Three Weeks?!!?

How has it only been three weeks? I just don't understand. I feel like we've been here for three months.

Time is a different thing here in Ecuador. I'm not sure how to even explain it. It's as if it doesn't matter, it doesn't exist.

People say to be somewhere at 8 but don't show up till 9. Something starts at 10 but there's no one there until 12. Now, I'm not a very punctual person. I always came to work 30 minutes late but that was just me. I knew work would start at 9 no matter what and I would just be late. But here its like work can start whenever. A store may usually be open at 9 but then open at 10 or 11 one day just because.

So for right now, Ryan and I spend a lot of our time waiting. Waiting for meetings to happen, waiting for students to show up to class, waiting for stores to open, waiting for people to do things. Because we haven't been able to let go of our time focused American ideas that have been pounded into our heads.

Here being late is not rude. Period. Its just not. Now, I'm sure some of you (my Dad) might think that just because everyone else is late it's still rude to be late yourself. It's just not the case.

Perfect example...

Maria Jose invited us to a concert in the park for the Haitian community in Quito. The invitation said 10am. We got there at 10:45 and they were still doing sound check. We came back at 2 and the concert was just getting going.

Another example...

Yesterday we had our health insurance meeting with Pan American Life at inlingua. The email said the meeting would start at 3:30. Ryan and I hurried over there after attempting to run in the park. The Pan American Life reps didn't show up until 4 and didn't figure out the projection system until 4:30. A full hour late. These people are professionals. It's not rude to be late.

Anyways, time moves differently here and I feel like I've been here for a really long time already!

Hope all is well.

MULUB,

Taylor

ESPN Deportes

Super Bowl Sunday was yesterday, and like any red-blooded American it was our civic duty that we tune in. We actually had to sign a waiver stating that we would watch the Super Bowl while overseas, they wouldn't let us leave Miami without it. An Irish American bar (not the ethnic group, but a bar that was both Irish and American. Many restaurants down here have an identity crisis) called Mulligans was playing the game and our friend Maria Jose invited us so we went there.

The game however, was playing on ESPN Deportes, not ABC. That in and of itself was not a terrible thing, I mean, no one tunes in for the commentary. Especially when it's Chris Collinsworth. Unfortunately, the ESPN feed had NO SUPER BOWL COMMERCIALS. Oh, that's right I actually sat through three hours of Super Bowl and not once saw Burt Reynolds fight a bear. Is this what my life has come to? Also, we were sitting with a Columbian who, through countless hours of Madden, knew more of the players than I did. Although he must not have been too tainted by Madden, as he never mentioned any of the players being good strippers.

Taylor wants everyone to know that she made $0.07 for the month of January. Mazel Tov!!

-Ryan

Daily Routine

It's nice to be settling into a routine. Although we're trying to be careful of not being too routine. Lately we've just been working and cooking. We got to the store almost everyday and pick up something new and exciting. Also, Ryan drinks a ton of milk so we're always out =)

I've picked up two more classes so I've got just shy of 20 hours. This is great news! They start on Monday and one of them is starting the same lesson I just started with my other class, so that will be nice because I won't have to come up with a whole other lesson. They offered Ryan two more classes too but one conflicted with his current teaching schedule and the other was on a Saturday. Frankly, teaching is a means to see this country and travel and learn so he said no to the Saturday class.

Tonight we're having all of the new teachers, Maria Jose and Casey over for tacos and drinks! They finally finished repainting the house and although it still smells like paint a tad, its finally ready to have guests! Everyone is bringing something to drink and then Ryan and I are going to make the tacos and some sort of dessert. Our dining room table is big enough to have everyone sit down and eat. It will be really nice and a great way to get to know the other new teachers too!

We heard some good and some not so good news from our Landlord today. The good news is that the TV repairman is coming over today at 5pm to fix the TV. We think this means to install cable, but we're not sure. The TV works fine for a TV that doesn't have cable (i.e. it plays our DVDs fine). The not so good news is that the whole neighborhood is not going to have water starting tomorrow at 7 (not sure AM or PM) until Sunday (not sure what time). I believe he said that its because we haven't had enough rain here and so there's not enough water to power the hydroelectricity for the city. There's a good chance that I'm wrong, but I think that's what he said. They did this before we came except instead of shutting off peoples water they shut off their electricity. So we'll see... we'll probably have to go to a McDonalds or something if we have to go to the bathroom. Weird...

Anyways, that's about it lately. This weekend we're on a mission to find shoes for Ryan. He couldn't find his black shoes before he left and so he needs to buy a pair here. The problem is that Ecuadorians don't have big feet like he does. So it will take us some time to find a good pair thats the right price and comfortable. We also are going to this concert for Haiti with Maria Jose and Casey on Sunday morning and then probably going to TGIFs or Chili's to watch the Superbowl.

Hope all is well at home. Miss you all.

MULUB,

Taylor

PS. For any bakers/foodies our there I've started following some pretty great blogs. Let me know if you're interested!

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

Comment Confusion

So I've gotten some response that it's difficult to comment on our Blog. Seeing how much we love getting comments, and per my Dad's suggestion, I thought I'd leave some simple instructions...

Something I didn't realize before is that in order to post a comment you have to have either a Google, LiveJournal, Word Press, TypePad or an AIM account. If you don't have any of these accounts, I would suggest signing up for a gmail.com email account. Not only will you be able to comment on our blog but gmail also has a great video chat program that you can use between gmail accounts. Anyways, once you have one of those accounts, here are your instructions:

At the bottom of the post that you wish to comment on it says "1 Comment" or something to that affect, depending on how many comments there really are.

Click on the "1 Comment"

Then the comments that have already been posted will be displayed, along with a text box that says "Post a Comment".

Type your comment into the text box and select the type of account you have from the drop down box by "Comment As:"

Click "Post Comment".

You'll then be prompted to enter you gmail email address and password, or your aim screen name and password.

Lastly, you'll be asked to type one of those weird verification things where the letters look all funny.

And that's it.

It sounds like a bunch of steps, but once you do it the first time it remembers who you are and you don't have to keep doing it!

MULUB,

Taylor

black sapote

There's a fruit and vegetable market a few blocks from our place and it has a bit more ambiance than the soulless MegaMaxi, so we decided to shop there for our produce. Unfortunately, and this is where MegaMaxi has the upper hand, none of the produce is labeled. Which, ok, I'm not some mouth-breathing man-child, so I can identify the onions and tomatoes and such, but there are fruits. here that I have never seen before, so some of them could serve the same purpose as the seashells in Demolition Man for all I know.

I just cannot, however, I won't, I will not go without trying everything there is to offer here so I pick up some mystery produce. The problem is I'm not sure how to eat some of them. I've already failed at eating a granadilla (a fruit that, for whatever reason, seems to have a roe sack). Anyway I examine one of the fruits that I bought and my cursory google/wikipedia/youtube research tells me that it is a black sapote. This is good. I've wanted to eat a black sapote for the longest time, I just don't know how, I don't know when.

Now some of you (and I really do mean some, we only have 10 followers) may be saying to yourself, "Ryan, you are the dumbest person I know! Just cut the darn thing open and eat it!" Well if you did just say that to yourself, and not just because you're reading the blog outloud, but because you actually meant it and presumably have some personal issues you need to work on, then do me a favor and find a tropical fruit you've never heard of and google how to eat it. It's honestly scary. I guarantee it will say something along the lines of:

.........When this fruit is ripe it will depress slightly under moderate to medium-moderate pressure from three fingers. Make sure that you don't use more than three fingers, and also make sure that at least one of the fingers is your index finger. Ripeness usually occurs when the moon is in its waxing gibbous phase. If it appears to be ripe during the waning gibbous phase then you're probably holding a potato. When under ripe, consumption can cause hip dysplasia and 24hr blindness, when overripe consumption may or may not turn your skin inside-out. If an unripe fruit is accidentally eaten, find three sprigs of tarragon and, holding them in your left hand, twist them apart, clockwise, with your right hand and hold both hands under boiling water until the symptoms dissipate. If they do not, you will need to find a volcano and a Navajo shaman who speaks fluent Esperanto and.........

Look, I don't have time for all of this. I'm a simple man. I don't want to rely on a Ouija as a guide for ripeness. I just want to eat fruit that taste like chocolate pudding. Is that too much to ask? So, there it sits, on my table, until I can figure out when eating it won't make me sterile. I guess I'm saying, wish me luck.

-Ryan

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