- Change shortage - They warned us about Ecuador not having change but this is interesting when put into practice. First of all - I never use my debit card here which is weird in itself. But $20 are sometimes not even accepted so you have to get in the practice of breaking big bills when you can, usually with the cashier making a face or groaning at you. We use American currency here, but they've added gold dollars and large 50 cent pieces. It's like a private joke between exchange students about how excited we get when we get all of our change in coins, sometimes $10 worth. Makes everything so much easier.
- Lack of animal control - There are homeless dogs everywherrrre. They roam the streets, ribs visible and usually just having had puppies. It's so sad, and watching them avoid the crazy cars here is especially harrowing. I've not really encountered a dog that was particularly violent yet, they mostly just walk by. Especially sad is if you need one to get away from you, you can raise your arm like you're going to throw something and they'll back right off, proof they've all been abused as well. :/
- Buses - Buses here are an experience in themselves. You ride them to get everywhere. Some are owned by the government, others just by some people trying to make a living. These last ones may be adorned with religious figures and posters, or just about anything else. Every bus costs a quarter and bus stops exist but you can get on and off anywhere, if the driver feels like stopping. For girls they mostly stop completely but sometimes you have to jump on or off of it while it's moving. Tripping or being thrown across the bus is extremely normal and there's no point being embarrassed. On government-run buses like the Ecovia or Trole at rush hour - seriously I can't tell you how crowded these buses get. It's more crowded than being crushed again the front row of a concert, against the gate. You have a human touching every side of your body - your legs could give out and you go nowhere. Of course, this is why it can be so dangerous - very easy for people to slash your bag if you can't move.
- Crime - You can't really avoid it here. The idea of getting robbed scared the crap out of me when I came here - it's not like I'm not a little freaked out by now still but a little time here helped. People in the US commit violent crimes - in a bad neighborhood at night, you're afraid for your life and less for your iPod. Here, people are just poor and that's what motivates their larcenous behavior. I never take my iPod out of my house or carry more than $30 with me (unless I'm traveling). I only take out my debit card if I need to get money from the ATM. In general, they tell you to not wear too much expensive jewelry or take out your electronics because it makes you an easy target. Since I've been here, I've known a handful of people whose purses have been slashed in buses (while holding them or while on long trips with the bag on the ground), scammed in the historic area, pickpocketed in crowds (such as the fútbol game the other day) or actually been cornered at night and robbed. Unfortunately, escopolamina (commonly known in the US as a date rape drug) is also sometimes used to rob people - in powder form, it can be absorbed through the skin and the effects are the same. I've heard of people accepting flyers from strangers, then drugged, willingly went with the robbers to his house and helped them remove all the valuables from it. Scary stuff! Apart from that last one, it's fairly easy to avoid sad losses - don't carry expensive stuff or appear rich. But also don't be surprised because the people here do it for a living and they know what they are doing.
- Machista culture - As a young, foreign woman in this country, it's completely normal to expect men to whistle, make comments, or holler at you while out in public. Younger guys of university age are usually more respectful but older men, not so much. This one guy leaned out of his truck window to holler at me while I was waiting at the bus stop. Hair and skin color makes a giant difference - if you are blonde, pale, and skinny you get it the worst (my poor friend Julie is an example of this). I've actually noticed more comments as my dark hair dye has slowly faded out (and also on days I wear more shapely clothing). Just in general though, it's interesting being in a society where my appearance is the minority - definitely an experience.
- Almuerzos - I love little almuerzo places! Almuerzo means lunch, and if you go to a cute little lunch place, you sit down and the meal is ready and brought to you - soup, main dish, fresh juice, and sometimes dessert. It's never more than $2.50, but sometimes only $1.50. It's always typical Ecuadorian food, and hot, and delicious.
- Taxis - Another thing I was terrified of before I got here. I had never ridden one in the states so I can't very well compare them. I do know they are fairly cheap and that you can haggle like crazy. To go to the bar/dancing part of town at around 7 or 8pm, I can haggle to around $3 to get there; later at night to come home, it's around $4-5. The other night, we went from one end of the city to the other, something that could cost an upwards or $10-12 if you don't know to haggle, and we got it for $5. Being better at Spanish now helps a lot. Taxi drivers will sometimes talk and sometimes not - I always try to talk because it's great practice. Of course, this week was terrible because both cabs I've taken have ended with the cab drivers trying to get with me or at least get my number, and once even being a little afraid he wouldn't actually bring me home. I was ready to jump out - kind of scary. But it was fine and it makes me wonder if in the future I should just shut up ;)
- Hot water - Everyone has a different experience with bathing here - most people complain about how sporadic the hot water can be. We definitely have it but depending what anyone is doing the hot water may disappear, or the pressure. Or become scalding. Makes showering an experience, for sure.
- Toilet paper - Small detail: can't flush it. Just kind of a curious thing - apparently because the water pressure is too low for the plumbing to really work correctly if you flush things. Pretty easy to get used to for me but I had some friends who were horrified by the concept...
- Getting sick - I won't go in too much detail for this except by saying that it's the most normal thing in the world here to have digestive issues if you're a traveler and to have conversations about it, without being too embarrassed. It's usually impossible trying to figure out what made you sick in the first place, though you can usually guess it's water/juice/fresh veggies, but apparently stress can play into as well. Luckily, Cipro (the medication they prescribed before I came here) is a serious miracle worker. The first time I was really sick, I pretty much spent my night in the bathroom, stubbornly refusing to take it. Next time, the issue was resolved in an afternoon and I couldn't believe I could have prevented hourrrs of misery.
- Living with a maid - Very cool at first, but I have to say, after 2 months I'm done with it. Ours is very sweet so it's not about that - it's just awkward as hell and I prefer doing everything myself. She cleans everything, does dishes, laundry, cooks 2 meals a day (soups made from scratch, freshly-squeezed fruit juice), takes care of the pets, WILL COME IF SUMMONED BY HER BELL (for breakfast in bed for my host family, for example), how ridiculous is that!?!?! She makes my bed and if my stuff is too messy she organizes it. It's too much - you think it'd be nice to be waited upon like this, but it makes for a weird kind of tension. And I like making my own food, eating when I want, cleaning my clothes when they are dirty, keeping my room how I want it, etc. But I am living here and I'm very grateful so for while I am here, it's fine. Maids here are fairly cheap and I think the culture reflects the need to have one - not like the rich people are lazy - but.... kinda yea, that's exactly it. On weekends, when ours doesn't come, we eat takeout.
Cyn
No comments:
Post a Comment