Living in Quito

This will be my 5th week in Ecuador, so I thought it was time to share some of the lessons I have learned outside the hospital. Here are some survival tips for living in Quito!

• Everyone says "buenos dias/tardes/noches" as a greeting and often with a kiss on the cheek. It is considered extremely rude not to, especially in the hospitals. Also, people say "chao" instead of "adios" here. It took a while to realize we stuck out like major gringos saying "hola" and "adios" all the time.

• Taxis. We take them almost every day. Mostly because the trolley and bus get so crowded at rush hour that they a huge pain in the butt. Plus, the average taxi ride around Quito is about $4 so split between a few people its not bad at all. However, the tricky thing about taxis is they are all over the city but not all of them are safe or legal. Legal taxis are all yellow with numbers on both the top and side, an orange registration sticker on the door, and the company name on the back. This is only about 1/3 of the taxis in Quito. So we often have to wave by the illegal taxis that stop for us... along with the random personal car driven by a creepy man wanting to pick us up. Also, never slam the taxi door, they hate that!

• Ketchup here does not taste like Ketchup at home. Very disappointing. Same with milk and yogurt. Also, they don't refrigerate eggs which freaks me out. AND they love KFC here, but instead of mashed potatoes its rice!

• There are street venders selling tiny adorable little puppies for $2 in Old Town and you can't look them in the eye. They will spot you and try to make you hold the puppy and fall in love. Its pure evil. 

• They only have two types of beer in Ecuador: El Club and Pilsener. Some restaurants have a few options of American beers but they cost $5-6 which is absolutely crazy expensive for here.

• No one here can make change for a 20 dollar bill. It is actually ridiculous, they would rather lose a sale than make change. Its a small miracle when a restaurant or store will take a $20 and they immediately win favor with us.

• Ecuadorian card games are impossible and involve way too much math. Yet, I still seem to have great luck at them. We play Cuarenta (40) which is a mix between black jack, speed, and crazy 8's.

• Cars, buses and trolleys do not stop for pedestrians. In fact, they speed up, especially for gringos. Every day walking to class or clinic is a suicide mission. 

• Ecuadorians are OBSESSED with this song (and I have to admit, now I am too) and everyone knows all the words!

• Besides talking with the other students, I talk solely in Spanish. Surprisingly, hardly anyone here knows English because it is not taught in school. We have met a few people who study it on their own or at a university but they aren't very willing to speak because they are embarrassed. I think its a culture thing. But they love to tease us about our Spanish. I had one doctor ask me how I liked the birth I saw that day and I responded "Fue muy interesante pero un poco grosero" and started laughing at me. I didn't realize my mistake until I got home... the word "grosero" means rude, so although I tried to say "It was very interesting but a little gross." what I actually said was "It was very interesting but a little rude."

• None of the public restrooms provide toilet paper.

• Privacy isn't really a thing here. Ecuadorians love public displays of affection... literally anywhere. On the bus, in the streets, parks, restaurants, waiting rooms at the hospital! And, women openly breast feed everywhere as well.