Quito Quirks

Well, here we are. Tomorrow is my last day in Quito, and I’m headed home Sunday morning. Surreal that this semester is ending, surreal that I’m finally going to be back in the USA –  this time to stay for longer than just three weeks –  and surreal that I’ll be home with my family for the first time in four months and then back at Duke for the first time in eight months. I’M. SO. EXCITED! Today marks exactly 16 weeks of being in Ecuador, and I can say with confidence that my language skills, ability to be independent in a big (foreign) city, and even just daily interactions have all developed significantly from when I first arrived. The other day a sweet elderly Ecuadorian woman stopped me when I was walking home and asked me for directions, and by golly, I knew exactly where she was trying to go and was able to give her directions for how to get there in Spanish. It wasn’t until later that I realized how backwards that was from when I first got here and was constantly lost, language-confused, and just a typical touristy gringo! Oh how things have changed in the past four months…

Here are some random “quirks” about Quito and life here that I've discovered over the course of this semester:

1. When you order a coffee, you’re actually ordering whole milk with maybe a dash of coffee. If you want ACTUAL strong, caffeinated coffee, you have to specify “café con AGUA” (coffee w/ water) – and they think it's strange when you then proceed to put a little milk in it.

2. The buses don’t ever fully stop...they “pause” just long enough for you to jump on – assuming you are skilled enough to jump the correct distance at just the right time when the bus rolls by you. Dangerous? Potentially...

3. Whenever you take a taxi, you MUST negotiate the price ahead of time or you WILL get ripped off. Bartering is totally normal in nearly every context.

4. When people say “The seasons are changing!” they actually mean the average temperature has dropped from approximately 72 degrees to approximately 65 degrees. Eternal springtime!

5. When you are riding on a public bus, about 95% of the time there will be at least one person who will jump on and try to sell you stuff – chips, ice cream, CDs, children's books, you name it. Every so often someone will jump on and start delivering a political speech or some other form of political propaganda. And then every once in a while, someone will get on carrying a boom-box and start rapping or singing to the audience of bus-riders.

6. Even in crosswalks, pedestrians NEVER have the right of way. Cars will not stop for you if you are crossing the street. Ever. Period. They may honk at you if they're about to hit you...but they definitely won't slow down!

7. They don't have to wait until after Thanksgiving to start the Christmas season here, because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving! So, you start seeing Christmas trees, lights, and nativity scenes appear in every single shop, grocery store, and mall beginning in early November. (It's kind of great actually.)

8. Don't bother carrying around $20 bills (or anything bigger) – making change anywhere is near impossible. Most restaurants and stores only accept $5s or $10s, even though banks and ATM machines still seem to only give out $20s. Not exactly helpful.

9. It costs 25 cents to take a bus ANYWHERE in the city. That means 25 cents to go five blocks down the road or 25 cents to travel an hour and a half to the furthest bus station in Quito. Yay for cheap public transportation!

10. Public bathrooms rarely have toilet paper. Which means: always remember to carry tissues with you in your bag! You can pretty easily judge how "fancy" a place is by whether or not their restroom has toilet paper in it. Some places even charge you a nickel or a dime for toilet paper or just for using their bathroom. So again, DON'T forget the tissues.

11. Eggs, milk, butter, and an assortment of other dairy products are not always refrigerated. I typically just try not to think about it because it makes me scared...

12. Cat-calling and whistling, as well as PDA, are totally socially acceptable. Neither of these things is really okay with me...hence neither is something I will miss having to hear/see all the time.

13. As you may already know, "Latin American time” is NOT like "U.S. time.” Similar to time in Africa, scheduling is very flexible, and I have yet to see any event (including classes, meetings, appointments, etc.) start exactly on time. I have also found that their general usage of the words/phrases “ahora", "ahorita", and "ya vengo” significantly contribute to this issue. Let me explain:

• "Ahora" – which literally means “now” in English, can actually mean “anytime today" OR "possibly tomorrow if I don’t end up having time today.”
• “Ahorita” – which literally means “RIGHT now” can mean either “right this very second” OR “within the next hour or so...when I get around to it.” 
• Confused yet? It gets even more difficult! "Ya vengo" – which literally means “I am already coming” actually means “I’ll be right there” or "I'll be right back" – which could mean in 5 min, a few days, or anywhere in between.

Basically, you should just give up trying to figure out when anything is actually going to start or when you're going to be meeting someone and just accept that it'll happen when it happens! Lessons in patience...

That's all I've got for now! Hasta luego -