But it's dark out...

Just a disclaimer... this might not make sense to anyone. I'm writing about what I realized today and you might think.... well obviously.

Another disclaimer... you might think this blog is cheesy and over the top travel-phile. Oh well... that's me.

Tomorrow makes it official; we'll have been here two week. Which makes this next statement kinda weird. Tonight was the first time I was out and about when it was dark out alone.

I had class from 5-7 and when I looked out of the window at the end of class it was dark. I didn't really know why I didn't think about that before hand but it really took me off guard.

This city isn't really the safest of cities. Especially for gringos, especially at night, especially for girls, and especially by parks. Well I'm a gringa (taking care of the gringo and the girl), it was night, and I had to walk past the biggest park in Quito, Carolina. Now I've been a bit on edge about safety since we got here for a number of reasons. Mostly because of what I've read and heard from others but it also has something to do with having all of my possessions with me that I'll need for a whole year and probably a little something to do with the fact that my Dad is ultra-cautious whenever we travel.

I mean my Dad parks the car a certain way when we eat at Lou Malnati's in Rosemont before a trip because he wants to make sure no one breaks into his locked and alarmed SUV while we enjoy some pizza. Were talking ultra cautious and ultra aware. But because of that I've learned to be aware and cautious too.

So I'm out tonight, walking to MegaMaxi to pick up a few things and then home and there are a lot of thoughts going on in my head. First I tell myself to put on my 'Don't mess with me, I'll mess you up' face and to walk with confidence and purpose so I don't look like typical scared American girl. Second I tell myself to be very aware of my surroundings... Is anyone following me, walking to close, etc... just the usual. So I'm doing all of these things that I've been taught and that I've learned and I forget to look around and experience what's actually going on in the city that I'm living in.

So as I begin to actually look around I begin to realize the exciting energy in the air. Families of grandmas and grandchildren are out, groups of what looks to be junior high age students are out doing their junior high thing, couples are taking a walk... people are living here. I must have walked past 15 street food vendors with large groups of people, families, friends, and couples gathered around eating dinner. There's a lot of talking and laughing, even some music at one of them and boy did the food look tasty! We're not talking your everyday hamburger of hotdog, we're talking shish-kabobs with three different kinds of meat and hamburgers with ALL of the toppings. There's beer and soda and just a general good time.

I mean it's not a revelation of the tenth degree, but tonight on my walk home in the dark I realized that people live here, real people. Quitenos, as they're called, and it reminded me about the heart of traveling, the reason it's addicting, and why I love it so much. So far this trip has been about finding a place to live, starting work, learning spanish, meeting friends, living together, fixing up the place, etc. But it hasn't been about the very reason that I started this process in the beginning. It hasn't been about traveling, about observing at first, then emulating, and then investing in the culture, the history and the daily grind of Ecuador.

So that's my plan... to continue to be aware but to stop being fearful and to put myself in the position to observe Quitenos. Because once that happens, the falling in love with a place is only a few months away.

Hope all is well! Only 13 days from Valentines Day!

MULUB,

Taylor

Valentines Look

We've changed up the look of the blog for Valentines Month! Just thought you should know. We hope this whole month of February is filled with lots of love for each of you =)

--Taylor

PS. I picked the layout design. Ryan gets to pick next month. He says its going to be StarWars...

hmmm....

We we're walking through a shopping mall today looking for, oh, I don't remember, when we walked by a shoe store called, I kid you not, The Athlete's Foot. Maybe this was just lost in translation, or maybe there's something about their shoes that their just not telling us.

-Ryan

Settling In

So we're here and it's almost been two weeks. That seems crazy to me, because it feels like we've been here for months. We've done so much already but I'm excited to spend time with this city, develop a routine with it, get to know its ins and outs.

I mean this city is crazy. People do weird things like stop their cars in the middle of the road, leave their trash on the street, crash planes into mountains, just weird things. But there's something exciting about learning to live here. I can't quite explain it.

We're pretty much settled into the house. We need some hangers, a couch, and some nail polish remover... but other than that I think we have most everything that we'll need. Moving is always expensive, but at least the dollar goes a little further here.

I'm really enjoying living together. It's so nice to be in the same place after the last years of never being in the same city. We both love to cook, so we spend most of our time in the kitchen. We've made dinner every night together. Thursday we went to Megamaxi and stocked up; we ate quinoa with chicken and tons of fresh veggies. Then last night we made chicken with garlic mashed potatoes and green beens. And today we spent all day making chicken stock for chicken noodle soup. We'll be eating chicken for quite some time because we bought two whole chickens at Megamaxi for something like 6 dollars.

Ryan got his guitar today! He's really excited about it. In fact, he's playing it right now. And I used the KitchenAid today for the first time... chocolate chip cookies. The oven is well, ghetto. There's only two settings MAX and MIN. So it will take some time for me to get used to figuring it out. Also the flour already has baking powder in it, so that will take some adjusting too. But it doesn't matter because we each have what relaxes us; ryan the guitar and me the baking. So all is well.

We had our first house guests today. Maria Jose and Casey came over on their way home from the airport. We don't really have anyplace for anyone to sit except the dining room chairs.... it will be much cozier soon guys! Promise!

Anyways, it's getting late and I'm getting sleepy. It feels good to be here, to be getting settled and to be living the dream. Hope all is well with you, wherever you are!

MULUB,

Taylor

MEGAMAXI

In Ecuador there is a store called SuperMaxi. SuperMaxi is just like Wal-Mart, if Wal-Mart were more expensive than all of it's competitors. Above SuperMaxi there is another that takes Maxi to the max(i). That is the MegaMaxi. This one sells clothes and other accoutrements, not just groceries. It's unfair to say that MegaMaxi is more expensive than every other one of its competitors, though. Some of the things there are very inexpensive, especially the SuperMaxi brand merchandise. It's so cheap that is makes me think, what unknown demographic of people is living a worse life right now because I just bought 2 whole chickens for seven dollars, cockscombs and all.

Anyway.

Something about the MegaMaxi that weirded me out was that they were playing a lot of the same songs as they played at Macy's. Which, okay, doesn't sound that weird, America does export a lot of music overseas, but a lot of the songs that they played at Macy's weren't particularly popular, or they would be deep cuts off of a popular artist's popular album, so it's not like they were just blasting hit after hit. I mean who makes these playlists, the Illuminati? What is the significance of these songs? How come I can never hear a song once in my entire life outside of Macy's and then hear it for the only other time on the opposite side of the equator? Maybe I should listen to these songs backwards. I probably won't.

-Ryan

BIG NEWS!

This is a joint post:

So the big news is that we found a place. We absolutely love it. It's the one only a couple of blocks away from inlingua with a washer and dryer. We found the place through my mom's friend Chris Allen's co-workers cousin who lives in Quito. The cousin's name is Margarita and we are renting from Margarita's mother in law. We will post pictures on Thursday, when we move in. We would have moved in sooner, but she wanted to have a cleaning lady come in and clean for us before. She also is buying (or borrowing, who really knows) some extra furniture including another dresser for our bedroom and a stove/oven.

The only thing that we will need to buy is a couch. But she's not asking for a security deposit, so we'll use that money to purchase a cheap couch!

The best part is it has two bedrooms so we can have lots of visitors!

MULUB,

Ryan and Taylor

My Wonderful Day

OK. So I don't have any classes until next week so I have quite a bit of free time for whatever. We needed another cell phone so that we each have our own personal contact information. So I brought my debit card with me down to the Movistar to get a cell phone. Apparently the visa part of my card doesn't work here because Ecuador is one of their "restricted" countries.

Anyway I have to go back to the hostel to get another card, which is a pain in the ass because the hostel is a twenty minute Ecovia ride from the Movistar where someone speaks English. (The Ecovia is like a bus except that it is always packed completely full of people. Several times already someone on the outside of the bus has had to shove the doors closed, that is how many people they fit into this thing.)

I go back to the hostel and get the card, and as I'm walking up the street to the Ecovia, a guy stops me saying, "Meester, meester", and has me look at my backpack, which is covered in God only knows. I assure you this mess was not present when I lefts the hostel. It looks like baby yak and smells like fermented baby yak. It was the lutefisk of things you throw at foreigner's backpacks. I ask the man what it is and he says, "merda", which on closer inspection later it really wasn't, but for all intents and purposes it may as well have been. It was honestly the foulest smelling thing that my nose has been that close to. Even now I can smell it, when I close my eyes.....

At first I thought it was just somebody trying to eff with the Gringo, but then the guy was motioning for me to set in on the ground so he could wash it off, and then I was like, ehhhh, maybe not. Gracias, but no gracias. And I take my bag and start walking back to my hostel. Then this lady stops my and is trying to get me to go into the bathroom while she cleans off my bag. I respectfully decline her offer.

Look, I understand these scams but this is ridiculous. For one there was nothing in my bag. I had my English teaching stuff, and some sunscreen. These Quitenos don't need sunscreen. It's 75 degrees out and they're wearing black turtlenecks, and their babies are all wearing snowsuits. So the only thing this person could possibly have gotten out of this venture was a smelly backpack. I kept it, by the way, in hopes that a good hosing will cure its ills.

Later on in the day, the lady who gives out change on the Ecovia wouldn't take the gold presidential dollar. I mean it's covered in gold. It says United States of America $1 on it. I didn't mint the thing in my basement. Pat Boone would've taken it. I mean, I can't be the only one thinking this. Right?

-Ryan