Likes and Dislikes

Where to start where to start...that is the question. I guess I will start with the fact that my life is still full of ups and downs everyday if not every hour. The Peace Corps experience really is a crazy thing that takes you for a ride and I have a feeling that ride will continue during my whole two years of service.

Let’s see…how about I start with some of the things that I don’t think I will ever get used to here in Ecuador:

1) Breast feeding – The moms here just pull out the boob with no relation as to where they are or what others will think. Oh yeah, and they breast feed for as long as they possibly can…this means you have kids who are talking and breast feeding at the same time. My theory, if they can ask for it, they are too old. Sorry!

2) No concept of lines – When it comes to having a line, they don’t really. It is more so push and shove your way through and whoever gets their first wins. This also means there is no concept of personal space when it comes to being in a “line” for something…or in a public place really for that matter, especially if it is crowded.

3) Noise Restrictions – This would be another thing that they don’t really have much of a concept for. I don’t really think that there are any noise violations here. And if there are noise violations, they don’t get enforced. I also think I have come to the conclusion that people don’t understand indoor voices versus outdoor voices…there is only loud and louder.

4) Ecuadorean Time – This would mean that when I say something starts at noon, I might have 5 or so people there at noon if I am lucky and by 12:30 I should have enough to at least start. However, all of the people that really planned to attend probably won’t show until 12:45 or so. And even then, you will have people walking in at 1.

5) Machismo/Drinking – This one is pretty plain and simple; women stay at home, have the babies, take care of the babies, wash the clothes, clean the house, have the food ready for their husbands, and serve it to them. Men here literally will NEVER cook a meal or clean their clothes. If for some reason a man doesn’t have a mom, daughter, sister, or woman who will do these things for him, then he will go and pay a local woman to do it for him. Drinking is pretty much that women don’t, and if they do they are considered easy, where as the men get to all of the time whenever they want.

6) Cat Calls – As someone from training told us, “trust me girls, you did not get prettier when you left America and came to Ecuador”. No, we didn’t get prettier, the men just got creepier.

I think that is a pretty good list of the main points. No don’t get me wrong, there are also some things about the culture here which I have taken a liking to as well:

1) Friendly – Everyone here is really friendly for the most part. Don’t get me wrong, you still have theft and what not. But for the most part, the average Joe you find on the street will be very friendly.

2) Fruits – There is always food around. This can be a good thing and at the same time a bad thing. However, lucky for me they have a ton of fruits here which I have fallen in love with. Now if I could just convince my host family that I really don’t eat anything for breakfast besides some fruit, I would be set!

3) The reach of a Dollar – I think this one kind of speaks for itself. Everything down here is a lot less expensive and you can make a dollar stretch a lot further down here. The only exception would be for any electronics; those are not cheaper.

4) Work to live, not live to work – This would be another one that has the positives and negatives. It is definitely a much more laid back atmosphere and this means it takes a lot more time to get something done. Or even just to have something set into motion really. It will come as it will come. Overall, this is probably a better way to live for the stress factor.

5) Hammocks – For those of you who have never taken a nap in a hammock, I strongly suggest that you do. It really is quite the feeling and experience. Not to mention that the hammocks are only comfortable for just the right amount of time so that you don’t end up taking too long of a nap.

6) $1.25 DVDs – That is right, DVDs for a buck twenty five. And the greatest thing about it is if a movie just came out in the movie theaters, you can probably find it on DVD in one of these stores in a week or under. They also have some of the US TV shows on DVDs down here too. And yes, they are all in English (Spanish captions and some are voice doubled in Spanish) and of course they are all pirated.

So there you have some of my favorite and least favorite aspects of Ecuador so far. It is hard to differentiate work from life here since the two overlap all of the time. But overall, I would have to say that life here is a day to day thing where I am definitely learning more right now than what I am teaching. The most important thing that I have learned so far though is a pretty simple thing; development work is a hard to do.

P.S. Now if I could just convince my host family here that I am a twenty-three year old woman who can take care of herself on her own, I might be set! The whole concept of an independent woman is another thing that doesn’t really exist here.