"Ladron, Ladron." That is what I would have shouted if I knew! ¨Thief, Thief.¨ We made it two months, minus two days, without any problems. We returned last night to Quito from the coast (perhaps my favorite location), left the airport, walked to the public bus route that we were proud of knowing already, got on for 25cents each instead of the $8 the taxis wanted to charge and headed on our way. Well, some how we got on the wrong Linea (Line). We started in the right direction but at some point things just seemed wrong. ¿Äh, disculpe señora, a que direcion estamos yendo... A La Marin?¨ Somehow in the mix of it all the troley like bus had flipped around and started heading back towards the airport. Hmm, I suppose we should get off here since in a couple more stops we will have traveled for 2o minutes and returned to the exact same spot. Mind you, we have each a large traveling backpack and an additional small backpack. The bus had gotten packed with in the last two stops and we needed to navigate towards the door. Successfull! We decide to hail a taxi to just take us to our final destination. We get in and in the midst of trying to explain the place we wanted to go I cannot find my wallet, which is ALWAYS in the same, front right pocket. Hmm, Sir, we need to stop and get out, I lost my wallet, perhaps it is in the street where we got in your car. Now we have just traveled across the country from sea level to 9,000+ feet in elevation. I am high tailing it back to the intersection hopeing for the best, all the time seeing the taxi drivers face in my head when I told him that I did not have my wallet. He gave that look like, well, I hope it is in the street, but friend, you´ve been punked. Panting, we reach the intersection. No wallet. Well, I supose we should hail another taxi. We took 4 taxis in about 6 blocks until we were able to find a guy that knew where we wanted to go. It was quite an ordeal. Now back to the states to replace that which was once mine with a new one.
See you all soon,
Check back periodically as we will probably post a few more pictures and some wrap-up stories.
Nothing But Love,
Jesse and Cassidy
Showing posts with label The Humor in Realities. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Humor in Realities. Show all posts
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Saturday, September 6, 2008
The following is adapted from our friends blog. Visit it by clicking on the link to the right¨: Eshlemans
You Know You're in Ecuador When...
- multiple children run up to you at one time to shine your shoes (flip flops, converse, green suede vans..)
- Futbol is more important than anything
- If you don't have nausea at least once a week, you must not be eating.
- If the doors on the bus can still shut, there's still room for more
- Milk and eggs aren't refrigerated
- You can't breathe at an intersection
- $3 for lunch is really expensive
- No vehicle (car, bus, police motorcycle, ambulance, bike) stops for a pedestrian. They do however honk to let you know they're coming.
-You can buy 100 limes for $1 on the corner, the bus, the street...
- You can go from sweating to freezing in 30 minutes
- You can get 120 songs on one CD for $1
- New release movies (still in the theater) are $1.50 on a DVD at the store right next to the theater
- Rice is served at every meal, every day
- The view of the mountains never gets old
- Coca-Cola is the new water - and even tastes better
- Pinguino Ice Cream - they sell Magnum bars!
- $1 for 25 roses
- Old ladies and children are the best pick-pocketers. Watch out!
- Most buses have curtains and tassels - classy.
- KFC is one of the most popular restaurants
- You have your "own" panaderia, pirated DVD store, movistar man, and tiendita where you know the workers by name
- Halls cough drops are considered candy
- Aji (spicy salsa) makes everything taste better
- Regaton (music) is played at all hours of the day/night
- Only 80's-90's top 40 music has made it on the radio here
- Even the poorest of the poor have cell phones
- You have never thought white bread could be so tasty!
- There is a different key for EVERY door in your house
- Family dogs always seem to be hanging out on the roof
- You throw your toilet paper in the trash, not the toilet
- You have been involved in a city bus race
- You have witnessed a political protest
- You haggle with Taxis for a mere 50 cents
- You put popcorn in your soup
- You drink juice with every meal
- When somehow drivers make 3 or 4 lanes out of 2 lanes
- Mothers silence their crying children by flopping our their äll natural¨ pasipher in the restaurnat, bus, street corner or anywhere really that the child can grab for it
- You are overly excited when a bathroom has toilet paper, soap, paper towels and a SEAT!
- Toilet paper is scented because you dispose of it in the waste basket, not by flushing it in the toilet
- The Isuzu Rodeo is branded with Chevrolet here
- Gas is $1.48 a gallon, Diesel is $1.03
- When a man wants to marry a women the parents of the man go with him to ask for her hand from her parents (to show that his family accepts her).
- There are more than 3million Ecuatorians in the US.
- They are obligated to vote... When they vote they recieve a ¨card¨saying so. Without it they can not buy any big purchases such as a car, house, drivers licence, passport and the list goes on...(Imagine the outcome or fraud involved with indigenous people who do not follow politics. Political parties promise tons of food and supplies to the poor country people if they vote for them and they win)
- Ecuador is in the process of voting on accepting a new constitution! Big deal to be decided by ¨vote¨Sept. 28th
- Men are obligated to join the armed services
- The average monthly salery is $250! (Imagine rent of $80 and a phone bill of $50 what you could do with the rest! Maybe food or school uniform and books for your kids...)
Oh how the list can go on...
You Know You're in Ecuador When...
- multiple children run up to you at one time to shine your shoes (flip flops, converse, green suede vans..)
- Futbol is more important than anything
- If you don't have nausea at least once a week, you must not be eating.
- If the doors on the bus can still shut, there's still room for more
- Milk and eggs aren't refrigerated
- You can't breathe at an intersection
- $3 for lunch is really expensive
- No vehicle (car, bus, police motorcycle, ambulance, bike) stops for a pedestrian. They do however honk to let you know they're coming.
-You can buy 100 limes for $1 on the corner, the bus, the street...
- You can go from sweating to freezing in 30 minutes
- You can get 120 songs on one CD for $1
- New release movies (still in the theater) are $1.50 on a DVD at the store right next to the theater
- Rice is served at every meal, every day
- The view of the mountains never gets old
- Coca-Cola is the new water - and even tastes better
- Pinguino Ice Cream - they sell Magnum bars!
- $1 for 25 roses
- Old ladies and children are the best pick-pocketers. Watch out!
- Most buses have curtains and tassels - classy.
- KFC is one of the most popular restaurants
- You have your "own" panaderia, pirated DVD store, movistar man, and tiendita where you know the workers by name
- Halls cough drops are considered candy
- Aji (spicy salsa) makes everything taste better
- Regaton (music) is played at all hours of the day/night
- Only 80's-90's top 40 music has made it on the radio here
- Even the poorest of the poor have cell phones
- You have never thought white bread could be so tasty!
- There is a different key for EVERY door in your house
- Family dogs always seem to be hanging out on the roof
- You throw your toilet paper in the trash, not the toilet
- You have been involved in a city bus race
- You have witnessed a political protest
- You haggle with Taxis for a mere 50 cents
- You put popcorn in your soup
- You drink juice with every meal
- When somehow drivers make 3 or 4 lanes out of 2 lanes
- Mothers silence their crying children by flopping our their äll natural¨ pasipher in the restaurnat, bus, street corner or anywhere really that the child can grab for it
- You are overly excited when a bathroom has toilet paper, soap, paper towels and a SEAT!
- Toilet paper is scented because you dispose of it in the waste basket, not by flushing it in the toilet
- The Isuzu Rodeo is branded with Chevrolet here
- Gas is $1.48 a gallon, Diesel is $1.03
- When a man wants to marry a women the parents of the man go with him to ask for her hand from her parents (to show that his family accepts her).
- There are more than 3million Ecuatorians in the US.
- They are obligated to vote... When they vote they recieve a ¨card¨saying so. Without it they can not buy any big purchases such as a car, house, drivers licence, passport and the list goes on...(Imagine the outcome or fraud involved with indigenous people who do not follow politics. Political parties promise tons of food and supplies to the poor country people if they vote for them and they win)
- Ecuador is in the process of voting on accepting a new constitution! Big deal to be decided by ¨vote¨Sept. 28th
- Men are obligated to join the armed services
- The average monthly salery is $250! (Imagine rent of $80 and a phone bill of $50 what you could do with the rest! Maybe food or school uniform and books for your kids...)
Oh how the list can go on...
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
The Humor in Realities: Part 2
We are part way through our second week of school. The humor is that I can no longer speak in Engish or Spanish!!! My head is a jumbled whirlpool of stimulated thought. There is no filter in place to ease the stimulation. Everything must be processed! Who knows, my life might depend on it. Crossing a street is like running a gauntlet of ego-centric baboons let loose to wreck havick on the city (or that at least this is the experiance so far). We are, although, learning to dance as man and machine (pedestrian and vehicle) as we absorb the rythem of, well, shall we say, LIFE! It is all becoming easier though as we are starting to think in Spanish, dodge the cars appropriatly, etc. The filter is working and easing the stress on the mind and body.
Liability- What is that? In the U.S. we live so safe, so clean, so out of "harms" way. Even in the "sketchiest" or "run-down" areas there is that rule-of-thumb: You are basicly safe from getting hurt because no one wants to get sued! Have you ever noticed a piece of broken glass on the side walk?! When you see it you instantly think, conscience or subconscience: "Broken glass = unsafe condition = danger = be careful = avoid me! "Be careful- Avoid me" is certaintly the idea when houses line their concrete walls with it. Glass, any kind of glass. You pick the color of glass, choose the once intact home of a refreshing beverage glass, choose the once functioning and utilized sheet of glass for a window, a table, a mirror or the shower. You will see it all! My favorite is the twisted colorful chards of broken bottles stuck intertwinded onto the wall. As the sun hits the artfull array of a security system/wall my mind wanders to the once joyeous occasion when that cola or beer was consued amoungst friends. I am quickly brought back to my senses as a car flys by honking a precautionary horn indicating, "I'm not stopping" and a whistle blows from a nearby "traffic cop."
Oh how we could go on... Quito is a huge city, yet the humor is dirt bikes are sold on practically every corner and are riden by quite a few as they navigate their way through the city...
Security guards (or youngsters with guns) are posted at almost every store or corner. It is not uncommen to walk a block and count 3-7 security guards. (Sorry I do not have a picture of them. I have not figured out a way to take one and get away with it... maybe Cass can bat her eyes and ask for a picture with one in each arm...) I am not sure if I should feel safer knowing there are security guards everywhere or more vulnerable to unseen dangers... She asked!!!! YES!!!!
For now, this is becoming life. This is our new oreintation to thinking and comparing. We are excited to be here and are being taught a lot about flexibility, what is "normal," comfort zones and about all the things we really take for granted in life.
Until next time,
Nothing But Love!
Liability- What is that? In the U.S. we live so safe, so clean, so out of "harms" way. Even in the "sketchiest" or "run-down" areas there is that rule-of-thumb: You are basicly safe from getting hurt because no one wants to get sued! Have you ever noticed a piece of broken glass on the side walk?! When you see it you instantly think, conscience or subconscience: "Broken glass = unsafe condition = danger = be careful = avoid me! "Be careful- Avoid me" is certaintly the idea when houses line their concrete walls with it. Glass, any kind of glass. You pick the color of glass, choose the once intact home of a refreshing beverage glass, choose the once functioning and utilized sheet of glass for a window, a table, a mirror or the shower. You will see it all! My favorite is the twisted colorful chards of broken bottles stuck intertwinded onto the wall. As the sun hits the artfull array of a security system/wall my mind wanders to the once joyeous occasion when that cola or beer was consued amoungst friends. I am quickly brought back to my senses as a car flys by honking a precautionary horn indicating, "I'm not stopping" and a whistle blows from a nearby "traffic cop."
All-in-all, it is better to return to my senses. The next step is always a doozy. Which leads me to my next topic. I have come to the assumption that Ecuadorians do not were sandles because it is utterly dangerous to do so. The sidewalks are uneven with exposed holes, potruding pieces of metal, steps, slopes and yes, even dog poo! 
(Sorry, I can not read how to rotate the picture)
You could cut, slice, rip, tear or get some crazy infection if you were not paying close attention to where you are walking... You will certainly have your foot stepped on at one time or another in the public transportaion system. Such is life I suppose. We still maintain the "American Mentaliy" that we are practically safe from anything. (Mom and Dad, do not worry. This is just a figure of speah. We are still REALLY safe!) :)
This is a picture of them burning the ¨trash¨ in the gutters...
(Sorry, I can not read how to rotate the picture)You could cut, slice, rip, tear or get some crazy infection if you were not paying close attention to where you are walking... You will certainly have your foot stepped on at one time or another in the public transportaion system. Such is life I suppose. We still maintain the "American Mentaliy" that we are practically safe from anything. (Mom and Dad, do not worry. This is just a figure of speah. We are still REALLY safe!) :)
This is a picture of them burning the ¨trash¨ in the gutters...Oh how we could go on... Quito is a huge city, yet the humor is dirt bikes are sold on practically every corner and are riden by quite a few as they navigate their way through the city...
Security guards (or youngsters with guns) are posted at almost every store or corner. It is not uncommen to walk a block and count 3-7 security guards. (Sorry I do not have a picture of them. I have not figured out a way to take one and get away with it... maybe Cass can bat her eyes and ask for a picture with one in each arm...) I am not sure if I should feel safer knowing there are security guards everywhere or more vulnerable to unseen dangers... She asked!!!! YES!!!!For now, this is becoming life. This is our new oreintation to thinking and comparing. We are excited to be here and are being taught a lot about flexibility, what is "normal," comfort zones and about all the things we really take for granted in life.
Until next time,
Nothing But Love!
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
The Humor in Realities...
Cass has done a good job of updating the blog! However, I feel compeled to write my own to give some perspective that is often either missed or overemphasised. Hopefully with some humor you will enjoy the following...
First of all, everything on the computer is different! The keyboard puts characters on the screen that don't exist. Letters on the keyboard are rubbed clean, or should I say rubbed off- I don't think they are very clean! Everything on the screen is in spanish (go figure) and usually you can at least change the keyboard setting from spanish, german, japonese, etc. so that you can type how you are used to typing on a keyboard at home. All to say it takes a bit of effort and a little more time to type. So forgive akward characters or misspelled words - I CAN'T FIND IT ON THE KEYBOARD! .) (see, i cant even find the colon - AH, I just forund it hitting the wrong key!!! Ah yeah!)
Next, have you ever wondered what it is like to sleep on a runway on an airport, in a dog pound, with dreams that sound like car and home alarms or with a cloths pin on your nose..._+)(*)_+)(**&^%$#@!%^(__{}[]=-09\'";:/? I found the question mark sign! ??? Have you ever wondered what it is like to sleep in all the same conditions at one time? Yeah, me neither... but I have a good idea! The airport is about a mile away, dogs bark all night long(Cass likes whne the dogs suddenly bark at the gate when we walk by - it startles her a tad). The best is when you wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air... for some reason, when I can't breath through my nose (I am alergic to everything) and the air at +9,000 feet seem to leave me short of breath at times.
Now, we eat well. Plenty of food. Actually to much food but we want to be polite, so we eat, and eat,. and ... So let me tell you about our coffee. We are in the perfect growing region for coffee. Ecuador, they say grows great coffee. Listen to the following about the wonderful coffee we drink. I am still searching for that perfect, ah, that good cup of Joe. Actually, you can not find brewed coffee here. There are only Americanos (espresso with water) and they leave one still searching as well. (sorry, I have no video for you, I can't find the computer tower to plug in my carmera!)
Oh how I could go on! Running out of time. We got to go to class and they charge us a buck a hour at the internt cafe (papayanet.com).
Stay tuned for future "The Humor in Realities." Next time, we will look at pedestrian "land minds," city transportation, the common "security system," and much more!
Nothing But Love,
Jesse
ps- Brooke, Auntie Cass says her favorite food so far is a fruit called guanabana. Sorry, I don't know what it looks like. But it sure tastes good!
First of all, everything on the computer is different! The keyboard puts characters on the screen that don't exist. Letters on the keyboard are rubbed clean, or should I say rubbed off- I don't think they are very clean! Everything on the screen is in spanish (go figure) and usually you can at least change the keyboard setting from spanish, german, japonese, etc. so that you can type how you are used to typing on a keyboard at home. All to say it takes a bit of effort and a little more time to type. So forgive akward characters or misspelled words - I CAN'T FIND IT ON THE KEYBOARD! .) (see, i cant even find the colon - AH, I just forund it hitting the wrong key!!! Ah yeah!)
Next, have you ever wondered what it is like to sleep on a runway on an airport, in a dog pound, with dreams that sound like car and home alarms or with a cloths pin on your nose..._+)(*)_+)(**&^%$#@!%^(__{}[]=-09\'";:/? I found the question mark sign! ??? Have you ever wondered what it is like to sleep in all the same conditions at one time? Yeah, me neither... but I have a good idea! The airport is about a mile away, dogs bark all night long(Cass likes whne the dogs suddenly bark at the gate when we walk by - it startles her a tad). The best is when you wake up in the middle of the night gasping for air... for some reason, when I can't breath through my nose (I am alergic to everything) and the air at +9,000 feet seem to leave me short of breath at times.
Now, we eat well. Plenty of food. Actually to much food but we want to be polite, so we eat, and eat,. and ... So let me tell you about our coffee. We are in the perfect growing region for coffee. Ecuador, they say grows great coffee. Listen to the following about the wonderful coffee we drink. I am still searching for that perfect, ah, that good cup of Joe. Actually, you can not find brewed coffee here. There are only Americanos (espresso with water) and they leave one still searching as well. (sorry, I have no video for you, I can't find the computer tower to plug in my carmera!)
Oh how I could go on! Running out of time. We got to go to class and they charge us a buck a hour at the internt cafe (papayanet.com).
Stay tuned for future "The Humor in Realities." Next time, we will look at pedestrian "land minds," city transportation, the common "security system," and much more!
Nothing But Love,
Jesse
ps- Brooke, Auntie Cass says her favorite food so far is a fruit called guanabana. Sorry, I don't know what it looks like. But it sure tastes good!
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