September 17, 2008
I believe the initial excitement of arriving to Ecuador has worn off. I think I am now going through a bit of culture shock. I have been kind of down today, wondering what on earth I am doing here in Ecuador. A place where the water from your faucet smells like lake. Who needs a vacation anyway? It's like you're playing in the lake every time you take a shower. And a place where you walk the streets and breathe in the fresh smell of bus. No emission tests here. And a place where women and children are nowhere to be seen. I really do think they just stay inside all day. We hardly ever see them out and about if they're not in the business district going or coming from work. And a place where you walk outside of the locked gate to your apartment and see a man with a pistol tucked in the back of his pants. A place where they don't know the definition of driving in straight lines, and don't obey stop signs or lights. And they honk to signal and you better get out of the way because they're coming over whether you are there or not. A place where you would never dream of walking barefoot because of the trash and glass and sewage smelling water on the side of the road. A place where you live in a cage because there are metal guards on all of your windows and doors. A place where your drinking water tastes a bit like plastic. A place where every single person, without fail, tells you to be careful and not carry anything of value when you are outside. So you carry at most, $5 with you and if for some reason you have more, you tuck it inside your shirt, and if you dare take your camera, you tuck it inside your pants and only take it out when you are hidden by a bush.
Really it's not as bad as all of that. And many of those things have been kind of humorous. Although seeing the pistol today was kind of shocking. But really, we had an entire family from downstairs come over to visit us last night. They were very kind and we've now had 10 people go out of their way to visit us and offer their assistance with anything we need. We've met some wonderful people and I really enjoy being with the members my age around here. They have such a light about them. I've never seen anything like it, I swear they glow. I think I'm just very overwhelmed at the fact that I have to teach in Spanish next week and I don't know how I'm going to manage. I hate when people talk to me and I don't understand them because they have such a huge accent or talk really really fast. It's weird how some people here speak at a normal pace and speak very clearly, enunciating beautifully. Others I swear cut off half of every word they say. It's also weird that we can't go outside at night. Tomorrow we are going to go to Malecon, the tourist district. That should make things better, I feel a little confined just walking between home and work each day. We went on a walk today but there wasn't much to see. This is such a strange city. We couldn't find any markets or stores or anything. Just businesses and a few grocery stores. I bet we'll find more of what we're looking for when we get out of this part of town. Although then we run the risk of being outside of the little circle Andres outlined on the map he bought us, the circle that tells us where it's safe for us to walk alone. It's a rather small circle.
Well anyway, I'm sure I'll feel better. It's not really bad or anything. I love to travel and I still like being here. I know I'm supposed to be here. And I also know that it takes about 2 weeks to get adjusted to local accents and get in Spanish mode. I know I will feel much better as we travel to different stakes to teach and get outside of our little walking radius, and when we travel on the weekends and see more of the country. So, no worries. I was just feeling a bit weird today.
Really it's not as bad as all of that. And many of those things have been kind of humorous. Although seeing the pistol today was kind of shocking. But really, we had an entire family from downstairs come over to visit us last night. They were very kind and we've now had 10 people go out of their way to visit us and offer their assistance with anything we need. We've met some wonderful people and I really enjoy being with the members my age around here. They have such a light about them. I've never seen anything like it, I swear they glow. I think I'm just very overwhelmed at the fact that I have to teach in Spanish next week and I don't know how I'm going to manage. I hate when people talk to me and I don't understand them because they have such a huge accent or talk really really fast. It's weird how some people here speak at a normal pace and speak very clearly, enunciating beautifully. Others I swear cut off half of every word they say. It's also weird that we can't go outside at night. Tomorrow we are going to go to Malecon, the tourist district. That should make things better, I feel a little confined just walking between home and work each day. We went on a walk today but there wasn't much to see. This is such a strange city. We couldn't find any markets or stores or anything. Just businesses and a few grocery stores. I bet we'll find more of what we're looking for when we get out of this part of town. Although then we run the risk of being outside of the little circle Andres outlined on the map he bought us, the circle that tells us where it's safe for us to walk alone. It's a rather small circle.
Well anyway, I'm sure I'll feel better. It's not really bad or anything. I love to travel and I still like being here. I know I'm supposed to be here. And I also know that it takes about 2 weeks to get adjusted to local accents and get in Spanish mode. I know I will feel much better as we travel to different stakes to teach and get outside of our little walking radius, and when we travel on the weekends and see more of the country. So, no worries. I was just feeling a bit weird today.
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