Saturday, It's a Saturday

Ok, I’m going to try and keep this short, even though yesterday was a long day. A little more than the average Saturday, but I did more of the same things I’ve been doing while in Ecuador: play basketball, eat, and hang out with friends.

The day started as usual with Eduardo and me going to El Parque de la Carolina to play basketball at 10am. We usually spend around 4 hours playing ball each day on the weekend. The outdoor ball is killing my ankles and knees with the hard concrete, but it feels good to be out there dunking on the fast break or nailing el triple to cap the game.

I usually don’t bring the camera to the park cause people will run off with your stuff if you’re not watching it. The park is safe during the day though, although you might get punked at night if you’re traveling solo. Last Thursday night we heard gunshots across the street from the courts as a bank seemed to be getting robbed. No one stopped playing and we went on to win the next game.

On the weekends we run games to 30, 40, and 50 or more points. It really all depends on who’s waiting and how close the games are. You always have to win by at least two points and when it’s close and competitive between the two teams were just tack on another 10 points to win the game, as we decide on the spot to just play for another 10.

Playing ball in the hot sun for 3 or 4 hours takes it’s toll on the body and that’s why we buy drinks or “Bon Ice” after we're done playing (I think we used to call these things “Freezies” when I was little kid back in the day). For ten cents you can enjoy a piece of heaven with a little frozen kool-aid encased in plastic. Rojo (red) is the best flavor in my opinion, while others prefer orange or green (like Edu).

After the games on this particular day, Fabricio was kind enough to come back to the crib and cook fritada (a kind of dish prepared with beef, onion, and other spices) for Eduardo, Javier, and me. After the game we stopped at Supermaxi to pick up the groceries, caught a cab back to our place, and a couple hours later at around 5pm we were enjoying a great meal. Fabricio took care of the main dishes (fritada and ensalada) and everyone else pitched in a bit, with Javier preparing the rice, Edu making naranjilla smoothies, and me handling the jugo especial for afterwards (basically screwdrivers).

I ate, ate, and ate some more. After finishing my plate I took care of the rest of Fabricio and Javier’s food. And it was good. We enjoyed my jugo especial afterwards as we brought out the cards. Javier did some magic tricks (some of which I’m still trying to figure out) and then we played some other card games. Unfortunately, I had to leave as I had plans for dinner with the family I stayed with when I was first here in Quito in 2007. Señora Graciela Dávila hosted me last summer in her home and has had me over a couple times for dinner this summer. I pretty much met her entire family at the celebration of her mother’s 80th birthday last year, so I know he brothers and sisters, nieces, etc.

Graciela’s niece, Christina, invited me over for lasagna Saturday night, along with two girls who are staying with Graciela this summer (Catherine & Laura). Christina’s parents, her nephew, and one of her best friends, Adriana, were also there. I was at Christina’s place by 8pm another great meal and conversation, but afterwards the night was still young.

Graciela was kind enough to give me a ride back to Edu’s place and at 11pm the fellas were still throwing down and having a great time. After getting caught up on the events of the past few hours that I had missed, I quickly got back in the mix as bartender. We repeatedly passed around the liberations in the trademark wineglass as we joked our way from Saturday night to Sunday morning. We listened to and watched Madonna in concert (we had actually been doing this since the afternoon - the fellas are Madonna fanatics). We also played more cards and took more pictures. We laughed, we cried, and Edu gave up basketball. This is a much longer story and there were much longer stories that I’m going to have to leave out here.

I remember going to bed around 4am and Edu trying to wake me up before 9am Sunday morning to go play more ball. Although Edu tricked me into thinking he was going to play, he just ended up just watching from the sidelines with Javier as I played ball with Fabricio and the other fellas from the park. After another 4 hours at the park I was and now am beat. I told Edu if he’s really retiring I may do the same while here in Ecuador. Will Edu leave the game he loves so much? I don’t think so, but we’ll find out this week.