¡So Ecuador!

A few days ago i did a facebook album called “so so so Ecuador” it was such a hit i decided it deserved a blog entry to go along with it. When I get home I’m going to turn all these blog entries into a book so that I can have all of them forever and ever. I´ve already decided that I am going to come home with the “RM” curse, and will be known as the girl who says…”when I was in Ecuador…” (when I was on my mission….) but, I guess that´s one of the many reasons a blog was such a fantastic idea, all of you can share this journey along with me.
Living in a foreign country has been such an adventure. And through my journey here I have found there are many things that are just “So Ecuador”. I´ve posted a few pics to make my point. The first picture that you will see on the left, is one of my newest most favorite. This building was built about 10 years ago, they were almost done, as you can see when they realized that it was leaning. Someone had been off on the measurements and left it there. But it gets better. Homeless people live in it. There are laundry lines hanging and flowers out the windows…notice the mold on the bottom of the building. Is that not just GREAT?
Next, This picture is of the US embassy. I guess it really isn´t “SO Ecuador” but, I still think it´s cool that the embassy is about two blocks away. I can see the American Flag from my bedroom window when I wake up in the mornings before the smog sets in. I had an opportunity to go inside the embassy. Rumor has it that there are 12 floors underground! Anyway, I got to go in there because I had to have this “safety orientation” after my 5th robbing…it was pretty cool.
Another thing so so so Ecuador is the weather. Ecuador has many different climate regions, but Quito where I live is like an Eternal Spring. There will be beautiful mornings, with hot sun and you leave the house in capris or shorts thinking you will be fine. By 4:00 the storm clouds come rolling in and when you see them coming you know you have about ten minutes before you´re drenched…this is a pic I took of a storm rolling in.
The fruit in Ecuador is insane. There is soooooooooo much of it, and it´s so cheep. I took this fruit picture illegally at a grocery store one day. Notice the back wall too, stocked with fruit. Most of them I have tried once or twice. And then again most of them I couldn’t tell you their names….but it´s for sure one thing i´ll miss when i´m back in idaho. The state with no fruit…

There´s actually a funny story behind this picture. Gabs and I got in trouble for taking pics in the store, so…I would sneak pics with the camera just barely out of my purse…we were super sneaky.



Now, transportation in Quito is incredible. You can literally go anywhere you want for 25 cents all you have to do is climb on one of these blue busses and they can take you from one end of the city to the other. (which I found out the other day is so much smaller than any US city…and here I was thinking it was giagantic!) there is also the ECOVIA which is like a subway, but not underground. Then there is the TROLLE, and the METROBUS, they all run on different main streets…and of course there are taxis.






The City of Quito stretches out father than the eye can see, it´s huge. The buildings just go on and on and on. Like when you look out over the ocean and it just kinda turns with the earth, yeah that´s how I feel in Quito, there´s no end to it. Anyway, this intersection is where I catch the bus when ever I need it. And it kinda shows a typical quito street. However, my favorite part is in the left hand corner, the power pole, notice all the electrical wires…yep. And they wonder why they are always out of power?!

those are just a few of the Ecuadorian "quirks" the list will forever go on and on...but i thought you each might enjoy seeing that and getting a taste of what i go through every day in this crazy country...

Love,
Emily