So we made it to Tena. Everything´s good. It´s been an eventful few first hours. While sitting on the boardwalk, I ate a mango (without washing it... STUPID!!!) and after a few minutes, I said to Lori... my palms feel itchy (not knowing that itchy palms is the number one symptom of an alergic reaction) Well... a few Benadryls later, my face is less swollen and my palms no longer itchy. I look like a face in EXTRA (those of you from Ecuador know what i´m talking about)... with swollen eyes and lips... but everything´s cool. Don´t worry, we took pictures :)
Day 1 Lesson of the Day: Don´t eat unwashed fruit.
31.10.08
30.10.08
The Plan, as it stands
So I want to pass along a map of Ecuador so we´re all on the same page :) After leaving Quito, we´re off to Tena (which you can see a little South East of Quito). Here, it´s part in the Jungle, part not. They say there are amazing adventure sports! And little did we know, it´s the celebration of Tena independence or something for the next two weeks. Sweet!Then, we´re off to Loja (reeeaaaallly South) and Vilcabamba (the oldest people in Ecuador live there, they say because of the water or something and Rachel reccommends it, so it must be good!) to a huge national park Podocarpus, to visit a Petrified Forest in that area and finally, to Peru.
Check out the map!
Banking In Ecuador: The Customer Is Always... :)
So we´re pretty much all packed up and ready to go :) Just some last minute things...
Since I got back from the states (I had a secret, quick trip to the states at the beginning of October, if you are surprised to hear this news... I was like Batman, I just appeared under the cover of darkness and left the same way :) about one week and a half ago... We´ve been basically doing the same routine (Lori´s been doing it since the beginning of October, she´s a saint!) Wake up, eat breakfast, go to the bank and wait in line to be attended, eat lunch, do some other little things to pass the time, stop by the bank one more time (just to say hi, maybe bring coffee, in case they missed us) go home, repeat.
Ecuador is an amazing country... amazing in beauty and... the processes you have to do to get anything official done. Especially in banks, because there´s so much fraud, that employees are extra careful (and sometimes just lazy... which doesn´t help)
I´m going to tell a bank story. That really sums things up. About two months ago, my job tells me Emergency! "Laura, we opened a second bank account for you by accident. You have to go down to the bank and close it." I go to the bank. Bank: "You can´t close it, your work opened the account, they need to close it" Ok. So I go to work. Work:"We tried to close it and they told us they need you to do it" I go to the bank. Bank:"Ok, you can close it but you need a letter from your work saying you have permission to close it" I go to work. Work:"We sent the letter, they have it somewhere" Bank:"We don´t have it, you have to bring a printed copy for us" Work:"But we sent it, it´s confirmed, they have the letter, we need special signatures. They have it!" So I go to the bank (Imagine each part of the dialogue is one full day) and I´m about to cry. The woman says (without looking or making any effort, maybe she lifted up her daily planner just to emphasize some sort of "looking" motion) "We don´t have the letter." I say, "Can´t you ask your co-workers, maybe it´s somewhere else?" Woman:"Lucy, do you have any letters?" Lucy (filing her nails, without lifting her head): "No" Woman: "Sorry, we don´t have it. You have to go back."
So, I move to an empty seat to call the secretary at my work. We talk, she says she doesn´t know what to do. Meanwhile, the employee, whose desk I´m sitting at, comes back from lunch and sits down. "Can I help you?" Me "Yes..." and explain my story. Woman:"I mean, it´s your account, you don´t need a letter to close it. It has your name on it, if you want to close it you can." Me (glaring at the first woman who did the crappiest job "looking" for the letter) "THANK YOU SOOO MUCH" i wanted to kiss her. I sign some papers. I leave. I celebrate.
So that is a short-ish synopsis of what happens when you have ANY sort of problem with the banks or any sort of office in this beautiful country. My motto here "The Customer Is Always Wrong" and that´s the truth.
To get out of here, Lori and I were waiting to get paid for September. I check my account before I leave for the states, no money. They didn´t pay me. I tell my boss, he´ll look into it. I leave for the states, still trying to pay me... no money. I get back from the states, still no money. I talk to the bank to see if i have any other secret accounts maybe where my job is depositing the money. Nada. So I talk to my boss. "Henry, are you sure they are depositing money into this account" and I give him my bank card. He runs down to some important person, they realize the bank was depositing my salary into the account that I closed two months ago (see above story) and that is why I wasn´t getting paid. Just take a breather.
The past Friday, I get paid. To get my money out of the ATM (the only way to get it out) I can only take out $200 a day. This is 3 more days we have to stay in Ecuador. Then, 1 more day to close my account, now we´re at Tuesday. Yesterday, Wednesday was my good friend Javier´s birthday (how can we leave one day before my best friend´s birthday! We´ve delayed this long!) and today we´re just waiting for Lori´s bank account to be finally closed (after transfering funds from her account here, to the states) Then... we leave :)
anyways, sorry... this was a big vent about banking in Ecuador. Don´t do it unless someone is holding a gun to your head (which could very well happen too! I´m just kidding... relax...)
Since I got back from the states (I had a secret, quick trip to the states at the beginning of October, if you are surprised to hear this news... I was like Batman, I just appeared under the cover of darkness and left the same way :) about one week and a half ago... We´ve been basically doing the same routine (Lori´s been doing it since the beginning of October, she´s a saint!) Wake up, eat breakfast, go to the bank and wait in line to be attended, eat lunch, do some other little things to pass the time, stop by the bank one more time (just to say hi, maybe bring coffee, in case they missed us) go home, repeat.
Ecuador is an amazing country... amazing in beauty and... the processes you have to do to get anything official done. Especially in banks, because there´s so much fraud, that employees are extra careful (and sometimes just lazy... which doesn´t help)
I´m going to tell a bank story. That really sums things up. About two months ago, my job tells me Emergency! "Laura, we opened a second bank account for you by accident. You have to go down to the bank and close it." I go to the bank. Bank: "You can´t close it, your work opened the account, they need to close it" Ok. So I go to work. Work:"We tried to close it and they told us they need you to do it" I go to the bank. Bank:"Ok, you can close it but you need a letter from your work saying you have permission to close it" I go to work. Work:"We sent the letter, they have it somewhere" Bank:"We don´t have it, you have to bring a printed copy for us" Work:"But we sent it, it´s confirmed, they have the letter, we need special signatures. They have it!" So I go to the bank (Imagine each part of the dialogue is one full day) and I´m about to cry. The woman says (without looking or making any effort, maybe she lifted up her daily planner just to emphasize some sort of "looking" motion) "We don´t have the letter." I say, "Can´t you ask your co-workers, maybe it´s somewhere else?" Woman:"Lucy, do you have any letters?" Lucy (filing her nails, without lifting her head): "No" Woman: "Sorry, we don´t have it. You have to go back."
So, I move to an empty seat to call the secretary at my work. We talk, she says she doesn´t know what to do. Meanwhile, the employee, whose desk I´m sitting at, comes back from lunch and sits down. "Can I help you?" Me "Yes..." and explain my story. Woman:"I mean, it´s your account, you don´t need a letter to close it. It has your name on it, if you want to close it you can." Me (glaring at the first woman who did the crappiest job "looking" for the letter) "THANK YOU SOOO MUCH" i wanted to kiss her. I sign some papers. I leave. I celebrate.
So that is a short-ish synopsis of what happens when you have ANY sort of problem with the banks or any sort of office in this beautiful country. My motto here "The Customer Is Always Wrong" and that´s the truth.
To get out of here, Lori and I were waiting to get paid for September. I check my account before I leave for the states, no money. They didn´t pay me. I tell my boss, he´ll look into it. I leave for the states, still trying to pay me... no money. I get back from the states, still no money. I talk to the bank to see if i have any other secret accounts maybe where my job is depositing the money. Nada. So I talk to my boss. "Henry, are you sure they are depositing money into this account" and I give him my bank card. He runs down to some important person, they realize the bank was depositing my salary into the account that I closed two months ago (see above story) and that is why I wasn´t getting paid. Just take a breather.
The past Friday, I get paid. To get my money out of the ATM (the only way to get it out) I can only take out $200 a day. This is 3 more days we have to stay in Ecuador. Then, 1 more day to close my account, now we´re at Tuesday. Yesterday, Wednesday was my good friend Javier´s birthday (how can we leave one day before my best friend´s birthday! We´ve delayed this long!) and today we´re just waiting for Lori´s bank account to be finally closed (after transfering funds from her account here, to the states) Then... we leave :)
anyways, sorry... this was a big vent about banking in Ecuador. Don´t do it unless someone is holding a gun to your head (which could very well happen too! I´m just kidding... relax...)
27.10.08
Thanks for checking out my nerd site!
More exciting stuff to come (sorry, to my estudiantes lindos in Ecuador... this will all be English, so you can practice :) A mis amigos, quienes no hablan ingles... que usen algo para traducir :) les quiero mucho!
26.10.08
Getting Started
Well hello all! I hope everyone is well! We are well, still relaxing in Quito (well, not really relaxing). Resolving the million things that we need to do to finally get outta here! :) We had our 3rd going away party, hahaha.
Luckily, staying a few more days (or weeks... or... I mean, what was the original plan exactly?) has let us enjoy the famous guaguas de pan (pronounced wa-wa de pan) and colada morada. These things are (respectively) bread in the shape of dolls filled with jelly and a thick, hot, raspberry/strawberry drink. Together, to make my mom proud, I´d say it is "Soooo delicious." But no really, the combo is so delicious! (see foto of me with Guagua) We eat these to celebrate The Day of the Dead. Does it seem ironic to you too?
What more... Today Jose and I went to a soccer game, which if you all remember a few years ago, "Soccer Games" was the first thing I emailed home about. I hadn´t been since (can´t seem to remember why... haha). But reliving it was good :) It was the same as I remember (but less life threatening this time around). I think I had the smallest Liga fan at my side, with all of her two months. Maybe her first game (maybe not... haha). There were a few fights and everyone yelling cheers at the top of their lungs. It´s interesting, there have been very few times in my life that i´ve seen young, old, fat, thin... yelling "We´re the champions M*!¿ F;=!" I mean, yelling. Everyone. It was exciting, as always. (I mean, you have to imagine, like, Memere yelling that at the top of her lungs.) Anyways, no tear gas or running from the police this time. I´d call it a success :)
Luckily, staying a few more days (or weeks... or... I mean, what was the original plan exactly?) has let us enjoy the famous guaguas de pan (pronounced wa-wa de pan) and colada morada. These things are (respectively) bread in the shape of dolls filled with jelly and a thick, hot, raspberry/strawberry drink. Together, to make my mom proud, I´d say it is "Soooo delicious." But no really, the combo is so delicious! (see foto of me with Guagua) We eat these to celebrate The Day of the Dead. Does it seem ironic to you too?What more... Today Jose and I went to a soccer game, which if you all remember a few years ago, "Soccer Games" was the first thing I emailed home about. I hadn´t been since (can´t seem to remember why... haha). But reliving it was good :) It was the same as I remember (but less life threatening this time around). I think I had the smallest Liga fan at my side, with all of her two months. Maybe her first game (maybe not... haha). There were a few fights and everyone yelling cheers at the top of their lungs. It´s interesting, there have been very few times in my life that i´ve seen young, old, fat, thin... yelling "We´re the champions M*!¿ F;=!" I mean, yelling. Everyone. It was exciting, as always. (I mean, you have to imagine, like, Memere yelling that at the top of her lungs.) Anyways, no tear gas or running from the police this time. I´d call it a success :)
As one (of my many) finale to my Ecuador fun, Jose and I went to eat Chugchucaras last night. What exactly is this strange sounding thing? It is a plate of every delicious food in Ecuador. All in one convenient spot! I wish I had discovered this before, I wouldn´t have had to go from one restaurant to another in one night trying to eat all the delicious things! With Fritada (fried pork), empanadas (like a calzone... kinda), popcorn (it wouldn´t be complete without), potatoes and mote (like exploded corn) with chicharron (little pieces of fried pork), it was a great discovery. My students used to make fun of me, saying that when I said the word "Chugchucara" I sounded funny. I always wanted to tell them, "Well, when you speak english, you sound funny!" Another "Must-Eat" checked off the list :)
Over the next few days, we´re really trying to wrap things up. We plan to be out of here by Wednesday. We´re off to Tena, which is the white water rafting capital of Ecuador. We´ll see what happens!
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