So my last three weekends were spent 1) in Quito, 2) in Montañita…for
the 3rd time! and 3) in Quito again, but with my mom this time. My mom
bought her tickets 11 days before coming, and it was quite a surprise
when I found out via chat with my sister that in less than two weeks,
my mom would be waltzing into our little apartment in El Batán. Knowing
this, I went to Montañita, my always sure to be tranquil town, and
spent the weekend without camera and without phone, the former because
I accidentally left it at home, the latter because it was stolen en
route to Guayaquil from Quito (by the way, new cell phone number is 09
52 37 301). The freedom of these two technologies, though at first a
little intimidating, proved to be a good exercise in living in the
moment, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly.
Last Thursday night, then, my mom flew in and within five minutes of
being in the house, her three suitcases and various carry-on bags had
already exploded their contents throughout my room. Due to a flight
cancellation, her Tuesday departure was pushed back until Wednesday,
but all was well as my Ecua-family took a real liking to my mom...to
the point where I think they are missing her more than I am!
But so much for the events of the past 3 weeks...for more random Ecuador quirks:
So after being in Quito for about a month, I found myself introduced to
Propolio. It's a medicinal liquid that I think is some form of herbal
extract and it comes in a little bottle, working very much like the
principal of an eyedropper. My first encounter with Propolio came when
I mentioned a slight pain on my appendix scars. Though I had narrowed
it down to being kicked continually in the same place from my Tae Kwon
Do class, an unspoken consensus was somehow relayed between Lucy and
the grandmother (Reyna) and they both proposed "Propolio", agreeing
that applying this liquid to my scars 2 times a day for a week would
make them heal. Ok, who am I to doubt?...until the next day when my
throat was a bit sore. I had just figured the changing weather was
irritating my immune system, but apparently Propolio was the answer, to
be taken orally this time. Apparently the more it hurts your throat
when consuming, the more it's working to kill off bad things, so I must
have had a heck of a cold coming on with the burning sensation that
accompanied this remedy. Two weeks later, when Lucy noticed me
scratching vigorously at some persistent bug bites...Propolio. After
getting back from Cotopaxi (glacier volcano) and bringing back with me
a slight cold...Propolio...this time Lucy taking it with me partly for
moral support, partly because she claimed it would help her not catch
my cold...I told her forget the moral support, I'd just as well not
take it at all, but I found an insistent host mother at my bedside,
Propolio in one hand, huge spoon in the other, prompting me to open up
and swallow the foul elixir.
What I really find the most irritating though, is that beyond all logic
in my thinking, it works! Ingested or applied to the surface of an
injury, recovery always follows...it's kind of unsettling actually..
Oh, and here, one "drinks" yogurt, not "eats". This is simply because
of the consistency, yogurt here being slightly thicker than milk in the
States. This caused confusion on both ends with me being confused why
everybody kept asking if I wanted to drink some yogurt, Daniela being
confused when she was in New York and people kept giving her spoons
with her yogurt. Que chiste!
Lastly, I don't think the idea of fire safety in Ecuador exists. I
don't know if they just don't have fires here or what, but I've
consistently found there's usually one entrance/exit to various places;
buildings at school, our condominium complex, our apartment...And not
only just one entrance/exit, but no less than 5 locks to get in or OUT
of a place (usually apartments or houses). I found that it's not just
my house in which a ring of keys accompanied the welcoming to the
house. In my case it took a good two weeks before I successfully was
able to remember everything from my "key tutorial", a complex series of
steps for me who has only ever had to unlock ONE door, if any, to get
into my place. Additionally there are locks that you can lock from the
inside that, even if you have a key on the outside, there is no way to
get in. This whole lock complex is made of metal, leaving me to wonder
what one does in the case of a fire: 1) twist the metal screw thing
until you finally get the door unlocked? (burns?) 2) jump out the
windows? (though there are metal grates outside them...) 3) go out the
back door? (there's only one door!!!) No, I think Ecuador just somehow
doesn't have fires...
Anyway, here is the link to my latest photos...my time in Ecuador is
quickly coming to an end. After this weekend, only more 4 weekends
available to travel = only 4 more grand adventures, tops! ai yai yai..
http://wisc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2311969&l=73dc9&id=8628451
signing off
anita
