Some quirky things about Ecuador

When you come to live in a new place, there are some things that jump out at you immediately as being different from your country of origin.  Here are a few things that we have noticed, that we really don't even think about in the US.

1. Hot water, such as it is, is warmed up as it comes out by an electrical apparatus that is attached to the shower head.  We are all trained from a young age to be very concerned when electricity and water mix -- but somehow this seems to work (kind of -- our showers are intermittently lukewarm and intermittently pretty chilly).

2. Have you ever wondered what happened to all the 50 cent pieces and dollar coins that were supposedly minted by the US, but we almost never see them in circulation?  They are all in Ecuador! They use the US dollar as the currency here, and people use dollar coins super commonly like we use quarters.  They are really handy -- for example, it costs 75 cents for all of us to ride the bus to Spanish school, and those coins are really useful.  I suppose in our increasingly cashless world in the US, they wouldn't be used as much, so rest assured that those coins are being appreciate by someone in the world.

3. You can't put toilet paper in the toilet here -- it will clog up the pipes.  There is a little waste basket with a top next to every toilet.  That one takes some getting used to -- talk about things you don't even think about in your normal day!  Also, public toilets cost about 25 cents, and the attendant hands you some toilet paper after you've paid.  It's a good motivation not to sneak in without paying.

4. Plans change without notice.  For example, we had plans to go to a big professional soccer game, which was to take place on Sunday at noon.  It turned out that one of the teams was knocked out of the tournament, so they changed the game time to Saturday at 4pm.  That would NEVER happen in the US -- there would be mutiny.

5. Motorists do not stop for pedestrians as a rule -- it is more like they are actually trying to mow you down.  Where we live in the Pacific Northwest, if you put one toe in the road traffic will come to a halt.  On the busy and bustling streets of Quito, we have had to be really careful in a way that we are not used to anymore.

6. Safety standards are really different.  For example, to get in and out of our apartment, we have to go through 3 locked doors.  While that is good for security, you have to use the keys to get out too -- such that you cannot get out of the building unless you have your keys with you.  It seems like a major fire code violation to me.  Also, if one of us wants to go out while others stay home, the homebodys either have to go from the 3rd floor down to the street and let the itinerants in and out, or the itinerants take the keys and leave the homebodys with no way to get out of the building in the unlikely case of emergency.  Yikes.