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.