Though Alesha has already blogged about some things going on, I thought that I would give a more detailed account of our travels and initial adventures (i.e. surviving the first week) here in Ecuador.
Traveling
Friday, we left out of the Lubbock airport, which ended up being a very wise decision even though there was a slightly higher cost for the extra air travel. Checking in our 12 bags went along smoothly. The flight to Houston from Lubbock was a rather rough ride. In fact, it was so rough that the stewards did not get out to serve drinks until more than halfway through the flight. Also, Glory and I got a bit motion sick toward the end of the final decent; I was able hold on to my breakfast, but Glory was not.
The flight to Quito was uneventful (thankfully). Everyone was tired and it was a joyful blessing once all of the children got some rest. Our little Gorditos all woke up as soon as the meal was served though. At the Quito airport, we must have been quite a sight hauling 12 checked bags plus 7 carry on bags. Bags were balanced like only a Dr. Seuss book could describe.
The Lunch Shoppe
Saturday mid-morning we awoke to a whole new world. On this day, we discovered a small lunch shop just across the street from our apartment. They offer a large lunch consisting of soup, a main dish (always served with rice), a small desert, and a drink. All this for under $2. The catch is that there are no options. They make one meal and serve it. Each day has something different and it is all VERY Ecuadorian. We learned what the locals eat less then 14 hours in the country at this wonderful lunch shop:
The soup that day was a light soup with chicken pieces to make the broth. It was quite tasty, however, as Glory was scooping up a spoonful of broth and veggies, she found an interesting shape on her spoon that she did not recognize. I pointed out that it was a chicken foot. She graciously set it aside and ate the rest of her soup. (I unintentionally set the precedent that day that if we found something that was too strange then we did not have to eat THAT PART, but we did still have to finish the meal.)
Our next trip there was a couple of days later. We were a bit better prepared this time. Our soup was tasty and we had learned that after you finish the soup the main dish comes out, so we devoured our soup this time and awaited the dish. As usual, it consisted of a lot of rice with some small meat pieces. I tried it. The meat was tough. It also was a bit rough on one side. I could not figure out what it was, but my wife, smiling, told me it was "la lengua". Unimpressed, but humored we ate it...thanks to the tasty sauce that it was smothered in.
The people at the lunch place are starting to get used to having gringos around and we are getting used to eating as the locals eat.
Making Friends
On Lord's Day morning we hiked up a large hill to meet with a small gathering of Christians. We enjoyed the meeting and made several contacts that day. The kids, accompanied by Alesha attended the Sunday School for the children their age, while I sat in on a Bible Study. That evening, Glory told me something that was a bit of a surprise for my shy daughter. She told me that she really liked the meetings that day, she made some friends, and that she was excited to go back and see them again! Wow! Glory made new friends, in a new language!
Setting Up House
During our first few days, we spent most of our time trying to set up a house. I say trying, because this IS Latin America after all and things do not always run as smoothly as we are accustomed to. We did have a phone, but no one knew the phone number. Some of the furnishings were not in place yet: washer, beds, chairs to name a few things. Finally, there was no internet service. Yes, there was supposed to be, but for some reason it was not working that week. So for those of you who were concerned for not hearing from us, we apologize, but some things were beyond our control. I know that when my Mom had not heard from me by Monday (day 3), she was in a bit of a frenzy. Sorry, Mom, but it will probably happen again, and more often. Welcome to South America.
We did finally get the internet up and running Tuesday evening. Thank you Lord!
Around the House
Alesha has already started blogging about some of our day-to-day activities here and here. The apartment has a very nice floorplan that puts three of the bedrooms at the back. The extra bedroom we have converted into a playroom. There is also a room off of the utility room that was meant as a "servants quarters"; this is my office. Oh, and while mentioning the utility room, it is certainly something to be envied! We have a small fridge which would be inadequate if there was not fresh produce only 2 minutes from the door. The stove works fine, but we have yet to figure out how to get the oven to function. :-\ Finally, there is the roof! This has only been a recent discovery, but it is very quickly turning into a fun hang out spot. It is where we hang our clothes out to dry and it is spacious enough (and safe enough) for the kids to have some running room.
Around Town
Some notable things that we have done around town include signing up for cable internet service for my job, buying a used washer (and fixing it), and taking the boys to the big hardware store (we spent over an hour there oogling at all the stuff they had).
Of course there is always grocery shopping to do and that is one of the most fun parts about living in the tropics. Though there is no Walmart in Ecuador there is something called a SuperMaxi which is NOT affiliated with Walmart (yet), but it is similar to what you would expect to find in an American grocery store. We don't go there too often. Instead, we prefer to visit the local markets near our apartment. The little "tiendas" are fairly specific in what they offer: fruits and vegetables, grains, meat, locks and tools, bread, etc. Though we may end up going to 3-4 different tiendas to get the best produce and foods at the best prices we like the interaction with the locals. Oh! and the bread shop that I like the best bakes their own fresh bread...mmmm, it always smells so good in there!
That's enough for now.
We found our camera and we'll get some pictures up soon.
Enjoy!
Taylor
No comments:
Post a Comment