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!!