Living in Loja

Moving Again (Eventually)

2010-03-07T21:20:00.002-05:00

We've been busy for the past couple of weeks. We are moving to a new apartment soon and we've been packing and getting organized. Actually, we were planning on moving last week but ended up waiting because we wanted to paint our new place and install a calefon - a 'good' water heater - because, as I've mentioned before, hot showers are a necessity in life (at least for me). We were planning on moving tomorrow, but this morning we got a call from our new landlady (who lives downstairs) saying that water was leaking from the apartment. Sure enough, when we showed up at the apartment there was a big pool of water in the bathroom and the hallway. The pipes that transport hot water from our new heater to the shower had sprung a leak! So now we have to wait a few more days while the pipes are fixed before we can actually move. We're living out of boxes and suitcases again, just like when we first moved here. Christina is getting a little fed up already. She keeps asking for certain toys and then saying, "Don't tell me, it's in a box!"

I have a couple of blog entries planned but I haven't had time to actually sit down and write them. However, friends of mine here in Loja (Peace Corps volunteers originally from California) recently posted an article on their blog about the difference between travelling and living in another country. I thought it was pretty interesting and you may too. Here's the link: http://adam-and-emily.blogspot.com/2010/03/happy-peace-corps-week.html

Waste Not, Want Not

2010-02-17T16:02:00.002-05:00

As a US native, I have been inundated by the ‘culture of consumerism' for my entire life. I have also been inundated with various criticisms of this ‘culture’ - so much so that I fancied myself a very frugal person. Even though I was living in the “Land of Plenty” (as is, plenty of cheap junk available at Wal-Mart and Target), I did my best to keep wasteful spending to a minimum and to avoid mindlessly accumulating stuff. (This was made easier by the fact that I was a perpetual student and then a not-so-highly-paid government employee.) At any rate, I thought that I was pretty good only buying the things that I really needed (as opposed to really wanted) and not throwing things away until they had lost their usefulness.

Living in Ecuador has changed my perspective about material goods – in more ways than one.

First of all there is the fact that there are many consumer goods that are either unavailable in Ecuador or extremely expensive. For example, most of the clothes here costly, not my style, and/or of rather poor quality. One of the first things I did when I was visiting the States over the summer was to go to a local outlet mall and buy myself some new clothes. It was such a pleasure to find jeans that fit the way I wanted them to fit, and comfortable shirts in my size. I also found great quality clothes for Christina, at reasonable prices. When I travelled back to Ecuador my suitcases were jam packed with stuff – much of it clothes. Here in Loja the value of those clothes has taken on a whole new meaning. I know that I won’t be able to find anything similar until the next trip to the States so I put more effort into taking care of them than I ever would have before. They are washed and handled gently. I have become an expert at removing stains and repairing small holes and tears. And they are only given away when they are extremely, extremely worn out.

Children’s books in English are also expensive and difficult to find in Ecuador. When I was in the States I stocked up. And I had to pack very carefully on the way back because it doesn’t take many books to make a suitcase go over the airline’s weight limit. I ended up packing both my and Christina’s carry-on bags with as many books as we could handle.

Another thing that surprised me was how important something becomes if it it is unavailable, even if it is something cheap. This point really came home when I started worrying about losing my favorite brush, which only cost $1.50 in the States. It is one of those things that I just can’t find in Ecuador, but it works perfectly for me. So even though it didn’t cost much, it is worth a lot to me now. Another thing that has suddenly become very valuable to me are spare parts for my food processor/blender. A while back one of the plastic attachments broke; it was still usable but not as functional. I bought a new part for about $4.00 when I was in the States last summer, but I still saved the old, broken part – just in case my new one breaks on me.

There is something very satisfying about making use of things for as long as possible and deferring most of my purchases for visits to the States. It is a good way to stay focused on the things I really need and stay off the consumerism treadmill.

The Bravest Cable Guy Ever

2010-02-12T18:24:00.001-05:00

This afternoon I was looking out my window and I saw the TV Cable truck drive up. Curious, I watched to see what was going on. Before I knew it a guy got out and started climbing the telephone pole - without ropes, a harness or anything remotely resembling safety gear. Then he proceeded to lean backwards and make some sort of adjustment to a tangle of wires, all the while keeping a one-handed grasp on the pole. Now that guy has guts!

Brrrrr …..

2010-02-04T18:16:00.005-05:00

For the past week or so it has been rather cold here in Loja. Those of you in the northern hemisphere - where it is the middle of winter and freezing - probably wouldn’t think so, but for those of us who are used to temperatures that reach about 70 to 80 degrees F (~21 to 27 deg C) consistently, every day, it has been feeling pretty cold lately. It is hard to say what the actual temperatures have been here – there are no weather reports on TV, and the internet forecasts don’t seem to be very accurate (right now they are saying that it is 82 deg. F [27.7 deg. C] in Loja and I’m sure that’s not correct because I’m wearing a sweater and my nose is cold) – but it has been overcast and rainy for several days and it is definitely colder than usual.

I was hoping to write a little blog entry with some interesting facts about weather in Loja and the surrounding area, but after a not-so-exhaustive internet search I came up with very little real information. It appears that the rainy season in this region lasts from about January to around April. It has been raining a bit more since the beginning of the year, and I remember that last year around this time there was some heavy rainfall and flooding that occurred. August and September are supposed to be periods of high winds and colder temperatures and that was true last year and the year before. Also, according to local lore, it rains during the new moon and not during a full moon (I haven’t tried to check that one out, though).

Many years ago I took a physical geography class and I dimly remember learning about weather in the tropics. From what I recall, altitude has a bigger effect on the weather than season (i.e. the higher you go the colder it gets and vice versa). This is definitely true around here. During the 45 minute drive ‘down the hill’ from Loja to Vilcabamba (a difference in elevation of about 1,600 ft [500 m]) the weather changes from mostly cool and spring-like to generally hot and tropical. I’m sure that prevailing wind patterns (either from the ocean to the west or the Amazon basin to the east) also have some effect on the weather, but I’m going to have to do a little bit more research to figure that out. (btw – if anyone knows of any resources in this area please drop me a line in the comments section)

When I first got here I wrote a short blog post about how how variable the weather is here on any given day. But the recent cold weather seems to be more consistent and longer-lasting than any other weather pattern I’ve experienced here. Usually no matter how cold or windy it is on a given day, eventually the sun will make an appearance and (since we are in the tropics) it will get really, really, really hot; this means I must follow my dad’s old clothing advice – which at the time was meant for San Francisco – and always “dress in layers”. But for the past several days it has been windy and rainy almost all day long and the sun has barely peeked out from the clouds. I keep wanting to turn on the TV and watch minute-by-minute commentary on the ‘storm’ until I can’t stand it anymore. But, alas, I can only stare out of my window and watch the clouds go by.

Crime and Safety

2010-01-26T15:50:00.001-05:00

Last week a friend of mine was robbed in Guayaquil. She and her travelling companion were taking a taxi back to their hotel and after a few blocks two men got in the car, started waving guns around, and demanded money, credit cards, ATM cards, passports, etc. Fortunately they were not hurt, they only lost their money and passports. The robbers eventually dropped the two women off in a remote neighborhood and they were able to find someone to help them get back to their hotel.

I’ve heard a lot about these types of robberies here in Ecuador. They are more common in the big cities like Guayaquil and Quito, but have occurred in Loja as well. When these things happen I start to wonder, how safe am I here in Loja? Is it more dangerous here than in the United States?

I’m not sure if I know the answer to that question, but I do know that some the risks are different here than they in the U.S. For example, cell phone thefts – almost unheard of in the U.S. – are extremely common here. One way that they steal the phones is to slash your hand with a razor blade when you are talking on the phone in a public place. You drop your phone in pain and they grab it and run away. I’ve heard of this happening in broad daylight on a crowded street in Loja. So for that reason I have one of the cheapest phones available, something so basic that it isn’t even worth the effort to steal.

For the most part I feel safe here. I take all the precautions I would take in any city (don’t walk around alone at night, etc.). It is a little disconcerting when I know that I stick out as a foreigner, but maybe it helps. Everybody is already looking at me anyway so if something happens there’ll be lots of witnesses, right?

And one thing I’ve never heard about here in Ecuador is someone going nuts and killing people for no apparent reason. I’m not sure why it doesn’t happen here, but maybe it’s partly because the family structure is so strong here that people never get as forgotten and isolated as they do in the States.

Christmas Gifts

2009-12-29T22:40:00.001-05:00

Our Christmas Eve/Christmas Day celebrations with family this year were pretty much the same as last year. The turkey turned out a little better this year and I made my mom’s world famous stuffing again which, along with the candied sweet potatoes and the pumpkin pie, got rave reviews.

This year we did something new the day after Christmas. Lucho’s friends asked him to help them deliver some Christmas treats to children in a small village in the mountains, about a 2 hour drive from Loja. Christina and I came along for the ride.

The community is inhabited by members of the Saraguro tribe, one of the indigenous groups of the area. They make their livelihood by raising cattle and using the milk to make cheese, which they take to Loja once a week to sell in the market. They also grow a lot of their own food. Most of the community is quite poor and the little bags of cookies and candy that we gave the children really seemed to brighten their day.

According to this website, the percentage of people living below the poverty line in Ecuador is 38.3% (as opposed to 12% in the US). Many rural residents are extremely poor.

During this trip I was able to take a lot of pictures. It was beautiful country, and unlike my previous trip through the indigenous community of Saraguro, the people in this isolated area – especially the children – were delighted to have their picture taken. Here are a few photos:

Laundry hanging from the balcony of someone’s house.

On the road, yes we crossed that bridge below and made up the hill.

More beautiful views.

A view of the community from the road.

Our lunch was cooked over a wood fire. It was very smoky inside the ‘kitchen’.

Some of the kids waiting for their goodies.

I had to take a picture of this young girl who was carrying her baby brother on her back.

This woman was serving little cupfuls of “chicha” a mildly alcoholic drink made with milk, sugar, spices and homemade cane liquor. (Fortunately it wasn’t the traditional version of this drink which a corn-based beverage fermented with saliva.)

Another beautiful view – the road down to the river.

Mom and daughters heading home.

A woman from the community waving good-bye. We bought 5 pounds of homemade cheese from her.

Crossing The Street

2009-12-15T22:28:00.001-05:00

Today I walked downtown and I was reminded, yet again, how difficult it is to cross the street in this city. The concept of the pedestrian having the right of way has yet to occur to anyone in Loja. In fact, it is just the opposite. The car is ‘king’ and the pedestrian had better watch out!

Crossing the street is almost an art form. It takes patience, a sharp eye, and lightning-fast reflexes. When the time comes to cross, the pedestrian slowly inches out into the street, eyes on the cars speeding by, ever alert for a break in the traffic that will allow them to make a mad dash to the other side. The bravest souls will dart out when presented with the slightest opportunity - often just barely making it across, or narrowly missing being hit by a crazy taxi driver, or a crowded city bus. I tend to wait until I have a relatively safe passage, which means that I spend a lot of time hanging out on street corners watching vehicles drive by. Most of the pedestrians around me cross way before I do and are already two or three blocks ahead of me by the time I finally get up the nerve to attempt my crossing. Sometimes the only way to cross is to wait until traffic backs up to the point that cars are stopped on the street. Then I, like everyone else, can weave my way through the stationary vehicles (always keeping an eye on flow of traffic to make sure that things don’t start moving again when I’m in the the middle of the street).

I’m getting a little better though. I’m starting to figure out how to navigate through the chaotic streets and I almost feel like I can keep up with the best of them (and still stay safe). But yesterday, while I was crossing the street in front of a stalled truck that appeared to be blocking all oncoming traffic, I was almost mowed down by a speeding taxi that somehow managed to squeeze around the truck and race down the street. Lucky for me, the driver was pretty good at dodging random pedestrians. After a flash of yellow and an angry honk I quickly jumped to the (relative) safety of the sidewalk, and continued on my journey.

All Eyes On … (Me)

2009-12-03T22:54:00.001-05:00

Have you ever gotten that feeling that someone was watching you and then looked up to discover that someone was actually watching you? That happens to me about a million times a day. Ok, that’s an exaggeration (the population of Loja is only about 150,000), but sometimes it sure feels like everyone is staring at me.

Any time I go out in public I feel the constant prickle of hundreds of eyes looking my way and staying there for just a little bit (or sometimes much) longer than they would on someone else. The expressions on these faces range from mild curiosity, to open-mouthed gawk; from friendly interest, to disapproval and reproach; from appreciation to lecherous ogling (one of these days I plan to classify all the different looks I get and write a blog entry about them).

And these stares and looks come from everywhere, from every conceivable place; passersby on the street, guys on the corner talking on their cell phones, children getting out of school, women washing dishes and looking out of their kitchen windows, construction workers, people driving by in cars, people on the bus, people smoking on their balconies, guys playing soccer, security guards and cashiers at the grocery store, people eating lunch in the restaurants, bank tellers, policemen, the lady selling flowers, parents at Christina’s school, shoe-shine boys, the guy parking cars at the hotel, taxi drivers, bus drivers, drunks on the park bench, kids on bicycles, etc., etc., etc. It’s enough to make someone paranoid (or give them a superiority complex).

Obviously I get stared at so much because I stick out as a foreigner, but also I think it’s related to the fact that in this small town - where it is oh-so-important to greet anyone and everyone you know or are acquainted with lest they feel rebuffed and hate you for the rest of your life - people just look at each other more closely than they do in the big anonymous cities where I grew up.

I have blogged about this before, and I guess that I thought that I’d eventually get used to it. And after going on two years here I, for the most part, have. I feel the stares, but they don’t bother me much as they used to. But every once in a while, that odd stare will occur when I least expect it (like this morning on the way to work - enjoying the fresh air and beautiful view of the mountains - I happened to look up and notice a shirtless guy on top of a third-storey roof hanging up his laundry and staring at me). And I will feel very much the outsider here in Loja.

Cost of Living in Loja

2009-11-22T22:23:00.001-05:00

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately from people who are planning to or thinking about moving to Ecuador. One of the more common questions has been about the cost of living so I thought I’d jot down prices I’ve paid for some common things:

1. Food. There are a lot less pre-packaged, pre-made food products available in Ecuador than there are in the States so I usually end up making more things from scratch. That means that my food bill is much cheaper than it was in the States, but I spend much more time cooking than I used to. We spend about $60 to $80 a week at Supermaxi (the big supermarket chain in Ecuador). We also go to the local market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables. Prices can vary (especially for gringos), but most things at the market are pretty cheap. The other day we bought 4 avocados for $1; eggs are 10 cents each, bananas are 4 or 5 cents each, green peppers are around 5 cents each, potatoes are around 15 cents a pound, etc. We buy coffee at the market at $2.40 a pound. Chicken is also around $2.40 a pound.

Restaurants vary, but you can find a pretty good lunch of traditional Ecuadorian food (soup, rice, salad, meat) for around $2.50. Other types of food can be a little more expensive. We go to a Chinese restaurant that is about $5 a plate and the local barbecue place is also $4 to $5 a plate. Of course, there are higher end restaurants where you can spend much more.

2. Rent. We are currently living with my sister-in-law and don’t pay rent, but when we were looking around Loja most of the apartments that we liked (3-bedroom) were around $300/month. A one-bedroom would be cheaper, probably around $150 to $200. Again prices vary greatly and there are places that are much cheaper. There are also a lot of, shall we say, ‘not so pleasant’ places out there so it is important to look around.

3. Utilities. We pay about $20/month for our land-line phone. The bill would probably be cheaper but we call cell phones once in a while (they charge much more for a land-line to cell phone call) so that increases the bill a bit. Our electricity bill is about $15/month.

We (like most households in Ecuador) use propane for cooking. And we also have a “calefon” – an instant hot-water heater for our shower and for washing dishes. The propane tanks cost around $2.00 to fill up and one will last for about two to three weeks (depending on how much we cook).

4. Cell phone. There are three major cell phone companies in Ecuador and many different cell phone plans. We pay about 5 cents a minute if we call another phone within the same company, and about 8 cents a minute to call a cell phone from another company. It costs up to 25 cents a minute to call a land-line (we avoid doing that).

5. Internet and Cable. Our internet bill is $45/month and we have what they call “broadband” although it isn’t fast enough to watch videos online. Our internet provider is the phone company. Several months ago they reduced their rates to around $25/month but when we went to change they told us that we would lose speed if we did so we stayed with our current plan. Also they only have a limited number of lines so when we wanted to open a new line at the restaurant they told us that there were none available at the moment and that we should come back in a month. After several months of that we finally gave up. The cell phone companies supposedly offer very fast internet for about $55 a month but we haven’t looked into it yet.

If we were in one of the bigger cities like Quito or Guayaquil the internet would be faster and cheaper, but Loja is still kind of isolated. We don’t even have fiber optics yet (even though we’ve been hearing for several years that it is “coming soon”).

We have cable and it is about $30/month. I don’t watch it very much but there are a some kids’ channels, and other channels like National Geographic and Discovery Channel (dubbed in Spanish). There are also a lot of shows in English with Spanish subtitles. And there are a couple of movie channels. We used to have CNN in English but that disappeared. We still have CNN in Spanish and it is pretty good (more interesting than CNN in English, I think).

6. Other Things. Due to import taxes, etc. many things that one can find cheaply in the States are much more expensive here. One of the things that I really miss about the States (and I never thought I would) are stores like Walmart and Target that offer an endless variety of reasonably-priced things. The closest thing we have to that here in Loja is “TodoHogar” – which is like a small Target. They have a pretty-good selection of bedroom, bathroom, kitchen and electronic items, but the prices are always a little higher than what I’m used to (for example I paid $16 for a laundry basket that I could have bought at Walmart for around $7). There are lots of other little stores around town that sell the same type stuff, but it is hard to find it all in one place and the selection is always hit or miss (you may or may not find what you want). So shopping for little things takes longer that it should, in my mind. The larger cities like Quito, Guayaquil and Cuenca have other big discount stores, with larger selections, but they haven’t made it to Loja yet. (Although one of the benefits of this is that there is less temptation to buy more “junk” and we end up spending less money in the long run.)

Electronics are also much more expensive here than in the States. About a year ago we bought a camera at the Sony store in a mall in Guayaquil for about $300. That night we found the same model on the Best Buy website on sale for around $150.

As for clothes, I avoid buying them in Ecuador. They are outrageously expensive and usually of poor quality. A pair of cheap, stretch jeans that you’d find in the States for $12.99 can cost $30 or $40 here. A while back I spent $20 on a jacket for Christina and after I got home I noticed that it had a few flaws. It appeared to be a second that someone picked up cheaply in the States and brought here to sell.

7. School. Christina is in a private school and we pay $150 a month for tuition and transportation. Most schools in Loja are within that range. Her school does not require uniforms and the cost of the books and other supplies is included in the tuition. Some of Lucho’s nieces and nephews have to spend about $400 (or more) at the beginning of each school year for uniforms, books and other school supplies.

These numbers are for Loja – other parts of Ecuador may be more or less expensive. And of course, everyone’s spending levels will vary depending on their consumption habits.

How I’ve Been Adjusting to Life in Loja

2009-11-17T22:38:00.001-05:00

Now that I've been living here for over a year and a half, I've been thinking a lot about the strategies that I've been using to adapt to life in Loja. I've found several things that seem to work well for me, so I thought I'd write them down just in case they'd be useful to someone else. Here's the list, which is more or less in order of importance:

1. Be myself. This one is definitely the most important. Being a foreigner in Ecuador means that people are constantly observing, evaluating and judging me. Invariably I am criticized for something, or I realize that someone does not approve of, or makes fun of, me or how I do things. That's ok, they have a right to their opinion and there is not much I can do to change their pre-conceived ideas about me (at least in the short term). But it doesn't mean that I should change who or what I am just to please them. Of course, I try my best to fit into the culture as much as possible – I put a lot of effort into improving my Spanish and I try to follow some of the more common cultural practices (such as shaking everyone's hand in the room, inviting and accepting invitations at the drop of a hat, always taking the time to chat with friends on the street, etc.). But it is just as important for me to recognize the fact that I am from a different country, and a different culture, and that no matter what, I are going to be different (and that's ok).

2. Find things I love. Every place in the world has its positives and negatives, and everyone has their unique set of likes and dislikes. When I think back on my life in California I can remember a lot of things I enjoyed doing, but there were also a lot of things that I really disliked. It has been very helpful for me to find things that I really, really enjoy about life in Ecuador and to be involved in them as often as possible. Sometimes it can be difficult, but it is essential. Otherwise I would find myself living a painful, frustrating life, day in and day out. Adjusting to a new culture is hard work, and it is important to take breaks.

Also I try to avoid letting someone else decide what is right for me. When I was a Peace Corps volunteer we were discouraged from living with other English-speakers because it was thought that we would not learn Spanish and we would be unable to integrate into Ecuadorian culture. I ended up rooming with other gringos for almost the entire time, but I also made lots of Ecuadorian friends (including my the guy I eventually married) and my Spanish got pretty good. This situation might not have worked for other people, but it worked well for me.

3. Avoid unnecessary criticism. It is inevitable that I will find myself frustrated and fed up sometimes with the way things work in Ecuador. It is helpful to vent, but I try to avoid the tendency to start seeing everything in a negative light. Just because one person cut in front of me in line doesn't mean that everyone in the country is rude. Just because someone was late for (or didn't show up for) an appointment doesn't mean that all Ecuadorians are lazy or untrustworthy. It's important to put things in perspective and it's best to take things with a big dose of humor.

Also, it is important to avoid developing a superiority complex. It is very common to notice things here are not as efficient, clean or fast as in the States or other "developed" countries. There are many reasons for this (some obvious, others not so obvious) and I don't assume to know or understand all of them. What I'm sure of is that it has nothing to do with some kind of inherent "superiority" of one culture, or group of people, over another.

4. Create a comfortable daily routine. When my daughter was born I heard a lot of advice about the importance of following a consistent bedtime routine to make it easier for the baby to fall asleep. It seemed to work for her and I also noticed that I also enjoyed my own little routines that I did throughout the day. After moving to Loja I made a point of finding times where I could set up a daily routine (i.e. making breakfast in the morning, surfing the internet in the afternoon, etc.). These routines provide a little order and predictability in an otherwise hectic life.

Blogging by Candlelight

2009-11-10T23:19:00.001-05:00

Oh, no, it has been more than a month since my last blog entry. For those of you who have been wondering where I’ve been, or what’s been going on, there’s been nothing spectacular happening. Last month I was working extra hours at the “Speakeasy” – the English conversation center at one of the local universities (a job where I get paid to sit around and speak English, who could ask for more?). I wasn’t even working full time but I was there every morning, which meant that all the little things that I had been doing in the mornings while Christina was in school got pushed to the afternoons (and therefore had to be done with a 5-yr old in tow) so by the time Christina was in bed I was just too exhausted to write anything in my blog.

But now things are back on track and I have lots of ideas of things to write about. I just need to make sure that I sit down and do it.

So one afternoon last week I was sitting at my computer, trying to translate a document (another side job) and all of a sudden the power went out. The electrical service in Loja is usually pretty reliable. During big storms it may be out for a couple of hours, and every once in a while it will inexplicably flicker out for a few minutes and then flicker on again. So this time, since the weather was calm, I figured that it would come back on pretty quickly. But the outage ended up lasting about 3 hours.

It didn’t take us long to find out that these blackouts were now being implemented throughout the entire Country. That’s because the one hydroelectric dam that supplies most of the Ecuador’s electricity is dangerously low due to lack of rain and only two of the twelve turbines are currently working. The country has to cut back in electricity usage by 10 to 15 percent, so rationing has begun.

The blackouts last for between 1 to 3 hours and since they started last Thursday we’ve been experiencing one or two a day. They are not at the same time each day. For example On Friday our electricity was cut from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm Yesterday it was cut from noon to 3:00 pm, and then again from 8 pm to 9 pm Today it was also cut from 3:00 – 6:00 and we were expecting it to go off again at 8:00 pm, but it didn’t. Then at 10:00 pm.] it was cut. So I am currently writing this on my laptop (and congratulating myself for shelling out a little more cash to buy a long-life battery), with two candles at either side of me for a little extra light.

There are actually some things I enjoy about the power outages. The neighborhood is a lot quieter, and at night the candlelight creates a nice atmosphere. Last night the power went out while I was getting a chicken ready to roast the next day and I ended up chopping vegetables and seasoning the bird by candlelight. At the same time Christina was doing her homework by candlelight and she was surprised when I told here that a long time ago nobody had electricity (or even – gasp – TV) and all the kids did there homework by candlelight.

The main drawback of not having electricity (besides no internet connection) is that our apartment complex uses an electrical water pump, so when the electricity goes out, our water shuts off as well. No water is much more difficult to deal with than no electricity (especially when a couple of members of the household are sick with stomach issues – but we won’t go there). I have now gotten into the habit of filling up pot and pails with water to save for later use. And washing clothes requires a little bit of strategic planning.

Today I was reading in the paper that the blackouts are expected to continue until at least January (when the rainy season starts). But they also say that they are pursuing other options for obtaining more power, such as opening up private supplies and buying more electricity from Peru. So I think (hope, pray) that the situation will improve a bit. But for the time being we are stuck with these ‘rolling blackouts’ on steroids so I guess I just better get used to it.

Woo hoo, it is 11:00 p.m. and the electricity just came back on. Now I can connect to the internet and post this entry.

Things Seen at the Market

2009-09-25T22:20:00.001-05:00

Just about any public place in Ecuador is a kaleidoscope of sights, sounds, smells and experiences. Loja’s central market, where we buy most of our fruits, vegetables and coffee, is one public place with it’s share of activity. There is so much happening that it is too much to take in all at once, but here are a few things I noticed during a recent shopping trip:

Women huddled together on the sidewalk outside of the market selling socks from baskets, their children playing nearby.

An old, skinny man standing at the entrance to the market holding up a large, bright red towel, and yelling, "Towels for sale, get your towel here!"

An even older, skinnier man selling little foam alphabet puzzles. His cry was, "Puzzles, puzzles, buy yourself a puzzle today!"

A seemingly endless number of stalls within the market, all of them overflowing with a colorful jumble of goods. The market has two floors. Downstairs are the produce, meat, cheese, flowers and household goods sections. Upstairs you’ll find coffee, dried goods, sweets, clothes, barber shops, fresh juice bars, and a few restaurants.

A young guy selling little frog toys that paddle their legs when you wind them up. He has a small tub of water next to him which he uses to demonstrate how the frogs work.

A huge poster on the wall showing Petri dishes filled with worms and other creepy-crawly things. The poster is entitled "Anti-Parasite Campaign." In front of the poster is a table staffed by a man and a woman in white lab coats.

People in wheelchairs or on crutches, selling things or just asking for money.

A young boy crying while his father (or grandfather?) yells at him. Both of them holding trays of some food item they are trying to sell to the people at the market.

The women in the produce stands yelling out to me, “What would you like today? Some bananas? How about some oranges? Or some grapes? Take them home!”

The guy I buy coffee from; I always find him sitting patiently in his stall, watching an old black and white TV. When I ask him for a pound he fills up a plastic bag with freshly ground coffee, weighs it, ties the plastic bag, puts it into a paper bag with his logo on it, staples the paper bag and puts the whole thing it into another plastic bag before handing it to me. His movements are practiced and deliberate, not without a sense of pride (and for good reason - it is the best coffee we've found in Loja).

And everywhere I go – groups and gaggles of people to navigate around, squeeze past, bump in to, or say “hi” to as I attempt to get to my destination.

Home Again… Home Again… Jiggidy Jig.

2009-09-15T22:04:00.001-05:00

I’m back in Loja now and getting settled in to the old “routine”. Christina started school on Monday and she is having a great time hooking up again with her old friends. I finally finished unpacking and distributing all the presents and other things I had brought for family and friends here in Ecuador.

At the time of my last entry I had been in Oregon for about a month and was getting ready to head down to California for a visit. Once I got to California I was so busy visiting family and friends that I had absolutely no time to update my blog. Then we headed back to Oregon for a few days (which I spent packing and re-packing my overloaded suitcases) and then we flew to Quito on September 1st.

Our trip back went smoothly - even though we had to spend the night in Miami because there were no connecting flights to Quito on the same day, and even though I was travelling with 5 large suitcases, a carry-on, a laptop, and a 5 year-old who insisted on carrying all her Barbie dolls wherever we went. I just made sure that we got every where extremely, extremely early so that we’d have plenty of time to check the bags, find our gate, pick up that last Starbucks coffee, etc.

Once we arrived in Ecuador I was a little worried that the immigration police would give me a hard time about my paperwork but even that part went smoothly. Christina and I were the last in line (I had waited for everyone to get off the plane before I gathered up Christina, the carry-on luggage and the Barbies and headed down the aisle) and the woman who checked our paperwork was friendly and efficient. Once we picked up our luggage and made it through security Lucho was there to meet us and Christina and I were very happy to see him!

Before I left I wondered a lot about how I would feel coming back. It turned out to be a very strange experience. On one hand I was happy to be back and to see Lucho again and all of his family. On the other hand I was experiencing the usual “culture shock” of transitioning from the US to Ecuador. But this was the first time that the differences of Ecuador also felt a little homey and familiar. I’ve been living here for a year and a half and it has never really felt like “home” (as in “I am part of this place and I belong here”). But maybe that is starting to change a bit.

Greetings from Florence, Oregon

2009-08-05T13:07:00.012-05:00

We are now a little more than mid-way through our USA vacation and so far we've spent most of our time in Florence, Oregon (home of my mom). Florence is a small town (population about 7,000) located along Highway 101 on the Oregon coast. It is one of the many quaint, picturesque towns in the area.

I have visited this area many times before but one thing I've noticed this time is that sand is a big deal around here. Florence is the northernmost boundary of the Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area which, according to their website, has the "largest extent" of sand dunes anywhere in North America. This phemonenon tends to attract lots of people who like to play in the sand. All over town I see huge trucks pulling extra-long trailers loaded with various types of off-road vehicles. These ensembles are usually driven by beefy, sun-burnt dudes who, along with their wives and kids, are decked out in the latest colorful, skin-tight leather gear, with matching boots and helmets. They all look like they are having a blast (especially the kids).

I also found out that the sand dunes around Florence, Oregon were, apparently, the inspiration for Frank Herbert's "Dune" series - which I read and enjoyed immensly when I was a Sci-fi-loving teenager.

Florence is also a huge retirement community and (according to the Florence Chamber of Commerce) one third of its population is made up of senior citizens. This statistic can easily be corroborated by visiting any local store; just about everyone appears to be enjoying their "Golden Years." I've also had the strange experience of being one of the youngest people in the room when I've gone with my mom to various get-togethers around town.

The fact that 90% of the people here are either retired or on vacation means that just about everyone is extremely, extremely friendly. I have really been amazed at how nice everyone is. Just about anyone will strike up a conversation with you about whatever crosses their mind at the moment. For example, the checker at the Grocery Outlet was somehow motivated to tell me that he loved coffee, but couldn't drink it because he was a Mormon and then he continued on to describe a discussion he had had with his pastor about the pros and cons of medical marihuana (for some reason I got the feeling that he had recently converted) . Then in Safeway I was trying to decide what kind of canned soup to buy and a woman stopped and told me that the kind I had in my hand was very good, but that she had found it cheaper at another store across town. It is all very nice, but sometimes I just can't help it and I hear the theme from The Andy Griffith Show running through my head.

In other news, Christina is doing well and loves spending time playing with her grandmother and her grandmother's two chihuahuas ("Taco" and "Belle"). Since we are here for so long I enrolled her in a summer daycare program. She seems to have adapted well and she enjoys playing with her new friends. And she is getting a lot of English practice to round out her bilingual education.

The other day Christina's teacher came up to me and told me that Christina doesn't like to go outside during recess. That surprised me because they have a huge play yard with swings, a slide and lots of other fun stuff. After I asked her why a few times she finally told me that she doesn't like to go outside because the play area is covered with sand, and she doesn't like to get sand in her shoes. So I told her that after she plays in the sand she can take her shoes off and pour the sand out before going back inside. She told me that she didn't like that idea, but the next day I noticed that her socks were a little bit sandy and she said that she had gone outside to play with her friends during recess. So maybe she took my advice after all.

Oregon is a great place for sightseeing and we've had lots of fun locally. We've visited the beach a couple of times and hiked in the forest. A few weeks ago we drove up to Newport to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. Christina really enjoyed seeing all the fish in the big tanks, and she loved the sea otter exhibit.

I took Christina to the West Coast Game Park Safari, which turned out to be a somewhat tacky, sad petting zoo. But Christina got to pet a lion cub and really enjoyed it so that made it worth the trip (and the price of admission).

Last weekend we made a foray into California and drove down to Humboldt County to visit some old friends from my college days at Humboldt State University. It was nice to see the old "stompin' grounds" again, and I was reminded that Humboldt County really IS one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Next week we head to sunny Sacramento (in August? am I nuts?) to visit friends and see how the state has been holding up through (yet another) one of its worse budget crises ever.

Here are some pictures of the beautiful scenery we've been enjoying lately:

Some Things I'm Enjoying ...

2009-07-15T23:51:00.003-05:00

Here's are a few things I've been enjoying about being back in the USA:

- Shopping!! The Dollar Store, Walmart, Target, the outlet stores, etc.
- Listening to NPR on the radio while I drive Christina to her summer school class.
-Taking Christina to the local library, the nearby State Park, and other neat places (we're going to the aquarium tomorrow).
- Mexican Food!!!
- Micro-Breweries!!
- The Oregon Country Fair, "Que vivan los Hippies!"
- Watching movies instantly online from my mom's Netflix account.

Back "Home"

2009-07-05T09:08:00.004-05:00

As I write this I am sitting in at the desk in my mom's guest bedroom and enjoying the view of one of Oregon's beautiful coastal forests. It is a nice, relaxing change from the hustle and bustle of a week spent in Quito, and I'm looking foward to two months of relaxing, spending time with family and friends, and, of course, shopping!!

Our trip from Quito to Portland was not un-eventful and I'm lucky that I have such a peaceful place to "recover." The hardest part was actually getting out of the country. Before we left I stressed and stressed about having the right paperwork - passports (1 for me, 2 for Christina), identity cards (2 for me, 1 for Christina), permission (signed by a judge and notarized) for me to leave the country with Christina without Lucho, etc. I thought I had everything right, but you can never be sure. I my experience Ecuadorian officials tend to be arbitrary and capricious. One person will tell you one thing and another will tell you something completely different. There is no way of knowing who will have the final word and in the end all you work may be useless because the laws have changed at the last minute.

So it was not without some trepidation that I approached the immigration desk in the airport. There were about 10 different booths, each staffed by a migration official in uniform (most of them young women with pulled back hair and severe expressions on their faces). As I waited in line I prayed to the travel gods to send me to a good one, but this time my prayers went unheeded. The woman who reviewed my paperwork was beyond arbitrary and capricious - she was downright sadistic. I knew I was in for it when she barked siga! ("next") and looked at me with an expression that said she would just as soon throw me in jail. I handed her my documents and kept quiet while she took her time reviewing them. Finally she looked at me and said that I was missing a stamp on my new passport and I would have to go to the Immigration Office in Quito for a new one. When I told her that I had a plane to catch in 45 minutes she just looked at me and said no puede salir del pais ("you can't leave the country"). She had a look of satisfaction on her face, as if she was happy to see me squirm. I asked her if I could talk to someone else and she told me that she was the only person I could talk to.

Fortunately I had a back up plan. I had already rehearsed what I was going to say if this situation were to occur. I told her the what I was going to visit my mom (true) and that it was her birthday (not true - but might as well have been). Then I started to get anxious and flustered, my face got red and tears started to come out of my eyes (this was not hard to do considering the situation and the fact that I had had about 4 hours of sleep the night before in order to get to the airport by 4:30 a.m.). Christina noticed that something was going on and started to ask me why we couldn't leave. I picked her up and she started being very cute and babbling away in Spanish and English. That might have softened our gatekeeper a bit, I don't know. But I noticed that she was stamping our passbooks and entering information into the computer. Then, with a sour expression on her face, she handed us our passports and told us to continue on to catch our flight. I was so relieved I thanked her profusely and dredged up just about every positive Spanish phrase I could think of to tell her. I think that she might have almost smiled as we left.

Later Christina looked at me and said, "That woman wasn't very nice." "You're right," I agreed, "I was not happy with her."

After that the fun continued. As we were sitting in the waiting room I heard my name called over the loudspeaker. Apparently I had been "randomly" chosen to have my bags inspected. (I don't know if Miss Sourpuss had a hand in this at all, but it seemed too much of a coincidence.) So Christina and I were led out of the waiting room and down and around to a place where they had one of our three suitcases sitting on a table. Everyone was nice and polite; they opened our suitcase and checked it and then let us go. It was a relatively painless process, but after what had just happened it was still pretty stressful.

Our plane left Quito 45 minutes late which got us into Miami with just under an hour to go through customs and security and get on the next flight. As it turns out, that was not enough time. We missed our connecting flight by just a few minutes. After dealing with some extremely rude American Airline employees, dragging a tired 5 year-old back and forth through the maze that is the Miami airport, and being put on stand-by for several flights and not being able to get on, I finally found someone nice who got us on a flight to LA with a connection to Portland.

Our connecting flight in LA was on Alaska Airlines so once we got there we were directed to a shuttle that took us to the new terminal. There was still an hour before our flight so I was finally able to enjoy something that I had been missing for the past year or so - Starbucks!! (yes, Peets would have been better, but they aren't into world domination like Starbucks). As I was enjoying my grande coffee they announced that our flight to Portland had been overbooked and was there anyone willing to wait until tomorrow? A free hotel room and two $300 travel vouchers were included in the deal. Hmmm, I thought. I went over to check it out and decided to take the deal. We had to wait until they boarded the plane until we got our vouchers, so it was about 10:30 p.m. (12:30 p.m. for us) by the time we got into bed. Our flight the next morning was at 6:30 a.m. so we checked out of the hotel and caught the shuttle to the airport around 4:30 a.m. We had time for another visit to Starbucks before our flight and then we got on the plane to Seattle (!) and then to a connecting flight to Portland.

After 2 nights of very little sleep and lots of stress we were quite exhausted but I'm very glad that did this last leg of our trip during the day. The flight into Seattle was beautiful and I was reminded how much I love the Pacific Northwest. Then we boarded a smaller plane for the short hop to Portland. We passed by lots of amazing mountains (my knowledge of geography in this area is embarrassingly bad, but I think we saw Mt. Rainier, and Mt. St. Helen's).

Once in Portland we were able to find our luggage with little problem and then my mom and her friend Carol picked us up in their bright red Prius. After a three hour drive, we finally made it to our final destination - beautiful Florence, Oregon.

Quito and Beyond ...

2009-06-27T19:46:00.002-05:00

Lucho, Christina and I have been in Quito since Tuesday experiencing great restaurants, endless traffic, horrendous air pollution, and the effects of high altitude, as well as spending time with the Quito side of the family and enjoying the amazing views of the mountains and valleys that surround this city.

Next Wednesday Christina and I fly to the States to visit family and friends in Oregon and California (Lucho won't be joining us this time - he's got work to do in Loja). Christina and I will be in the States for 2 months so I'll probably post a few blog entries about our experiences as tourists in our own country.

The Help (Part 2)

2009-06-14T19:37:00.006-05:00

We currently live in a small apartment building/condominium type of place. It is a lot like many other apartment buildings that I've lived in over the years - but with one exception. We have a conserje (concierge) who lives in a small apartment on the first floor. His job is basically to be at everyone's beck and call. He helps us carry heavy items - groceries, suitcases, 50 lb. propane tanks, etc. - up and down the stairs. He fixes things that are broken. He sweeps and mops the hallways. He waters the plants. He washes everyone's cars. He'll even call you a cab if you ask him to.

When we first moved here the conserje job was held by a husband and wife team. They lived in their miniscule one-room apartment with their two young children. They had been there for years and did a great job of keeping everything ship-shape. The husband was in charge of the heavy lifting and the heavy cleaning. I would always feel sorry for him on rainy days because he would be stuck cleaning up and endless chain of muddy foot prints tracked in by people coming in from the muddy streets.

Several months ago the husband and wife team abruptly left. Apparently the husband had found a better opportunity elsewhere. They were quickly replaced by two new people - an older man and a young kid who is probably his grandson. We had been out of town when they moved in so they seemed a little surprised to see us when we arrived one evening and asked them to help carry our suitcases up to our apartment. The young guy was busy doing something so Lucho asked the older man to help us with our luggage. It was dark and neither of us noticed that he was actually quite old (not ancient, but definitely getting on in years). Lucho handed him a suitcase and asked him to take it up to our apartment. By the time he got to our place (we live on the fifth, and last, floor) the poor guy was wheezing so hard that we both felt really guilty. We told him that was enough and thanked him for his help. From now on we make sure to ask the young guy to do all the heavy lifting for us.

The new conserje team has settled into the job quickly, and they do a pretty good job at keeping things clean and seem to spend quite a bit of time "standing guard" near the front door of their apartment (which overlooks the main entrance to the building). At first I always felt like they were staring at me just a little too much. Maybe they did that to everyone, or maybe they were getting used to the fact that they had a gringa in their midst. At any rate, it made me feel uncomfortable and I wasn't sure if I liked these new guys very much. Over time they stopped staring at me so much, but that uncomfortable feeling remained.

It is probably obvious from my last post that I'm not very good at ordering people around or feeling comfortable when people serve me. And here in Ecuador I have found that often people working as maids or other household help-type of positions are just to "servile" for me. It makes me uncomfortable because I don't like being in a "superior" position, and also because I believe that few people in these types of positions actually believe in what they are doing. In fact, I'm pretty sure that they probably resent being stuck in a submissive role. However, even though I'm not comfortable with these situations, I have gotten used to them.

So the other day I was surprised when the older conserje guy chastised me for leaving the front door open. I wasn't expecting him to get mad at me - I mean, he's in charge of making sure the door stays closed, right? I tried to explain to him that it was an accident - I had left it open for someone else who I thought was coming out but he ended up going to his car - but it turns out that the guy is also hard of hearing too, so I'm not sure he heard me. Then last week I stepped in a big mud puddle when I was getting Christina into her school bus. When I started walking up the stairs the old guy pointed angrily at my muddy footprints and then asked me, in a not so nice tone of voice, to wipe my feet on the mat before I stepped on his clean floor. I was so surprised I had to laugh. But he was right, I should have wiped my feet on the mat first. He put me in my place. Maybe I like this guy after all.

The Help

2009-06-01T22:17:00.004-05:00

Sometimes it is difficult for me to believe it, but we actually have a maid. Yes, there is a woman who comes to our house every day to clean and cook us lunch. Her name is Carmen and she is from Zumba, a small town several hours south of Loja. She moved here to study at the local university.

Having a maid is a very common practice in Ecuador, and seems to be much more widespread than in the States. I'm sure it has a lot to do with the fact that there are a lot of very poor people in this country and labor costs are extremely low (I don't even want to admit how little Carmen makes - even though we pay her the going rate and she gets lots of time off).

I have justified this little foray into exploitation by telling myself that since Carmen is a student, and in the process of improving her life, she will not be stuck in a life of servitude forever. We are providing her with a little extra income; a way to help her continue with her studies. I did all kinds of odd jobs when I was a student, including cleaning rooms at a Motel 6 (which was probably the worst job I've ever had, even worse than flipping burgers at Burger King).

Carmen is a nice, quiet girl who shows up every day on time and does her job rather half-heartedly. Lucho's family has given me lots of advice on how I should treat her and what I should tell her to do. And the truth is that her standard of cleanliness is a little different from mine. But I just can't get motivated to be a micro-manager. I can't bring myself to tell her exactly what to do, step by step. I'm just happy that she washes the dishes and sweeps the floor.

I've noticed that a lot of people treat their maids like little children, or worse, and assume that they are lazy, slow, untrustworthy, etc. But when I think about it, if I were a maid - putting in long hours and making hardly anything for my efforts - I would probably be pretty lazy too. And I might act like I was dumber than I really was so that I wouldn't end up with even more work. One of my old supervisors used to say, "People are never as stupid as they pretend to be." And I've definitely found that to be true, especially people who are stuck in menial jobs.

This morning before I left for work I noticed that Carmen hadn't shown up yet. Usually when she is late I wonder if she will show up at all, but this morning I didn't give it a second thought. Then a couple of hours later Lucho called me to tell me that Carmen had quit. Apparently she found another job that is related to her studies (and probably pays more).

When I got home in the afternoon I had a mountain of dishes and laundry to do (Lucho said later that he wanted to help me clean the kitchen, but I had already done it - great timing, don't you think?). As I was cleaning up I realized that it was kind of nice to clean things exactly the way I want them to be cleaned, and to fold my clothes and and to put them away exactly where I want them to go. Maybe having a maid isn't all its cracked up to be. Maybe I'll just do it myself for a while.

Christina's Language Acquisition

2009-05-26T22:53:00.000-05:00

(I haven't been blogging lately because I've been working on a big translation job. Now, after two weeks of spending all my free time trying to decipher dense Spanish phrases, I am finally done and can get back to writing for fun.)

Since we moved here a little over a year ago I've been observing Christina's language acquisition and its been very interesting.

When we first got here she spoke no Spanish, but she probably understood a little since Lucho and I used to talk to each other in Spanish sometimes when we were living in the States. But, even then, the language barrier didn't stop her from playing with other kids - she would speak to them in English and they would speak in Spanish and somehow they would communicate.

Then over time her Spanish progressed. First she started to pick up a word here and there. Then it was phrases and sentences. Now she talks pretty much like a native. I hear her make mistakes once in a while, but everyone can understand her perfectly and she can communicate just about anything she wants. And her comprehension is great. She understands radio and TV better than I do.

She still hasn't figured out that Spanish has a polite form "usted" and a familiar form "tu." Most kids her age know to use the polite form with adults and the familiar form with their friends. Christina isn't there yet, but I can see that she's starting to use "usted" once in a while.

One thing that surprised me was how quickly she picked up the idioms, speech patterns, and even some slang, of the local Lojanos. I guess since she spends most of her time speaking Spanish to little kids, she'll end up sounding just like them. And about 6 months ago she started speaking Spanish when she plays by herself. All her dolls speak Spanish now.

Her English probably isn't as advanced as other kids her age who are exclusive English-speakers. One thing I've noticed is that there are some things she says in English, but organized the way it would be in Spanish. For example she'll say "cat white" instead of "white cat," which is the way you'd say it in Spanish ("gato blanco").

She is learning to read in Spanish in school, and one of the benefits of that is that it is much easier to learn how to read in Spanish than in English. In Spanish each letter has one sound that never changes, no matter what word it is in, so it is easy to sound the words out. I had been debating about when to start teaching her how to read in English, but I've decided that I'm going to let her get pretty good in Spanish first, to build her confidence with reading, and then start with the English lessons.

But we want to make sure that she doesn't lose her English. Lucho and I speak English with her almost exclusively so she won't get out of practice. She usually speaks "Spanglish" with us. I can tell that she's used to saying some things in Spanish so sometimes she'll start a sentence in English and finish it in Spanish. When that happens we usually repeat what she's just said in English so she'll be exposed to the idea in both languages. For example, this morning while we were waiting for her school bus to arrive she said, "I'm going to keep talking hasta que llege el bus." So I replied, "So you're going to keep talking until the bus arrives?"

I try to make sure that she's exposed to English in other ways too. I watch movies with her in English and we play computer games in English. And she also has a couple of English-speaking friends that we try to get together with once a week or so. And this summer we will be visiting my mom in Oregon and I've enrolled her in a daycare for about a month so she'll have lots of exposure to other English-speaking kids.

But now I have to listen to her carefully when she's speaking. If I don't understand her I first have to figure out if she's speaking English or Spanish, then I have to try to figure out what she's saying. It can be tricky, and she gets really mad when she has to repeat herself!

How Does Anyone Get Any Sleep Around Here?

2009-05-08T22:42:00.007-05:00

There's no way to avoid it. I just have to admit it. Ecuador is just noisier than the States. Sure there are exceedingly quiet, peaceful places here, especially out in the countryside or tucked away in the mountains. And there are plenty of noisy places in the States (I remember visiting my dad in San Francisco and being woken up twice at night - once around 2 a.m. by a drunk woman yelling at her boyfriend and then again around 5:30 a.m. by the garbage truck just outside the window). But on the whole, I think that most inhabited places in Ecuador are much louder than your average city in the States.

From my apartment, for example, at just about any time I can hear car horns, barking dogs or car alarms (sometimes all three at once) off and on for hours on end. Then on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights these sounds are accompanied by loud music and laughter from at least one (usually more) neighborhood parties. Sometimes there is a concert at the stadium, which is about 1/2 a mile away but loud enough to sound like it is coming from the room next door. Then, for some reason that I have yet to understand, someone in the neighborhood likes to set off loud, very loud - sometimes extremely loud - fireworks. This happens usually in the evening, but sometimes I hear them in the early morning. I was told that the fireworks were related to religious celebrations (a Saint's Day, for example), but they seem to continue throughout the year, with no rhyme or reason, so I have theorized that someone got a hold of a cheap box of fireworks and is just setting them off randomly whenever they feel like it (and I'm desperately hoping that they will run out soon). And speaking of religious celebrations, the local church always blasts music early on Sunday mornings to remind people to come to Mass.

People think nothing of setting up a huge stage, equipped with a full sound system, on any neighborhood street and blasting live music until the dawn in support their cause of the moment - be it political or just for fun. Apparently either nobody complains or nobody listens to the complaints. During the day, walking on the streets, one hears loud music emanating from about every other store.

There is a high school across the street from my house and every morning around 7 a.m. the students assemble in the courtyard to listen to their morning pep talk, which is broadcast over an extremely loud PA system. At the end of the school year these morning lectures are followed up by even louder rallies in the afternoon, often with live music. Oh yeah, and they have fireworks too.

In my experience Ecuadorians have a much higher tolerance for noise than I do. But it seems to be more than that. I think that, for some people, the background noise is familiar, almost reassuring. The other day we went to visit my mother-in-law and noticed that a small amusement park had set up in the empty lot near her house. There were several worn-out kiddie rides, a few games, some greasy food stalls, and a huge loud speaker blasting out salsa music, so loud that it could not be ignored. I asked my mother-in-law if the music bothered her and she replied, almost defensively, that no, the music da alegria al barrio (brings happiness to the neighborhood).

I, to, have become accustomed to all the background noises here. I am still unable to sleep with a lot of noise (unlike my husband who can fall asleep, in broad daylight, on the couch in a roomful of people, with the TV blasting in the background). But I have a huge stash of silicone earplugs that I brought from the States which keep me from experiencing acute sleep deprivation. And the other day I heard a loud party down the street and I found myself feeling almost comforted that there were other people out there, having a good time. Also, through force of will, I have learned to ignore the neighbor's extremely annoying barking dog. Hey, if Ecuadorians can learn to live with constant noise, I can to, right?

The Queue

2009-05-04T20:25:00.006-05:00

One of the most common complaints I hear from gringos living in Ecuador is frustration with the fact that people often do not line up in neatly in single file and wait their turn when they are waiting for a service. Rather they cluster around the unfortunate counterperson and try to get their attention, with little regard for who has been waiting the longest and who should be served next. I see this a lot in the small corner stores. The only way to get what you want is to ask for it the second you walk up to the counter (even if the salesperson is already helping, or in a conversation with, someone else). If I just walk up and silently wait my turn I will end up waiting there forever because invariably someone else will show up and immediately shout out their request. The cashier will help them and I will end up standing there like a fool. The store owners are actually pretty good at being bombarded by several requests at the same time. It would drive me nuts but they don't seem to mind. So I've gotten relatively good at butting my way in and getting what I need.

There are other types of situations, such as banks, where people are more or less required to wait in line - because there are posts with ropes to keep them in place (and there are guards with guns). But even then I've had people cut in front of me (for some reason this seems to happen a lot in Quito; it's almost like people see a gringo standing in line and they feel like it's OK to jump in front of them). In other places - the ice cream counter at KFC is one example - people tend to cluster around in a kind of semi-line. They are served more or less in the order that they came, but someone can butt in at any time and one has to move quickly to get the cashier's attention if they want to get an ice cream cone in a reasonable time frame (this is especially difficult when one is buying ice cream for several kids and they are all shouting their requests to you at the same time).

I've learned how to handle the situation at the corner store, and the banks are more or less like what I'm used to back home (so long as I make sure to stay close to the person in front of me to discourage the random line-cutter). The in-between places - the grocery store or the KFC counter - are a little more difficult, but after lots of practice I'm getting used to them too.

But every once in a while the whole situation just gets a little overwhelming and the cracks start to show. A friend of mine once remarked that cultural differences are often hardest to deal with when they occur in places that appear to be familiar. Even Lucho has experienced this. The other day we were in Fybeca, a local pharmacy that looks just like a small Walgreens. There was only one cash register open and a long, single-file line was forming behind it. Lucho and I were next in line when an employee opened up a new cash register. I think both of us were subconsciously expecting the employee to do what they would have done in the States - tap us on the shoulder and tell us that there was another register open. Instead, she just opened her register and yelled out, "a new register is open over here." That precipitated a mad dash to her side, with no one (least of all the employee) paying the slightest bit of attention to who had been waiting the longest and who was rightfully next in line. Lucho, who was already in a bad mood due to some other frustrating thing that had happened to him that day, complained loudly in Spanish, but was completely ignored. I was also taken by surprise and said something in English that I'm sure everyone could get the gist of because of the tone of my voice. I usually don't publicly complain about these kind of things (complaints from a foreigner don't go over very well, and in a small town it's best not to make any enemies if you can avoid it) but, as my friend had said, I had been lulled into expecting a culturally different experience because of the seeming familiarity of my surroundings.

So adapting to life in Ecuador continues. Today we were in Fybeca again and the same situation occured. This time a woman who was about 3 or 4 people behind us actually ran over to the new register so that she could be first in line. She had a little smile on her face and I couldn't believe that she could do something like that without feeling the slightest sense of guilt. But Lucho and I just looked at each other and laughed.

Slave to Comfort

2009-04-30T20:34:00.004-05:00

I'm not going to do it... I'm not. I don't care if women look at my feet all the time - especially when I'm at a party. I don't care if little girls tell me that I look like a man. I don't care if I am instantly recognized as a "gringa." I am not, except on very rare occasions, going to wear high heels.

I like walk, a lot. I do it all the time. And I have always been picky about my shoes. They have to be sturdy. They have to be made of quality material. And above all, they have to be comfortable. I think that women's high heels are probably the most uncomfortable article of clothing ever invented (or actually developed because from what I've read they were originally worn by rich men so that they could walk through sewage-strewn city streets and not get their feet dirty). Throughout my life I've owned maybe two or three pairs - which have usually sat in my closet, gathering dust. Here in Ecuador, it seems that high heels are pretty much required, daily attire for most women. Although I've never done an unbiased scientific study, I suspect that a large percentage of the shoes you'll find in the average Ecuadorian woman's closet are high heels, with perhaps one or two pairs of flats or tennnis shoes thrown in for variety.

Whenever I go out on the town I see women everywhere tottering along on these little mini torture devices for the feet. They do everything wearing high heels - working long hours on their feet, carrying their kids, shopping, walking across town. The other day I was with a woman actually put on a pair of high heels to walk around a huge mall (after changing out of a pair of flats she was wearing while driving). This love affair with high heels makes no sense to me, especially in a city where most people do not have cars so they have to walk or take the bus to get anywhere (and if you've ever tried to stand on a packed, lurching bus you can imagine how difficult it would be to do it on stilts). And on top of that the sidewalks (when they exist) are often broken, uneven, and filled with mud, or worse.

I understand that many people (women as well as men) consider high heels to be attractive, and I agree that they can look good in the right circumstances. But when I've looked closely at the shoes that women here are wearing on a daily basis I see swollen, wrinkled, pinched feet stuffed into frayed, often mud-splattered contraptions that seem like they are going to fall apart at any minute. Just the sight of them makes me feel off balance and makes my feet hurt. Visions of ritual mutilation, or the ancient practice of foot-binding, come to mind.

There are a lot of little things that I do (many of them enjoyable) to try to "fit in" a little more in this culture, but wearing high heels every day will not be one of them.

Guayaquil

2009-04-27T19:41:00.011-05:00

Last week we took a road trip to Guayaquil in order to renew my U.S. passport. This time we decided to take a different route than we did on our previous trip last July. We went north to Cuenca and then west to the coast.

On the way out of town we were treated to another beautiful view of Loja:

The road to Cuenca is currently undergoing major improvements, and some sections are very nice and easy to drive. Other parts are in various stages of construction. We had to wait a few times in long lines:

But overall the drive was much better than the other route. Neither Christina nor I had to take motion sickness medicine.

Along the way we passed this car whose occupants seemed to be enjoying their trip, despite having to ride in the back of the truck:

Before Cuenca we passed the town of Saraguro, which is the ancestral home of the Saraguro tribe. Many of the residents wear traditional outfits - long skirts and wide hats for women and black, knee-length shorts for men. However, the native peoples of Ecuador do not like having their picture taken. I tried to take a picture of a group of women but they quickly turned away. After that I felt guilty and decided to respect their privacy. At any rate, anyone interested in seeing the traditional outfits can do a Google image search for "Saraguro" and find lots of photos.

Once in Cuenca we weren't sure of the best way to the coast so Lucho called a friend of his for directions. I was a little skeptical when I looked on the map and saw that he was routing us through a very mountanous area. I was not looking forward to driving on a curvey, pothole-filled road, but we checked with a couple of other people and we were told that it was the best way to go. Once we got on the road we saw that it was in pretty good shape, and then we were treated to the amazing scenery of the Cajas National Park. We passed through a huge U-shaped (glacially-carved) valley, which was filled with small alpine lakes and ringed by dramatic, rocky mountain tops. It reminded us a bit of Yosemite. I took a few photos that don't really do it justice:

If you look closely on the right hand side of the photo below you'll see a llama staring out over the lake (it was the perfect photo op):

After Cajas we went downhill to the coast. The views were probably amazing as well, but we couldn't see a thing due to heavy fog. We finally arrived in Guayaquil around 8 p.m. and the first thing we did was order a big, greasy Domino's pizza.

The next day we made it to the U.S. Consulate in time for my appointment and after waiting in a freezing-cold (air-conditioned) waiting room I was seen by a very nice young guy who processed my passport paperwork without any problem.

We ended up spending 3 more days in Guayaquil, enjoying the many shopping malls and restaurants, and swimming in Lucho's uncle's pool (Christina especially enjoyed the pool). One day we drove to the beach in Salinas:

On the way we stopped for lunch at the Farallon Dillon Hotel, a quaint little place that includes a lighthouse, a maritime museum, and a somewhat pricey restaurant with a beautiful view of the ocean. On the way back to the car Christina noticed this little lizard crawling around on one of the outdoor sculptures:

All in all it was a great trip. We got our "big city" fix and saw more of Ecuador's beautiful sights.

Being French

2009-04-14T12:56:00.005-05:00

Lately I've been trying to figure out how to describe what it is like to live in Loja as a foreigner. Back when I was Peace Corps volunteer I used to think that it was like being forced to walk around town wearing a bikini. That was because everyone stared at me all the time and I got a lot of unwanted attention from men. Now that I'm a bit older, plus the fact we have a car so I don't have to walk or take the bus as much as before, I don't get that kind of attention as much. I still get stared at, but very rarely do strange men hiss at me or try to start up a conversation with me. But there is still no way that I can "blend in" to the society here. I will always be a foreigner; my hair, my clothes and my accent give me away.

However, being a foreigner in Loja is nothing like the experience that Lucho had living in the U.S. For him, when someone noticed he was from another country and treated him differently it was usually a less-than-positive experience. He was always mistaken for being Mexican, and there are unfortunately many people in the States who hold negative stereotypes of Mexicans (and most of these people can't tell the difference between Mexico and Ecuador anyway).

Being a foreigner in Loja is a little different because when people notice that I'm from another country it can be either a positive or negative experience. That got me thinking that being a foreigner in Loja might be somewhat like being a French person living in the States. That's because in the U.S. there are both positive and negative stereotypes of the French. Some people romanticize them, and others hold a more negative view (remember "Freedom Fries?"). It's the same in Ecuador with us "gringos". Some people appear to put me on a pedestal, and treat me as if I if I were extremely beautiful or intelligent, and others obviously don't trust me and think that I have some kind of ulterior motive (I might be a CIA spy or out to steal their children or something). Then, there are other, minor things like discovering that the nice lady at the corner store overcharged me by 10 cents, or suddenly realizing that someone is staring at me (this happens ALL the time - I've gotten pretty good at looking back at people with no emotion on my face).

Of course most people treat me normally, as they would anyone else, but every once in a while I become aware that I'm getting the "gringo" treatment. It can be frustrating at times, but who hasn't been treated differently at some point in their lives based on inaccurate or unfair perceptions?