Visitors – Part 2 (Quito)

3,200+ pictures and videos can be a bit overwhelming!!  I’ve been going through them, over and over and over, in an attempt to select which ones I want to include in the blog.  After that, I then have to weave them into the blog/story…  Needless to say, it can be a bit time consuming!  So, without further ado…

Like I said in the previous blog, “hit the ground running!”  We woke up before the alarms even went off!!  We all grabbed a necessary shower, individually of course, as it was going to be a long 36 hours before we were to get the next one!  We had the hotel-included breakfast, which is typical (with hotels, and in content, as in what was in the breakfast).  It included a piece of bread (roll) with a slice of cheese (farmer’s cheese), a cup of juice, a scrambled egg (maybe 2), and a cup of hot milk to make coffee or chocolate.

For Your Viewing Pleasure

(I’m still trying to figure out the goofy smirks we had going on this particular morning…)

            After breakfast, we grabbed our luggage, checked out of the hotel, and hopped in a taxi.  Crossing downtown, we headed to the bus office of “Panamericana Internacional.”  Thanks to Justin, we’ve got a picture of the office…I never realized it looked so much like a strange, old house…

We bought our tickets for the night bus and stored our luggage, heading out on foot to explore some of the city!

Heading towards the “Mercado Artesanal” (Arts and Crafts Market) and later the “Plaza Grande,” we stumbled upon a few treasures!

A Random Church

BethanyGetting Hustled by Some Kids on the Street

(White People = Money, at least in their Minds…)

(They’re speaking Spanish of course…)

“I don’t understand, I don’t understand…” – Beth

“They learn early, huh!?” – Justin

“Well, they’re taught by their parents…” – Me

(motioning with my head towards their moms sitting on the ground in front of the church)

The Stained Glass Inside the Church

Justin and Beth at an Entrance to a Park

(Arco de El Ejido a Parque El Ejido)

We wonder through the park and market as Ecuadorian families are playing in the park.  There are street vendors cooking food, others making juice, while even more have fruit to sell.  Others walk or jog around the park while a number of people are riding bikes.  It’s a gorgeous day, partly cloudy, with plenty of sun, but also a cool breeze now and again.  It’s your typical Sunday inQuito.  We continue through one park only to later run into another.  We couldn’t ask for better weather!

After leaving the park, we decide to head towards the “Plaza Grande” which is where you’d find the main municipality buildings, including the President’s house!  Along the way, we pass “La Basilica.”

La Basilica

(from the Side)

La Basilica

(Top Part, from the Front)

La Basilica

(Middle Part, from the Front)

La Basilica

(Bottom Part, from the Front)

La Basilica

(Top Part, from an angle)

La Basilica

(Top Part, from an angle)

Inside La Basilica

The Catacombs Under La Basilica

Some of the Tombs in the Catacombs

            After leaving La Basilica, we encountered a number of different people on the streets!  Here’s a small sampling:

Street Musicians

More Street Musicians

Beth with a couple Military Men

 An Elderly Woman Selling Dolls

 A Guy Selling a Bunch of Plastic Junk

(Including Remote Controls!)

 A Guy Spinning a Top and Scooping It into His Hand

(It Stays Spinning, of course!)

 The American Flag, a Traffic Light, a Church Steeple, and “El Panecillo”

(“El Panecillo” = Angel Statue)

 Another Elaborate Church!

 Plaza San Francisco

 The President’s House

 “The Window”

(Side-note, just read below!)

The President once gave a speech from this window during a time when the police decided to go on strike.  I mentioned this in a previous blog called “I Got That Broke Foot”.  Here’s an excerpt:

Well, on Thursday, all of the police in Ecuador decided that because they were getting a pay cut or losing some of their benefits, they had to go on strike!  This turned into a disaster!!  The President of Ecuador made a speech where he proclaimed, “They want to kill me, they want to kill their president, here I am, I’m right here, kill me, kill me!!”  I’ll refrain from commenting on this one…  The results consisted of all the Peace Corps volunteers being ordered to stay in their sites until further notice!  Can you imagine!?  A country with zero police!?  I suppose it was more drastic on the cities…nothing really happened in my tiny town.

As an update to this little story…the President was yelling those infamous remarks all while ripping his tie away and yanking his shirt open to show that he wasn’t wearing a vest.  He later came down into the Plaza for whatever reasons and was welcomed by a number of police with tear gas!!  The police kidnapped him and took him to a hospital where they held him hostage!!  Later, the military decided to perform an operation to rescue him.  As shots were fired from both sides, both police and military, the fighting carried on throughout the night.  In the end, the military rescued the President, but unfortunately, a couple of people died.  If I’m not mistaken, one police officer and one military man died.

So, on a lighter note, we carried on with our journey but not before stopping for lunch!  We decided to grab your typical “Ecuadorian fast food meal,” which is pictured below!

Lunch: Salad, French Fries, and Chicken

After lunch, we hopped on the “metro” which is much like a bus/subway combination and crossed the entire city on our way to “La Mitad del Mundo!”  (which means, middle/half of the world)  About 20-30 minutes outside ofQuito, just to the north, is the equator.  Here, there’s a large monument/ museum along with a big yellow line.

The Ecuadorian Flag

and The PichinchaProvidenceFlag

The Monument/Museum

Los Tres Amigos

Standing on the Equator

Us at the Top of the Monument

Me and Beth Over the Edge of the Monument

            Leaving “La Mitad del Mundo” we decided to head back into the city to see at least one last major site, but we were torn between “El Teleferico” and “El Panecillo.”  The former is a cable car that takes you up to a high look-out point where you can hike around a little and see a good view of the city…somewhat from the side, specifically the eastern side.  The other is the giant angel statue that sits upon a hill and overlooks the city.  I had been to the cable car before and found it to be pretty nice, but was more intrigued by the angel statue.  Regardless, we didn’t have a chance to decide because the weather did so for us!  As clouds and fog rolled in, the cable car option was basically eliminated.  It began to drizzle, but we decided to go see that angel statue anyways!  She had been starring at us all day from her lofty place upon the hill…so, here’s where we were headed:

“El Panecillo”

A Little Closer

More You Say!?

Looking back, it was one of the best decisions we had made the entire day!!  Here is a shot from just below the statue.  I’m not sure what happened to the coloring, but the picture could never do it justice!!  It is quite a beautiful sight!!!

(On the left side, you can see some clouds rolling down the hill.  The Cable Car is right in the middle of those clouds.  Also, if you look to the right of the tree a couple of inches, you can see “La Basilica” that we visited earlier in the day.)

There were other views around this area, but the pictures just don’t do them any justice…you can see buildings and houses dotted along all the hills and mountain sides for as far as you can see!!

Afterward, we went to eat at a restaurant that I like to visit once in a while when I’m inQuitocalled “Crepes and Waffles”.  I’m not sure why I haven’t seen this in the States…there are a couple of them inQuito.  The serve…yep, you guessed it, crepes and waffles!  It reminds me a little of Cheesecake Factory…but no cheesecake…yet it has an upscale “Waffle House” feel to it as well!  I don’t have pictures of the food, but here’s the waffle we had for dessert!

Banana and Nutella!

(with ice cream, nuts, and whipped cream, plus a strawberry)

Finally, it was time for us to actually kill a little time until our10pmnight bus left toCuenca.  We wondered around “La Mariscal” which is a very touristy area of town that has tons of restaurants, clubs, bars, casinos, etc.  We stopped by “La Plaza Foch” which the most popular night-scene plaza/area.  Here’s a few shots of what it looks like at night:

We then made our way to the bus, claimed our luggage, and climbed aboard…little did I know what an adventure it was going to be for my two friends!

Next Blog: “Visitors – Part 3 (Cuenca)”

Visitors – Part 1

Well, I’ve decided to put “Rice, Beans, and Other Things” on hold for a few blogs so that I could tell you about a couple of visitors that came!!  I can’t believe it has been 3 weeks since the last post, but the week right after that post, I had 2 visitors come, Justin and Bethany!!  As they were the first visitors, I hope they won’t be the last!  Of course, if you know these two kids, you know that when the 3 of us come together, it’s nothing short of an “experience,” which is to put it lightly!  As a matter of fact, it can be quite dangerous!  As they only had 8 days, starting as they arrived at around 10pm on Saturday, April 2^nd and having to return early on the morning of Sunday, April 10^th, we decided to maximize the experience to the fullest, in an attempt to see as much as possible in those 8 days!!  Oh, let me tell you, WE DID!!!  Spending basically a day in each of the 3 largest cities (Quito,Cuenca, andGuayaquil), a day in my small town, and 4 days in the Galapagos Islands, I’d say we pretty much covered it all!  I know for a fact that we saw far more in those 8 days that the average Ecuadorian sees their entire lives…

So, in preparation for these 8 crazy days, I tried to plan out every little detail.  I suppose part of the reason is because that’s just me…organized, planned, and ready…but more than that, I wanted to make sure they had a great time, weren’t too uncomfortable along the way, and didn’t have any really bad experiences such as getting sick, robbed, etc.  I’d say all and all, not too shabby!  I mean, the trip had its moments!!  They were pushed a little bit, but as I’ve told them, I think they received an 8-day compacted version of what I experience (aka put up with) on a day-to-day basis!

So, 3,291 pictures and videos later…we made it out alive!  (This is not an estimated number…I’m serious…we have that many pictures and videos!)  Now, let’s get started with how this whole adventure went down!  After all the preparation, reservations, etc, etc…I took the 2.5 hour bus to Cuenca on the Friday before (4/1) and later boarded the 9 hour night bus at 10pm so that I could arrive in Quito Saturday morning.  Arriving at just before 7am, I went to the Peace Corps office to print out some travel documents, a welcome sign, and take advantage of the high speed internet connection while no one was there on a Saturday!

The Welcome Sign!

Thanks to technology, a beautiful thing, I was able to Skype Bethany and Justin in a 3-way call!  Check this, me in Ecuador (on internet), Justin riding across Alabama toward Atlanta (on a cell phone), and Bethany driving from Athens to Atlanta (also on a cell phone) were able to talk!!  Awesome!!  I also had a chance to video-chat with my parents on a connection where we could actually see each other in basic real-time.  I later left the office and checked into the hotel and impatiently waited for them to arrive.

Of course, typical Ecuador, the plane couldn’t even arrive on time!!  Hahaha…jk, but seriously, it was delayed…so, they got here around11:30pm instead of10pm!

Justin and Bethany exiting Immigration, Baggage Claim, and Customs, at which point they spot me!  Also a group-shot of the 3 of us!

We went to the hotel and got settled-in, talking about everything that happened that day, along with the game plan of getting up by 8am so we could hit the ground running in order to see everything!

Pics of the Hotel Room

At about 1:46 A.M.  I awoke to find that I had been transported to a night club with a strobe light flashing before my eyes!  As I squinted and blinked my way into reality, I found Justin with a flashlight, flipping and flopping around his bed.  As he flashed the light from bed, to floor, to sky-light, I started to put 2-and-2 together…water was leaking from the sky-light onto him and his bed!  “Welcome to Ecuador” flashed through my mind as I also thought “D%#$, what a way to welcome my friend!”  Justin said, “Man, I didn’t know what the heck was going on…when I woke up all wet, I was like, I know I didn’t piss myself!!”  Acting quickly, we moved the heavy bed, scraping it across the floor, erupting in a loud noise, that I am only sure was pleasing to Bethany as she slept in the adjacent bed!  We then threw some towels down on the floor and the bed, returning to sleep.  As I crawled in my bed, closing my eyes, I thought “Wow! Ecuador!!  Wait, what the heck is Justin doing with a flashlight!?  Hmmm…Justin brought a flashlight…now that’s funny!!”

Next Blog: “Visitors – Part 2 (Quito)”

Oops!

It happens…people make mistakes!  We often joke about the 4^th main goal of Peace Corps being “To provide humor to the local population, or community, in which we currently serve!”  Hence, we often make plenty of funny, and not-so-funny, mistakes, all of which provide tons of laughter to the locals while also providing a little humor to ourselves along with a good bit of embarrassment!

Just in case you were curious about the actual 3 main goals of Peace Corps, they are as follows:

1. Helping the people of interested countries in meeting their need for trained men and women.
2. Helping promote a better understanding of Americans on the part of the peoples served.
3. Helping promote a better understanding of other peoples on the part of Americans.

I’m sure this would be far more hilarious if you spoke Spanish because you would get the mistakes instantly, but I’ll do my best to explain them!

One of the first problems that we usually experience is due to conjugating verbs.  To explain this, in English, the present tense conjugation of “to understand” (the infinitive) would be “I understand, you understand, he understands, she understands, we understand, they understand.”  Well, in Spanish, the verb is conjugated or gets changed from “comprender” (the infinitive) to “comprendo, comprendes, comprende, comprende, comprendemos, comprenden.”  In short, the ending reflects the subject.  So, the most common mistake is someone will talk to a volunteer and the volunteer responds “¡No habla español!” which means “You don’t speak Spanish!” or in the same situation, the person will ask the volunteer, “¿Comprede?” (Do you understand?), and the volunteer will respond “¡No comprende!” which means “You don’t understand!”  As you can see, this gets confusing and frustrating quickly!!  The volunteer should have responded “¡No hablo español!” or “¡No comprendo!” provided the situation.  I mean, could you imagine talking to someone in English and then they respond “You don’t speak English!” or better yet, asking someone “Do you understand?” and they respond with “No, you don’t understand!”  Let the games begin!

Another problem we often see is in regards to false-cognates.  This is the classic, I can add an “o” or “a” or “e” to an English word and make it Spanish!  Hence, people say things like “beach-o” trying to talk about the beach and get “bicho” which means “bug!”  So, we had this volunteer go to a funeral, and he noticed that there was no body preparation as-in they didn’t drain the blood, add preservatives, etc.  They just clean the body, dress it, maybe put make-up on it, then place it in the coffin and bury it.  Well, he decides that he’ll try to explain the process that we use in the U.S. so he says that we put “perservativos” in the body before we bury it.  Hahaha…little did he know that “perservativos” in Spanish means “condoms!!”  So, in the U.S. “we bury our dead with condoms!”  Good one!

One girl while talking to some people in her community decided to share that she likes to ride “cowboys!!”  The group erupted in laughter as she realized “caballeros” (pronounced “cob-a-yeros” and meaning “cowboys”) isn’t quite the same as “caballos” (pronounced “cob-eye-yos” and meaning “horses”), not to be confused with “cabello” meaning “hair.”  I’ve also heard a guy from Japan say something quite similar/embarrassing, “Yesterday, I rode a cowboy for the first time!”  Hahaha…

Another common mistake occurs when a girl states that she is “embarazada” thinking that she means to say she’s “embarrassed.”  Wrong!!  “Embarazada” means “pregnant,” not “embarrassed!”  Someone could also make the mistake and think “preñada” (pronounced “pren-yada”) is a good one to use for “pregnant” which it does mean, but is only used for animals!  So, the word for embarrassed is “avergonzado.”

Sometimes the mistakes are regional, as in different vocabulary is used depending on where you are geographically.  I once read a story where a volunteer in South America asked a student in one of her classes to show her what he had in his backpack or “bolsa” which is often used in Mexico to mean “bag.”  Well, here, it means “sack” so the class had a good laugh when she asked the boy to show her what he had in his “sack.”  Here, they use the word “funda.”

Other times it is simple pronunciation that gets us!  The letters “B” and “V” are pronounced practically the same way in Spanish.  Don’t believe me!?  Just ask the first Spanish-speaking person you see to say “DVD” and you’ll likely hear something that sounds like “DBD.”  Or better yet, you can check out the video linked below, entitled “Letter V”.

“The Letter V”

Nevertheless, this is often a frustration for us because we aren’t sure how the word is spelled, but I guess it doesn’t really matter because they don’t either!!  I constantly see misspelled words where B’s and V’s have been mixed-up.  Regardless, the point is that the words “bailar” and “violar” sound somewhat similar, which has resulted in the inevitable…someone saying “I love to rape!” as opposed to “I love to dance!” (bailar = to dance, violar = to rape)

I can really only think of one mistake that I’ve made…luckily!  In my case, I threw an extra “R” in a word.  I told this girl that she was being “vagra” instead of “vaga.”  Luckily I was in good company and it just gave everyone a good laugh.  Apparently, “vagra” is something similar to “fat, nasty, slut” as opposed to “vaga” being “lazy.”  Oops!

At one of our Peace Corps meetings/reunions, we had a “talent show.”  One of our volunteers, my buddy Bryan whom I’ve mentioned before, developed an ingenious skit that involved many of these common errors, feel free to watch a clip from below!

Last, but definitely not least, is the time one volunteer decided to answer the question “What is your sign?” as in “astrological sign.”  Her train of thought was great, but the result, not-so-much!  She thought “ok, I’m Virgo, but in Spanish it’s with an ‘e’ so ‘Vergo’ but I’m a girl, so I have to make it feminine, I’ve got it ‘Verga’, now translate the sentence.”  She then proudly states “¡¡Yo soy verga!!”  The entire group of Ecuadorians erupts in laughter and shakes their head at her all while telling her “¡¡No eres verga!!” at which point she decides to argue with them proclaiming with confidence that she is indeed “Verga!!”  When she told me this story, I almost pissed my pants because I knew the meaning of the word “verga!”  It is a very strong derogatory word that I can only best translate as “dirty, donkey dick!”  Can you imagine!?  This girl said, and with confidence I might add, “I’m a dirty donkey dick!” and then she decided to argue that it was true!!  The poor thing…Oops!

Next Blog: “Rice, Beans, and Other Things”

Living, Thinking, Breathing Spanish

One of the most interesting questions that I got while I was hope visiting in November was in regards to learning Spanish and thinking in a whole new way!  I suppose one of the biggest differences or changes in my life thanks to this experience is the way I think now!  Sure, you would imagine that learning another language would provide you with more opportunities and perhaps more knowledge, but I feel you would rarely think about how much it changes your perspective, along with your way of thinking, etc.

Learning another language, specifically Spanish, has always been a dream of mine, as I’m sure many of you already know.  Thanks to the Peace Corps, Ecuador, and this experience, it’s becoming a reality!  The first few months were quite difficult.  I would get headaches and be mentally exhausted from the flood of new information that was being blasted into my mind.  At the end of the day, I could remember that I only wanted to rest, listen/watch something in English, or just sleep!

The most helpful thing that I discovered during the process is that you have to begin thinking in Spanish!  At first, this may seem like a very foreign concept, but with a little time and practice, it becomes second nature.  You then begin learning much more quickly, and everything becomes a little easier.  For example, when you see an object, you have to try to think of the name of it in Spanish before you think of it in English.  You can’t spend your time thinking “OK, this is salt in English and in Spanish it would be ‘sal’…”  You have to glance at the salt and think “sal.”  I can specifically remember glancing around the house and thinking “piso, techo, puerta, ventana, cortina, cama” (floor, ceiling/roof, door, window, curtain, bed) which helped train my brain to begin thinking in Spanish.  Take for instance the popular Rosetta Stone program, about which everyone rants and raves.  The program shows you a set of pictures and you hear a phrase in another language, at which point you have to choose the correct picture that matches the phrase you’ve just heard.  It’s the same concept!

After some time, you actually begin to think in Spanish!!  I can remember waking up one morning and thinking “Tengo que levantarme para irme a Cuenca y de alli tengo que ir a los Correos, usar el internet, y comprar algunas cosas del SuperMaxi.”  (I have to get up and go to Cuenca and from there, I have to go to the Post Office, use the internet, and then buy things from SuperMaxi.)  It immediately hit me that I was thinking in Spanish.  Another time I rattled off something to the neighbor and afterward thought, “What the heck did I just say!?  Was that even correct!?”  I then caught myself quickly analyzing the Spanish words while thinking “Did I conjugate the verb correctly?  Was it in the past tense?  Should I have used preterit or imperfect?  Did I put the direct object before the conjugated verb?  Hmmm…yep!  I said that correctly, just like I wanted to say!”  It’s small victories like these in which we take pleasure!

I’ve decided that I’ll continue to learn Spanish for the rest of my life…very similar to English, in the fact that we continually learn new vocabulary words in English.  The only difference for me is that I now realize how much I still lack, Spanish-wise!  I mean, I couldn’t tell you how to say forceps, scalpel, sewer, drive-shaft, hubcap, axel, curb, or a number of other things.  Of course I could describe them all in Spanish and learn the new word…so, with time…  One cool thing that I have noticed however is that the languages compliment each other all the time.  For instance, when you have a larger vocabulary in one language or the other, you’ll begin to increase your vocabulary in both languages, rapidly!  For example, “tenebroso” is a word in Spanish that means “tenebrous” in English, which means “dark, glumy, or obscure” (thanks dictionary.com!).

Nevertheless, the Spanish can also hurt your English because you’ll find yourself thinking harder to remember some English word or worse, you’ll be rattling off in English and a Spanish word will just hop into the middle of the sentence!  Another thing that may happen is that you realize you can better express something in one language or the other, but you can’t really express the same idea or emotion in the other language!  Some things just don’t really translate…seriously!  You could explain it, but the meaning, emotions, or punch-line that works in the one language, just doesn’t work in the other!

As a result, my mind and my language(s) have changed significantly!  On top of that, I’ve realized that I tend to speak differently depending on my environment!  To explain, I’ll give you tons of examples!  For one, when I’m traveling, or in a group of people that I don’t really know, my English changes to a more formal one without hardly any hints of a “southern” accent.  I often get the “You’re from Mississippi!?  You don’t really have an accent at all…”  I later get some laughs when I “turn-up” the accent or when I’m having a Skype session with my parents and they over-hear me talking to them.  I guess that I try to speak more formally, especially when I’m teaching English, so that they get a good, clean understanding of the pronunciation of a word(s).  This is the same in Spanish because I’ve been picking up a mixture of accents from all over Ecuador so that I can now switch between them a little here and there.  One time I traveled to Quito and the taxi driver pegged me as being from Cuenca!  It is said that the people from Cuenca “sing” Spanish.  My dad claims that he can hear the accent when I’m speaking Spanish with my host family during a Skype session.  While at home in November, he also mentioned that my English had changed a little, and he could hear a difference, almost like I was singing a little in English.  I wrote a blog about some of the differences in the accents, you can check it out here.  Another volunteer from the coast said that she has to speak with the coastal accent or the locals will just ignore her or treat her differently.  Also, there are some words or phrases that are typically used in some cities or areas where they’re not used in others.  It’s all very interesting, and I really enjoy learning about it!

Next Blog: “Oops!”

 

You’re going where!?

I’ve gotta run a few errands…I’m going to run by the SuperMaxi and then by Horny Pan; I’ll see you at the house!  Wait… “You’re going where!?”  I said “SUPERMAXI and HORNY PAN!!”  If you’re like me, the last thing you want to do is run by, or across, or near a “SuperMaxi,” and you probably don’t want to get caught walking into any place called “Horny Pan!”  It’s funny when you happen to stumble upon places with funny or odd names, but let me explain!

Here, all over Ecuador, well, in the major cities at least, there is a large grocery store chain that goes by the name of “SuperMaxi.”  I’m not sure what genius came up with this name, but he/she should have done a little research beforehand!  In the beginning, I couldn’t help but laugh every time I saw the name, but now it’s just what you call the grocery store.  To give you an idea of what it’s like, it is your very “Americanized” grocery store.  I suppose it looks about like Wal-Mart’s food section.  It’s neat and clean, and they have tons of name brand items that you would find in the U.S.  They have everything from Peter Pan Peanut Butter to Fruity Pebbles, Fruit Loops, and Captain Crunch to Aunt Jemima Pancake Syrup and Mix, along with Betty Crocker Muffin and Cake Mixes to Ragú Spaghetti Sauce!!  Oh, I forgot to mention Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, BBQ Sauce, Heinz Ketchup/Mustard, etc.  Needless to say, this is where all Peace Corps Volunteers in Ecuador retreat, at least once a month, to buy some kind of vice or craving.  I suppose it provides a home-like environment along with a few home-found comforts.  So, without further ado, Bradley Rayborn, this is for you!!

A picture of SuperMaxi, around Christmas Time!

Brad, I didn’t know you started your own grocery store chain across Ecuador; you’ve been holding out!!

As for the “Horny Pan,” a friend of mine, thank you Andrea, from Quito sent me the following picture:

To clarify, “pan” in Spanish means “bread.”  So, the above is a bakery, or as the sign states, “bakery and pastry shop.”  “Horny Pan”…go figure!!

Next Blog: “Living, Thinking, Breathing Spanish”

Customs

If you haven’t noticed yet, I’ve been posting tons of blogs like crazy!  One reason is that I’ve had a list of all of these ideas forever and need to get some posted, but more important than that, I have 2 visitors, Justin and Bethany, coming the first week of April, so I’m trying to prepare them as much as possible!!  I hope they’re both reading!!  I’m sure many of these blogs will help cushion the “blow” of cultural shock…but they’ll also enhance the experience as you’ll see exactly what I’ve been talking about!  So, Justin and Beth, if you are reading, 10 DAYS!!!  Now, on to “Customs”:

Customs, not as in Border Customs, just customs, such as the shaking hands when meeting someone new or saying a polite phrase such as “God bless you” after a sneeze or “Excuse me” after a burp, those kinds of customs!  Well, Ecuador is full of them!!  Some of them we love, some not so much, but they’re all interesting nonetheless!

I suppose the first one we encountered, and quickly adapted, I might add, is “pointing.”  Now, I just learned a few days ago, it’s really rude to point with your finger!  I mean, I figured it wasn’t really polite, but here, it’s rude!  Nevertheless, everyone points at everything with their lips here!  “Where’s the remote?”  “Where’s the bathroom!?”  The answer is simple…just point with your lips!

A second “custom” is breast feeding!  Sure, people in the U.S. breast feed; it’s no secret…or is it!?  Think about it…how many people have you seen breast feeding!?  EXACTLY!!!  Well, I was quite a bit shocked with my first encounter of “public breast feeding!”  I was standing in the mall, second floor, balcony, when this woman just begins breast feeding on a bench in the middle of the mall on the first floor!!  I was a bit shocked and didn’t know what to think…  “What is this woman doing!?  She’s in the mall!!” shot through my mind.  I left the mall and boarded the bus to head back to the host family’s house when “BAM!” there was another woman sitting in the window seat as I stood next to her in the aisle, yep, you guessed it, more breast feeding!  Regardless, I think the most shocking ones are the ones where the women (I use this term lightly as there are 15 year-old girls with babies) try to have face-to-face conversations with you as they are breast feeding!!  I really don’t think I’ll get used to that one!

In the northern Sierra area of Ecuador, after I would sneeze, I would get a “salud” response.  Sneezing twice would result in the “salud, dinero” response, while three times gave you “salud, dinero, amor!”  (“salud” pronounced “sal-ood” means “health,” while “dinero” pronounced “dee-narrow” means “money” and “amor” pronounced “ah-more”  means “love”)  So, the next time someone has a sneezing fit, try saying “health, money, love” just to see their reaction!  As for the southern Sierra, where I currently live, you get a big awkward silence.  I suppose for them it isn’t really a silence…they just ignore that you even sneezed!

Another really important custom involves greetings.  Now, this is less common in the city, but basically a requirement in smaller towns!  Whenever you are walking in the street and encounter/pass someone, you have to greet them!  If you don’t, it’s considered rude, uneducated, and lacks respect!  So, “buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches, como le va, come esta, etc, etc” becomes second nature (those phrases mean “good morning, good evening, good night, how’s it going, how are you” if you were curious…as for the pronunciation, just pronounce each letter in the word, or ask me!).  Furthermore, when you enter a store, you have to announce your presence with the whole “buenos días, buenas tardes, buenas noches” deal.  Some store owners will actually ignore you if you don’t!  They have a saying here that “even a dog wags its tail when you come in the room!”

Have you ever walked into a mechanic shop, bakery, or a butcher shop, or any other shop where you meet a worker or person with dirty hands!?  It’s your first time meeting them, so you introduce yourself and either A: decide to shyly hide your hands or B: grin-and-bear-it by shaking their dirty hands!  I’m still trying to figure out why we didn’t think of this one…why not just shake their wrist!?  So, if you’re here in Ecuador and encounter this situation, someone will offer their wrist, just shake it!!

Music: yet another phenomenon here!!  It is everywhere!!  You can not escape it!!  I’ve suffered many a sleepless night due to music.  This is often accompanied with tons of noise as well!!  Stupid drunks…lol…  As I type this, I can here music in the background…  Sometimes it’s nice to have playing, other times, not so much!!  There’s no “disturbing the peace” or “public drunkenness” here, so you can forget about calling the police or anything!  Sure, you could ask, but it’s basically futile…they’ll do what they want!  I scrambled through my bag and discovered I was brilliant enough to bring ear-plugs!  So, I’ve taught myself to listen to my iPod and fall asleep, or just wear the ear-plugs.  At any rate, the more phenomenal part about the music situation is seeing people with their cell phones or other small radios blaring music.  On the bus??…teenagers with cell phones, blaring music!  Sometimes it is even in English…they have no idea that being a 17 year-old guy and listening to Justin Bieber probably isn’t that cool…  Walking around town or down the street!?  Here comes someone with a small radio (which takes a USB flash drive, btw) blaring some obnoxious music that no one wants to hear!

So, a while back, we were in the park having a get-together when a volunteer decided to throw a Frisbee with another volunteer.  A couple of kids came along and they began playing as well.  After playing for a while, the kids get the idea, but then they have to leave.  Just before leaving, they explain to the volunteer (in their best adult/teacher voice), “You know, throwing things is very rude and uneducated.  It’s very impolite to throw anything at someone else.  If you are going to throw something to someone, you have to say ‘hey, catch’ or ‘hey, take this’ that way they know to expect something and will be ready to catch it.  Otherwise, it is very rude, but you know what?….THIS GAME IS AWESOME!!”  It’s so funny, and we take it for granted, but in many other countries, there aren’t any games where you “throw” things at or to someone else!

Whether it’s “Digging for gold?” or “Scratching your brain?” I’ve come across many a people doing one or the other!  Sure, you catch the booger-picker now and then when you’re in the U.S.  Most of the time they are in their car and think no one is looking!  In any case, it seems to be much more common here!  I’ve seen a lot more nose-picking here than I feel like I’m used to when I’m at home.  I’ve had kids, teenagers, adults, old ladies, old men, all of the above pick their nose in my presence!  Some of them even have the audacity to make eye contact before doing so!!  Can you imagine!?  Hahaha…  Now, I’ll throw this in here, I’ve also seen a good many eating with their mouths open, along with smacking, talking, and laughing, all while they have food in their mouths…this isn’t as common as the nose-pickers, but it does seem to happen quite a bit more here than there!

Before I go, after posting my last blog, I got a message on Facebook from a friend.  It stated “Laughing so hard my sombrero falls off and I drop my taco!” – Els Jorissen.  I joked with her that she must be Mexican because she was wearing a “sombrero” and Ecuadorian because she was shaking her hand while she laughed!  Which brings me to the last custom that I’ve noticed…shaking your hand while laughing!  You will see tons of people shake their hand as they laugh.  It is usually their writing hand, and they shake it as if they are shaking off water after washing their hands.  It is a little hard to describe, but it’s like a slinging motion.  If you’ve seen a person that dips tobacco, you’ve seem them sling the can to pack the snuff.  That’s about the same motion.  Also, you’ll sometimes find someone, mostly guys, which sling their hand in this same fashion while laughing but manage to make their thumb pop against their other fingers, almost like they’re snapping!  These hand motions always accompany laughter and sometimes accompany the “shoot, dang, that happened to them” situation as well!

Next Blog: “You’re going where!?”

 

¡¡No sea malito!!

     This phrase can change your day and quite possibly your life…at least here in Ecuador!!  “¡¡No sea malito!!” pronounced “no se-a mall-e-toe” and meaning “Don’t be a meanie!!”  Hahaha…I have to laugh!!  Think about it…how many people, especially adults, would ever say “Don’t be a meanie!!”!?!?  NONE!!  Nevertheless, I must point out that it’s not just the phrase; it’s also all in the delivery as well!  You have to give them your best “puppy-dog” eyes, headed tilted slightly to the side, and whine a little.  Now, if you catch yourself doing this right now, go ahead, laugh!!  I’m sure you may even feel a bit awkward or strange talking in such a way.
     In the beginning, I hated the phrase and the idea.  I believe the “U.S. Pride” erupted in my soul and I declared, “I’ll never stoop that low!” all while thinking “why in the world do grown people whine!?”  Imagine, whining!?  In the U.S., we’re told our entire lives, “stop whining, stop crying, toughen up, suck it up” the list goes on…  Failing to comply often results in one of the following phrases, such as “you want me to give you something to cry about!?” or “I’ll give you something to whine about!”
     Seriously though, here in Ecuador, this junk works!!  I’ve decided that it is definitely a cultural thing!  Sure, it’s cute when the 2-8, or maybe even up to 11 year-old does it.  (I must point out that most 11 year olds here look like an 8 year old in the U.S.)  These kids will drop the bomb on you in their sweetest Spanish voice, and you immediately fall to their command.  However, I have caught myself telling my 11 year-old host brother “that phrase doesn’t work on us gringos!”  Hahaha…  Regardless, when the 30-40+ year-old begins to whine and ask for something, sometimes using this phrase, I’ve found that it really annoys me!  I mean, IT REALLY ANNOYS ME!!  I find myself thinking, “You can’t be serious; you’re an adult!!  Don’t be a meanie!!  I mean, really!?  You’re going to go there!?  How about this, let’s grow up, and you just ask me politely…you’ll get a lot further!”  Of course I don’t say these things…
     So, with all that “when in Rome” stuff, I’ve caught myself using it from time to time.  I must admit; it works!  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been allowed to get on a bus that normally wouldn’t allow me to ride from point A to point B because it is full or the distance is too short, or how many times I’ve gotten a ride somewhere in the back of some random truck, or how many times I’ve had prices reduced even further after I’ve already bartered them down, or how many times I’ve gotten this or that thanks to this little phrase “¡¡No sea malito!!”  P.S.  You have to change the “malito to malita” with the whole masculine/feminine deal.
     Furthermore, you can often throw a little twist on the “por favor” phrase (pronounced “poor fa-vor” and meaning “please”).  With this, just drop the “vor” and say “por fa.”   Of course, as I was corrected by an Ecuadorian friend, it’s far more effective if you do the whole “head tilt, puppy-dog eyes, slightly whiny voice!”
 
Next Blog: “Customs”

Pay for what!?

     Well, I figured I was on a roll…so, I decided to just stick with the theme and go with it!  Like I said before “sometimes it’s just the little things that you take for granted, like throwing toilet paper in the toilet, that make living in the U.S. that much more wonderful!”  Well, this time, we’re back full circle to toilets/bathrooms/etc.  Would you believe that you have to pay to use the freakin’ pot around here!?  Yep, it’s true…
     So, whenever you’re out and about and the urge hits you, you better scramble for your change before scrambling to the bathroom!  They charge anywhere from $0.10-0.15 depending on the bathroom.  Sure, they’ll give you a modest amount of toilet paper as you pay…God forbid you need extra!  Unfortunately, you usually find this out at an unfortunate point in your bathroom adventure!  Want to wash your hands afterward!?  Good luck!!  You probably will have water…but soap and paper towels may, or may not, be available!
     Oh, and a word to the wise…men, if you go into the stall just to do number 1 because your like me and hate the splash-back that the urinals provide, and you then decide it a good idea to just press on the handle with your foot as opposed to touching said handle…make sure the door to the stall is closed!!  I had at least a good 10 minute argument with the FPDCCBM aka “Female Paper Distribution, Change Collecting Bathroom Manager.”  Apparently the light press with the shoe on the handle “could damage the toilet!” (her)  Also, she knows everything that has been done in that stall and there is no way that the handle could be dirty from “God knows what” (me).  According to her “the handle is clean.”   I’m still trying to figure out how it was clean when it had some unknown liquid dripping from it.  I guess that could have been some kind of chemical they used to clean it.  I still find that nearly impossible considering the condition and smell of the floor and surrounding area.  Nevertheless, I think she liked it even less when I returned to the stall and slammed my hand down on the lever, causing it to stay in a bent/flushing position as I walked out of the bathroom with a “grin” on my face!  (I think you know just what kind of “grin” I had plastered to my face!)
     Seriously though, I didn’t really go back and slam my hand on it…I thought we went over this…I’m not touching the handle!  Regardless, I think I now have a genius method of resolving future arguments of using my shoe to flush the toilet!!  I think the only thing that can top that is when you enter the bathroom stall, only to see the toilet handle has been replaced by some kind of string!!  I shudder to think about what diseases, viruses, and infections await the next victim that has the “huevos” to pull that guy!!  (“huevos” pronounced “way-vos” and meaning “eggs” could also be used for the English word “balls” given the previous context)

Next Blog: “¡¡No sea malito!!”

Refrigerators are Useless!!

     It’s a true story…just re-read the title!  Now, I know probably 99% of households in the U.S. have a fridge.  Well, here, it’s probably more like 20% or something.  (I really don’t have any idea…but it’s low, ok!)  The first host family, with which I stayed, did not have a fridge.  Well, I take that back, they had one, but it was only used to store the plethora of chicken that they sold in their “papelería” (“papel,” pronounced “pa-pel,” means “paper,” add –eria to a Spanish word and you get “the store” for the root word, so in this case, “paper store”).  I know, chicken sold in a paper store…I don’t get it either!  Nevertheless, you wouldn’t want to put anything else in this particular fridge besides meat!  It was quite an experience when you opened the door to the thing!  Now, living with the new host family, we have a fridge that is used for the house.

Our Fridge…I know, nice right!?

     It’s actually kind of amazing/surprising what “doesn’t” need to be refrigerated!  Milk, eggs, cheese, butter, yogurt…nagh…you don’t have to refrigerate those!!  Seriously though, you don’t!!  After having been here for just over a year, I think they’ve me just about convinced!  Most all of these things are not refrigerated here.  You can just walk into any store and buy them right from the shelf.  They aren’t in refrigerators or freezers!  Hence the title…”Refrigerators are Useless!!”
     Ice!  Did someone say ice!?  Hahahah…don’t get me started!  I’m almost positive that these people don’t even know how incredible ice can be!  I watch in disbelief as people drink hot Coke after hot Sprite after hot Fanta.  How do they do it!?  I think it’s even more fascinating when they drink one that has been sitting in the shade and exclaim, “man, this is so good cold!”  Are you serious!?  You call that cold!? 
     Ok, so check this!  One time, we got a 3-liter Coke out of the fridge and served it.  This elderly lady says, “Whew!  This is too cold, can you heat it up in the microwave!?”  Heat up Coke in the microwave!?  I couldn’t believe it; I almost lost it!  It’s really interesting how some people can be used to one thing while others are used to the exact opposite!  For the first year, I choked down hot Coke after hot Fanta.  Now, I am actually used to it.  I get one from the shade and think “man, this sure is good nice and chilled!”  Nevertheless, I often make ice and drink my drinks with ice.  On a lighter note, I’ve managed to convince my host family that ice makes it taste soooo much better!  So, now, when we have coke, or what have you, they actual ask for a little bit of ice!!  Keeping in mind that it may only be a cube or two…but here I am, changing the world, one cube at a time!
     Ok, so, back to the fridges for a second.  We do have a fridge, and we use it often.  We sometimes put milk, eggs, butter, and yogurt in the fridge and always put cheese in there.  A lot of times though, we don’t put them in the fridge at all!  I’ve also seen all of them left out, usually for far too long!  I guess it mostly depends on how soon we are going to use the things as to whether or not they actually make it into the fridge.  We do put drinks and leftovers and other things in there as well…like anyone in the U.S. would.  Oh, speaking of leftovers, the oven usually replaces the fridge on that whole deal!!  Most of the time, the leftovers just get thrown into the oven.  I bet I can walk in the kitchen right now and find some leftovers in the oven! 

Told you so!

     So, now comes into question the numerous “Food Safety” courses I’ve been through in my life!  From McDonald’s, to MSU, and even Camp Chandler…I can tell you all of the temperatures and times that certain kinds of meats and other foods need to be cooked and stored…along with where and how to store them, as well as what you need to do as you prepare them, but here in Ecuador, haven’t you heard!?…there aren’t any germs!!

Next Blog: “Pay for what!?”

Free Refills

     Sometimes it’s just the little things that you take for granted, like throwing toilet paper in the toilet, that make living in the U.S. that much more wonderful!  Well, this time, it’s free refills!  I mean, you know what it’s like to go to a restaurant and get free refills on water, tea, soft drinks, etc.  You also know what it’s like when you find out that the place doesn’t offer free refills and charges you for an extra drink, the audacity!!  Seriously!?  This second cup of root beer is going to cost me another $1.95!?  It’s not even in a glass bottle!!  This will be the last time I eat here!!  You get the idea… 
     Well, try living in a country that has never heard of “free refills” and would laugh at you if you even mentioned the idea!  Here, you can’t even get a second glass of juice without being charged!  As for soft drinks, tea, etc, you can forget that too!!  All of those come in a bottle, for the most part…  There are a few places where you will see them using the soft drink machines, but these are only behind the counter.  Even in the nicest of restaurants, you can forget about getting free refills!  I’ve found one place in the past year that actually had a machine where you served yourself.  It was in a gas station / diner place, conveniently named “Retro Burger,” imagine that!  I of course did the nervous glance around as they handed me an empty cup and motioned me toward the machines.  I’m pretty sure it would have been frowned upon, to say the least, if I were to have gone back for a refill…I figured the refill wasn’t worth having the police called or going to jail, so I didn’t even risk it! 
     Therefore, after my visit to the U.S., I had taken a number of pictures.  Everyone here had tons of questions before I left, mostly asking the same things that you all would ask about them.  The questions mostly revolved around day-to-day life in “La Johnny” with one of the most asked questions being “What do you eat there!?”  Don’t ask me why they call it “La Johnny,” they haven’t even been able to tell me!!  It does get plenty of good laughs though when I refer to it that way.  So, I took tons of photos of things in “La Johnny,” including the one below:

The Shed, Mobile, AL
“Fill-Your-Own Drink” Area…
as many times as you like!!!

     It’s unfortunate that the above picture has a big Pepsi sign, much less having only Pepsi products below it, but I guess you can’t win them all!  ¡¡Viva la Coca!!  Regardless, my buddy, Bryan (also fellow volunteer, who just recently headed back home), saw the picture and asked “Why did you take that!?”  I said, “Dude, it’s free refills, how many of those have you seen here?!” quickly followed by “I’ve never been so hydrated in my life!”  He had a good laugh at that…  All of which brings me to yet another theory…
     The way I have it figured, there are no free refills in Ecuador because not one Ecuadorian in the entire country is hydrated!!  You may laugh at that, but I’m serious!!  Don’t believe me!?  Let’s take Michael, another friend/volunteer, who likes to do his fair amount of hiking and climbing.  Just to boost his pride, if he’s reading this, even though he doesn’t really need it, he summited Cotopaxi (another volcano with a prominence of 7,884 ft. and an elevation of 19,344 ft.) as a warm-up, earlier in service, and he just recently finished summiting Chimborazo (a volcano with a prominence of 13,527 ft. and an elevation of 20,565 ft).  I know, ridiculous!  Nevertheless, this kid goes hiking with this Ecuadorian lady.  He arrives, ready to go, with his 3-liter CamelBak and 2, 1-liter Nalgene bottles, all full of water.  The Ecuadorian lady has a 20 oz. water bottle in her hand!  As they reach the summit of this “hill,” he reaches for his 4th liter of water, a Nalgene, as he’s already dusted the entire 3-liter CamelBak!!  He glances over to offer the lady some water, only to see the Ecuadorian lady still has half of her 20 oz. bottle left!!!  I mean, it’s amazing and disturbing all-in-one!  How in the world do they do it?!  You can ask just about any of them how they can tell a “gringo” (here it means, “foreigner” and is pronounced “green-go”) apart from an Ecuadorian.  They’ll tell you, “the ‘gringo’ is carrying a water bottle!”  Anyways, I’ve got a feeling it has something to do with that whole “no free refill” idea!

Next Blog: “Refrigerators are useless!!”