Oh Ecuador

This is a collection of random thoughts and experiences in Ecuador that I don't want to forget, it will be updated periodicially...

1. Remember the unmarked hole in the road that I wrote about in the blog about riding the bus? And I wondered how cars miss it? Well they don't. I saw some poor guy with his family in quite the pickle because he had run the corner of his car into that hole.

2. Forget sleeping on picnic tables at rest stops, this truck driver hung a hammock from the bottom of his truck and went to sleep on the side of the road.

3. There's a really popular restaurant that our boss took us to, he used to go there when he was our age. Here's the catch, all workers must be gay/transvestites. Our waiter was first a man but now a woman. Apparently it's been like that from the beginning. But the food was really good!

4. The family vehicle is a motorcycle. You see 1 and 2 years olds on motorcycles all the time with their parents. I think the most I've seen is a mother, father, and 2 kids on the same motorcycle. Although I may have seen 5 people on one once.

5. On our way to Quito we passed a man plowing his field... with Oxen.

6. Our kitchen faucet sounds like a sinking ship.

7. Every couple of days we get attacked by a large army of ants. For this reason our apartment usually has the fresh smell of insect poison. I am 100% sure I will be bringing ants home in my suitcase.

8. 6 liters of water is really heavy to carry for 20 minutes.

9. Orange juice + soy = who does that?? Oh yeah, Columbia apparently.

10. Institute dances are held with the lights on. And everyone dances with only one person the whole night. And you just shuffle your feet in a about a 4 inch radius to the salsa. In a line. It's a very confining feeling. If you start waving your arms or moving your head a lot to the beat, like an American, people stare. Or the guy you're dancing with laughs at you.

11. 8 pieces of bacon costs about $3.

12. The bakeries have cakes and pastries that look like works of art. They look delicious. They are better off as art. Sugar isn't very sweet here, and unfailingly their beautiful desserts are disgusting. Look but don't touch.

13. The tank truck is what I affectionately call the money trucks. They show up at supermarkets, gas stations, malls, businesses... any time money is transferred they have an armed band of about 5 men in uniform with large guns. So when you are buying water at the gas station while this is taking place there is a man with a large gun standing behind the counter, 2 feet from you.

14. Ecuador can never make change for your cash. You pay with a $5 for a $3 purchase and you still have to wait 5 minutes for someone to bring change. Or at markets, they run around to all the neighboring tiendas to change out your $10 or $20 bill. It's so strange.

15. Customer Service isn't a very top priority in these parts.

16. Every ice cream flavor tastes a bit like coconut.

17. Wanna do something really wild and rebellious? ... Brush your teeth with tap water.

18. Iguana roadkill. Enough Said.

19. You know how Americans always try to sneak into meetings and classes if they are late? Ecuadorians come in loudly, and while the teacher is teaching will say "Buenos Dias" to everyone or individually greet people, including the teacher. There is absolutely no shame in interrupting.

20. Another cultural difference: Americans don't like to correct each other. We will just sit silently and think, "I know what they meant", if they say a word wrong while reading, we let them go on. Not Ecuadorians. They will correct you and keep correcting you until you acknowledge your mistake and correct it. And they will argue until a matter is resolved, no matter how small, and how much it does not relate to the main point of the lesson or conversation.

21. You never know when you are going to get hit by a car.

22. I bought a pineapple for 90 cents.

23. There are random men directing parallel parking along the road. They expect to get paid for their services but they usually don't. But the point is, if there's not enough room for your car, the man will just shove the other cars forward or backward to make room for yours! So, if you come back and your car is a few feet from where you left it, that's why.

24. Forget chainsaws, I saw a man cut down a tree down the street from my apartment with a machete! Yeah, the whole tree.

25. When Becky and I see an airplane taking off(we live a mile from the airport so we see a LOT), we almost feel like we should stop and place our hand over our heart as a sign of respect and liberty.