Does "Silence Mode" exist?
In Ecuador, no. No matter if Ecuadorians are in class, in a business meeting, eating with others, talking with the President, you get the picture, but they never turn their phones off. I feel like a national public ad about how exactly to turn on the silence mode should be in order.
You're so vain:
One thing about Ecuador that I never would have expected is that the majority of Ecuadorians are slightly obsessed with their image. Most Ecuadorians get all of their clothes from the U.S. or Columbia (or basically anywhere but Ecuador) and talk about clothes...a lot. There are also tons of advertisements for plastic surgery and seeing bandages on noses and faces is a common occurrence. But what is even stranger is that lots of people who can't afford it will just put bandages on their noses so it appears like they've had work done. Welcome to Ecuador and please don't mind my bandaged face...I promised I wasn't robbed.
Stealing and safety:
Branching off from my last point, unfortunately being robbed IS a very common occurrence. Although as gringos we're definitely targets (my phone was robbed along with about seven of my friends, two of my friends were robbed at knife point, and one was robbed at gun point), Ecuadorians also frequently get robbed. For example, my friend's host brother has been robbed over ten times, and once at gun point. Because it's so unsafe, you absolutely can not walk around after dark, even in small groups. The reason that petty crime is so prevalent is what disgusts me the most. I wish I was lying, but in Ecuador as long as someone doesn't steal more than $400 worth of stuff, they will not be prosecuted. The government's reasoning is that because petty crime is rampant, there is not sufficient space in prisons, but more importantly, that they don't want petty criminals to learn worse things while they are in jail. Therefore, robbery is basically legal. Cool, Ecuador, cool.
Latin American Men Obsession: whistling
Ever rolled out of bed, thrown on some flip flops, pants, and a jacket and thought of how messy you looked? Don't worry because everyday in Latin America this same outfit will make you feel like a supermodel because the men will wolf-whistle all day. I wish I was kidding because this is SO annoying. Learn quickly not to look because this only reinforces their habit.
Latin American Women Obsession: food
Okay as a huge foodie, I understand the importance of food. I get it! But what I don't get is how the women here are obsessed with all things related to food. If you're in the kitchen, they will follow and stick with you like your pesky criminal record. If you're eating with them, they will practically force-feed you until you eat the exorbitant amount of food on your plate (EAT! Your mom in the U.S. is going to think I didn't feed you!). And if they're not physically bugging you, they'll spend all afternoon talking about food and being overweight. Thank GOD my host mom does not do any of these things. Instead she always is amazed and baffled by my downright love for food and by the sheer amount that I consume. Sadly, she is not the first.
Hace frío!
Even though I am from North Carolina and the winters are not exactly intense (whatever, I still think it's cold in NC), I have decided that Ecuadorians would die in the NC winter. Right now in Ecuador it is currently "winter" (please notice the quotation marks), which means that the daily high is about 70 instead of 75 like the "summer." I still get a kick out of the amount of times most Ecuadorians remark about the freezing 55 degrees every day.
Sacagawea coins:
Having a panic attack because you can't remember the last time you saw one of these beautiful inventions? Fear not, friend because ALL of the Sacagawea coins are in Ecuador. This is not an exaggeration. There are literally no more in the U.S.
No comments:
Post a Comment