1973

I often imagine that life here is what life was like in the 1970's, with a large South American twist.

Very limited cell phone use leads to more physical interactions than back at home.  Meetings aren't arranged by "I'll call you later" but rather with  "I'll see you there at 8:30." Goods aren't sold on Cragislist, but by word of mouth.  One day, as we drove down the street we pulled over next to a pair of boys walking a small dog.  My host mother then explained to them that she was selling a puppy and to call if they were interested.  We never recieved a call from them, but instead from a man whom a relative told about the puppies.  All information is spread by friends talking to friends.

Even when buying things, it's not done in a grand fashion.  People don't go to the supermarket to buy their bread, but to small bakeries.  Fruit is locally grown, or even grown at home.  I don't think Ebay has quite made its way to Ecuador yet.

On the way to town expect to encounter a pickup truck driving by with two or three people in the back, or a man riding a ATV/dirtbike down the main street.  These two things are common sights around here.  Driving rules here are pretty loose, and I've heard some residents say they've never even seen a traffic stop.  Adding to that, I've heard drunk driving laws aren't enforced nearly as strictly as in the US.  I once asked what the legal blood alcohol limit was and it took a group a few moments to finally agree on 0.08.    

Seeing that I didn't exist in the 1970's, none of this post is very accurate at all.  I do believe though, that if I could take away the merengue music and play some Led Zeppelin, bring back bell bottom jeans, and maybe switch languages to English I'd be living in small town USA, 1973 right now.

Food

So, I've received a request to describe food and drink here in Quito.  Surprisingly, it's actually quite good.  Since i'm not good at writing long paragraphs, I'll give you a run down of food for the average day here.


Desayuno
Every morning I have some combination of the following: Yogurt, cereal, fruit, juice, bread, and cheese.  I can safely say that I have had a bowl of fruit every morning since I got here.  I can also safely say that I literally have no idea what half the fruit is.  Regardless, I eat it and it's usually pretty good.  The yogurt is slightly thinner and comes in a bottle, not cups or a short round container.

Almuerzo
Lunch has differed quite a bit seeing that I haven't had a consistent schedule and have been eating everywhere. Here's an example of one standard lunch we had during our city tour.
Aji is a spicy pepper that is served as a sauce or ground up.  It has been at every single meal.  I'm a "good latino" because I like it.
This soup is made from potatoes and has cheese and avocado in it.  It has a specific name but it's hard to pronounce so I just call it "that potato soup."  It can be varied depending on who is making it.
The main course usually contains some form of meat, rice, and vegetables.  Here it happened to be pork, some type of corn, plantains, an avocado slice, and a cheesy potato thing.  As you can tell I'm not good at remembering names of things.

Cena
Dinner also varies a lot.  The only consistency is the availability of Aji sauce and some form of fruit juice.  Usually we have some type of meat, rice, salad, bread, corn, beans, and cheese.  It's very good, and we always have a small dessert after. 

Golosinas
As far as snacks go, Ecuadorians do pretty well.  My favorite has been the empanadas with rice and beef.  We have a large chunk of mozzarella cheese that we often cut slices off too.  Fruit is abundant and readily available, and even though I never know what I'm eating it's almost always delicious

That's your standard day.  Sorry if it's boring and non descriptive but we eat so many new things it's hard to describe them all. 

PS- I put an album up on facebook containing pictures from the first few days.  It's too much to upload here, but check it out if you haven't already.

PPS- When hiking through the Andes, wear crappy clothes because you will get literally covered in mud.  Here's one of my favorite pictures from the 10k hike, stole it from Mario.  Also, here's our group.  I'm in the back in the middle

$

Bus to meet up with new amigos: $0.20
More than sufficient lunch: $2.00
Bottled water: $1.00
Watching our group of 20 gringos sticking out like a sore thumb in downtown Quito: priceless

Seriously though, one of the most eye opening thing about Ecuador is how cheap everything is.  I spent the whole day walking around the Market, buying a few gifts, eating lunch, and taking the bus both ways all for under 5 or 6 dollars.  I heard a few beers will jack that up to 10 or 12 dollars, but that's still not a bad day.  No way could you do that in Boston.

I just found out Ecuador is actually considered a 3rd world country.  One can instantly tell when walking through the downtrodden markets in the nation's capital.  You can get some great gifts for just a few dollars, but it's distressing when you think that this is how these people make there living.  On top of that, they're probably better off than the majority of Ecuadorians.  While it's great for college students to save tons of money, it's a pretty harsh reality that can only be understood when witnessed first hand.  Alot of it has to do with the political system, economy, and general culture, but I'll save those topics for later.

Send me an email, comment, or Facebook message if you have any questions about Ecuador!

Jugo

Ecuadorians really like juice.

Things I've Learned: 48 Hours

Those who have been following, don't expect blogs everyday.  It's just that no one here has cell phones yet, we don't know where to meet up, and we aren't familiar with the sketchy and dangerous bus system yet so there's not much to do at night.

I've decided to do a blog on "Things I've Learned" every so often. Some are from firsthand experience, some are stories from others. I'm not going to say which is which. Here's the first attempt:

-Although we use the same dollar, 1 dollar in Quito can get you about as much as 3 dollars in the U.S.
-Vacillar means "to make out"
-Don't go to the La Mariscal by yourself, you will be robbed.
-Pepto Bismol makes your toungue turn black when combined with certain Ecuadorian foods.
-Spanish key boards are not like English keyboards.
-While they have American TV shows here broadcasted in Spanish, I've really only heard Ecuadorian salsa music or American music from the early 1980's.  I want to laugh everytime a cheesy theme song comes on the radio.
-An amendment to the first item, cell phones here are not cheap and use pay as you go plans.
-"Cui" means Guinea Pig
-Cui is a local delicay, the equivalent of our Thanksgiving turkey.
-There are no upcoming holidays. Dodged a Cui bullet on that one.
-The indigenous people have fantastic dances that I'm going to bring back to the US as the next Macarena
-Lastly, if you ask if something is spicy and they say "kind of" that really means "Yes. Don't ever try putting that in your mouth, it will burn holes in your stomach."

I thought of some more great "Things I've Learned" that I thought of today, but can't remember them now. I'm always tired at night since we do so much during the day and I haven't yet adjusted to the altitude.

Hasta Luego,
Joe

Ps. Pictures to come still.  I have to move them from my camera to my laptop to my usb drive to the desktop computer to the internet so it takes a while.

Tumbaco!

Made it to Quito alive... 11 hours of travelling later.  There's so much going on that it's impossible to encapsulate it all in any amount of words, Spanish or English.  I'm currently residing in Tumbaco, a suburb 10 minutes from USFQ (my university) and 20 minutes from Quito.  My host family consists of a mother, Elena and a father, Edgar.  Their daughter is currently studying to be a veterinarian in Brazil.  The entire property is walled or fenced in with a gate blocking off the street, and on the property are a few houses with relatives living in them. Our own house is down a long driveway at the end of the property with a phenominal view of the valley below, and part of Quito.  I'm not sure of exact numbers but so far I've counted that on the property are 8 dogs, at least 5 horses, and I think a few cows.  I was told there used to be cats, rabbits, and guinea pigs as well but that was just too much work.  Also, I think I'm one of the lucky few who have internet in their house. 

I'm absolutely exhausted due to altitude, travelling, and all day orientation.  Quito tour tomorrow.

Blogging

So as many of you know, I leave for Ecuador/the Galapagos tomorrow.  I thought I'd give this whole blog thing a try and hopefully post as many pictures and thoughts as possible from the trip.  Seeing as everything I will own for the next 4 months is currently scattered about the hallway I'm going to keep this one short and go continue "packing."

Peace out USA, see you at Christmas time.