not out of the city I can look forward to a great selection of parks, museums, ruins and God knows what. Tomorrow I'll be checking one item off that list by going to a futbol match. I'll try to get pictures and avoid the rioting!!