some things....

I love Ecuador. So far. There is nothing that tells me that this isn't a great country. And I'm sure that that will be true of most countries I visit. Unless I visit Afghanistan or Freedonia, or someplace, I will always find something that I can love about the country. That said, there are certain things about Ecuador that I haven't gotten used to, and for several reasons I hope I never get used to.

For one, very few, and I'm talking in the single digits, of the sidewalks have sloped curbs. Which is fine. If you have legs. If not, TOO BAD!!! Take your wheelchair on THE EFFING STREET!!! I mean this is just ridiculous. I saw a man in a wheelchair just rolling down Seis de Deciembre, which is one of the main North to South avenues in Quito, essentially taking up a whole lane, cabs honking at him and swerving out of the way. Now, I'm sure he's used to it and thinks not much of it, but I feel like he should not be tacitly excluded from using the sidewalks. These curbs are honestly at least one foot high in some places, so once you get off the sidewalk, good luck getting back on. Personally, I feel like the city should do more to help out this population, and they just don't seem to care.

I bought my guitar the other day at a store called Juan Eljuri. Earlier I went to Juan Eljuri Discount Center, which was like Payless Shoes in that the name was somewhat misleading since all the merchandise was prohibitively expensive for the average person. But Juan Eljuri regular had moderately priced merchandise, and I was able to get my guitar for under $150. But, forget the guitar, forget anything about how their merchandise was priced, that is painstakingly unimportant. The important part of this story is the security guard. Now most stores here in Quito, especially in and around New Town, have a security guard, so that I've become accustomed to. But this security guard had a shotgun. A SHOTGUN. Oh, well maybe it's loaded with a beanbag, or that plastic ring, or some other non-lethal munition. Maybe it's a paintball gun. Maybe it's really a fancy whistle that summons a unicorn who tells shoplifters that what they're doing is very, very bad and if their mother ever found out....

It would be one thing if this were a high-end jewelry store, or a BMW dealership, or something. No. This was the Ecuadorian Best Buy, and this security guard was prepared to use lethal force if things got out of hand. So what? Are you gonna fill my face with pellet if I try to steal a $15 plastic flute? Is that fax machine really worth a human life? Juan seems to think so. Hopefully, I never get used to that. Who knows, maybe I'll come home and have to show my receipt to the Wal-Mart greeter with a mac-10 shoved in my face.

-Ryan