Yes Good Good

9/5/2014

To some people, joy is the smiling face of a newborn discovering something for the first time.  For others, it’s the satisfaction of a long day of hard work followed by a cold beer and a seat on the couch. For us, Yes Good Good is joy.

Many of you who have been following on the blog, or emailing directly with us know that we were without hot water in our home from August 17 until, well today. When we first moved in and noticed the issue, we asked if we could speak with the landlord. Apparently she’s living large sippin’ maple syrup living in Canada and cannot be reached by us common folk paying her money every month. So we spoke with our real estate agent who brokered the deal for the apartment. She said she would talk to the guard/maintenance guy…the infamous Jorge Lopez to take a look at it and fix it. Well that took about a week. When Jorge finally came to our rescue like a caramel knight riding his horse of Levi Jeans, black work boots, and enough hair gel to sufficiently keep his hair in place until our next rent payment, he tinkered with the hot water heater and turned some nozzles that allowed more gas and more water to flow through our system. This was unsuccessful as I tried this a few times on my own, but we applauded the effort and thanked our friend Jorge Lopez.

Jorge told us our gas tank was empty. I don’t remember if I mentioned this or not in a previous post but all of our gas comes from two small tanks in our storage unit. Some tubes run through to our apartment to our hot water heater which connects to our water pipes and bam we have hot water. In theory. Jorge told us to change our tanks, which judging by the weight of one of the tanks in comparison to the other, needed to be done. We gave him our $3.50 and after another 5 days or so the tanks were changed. (Note: now that we have figured out the system, it should be a same day change in the future)

On the day our tanks came, Shannon and I practically sprinted home from work choking down some of Quito’s finest pollution as we went. It’s a beautiful place, but in certain areas the industrial diesel trucks spew out enough black exhaust to make anyone breathing feel like they are sucking on the dirty sock of a coal miner. Anyway, we ran home and found that our gas had finally arrived…and we still didn't have hot water.  This was a low point for us. There may have been some tears shed on one of our parts and the discouragement was overwhelming.

When we regrouped we called the real estate woman again and she arranged for an electrician to come and see if he could fix our hot water heater. He was scheduled to come in a few days and all the while Shannon and I are boiling water, putting it in a bowl, carrying said bowl to the side of the shower and doing the cold water hokey pokey. You put your right leg in you take your right leg out, you lather it all up, and you shiver until you pout, etc…

When the electrician finally came, we recognized him as the same guy who fixed our door, our toilets, and every other problem we’ve had so far. Juan was back baby! Sweater vest and all! Juan looked at our hot water heater from about 5 feet away, turned on the water in the bathroom, walked back and looked again and proclaimed that we needed a new hot water heater. We called the real estate agent again and told her the news. She contacted the landlord and purchased a new hot water heater. Only, it would be a few days until someone could come in and install it. By now, our “few days” of being without hot water was about 3 weeks, but again it’s part of the culture. Problems can take a while to fix. You just have to be willing to roll with the punches when you are living in another country.

When the day came for our scheduled install of our hot water heater, a man arrived at the door carrying his small box and when I greeted him at the door and asked him in Spanish what his name was, he said “Si, bien bien.” My Spanish certainly needs work and I’ve been doing everything in my power to work on it, and it’s been largely successful. As a result, I feel confident in saying that I properly greeted him, introduced myself, and asked his name. He said, Yes Good Good. This is not in question. The only logical conclusion one can draw is that this man’s name was in fact Yes Good Good.

Well Yes Good Good installed the new hot water heater and there was still no hot water. He said it must be the valve cap on the gas tank and it would only cost another $37 since he already had the part in his truck. Yes Good Good went to his truck and got a new valve and surprise surprise, still no hot water. Let’s recap:

·        

       Move in, no hot water

·         Maintenance guy comes after about a week and tinkers with the knobs, no hot water

·         We get gas delivered, no hot water

·         We get an electrician to come fix our heater, no hot water

·         We get a new hot water heater, no one to install it, no hot water

·         We finally get someone to install it, no hot water

·         We get a new valve for the gas tank, no hot water

That brings us to the point where Yes Good Good goes out to our storage bodega and brings the gas tank to our patio. He hooked it up to the heater and…no hot water. Are you *&^&^$^#^%$&^%&*% kidding me? It was an inconvenience, then a frustration, then we resigned to it and it became a point of depression, then it became a point of hope, then a point of resolution, and STILL no hot water?!

Shannon and I were about ready to break at this point. We were imagining the next two years spent huddled together on the couch for warmth with dirt stained cheeks and stink lines coming from our bodies like Pig-Pen from Peanuts breathing out frost air.

Luckily for us Yes Good Good chuckled to himself, cut the existing gas line, fed some new tubing from the tank to the heater and presto! There was an obstruction in the pipe the whole time. We now had hot water. We would have paid Yes Good Good anything. I would have promised him my first born child like in Rumpelstiltskin. He waved us off and told us our total would be $2.45 and then he was on his way.

Tonight I took my first hot shower in our apartment. It was glorious. It was the best shower I have ever taken in my life. People are so busy with their jobs, lives, social lives, families, iPads, phones, games, tv shows, movies, and life to realize how the smallest things in their lives make the biggest difference in happiness and morale. Having water hot enough to create a tiny bit of steam on the shower felt like a life changing experience for me. I actually just got out of the shower, got dressed, and immediately picked up my laptop to type this story. It seems corny but this whole ordeal made me just a little bit more perceptive about the little things. You can take your cold beer and a couch, take your birthday cake, take your shopping trip or whatever else makes you happy. All I need is a little hot water, Shannon, and my man Yes Good Good. 

The First Day of School! 9/01/2014

While our counterparts back in the states are taking the day off to celebrate Labor Day today, Justin and I are headed back to school. We got to school an hour early (because, of course we did, we’re running on Mr. Muenker time now) and we brought our lunches from home – leftover chicken tacos from last night. I made Justin take some obligatory First Day of School photos, and then I left him to his final preparations.

Our school is Pre-K through 12^th grade and this morning they set up a lovely welcome banner and hospitality tent for the parents with warm pastries, fresh fruit, coffee, and hot tea. Today is what’s called a “Visit Day’ for Pre-K and Kindergarten, which means the parents come (and stay) with their little ones, helping them get acquainted with the school, the classroom, the teacher, and the other students. It was an adorable swarming of tiny children, dwarfed by their enormous backpacks (do Kindergartener’s even need backpacks?), clinging for dear life onto their mother’s hand or father’s belt loops. The expressions these wee ones wore on their faces was an even mix of smiles and wide eyes, but also tears and little whimpers as they took in the unfamiliar atmosphere. There is nothing that will quite melt your heart like a little three-year old with a furrow in his brow and a serious grimace of uncertainty as he reluctantly drags his racecar backpack behind him on his way, (at his mother’s gentle prodding and cooing) to his new Pre-K classroom.

I think the welcome breakfast was a wonderful idea. It allowed parents to socialize with one another and gave the young children a little more comfort as they eased their way back into school. I busied myself in the middle of the courtyard with a homeroom class list, directing students and parents to their morning classes.

My own schedule remains nebulous at the moment so until I acquire my own case load of reading interventions I’m busying myself with brainstorming possible projects for myself. One idea is to form a literacy committee on campus and to undertake monthly literacy events that can involve our entire school, parents included. Another one is to get Howie the dog some volunteer hours spending time with struggling readers. One of my graduate professors trained her greyhounds to come into the public library and read with students. The idea, apart from the emotional support that animals can provide humans, is that if a child is too shy to read to an adult, they can read to a nice, happy dog. I see this being a mutually beneficial arrangement, since Howie himself is a struggling reader.

I immediately notice that students (and teachers for that matter) have a lot more freedom at this school. Students all the way up to high school get a 15-minute “break” mid-morning where they’re allowed to roam the campus like free-range chickens. Lunch is almost 40 minutes long, and again they can sit inside or outside the cafeteria, at whatever table they choose. And there doesn’t seem to be much adult supervision during these break times. This is how riots break out in public schools. But, maybe they know something here that we don’t back home. Maybe affording kids a few freedoms here and there teach them to be more responsible and less likely to skip class and break rules. The public school teacher in me is twitching at the thought, but it will be interesting to see how young people can cope with added freedoms. Coming from an environment that is so micromanaged into one that encourages daily breaks for rest and play is going to be a hard adjustment for us pair of workaholics. Maybe that will translate into more time for blog writing!

A Three Hour Tour

This Saturday all of the teachers were given a tour of the city. It was a blast and a great chance to get to see some more of Quito.

On our way, we saw Ecuador’s largest volcano, Cotopaxi. It is a glorious, gigantic beast of nature that serves as one of the few remaining snow-capped volcanoes in the world. It’s just another example of Ecuador’s vast ecological diversity and yet again another humbling chance to stand in awe of the country.

We started off by going to the beautiful Virgin de Quito. It was built in 1974 to commemorate the Virgin Mary. It is 45 meters tall and serves as a huge landmark in Quito. The statue stands guard over the city as if to protect it in the same way as the Christ the Redeemer Statue in Brazil. It’s one of the reasons Quito was named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. She is unique in that she is the only statue of her kind to show the Madonna with angel wings. She is standing on a snake and faces North Quito. Surrounding the Virgin is a series of small markets. We were able to buy a legit alpaca blanket, a few paintings, and another trinket or two. It was a lot of fun and it gave us a chance to really see Quito from another perspective. It was beautiful. 

Our next stop was Old Town. We checked out the various squares and even saw an American Mickey there! Here I thought we left Orlando. Old Town was a unique area and almost seemed like another city in and of itself. The buildings were all gigantic and built in the style of old colonial Spanish architecture.

There were street vendors, tourists, and some of the most gorgeous churches I’ve ever seen.

I’ve seen some historoical churches and beautiful buildings but by far, Iglesia de la Compania de Jesus is one of the world’s best kept secret wonders. The church was commissioned by the Spanish, but built by the Ecuadorian natives. The entirety of the inside of the church is gold. The detail in the church is astounding and it truly is nearly impossible to stand in the church and not feel some level of spirituality. I wish I could have taken some pictures while I was on the tour, but it wasn’t allowed and wouldn’t have felt right anyway. I attached some pictures I found online for a reference point.

After the tour, we were all escorted to another school sponsored fancy pants lunch where we ate our fill and headed back for the rest of the weekend. The tour was a great way to see the city in a short window and to truly see some life changing sights. I really hope all of my friends and family will one day have an opportunity to see them.

Hace Frio!

Our apartment is a beautifully furnished place facing the valley and a forest. It’s really nice to look out and see in the morning. Also as I mentioned, Ecuador is a place of consistent climate. It is between 45-80 degrees every day. It gets cold at night. The sun is strong and warms things up in the day. It’s fantastic. In fact, the weather is so fantastic there are no heating or cooling units in the whole country as far as I can see. In our hotel there was no heater and no air conditioner. In all of the apartments we’ve visited or shopped for there were no temperature controls. However these things combine for a hurdle Shannon and I have to get over. The sun rises behind the forest, which means we don’t get sunlight into our apartment until about 9am. The sun is then over our apartment and therefore cannot heat it up by 12:30. This results in chilly temperatures inside most of the day.

This hasn’t been too big of an issue as we bought some space heaters and the consistency has given us an idea of what to expect every day. However, it becomes a BIG problem when one of your two gas tanks runs out; specifically the one that controls the hot water in the house. Also, Shannon is having to do her hair using the heater.

For the past three days and counting, Shannon and I have had no hot water for showers. On day one that means we’re going to bed smelling a little ripe. On day two that means we are going to take cold showers which consist of standing in the corner of the shower shivering and having your teeth shatter like the Crypt Keeper until you work up the nerve on the count of three to jump in to the cold water and as quickly as possible, rinse yourself off. That sucked. A lot. By day three we were a bit wiser and took our tiny pot and tiny pan that the previous owner left in our kitchen and boiled some water using the remaining working gas tank that is attached to the stove. We then transported the water in a bowl to the shower, repeated the shiver jump and followed it up with a warm washcloth and tiny salad bowl of warm water rinse. It’s getting better, but we need a long term solution immediately. Yet another adjustment we need to make as we cope with living in a new country where things work a bit differently.

UPDATE: I thought I solved the problem when I had a conversation with our security guard, Jorge Lopez (yes our security guard’s name is George Lopez) and we discussed the water issue. He told me if I gave him $3.50, and unlocked our outdoor storage bodega, he would pay for a new one when the truck came and he would install it for us. Shannon and I came home very excited for the prospect of hot showers only to find that our old tank was still in the bodega. We hope think that Jorge simply did not see a delivery truck today and that they will come by on Monday with gas for hot water. In the meantime, it’s going to be a long cold weekend.

UPDATE TO THE UPDATE: It’s Monday night. Still no hot water…

Llama Hunting

I don’t know if I can reiterate how well the school has treated us any more than I have already. Today, after our orientation stuff, we were split into two groups and given the choice to take a tour of Parque Metropolitano, or an art museum tour. Shannon and I went with the park group.

First thing is first. This park is massive. Depending on who you believe, it’s 1.8, 2.5, or 3 times bigger than Central Park in New York City. No matter the comparison, it is the biggest park in South America and is right by our school and our apartment.

We started our hike by walking on a few trails and checking out some of the beautiful views of some of the surrounding city, mountains, and volcanoes. It was really nice. The weather was great *shocker*, and some of the teachers brought their dogs, which made me want Howie here a little more.

As we got to about the halfway point in our walk, we found a Llama pen? The question mark is due to the fact that I’m not sure what to call it but there were about a dozen llamas hanging out in a pen type area. We all took some pictures and watched them for a minute until a llama herder (?) walked over, opened the gate, blew a whistle, and all of the llamas walked down the road away from us.

We kept walking a little bit longer and came across some beautiful art, various sculptures, a few wild horses and a couple of very upset cows who were making a big fuss about us being there. (I had to resist making a mad cow disease joke here with every bit of restraint I have)

When we got to the end of the hike we all ended up going to the home of our school’s director. She hosted us for a cocktail hour that was catered by the school’s food staff and was complete with wine, whiskey, beer, soda, food and the works. It was great! Llamas, sculptures, cows, dogs, and volcanoes…just another day in Quito.

Quito's Ark

We had a few days to settle into our apartment and into our school routine of orientation after moving in. Shannon and I got into a routine of walking to work and taking in all of the sights. On our way we pass the beautiful Mount Pichincha, a small volcano and a hell of a sight to see. We also pass a few dry cleaners, a pizza place, a few markets, and a three bakeries. They love bakeries in Quito. We also almost always see some stray street dogs. Ecuador, like many Latin American countries, has stray dogs roaming around and I suppose given the moderate climate they are able to thrive without much interference.

On our first walk through our neighborhood, we were leaving a bakery and Shannon decided when she saw a nice scruffy street dog, it would be appropriate to give him a croissant. Being a dog lover myself, part of me wanted to help the little fella, but given the possibility of rabies or other infection and the prospect of Shannon becoming a pied piper of Ecuadorian stray dogs I had to remind her that they were wild animals and it wouldn’t be wise to feed them. She looked at me square in the eye and gave the dog the pastry. There is no stopping her when she wants to do something.

When we got home a few days later, we found bird feathers in our apartment hallway. This is odd for many reasons. First, we are the only apartment on our floor. Second, there were bird feathers strewn across the tile hallway as if there was some kind of ritualistic animal sacrifice. Third, while we have a common area courtyard type thing on our floor that anyone could have access to, no one ever goes out there. Fourth, there were freaking bird feathers all across the hallway. What?! I haven’t even seen a bird in this country yet! (Although I have been told that due to the cloud forest, mountains, and Amazon, Ecuador has more bird species than all of North America and Europe combined even though it is a country the size of Nevada) We never found out what was up with the bird feathers, but hey a different culture is what we wanted.  Oh well, weird stuff happens here sometimes.

About a week later we were on our way home from school and Shannon grabbed my arm and shrieked. On the sidewalk where we were walking was a pig’s head. Let me reiterate so you don’t think there was a typo. There was a pig’s head on the sidewalk. Just the head. It looked like it may have come from a pig roast, but the side of a busy street in the middle of a city is still a weird place to see a pig’s head. Whole. Just the head. Again, it just seems like one of those unexplainable things that happens when you go from one culture to another. Things you don’t understand happen all the time. And hey, at least the stray dogs could eat without Shannon spending all of our money on croissants for Ecuador’s dogs. 

Shopping Time

Part of the compensation package at our school was a “settling in allowance.” The amount of money was also larger since Shannon and I aren’t married and it is a great asset to help with apartment down payments, furniture, food, and anything else you need upon arrival.

The first place we went was to the cell phone store. We were all instructed to unlock our phones in our previous countries so they would work oversees. When we got to the cell phone store, we found out it is Ecuadorian law that you cannot have a phone plan unless you have been a resident for more than 6 months. So here we are, a bunch of professionals used to the finer things in life like wine, good credit scores, and entitlement; and we were told we had to go back to prepaid phones like we were zit-faced teenagers who couldn’t be trusted to hold a phone without dropping it into a bowl of nacho cheese while taking a selfie. Oh well, we set up our prepaid phones with our Ecuadorian cell phone company, Movistar and we were on our way.

Once people had apartments, the school took them to the bank with their checks and waited while we cashed them. While waiting in line, we felt the room move and shake and realized after a second or two that we were having an earthquake. All of the teachers looked around for guidance like a tiny infant bumping their head deciding whether to cry or laugh. The Quitenos all turned to look at us to see if we would react and then muttered and smiled as if to say “Foolish Gringos…” No one even got out of line at the bank. I repeat, there was an earthquake (a  4.8 we would later find out, not that big of a deal but still) and no one even got out of line. Of course, we took our ques from the Quitenos and kept our place as well, thus proving our bravery and/or foolishness or something.

When we finally got to the front of the line, we cashed our checks and let me tell you, it is unsettling to know that you are cashing a check that you didn’t reallllllllllllllllly earn that is greater than a third of what the average person makes in your new country. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they gave it to us, but it makes you a little nervous when you are in a bank and a mall and you stick out like a green thumb because of your culture and on top of that you have an uncomfortable amount of money in your pocket. Another variable to this equation is that the banks give these large sums in 10s and 20s, so your pockets stick out like you’re trying to smuggle juice boxes.

It was all good though because we immediately spent half of that money. One thing I need to make clear is that manufactured import goods are expensive in Ecuador. Like Scrooge McDuck expensive. While our apartment was furnished, it had a twin and a full bed and as grownups we had to upgrade that. We ended up ordering a bed and dropping half my settling in allowance. After some groceries, our apartment deposit, and a coffee it was all gone.

Now to be clear, as a couple without a car it is an important feature that most stores in Quito provide free delivery. The problem lies in the address. We had our apartment issues figured out but they don’t really do addresses here. The translation of addresses would equate to “the road on the way to ____.” There are no street numbers, sometimes no street names. So our ordering and delivery consisted of a bunch of hand drawn maps, a landmark, repeating the few applicable things we knew in Spanish, and pointing and grunting. Amazingly, this works. We have successfully had a bed delivered and the cable guy come to the apartment with no real issues. It takes some adjusting but hey, a new culture is what we wanted.

In Quito, there are some sketchy places to go shopping, some local artisans, and MEGAMAXI. Think of MEGAMAXI as a Super Target. Upon our arrival to the school, we were given a Megamaxi discount card which would help us with discounts on all of our furniture, food, electronics, etc. Every cent of the discount is needed. Imports are expensive, like I mentioned above. To prove this, here’s an approximate pricing guide for some of the stuff we looked at.

-Crappy coffee maker in the U.S. $15/Ecuador $60
-Crappy branch 32” TV in the U.S. $275/Ecuador $400 on sale
-Crappy bedsheets in the U.S. $20/Ecuador $60
-Crappy floor lamp in the U.S. $20/Ecuador $300

You get the idea. Now this isn’t a completely awful thing. Labor, local items, restaurants, beer, wine, and food are all super cheap here. Even fresh flowers are cheap. You can get 25 roses for $1 at any number of florist shops on the street. I guess it all equals out in the end. Either way, we outfitted ourselves with what we needed in terms of food, blankets, and other essentials and we are eagerly awaiting our shipment of belongings. 

House Hunters International...Quito

The first thing I have to say is that I am amazed at how helpful the staff at our school really is. From our arrival, they have been driving us around town, translating when we couldn’t, asking if we need anything, feeding us, and giving us pointers on the city. Even if they were required to do it, the genuine care and affection they have shown us has truly been much greater than I could have imagined.

If I haven’t mentioned this in the blog yet, the school we are working for provides a housing stipend for their teachers. It is a very common international school practice. Some places have on campus housing, others own properties and let their employees live in them, and others like our school simply give a certain amount of money for the teachers to pick out a home. I have weighed the options on whether or not I wanted to publicize anything about our financials on this blog and decided there isn’t much of a benefit but I will explain the structure of the stipends. If you are a single teacher you get x per month for an apartment. If you are a an employee with a dependent such as a non-employee spouse or child, you get y for your stipend. (Slightly larger than x) That’s pretty much how it goes. The same process goes for a lot of the benefits offered to the school. Shannon and I are fortunate in that when we were hired we were not hired as a married couple, but rather two singles. We live together, split expenses, and yet still get the full stipends. It ends up being a better benefit for us this way but I digress.

When day two came and we were all in town, we were taken to the school and divided into groups. Shannon and I decided on a list of things we wanted and came up with this:

1.       Had to allow Howie the dog.

2.       We had a specific budget in mind that would be far less than our combined rent allotment so we could save some money.

3.       If possible, we wanted a place that was within walking distance of the school.

4.       If possible, a furnished place would be great.

5.       A nice view if possible.

6.       Two bedrooms and two bathrooms if possible.

7.       Closet space if possible.

It seemed arbitrary in the manner which they divided us. We were all eager to see the options made available to us. We ended up in a group with another couple, a family of three with a small child, a family of four with teenagers, and us needing a place for a dog. So literally every family had different needs. This proved to be a difficulty because during that day, we saw many options but very few could have possibly applied to us. Five bedroom mansion on the mountain, too expensive. Shire-like home with three “bedrooms” and three stories but couldn’t fit a family of Keebler Elves, not meant for a 6’1 guy. One bedroom efficiency in the center of the city (no dogs allowed), not for us. It seemed to go on like this for a while. We ended up seeing a total of thirteen places and only two would have been options for us and we only liked one of them. It was a gorgeous two bedroom two bathroom apartment with a phenomenal 360 degree panoramic view of the city, the mountains, and the volcanoes. The only problem was, it was unfurnished, a little bit more than we wanted to spend, and the other couple who we had quickly become friends with was really interested in it. We discussed it with the other couple and both agreed that we would wait until the next day of house hunting in order to make a decision but in all likelihood, one of us would take the place. It was overall a bit of a frustrating day but we were ready to go the next day.

The next day the school listened to our feedback on apartments and split us up by need. We ended up in a group with another couple who needed a place with a dog and we looked at about seven or eight more places that day. We were very happy with two in particular.

Side note on homes in Quito to provide a reference point for our tours:

1.       Houses in Quito don’t come with furniture. That includes a washer/dryer, oven, or fridge.

2.       Everything is gas. The stove runs on a gas tank. The showers run on a gas tank. Everything. I’m not talking about a traditional gas powered hot water heater. I’m talking about a mini version of one of those that comes with two scuba sized tanks. We later found out this is common in every home and a company will bring new tanks for $3.50 whenever you need them filled. The procedure for almost all places is to just give your security guard the money, unlock your bodega (small satellite storage area on property), and change them out for you.

3.       Also, there are no mailboxes. The guards receive your mail if you get any and give them to you when you get home.

House 1: It had an amazing view of the mountains and valley with floor to ceiling windows. It was close enough to walk to the school and even had a park for Howie the dog to play in.  It fit our pre-determined budget exactly, had a bbq pit area, a dog area, a gym, and a pool. The only drawbacks were that it was unfurnished, it smelled a little funny, and some of the walls had floor to ceiling cracks in them from the earthquake the previous week. Oh yeah and it was literally on the side of a mountain in earthquake country. It was still one of the more viable options we had seen up to that point so we were strongly considering it. In terms of security, the house wasn’t on a busy street, you had a guard you had to check in with if you were a visitor, and you had  the locked door of your apartment. It was a two bed, two bath with plenty of closet space as well.

House 2: Our other viable option was right on target in terms of budget as well. It was also within walking distance to the school (10 minutes). It was near a semi-busy street which could prove beneficial for taxis, but less beneficial for dog-walking. It had a decent view (albeit inferior to the one of house 1). It allowed for dogs, came fully furnished, and was very close to a nice pizzeria, convenience store, grocery store, and our friends’ house. (yes, the one I mentioned earlier. They ended up there) In terms of security, House 2 had a 10 foot perimeter wall with an electric fence on top, then a security guard to get permission to enter, then an elevator with a combination, then a metal doggie-door style gate, then our locked door. It was a two bed, two bath with plenty of closet space as well. There was also a park very close to the apartment that I could take Howie to on the weekends, which would alleviate some of my concerns about the somewhat busy area. The big negative for me in this house, and only a temporary one is the hideous pink walls it came with in the master bedroom. Seriously we’re talking Barney+ Pepto Bismol +those obnoxious highlighter neon pink Nike shirts some people wear. An easy fix though. There is also a little bit of construction on a college fairly close to this apartment which could be noisy.

 

 

Result: We ended up choosing house two because it was more secure (which is always important in a city and even more so in a developing country), it was closer to school, we wouldn’t have to spend $6,000 furnishing the place, and we were happy with the surrounding amenities. We are very happy with our choice and just need to get Howie the dog to complete the home.

Altitude Sickness

The city of Quito rests at an elevation of 9,350 feet. By comparison, Orlando, Florida sits at an elevation of about 300 feet. Obviously this is going to be an adjustment. As you go up in elevation, the oxygen becomes thinner. As a result, your body goes into a sort of overdrive trying to get sufficient oxygen to your heart, lungs, brain, and every other organ. What does this feel like? The first thing you notice is how quickly you get winded. Walking briskly, climbing up a few steps,  even hauling a suitcase from the closet to the bed can easily make you short of breath. I even noticed a few times when I was just having a conversation with someone that I became winded from just talking! The other things you feel are a dizziness or lightheadedness, headaches, and fatigue. According to medical opinion, the most important advice to help you acclimate is to not overexert yourself in the first few days. Sleeping, despite the fatigue you feel, is to be avoided as it will only make you feel worse. Instead, light activity that will pump more oxygen through your system is advised. But I wouldn’t necessarily call three days of apartment shopping (jumping in and out buses, climbing up flights of stairs, trudging through flat after flat) light activity.

Before leaving the states my doctor prescribed acetazolamide, a medication used to prevent altitude sickness. I believe it works by lowering the pressure in your body, caused by the lack of oxygen. After taking the medication for the first few days and feeling virtually no symptoms, I assumed I was in the clear and discontinued the medicine. Bad idea. The next day I got hit hard – a tremendous headache with intense pressure behind my eyes and ears (much like a migraine), and a queasy stomach. Unfortunately this hit me as we were in the middle of mattress shopping with a group of about 8 people. It was a pretty miserable feeling and lasted for the next 2-3 hours. The best thing to do when you have a spell like this is to rest, drink a ton of water, take Advil for the headache, and according to our school doctor – get some sugar into your system. She explained that the glucose aids your body’s metabolism as its struggling with the lack of oxygen. Sure enough, after eating some food, I felt on the mend again.

Justin and I still get winded after climbing the stairs or making the brisk 10-minute, uphill walk to school each day, but for the most part the headaches and fatigue have subsided. What I read online prior to travelling said that acclimatization can take around 3-4 days. But after talking to some actual Ecuadorians, they said the process can actually take up to a month before you feel in peak condition again. We can’t wait until we reach that point so we can really start taking advantage of some of the beautiful public parks and hiking trails in the city. But until then, we’ll just keep huffing and puffing our way along one day at a time.

Goin' South

Well it’s been longer than I anticipated before having a chance to post due to a lack of internet, however we are scheduled to get that all hooked up on Friday…which means probably next Wednesday or so. See, even I’m getting the hang of this Latin American Time thing.

Well since we last left off, we were about to leave for Quito and our trip was a little adventure. We were allowed two checked bags each plus a carry on plus a personal item. Our checked bags were weighed and re-weighed prior to leaving with the meticulous hand of a Post Master General, or a Nicaraguan drug kingpin. We ended up maxing out, with a little wiggle room in case the airlines were a bit heavy on their own scales. Each bag weighed in at about 47lbs. So we were good.

We flew from Orlando to Miami on American Airlines and it was alright. It was uneventful, which is what I guess you want from a flight. Then we had about an hour to catch our connecting flight to Quito. For those of you who don’t know, Miami International is a big airport. Also, an hour isn’t enough time to go from one end of the airport to the other. We started run-walking (the thing you see old ladies doing in purple and turquoise jumpsuits in the mall at 9:00am) from one area to another. The run walk turned into a rush jog reminiscent of the scene in Home Alone where the whole family sprints through the airport. Run run Rudolph indeed. We were on our way and approaching our proper terminal before realizing that we had to go through security AGAIN! We had about 15 minutes until boarding and we were just now getting into a security line for an international city in a city that isn’t famous for its punctuality. Tensions ran high but Shannon and I made it with enough time to make our connecting flight barely.

When we got on the plane we realized that we struck gold. Attention everyone: FLY LAN AIRLINES WHENEVER YOU CAN. It was amazing. We only had a 4.5 hour flight, but we were fed a decent meal, followed by complementary wine, followed by complementary coffee. This may not seem like such a big deal, but I’m used to flying on Spirit Airlines who charge you in order to not be put in the cargo cage containing bananas and cobras. Our experience was delightful. We even had touch screen computers in each seat back in front of us with pre-programed movies, tv shows, games, documentaries on Latin American Cities (Shannon and I watched one on Quito), and a music library.

When we got off the plane, we went through immigration pretty quickly and then waited for our bags for about 40 minutes. We were quite a sight with 8 bags total. We made our way through customs, which was also quick and we were greeted by a party of our school director, one of the Assistant Principals, and a few other VIPS. It was quite a reception. We were greeted with cheers and clapping and smiling faces. It may seem corny, but it was exactly what we needed after a day at the airport and arriving in a foreign land. We later found out that the school director and a variety of others from the school were personally meeting each person at the airport, which shows you what kind of personal family touch our new administration believes in philosophically.

We were then quickly whisked away and taken to the Hotel Quito to settle in with instructions to drink a lot of water for the altitude (9000+ feet above sea level) and a pickup time the next day of 8:30am. On the way, our driver who spoke no English whipped around hair pin mountain turns and weaved in and out of traffic at about 80 miles per hour. He kept trying to talk to us and tell us about Quito and I finally decided to try to oblige. When we got to the hotel, Shannon commented that my 15 year old middle school Spanish was good enough to fool the driver and that he hardly noticed that I didn’t speak the native tongue. I was in the zone. *Also, he probably definitely knew we didn’t know what we were talking about so he used the easiest language he could, either way it was a confidence booster and I was already riding high from our arrival. When we got to the hotel, we followed the directions and aside from a few moments of exercise and getting short of breath easier than normal, we were relatively unaffected by the altitude.

The next morning we went for breakfast at the hotel and caught our first real glimpse of Quito, which is amazing. We obviously googled the heck out of Quito with relentless enthusiasm  when we found out we were going there, yet as beautiful as the pictures were, it was no match for what the city actually looks like. Quito is such a blend of beautiful mountains filled with trees and forests, clouds, sprawling city, giant buildings, fancy restaurants, and street venders. The differences between the natural beauty of the area mixed with poor slum-like areas, mixed in with modernity are really a unique balance that simultaneously take your breath away. It’s really a marvel.

After meeting some of the teachers and getting bussed to the school, we got our first glimpse of who we would be working with. I have worked with some wonderful people. Some of the best human beings I know are friends who I have met at work yet even they would agree that there are just some people who we’ve worked with in public schools who don’t share the work ethic, passion, and grit to really care about their job. Some people just show up and clock out, which is not what teaching is all about. I don’t know if it was the nature of the type of person who has to literally give up everything they have ever known in terms of culture, distance to their family, and possessions, but in my first impression it seems that every single teacher I have met truly cares about their job and is devoted to bettering themselves and their students. Again, this is not meant as a slight to people I have worked with in the past because I have worked with amazing people and educators who truly will change the world, but it seems that the percentage of people who flat out live for this is a much higher rate. They are all friendly, adaptable, funny, and warm people who seem just as apt to share a meal with a complete stranger as anything. We decided to teach abroad and heard stories of how we were crazy, brave, restless, and maybe even bored but meeting all of the wonderful people we have so far who have made a life out of traveling the world to teach has kind of provided us with some clarity and for a lack of a better term, validation. There are people like us who want to just go out into the world and explore; who think that this experience and alternate lifestyle can be and should be considered a valid one, although it would be a fair statement to say that I am perhaps clouded by the fact that I am in my honeymoon stage with international teaching and with Quito.

We got to know each other quite well and spent the next few days in different groups apartment shopping before getting to the nitty gritty of school business but that is an adventure best saved for another day. I’ll post all of these as soon as I have internet. Just understand they aren’t being posted as they happen. We’re here in Quito, happy and healthy and ready for what we’ve set out for. 

Countdown to Quito – Bucket Lists

With only three weeks remaining before our departure, Justin and I began working on our United States bucket lists. Not surprisingly, a good portion of these items were food-related. Justin’s requests included: a juicy cheeseburger, pizza from a “mom and pop” place, Mexican food, a Pat’s Steaks cheesesteak, and one final meal at his favorite restaurant – Cajun Café on the Bayou down in Pinellas Park. My last food request was simply: a Wendy’s spicy chicken sandwich, and ice dream from Chic-Fil-A. Other must-haves on our bucket lists: attend a Phillies game (Justin), have a pampered, bougie day at a luxurious pool (both of us), one more visit to Miami (me,) make a few more trips to the beach (both of us).

We smashed a bunch of these things into one plush, fabulous week. We started by driving down to Tampa for an indulgent lunch at Cajun Café. Justin ordered the catfish po’boy with fried okra, and I had fried green tomatoes, and the shrimp creole with French bread. We washed this down with a few Founders Centennial IPAs and for dessert: the whisky bread pudding – always a nonnegotiable. (Cajun Café – check!) 

Once we had reached the traditional “uncomfortably full” status that comes with any trip to Cajun Café, we drove over to St. Pete Beach and checked in at the historic Don Cesar hotel. Dubbed “the pink palace,” the Don Cesar sits on powdery white sand, surrounded by wispy palm trees that swish in the wind and overlooks the warm blue waters of the Gulf of Mexico.

 Our afternoon was spent alternating between lounging at the pool and drinking Ketel One and sodas from the tiki bar (posh pool day – check!) and basking on the sand and floating in the ocean (beach day – check!)

Once we were done with the west coast we headed down to south Florida for one last visit (Miami – check!) And wouldn’t you know, it happened to be Miami Spa Month. Happy Day! Meagan booked us an Asian fusion couples massage at the Setai on South Beach. Justin has never had the pleasure of having a professional massage and I told him he was in for a treat. However we were  both equally surprised when we were introduced to our male masseurs. Let’s just say it’s a little hard to fully unplug and enjoy your own massage when you’re listening to the one going on right next to your head. Of further distraction were the frequent, throaty ujjayi breaths coming from Justin’s masseuse. I found the whole situation so silly I was muffling my giggles in the face pad for the first 40 minutes of the experience. Then, when we had flipped to our fronts and had our tummies rubbed (our tummies!) I nearly lost it. Later, when the four of us had reconvened for some cocktails, I asked Justin what he thought of his first massage. “It was okay” he said. “Parts of it were…weird. Did any of you guys get your face cupped for like, a solid two minutes?” With wide eyes we all shook our heads that, no, none of us had the side of our face cupped in the hand of the masseuse for any extended period of time. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to talk Justin into getting another massage, but I was impressed by his sense of humor and was relieved he was such a good sport about it – heavy breathing, face cupping and all.

In our last week we were honored with a farewell party hosted by the renowned Meg and Chappetta. They set up a pasta bar and Kevin made all the delicious sauces – alfredo, vodka, and marinara by scratch. Yum! We brought Howie with us (of course) and he got to sample the meatballs. For dessert, Meg made homemade key lime and strawberry gelato (what CAN’T that girl make?!), and we enjoyed a few boisterous rounds of Cards Against Humanity and an animated tournament of Heads Up. (PUDDING POPS!!!!!) And my most favorite thing, that little special touch that Chappetta is always so good at – she decorated the entire house with photos from our last 3 years as friends and as teachers at Freedom Middle School. Title I nights, AR Recognition ice cream socials, teacher paintball outings, field trips, all documented for us in photos. We got to take the photos home with us and I was so happy to have such a sweet souvenir to take with us on our travels. Justin and I were the last to leave. It was 1:30 am!! Do you know how late that is in teacher time?! It’s virtually unheard of. It was sad to have to say goodbye but we both left feeling so loved and so grateful to have such generous, loving friends. 

Our next few days involved a lot of packing, unpacking, weighing suitcases, repacking and reweighing suitcases – a dance I named the Suitcase Shuffle. After days of suitcase shuffling, we were able to get all of our things packed into our allotment of two check bags each, each weighing it at about 46 pounds – just four pounds short of the maximum weight allowed. Once again, I’d like to give a shot out to Space Bags for allowing us to shrink piles of clothes, towels, and pillows into neat little bricks. Seriously, Space Bags are amazing. 

And this brings us up to now, the time I’m writing this entry, the eve of our departure. Justin and I enjoyed a lovely meal with my mom at Bonefish. Then we came home and weighed our suitcases just one more time, just to be sure. Justin gave Howie some extra belly rubs and a rawhide chew and spent the rest of the night watching Shark Week. Those two are really going to miss each other. And then, after all the bags were packed, and all the final preparations had been attended to, we were able to relax on the couch with a little Shark Week and a bottle of Cotes du Rhone. Not a bad way to spend your last night at home, eh?

We'll check in when we get to Quito and get internet again. 

                                                                          

Circle Circle Dot Dot

A common question people ask us when they learn we’re moving to Ecuador is, “What shots do you need to get?” The simple answer is, none.  There are no required vaccinations for traveling to Ecuador. The CDC website has a nifty guide to vaccinations for travelers. The biggest risk posed to us seems to be from eating and drinking contaminated food or water, which could lead to hepatitis A or the more exotic sounding, typhoid. After doing a little research, including some advice from my “almost-doctor” sister, Justin and I decided to get the Hep A vaccine and we made appointments at the Health Services for Travelers Office. I’ll state for the record that I’m suspicious of vaccines. I mean, how do we really know what’s in those shots? But at Caitlin’s urging and the threat of permanent liver damage, I went for it.

The cost for the vaccine was about $50 and the nurse charges a $30 “service fee” for pushing a three inch plastic handle towards us and injecting our arms full of disease. . She was really pushing us to get the typhoid vaccine as well, I’m sure that comes with an additional service fee, but we turned it down. Besides, it turns out that the typhoid vaccine is only 50-80% effective (Hep A is 99% effective) and that doesn’t sound too convincing to me. 

So now our bodies are swimming with hepatitis A antibodies and we’re just going to roll the dice on typhoid. 

Box It Up

Well, we’re in the thick of it. As I type this, we are in the middle of packing our lives. As we were beginning to consider living in another country we knew we were going to have to downsize our possessions but that is a lot easier said than done. When we got back from our trip to New Jersey we got started almost immediately.

The process involved a lot of sorting. Split all of your possessions into two piles, this is stuff I’ll definitely need, this stuff I’m definitely going to donate to Goodwill. Then, after making those piles it was time to go through the “definite need” pile and shrink that down again. Repeat until more than half of your stuff going to Goodwill.

The house is a mess of boxes everywhere. Shannon has been a trooper. She has had quite a bit more work to do than I have since she has more stuff but she’s been focused and hasn’t complained about any of it.

Also, we made a discovery. Space Bags are incredible. They take a pile of clothing, sheets, towels, or whatever you have and shrink them down to the size of about a brick. They have made us very appreciative and have given us some flexibility with our packing. They come in a variety of sizes. Without Space Bags, our 19 boxes would probably more closely resemble 193 boxes. We were even able to manage to find a little bit of fun within the burden of our jobs. That’s it for now. Our stuff is being picked up later this week to be shipped out. We’ll check in later.

Farewell Tour

The farewell tour is complete. Shannon and I are currently on a plane from New Jersey back to the great, hot, South. It’s hard to describe my thoughts on this whole process. We were fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to see my step-dad, mom, sister, niece, grandmother, aunt, cousins, and friends for a while. We had the chance to share some laughs, some meals, and some drinks. We still have some work to do in packing, going away parties in Florida, and a few other loose ends but it was certainly nice to visit my family before leaving.

It’s always been interesting to me to hear people say they don’t know what they had until it was gone. It’s a saying I've heard applied to a variety of things, but most common for when a loved one passes away or a relationship ends. I think it’s through that scope that I am able to be fully appreciative of everything I have. I am not losing my family and friends, but the goodbye of a temporary leave to a new country seems to leave me with the same sense of fleeting momentary appreciation that is only truly felt upon loss. I suppose in that regard I am lucky to be afforded the opportunity, but I sure as hell am going to miss them all as Shannon and I go on our adventure.

During our trip, we had the opportunity to cross a few things off of our “United States Bucket List.” I know it seems kind of corny, but it’s something I wanted to make sure we did so we didn’t regret anything before we left. On this particular trip we crossed off a few things on my list; we took my parents out to breakfast (it was delicious as pork roll, egg, and cheese hoagies always are), went to the Atlantic City Boardwalk to see the sights and play some mini-golf, got some cheesesteaks from Pat’s in South Philly, and got to go to a Phillies game to tailgate and watch the game (big win). I am leaving on this trip pleased with the way we spent our time. To any of my friends and family in New Jersey, I love you all and I’m going to miss you. Thank you for the great time this week.

While the trip was a good time as a whole, I think the highlight for me may have been my niece’s dance recital. She is but a wee little one and of course a dance recital starring people that barely reach the height requirement of being human was adorable. For her number, she wore a Hawaiian grass skirt and danced to some Disney song. It was great. About halfway through the song, the fog machine kicked in to really set off the Bon-Joviesque choreography, but this was not discussed in the pre-dance planning boardroom with the dancers. Most of the little girls stopped all of their hula dancing and immediately focused on the fog machine for the duration of the dance. There was attempted scooping, giggling, and other symptoms of omnipresent wonder and amusement.

Thinking about this fog-fiasco got me thinking. I am going to miss all of my family for every other traditional reason people miss family such as meals, holidays, occasional judgmental behind the back gossip and the like. But above all of that, I am going to miss the tiny moments. I am going to miss being there for the unexpected moments where my niece discovers something for the first time and is overwhelmed with curiosity as my grandmother snorttles her laughter with uncontrollable volume that echoed through the auditorium with the bone rattling impact of a T-Rex. (Yes I had to invent a word for the noise her laugh makes) I am going to miss those daily occurrences of life that people talk about for years with reverence and appreciation.

I realize that I’ve lived far away from my family for a few years now and this has been an issue for a while but I just wanted to express my thoughts before we leave. In no way is this admission a moment of regret for our pending travels, it is merely an acknowledgement for my family. I want them to know how much I love them, and how much I enjoy those moments I get to be a part of. I do not regret my decision to leave New Jersey because without it I would never have met some of the wonderful people in my life, I would never have had the opportunity to achieve some of the career successes I've had,  I would never have shared some of the experiences I've had, and I would have never met Shannon. I am approaching our pending trip to Ecuador with equal parts excitement, anticipation, and appreciation for both the memories I've made with my loved ones and also the future memories I will make with them and more people I've yet to meet. All in all it was a great trip. 

Adventures at the Consulate, Or, I’m Not Leaving This Lobby Without a Visa

EST, CST, MST, PDT. These are some of time zones that exist in North America. Yet there is an additional, less known time zone and that is LAT (or Latin American Time). Turns out, the Ecuadorian Consulate in Miami runs on LAT. Latin American Time is best calculated by taking the time zone you are currently in, adding anywhere between 2 hours and 4 days, dividing by the number of people in the room, and then multiplying by 3. This is the approximate time frame it will take you to get paperwork done in a LAT time zone. Just know that going in, cancel your plans for the day, bring a book to read, and you’ll be fine.

I’ll say this, at least no one in LAT ever gets “stressed out.” There is definitely not a real epidemic of multitasking, rushing, stressing or worrying here. It’s a pretty laid back environment where things get done when they get done. 

I could write paragraphs detailing the frustration we experienced at the Miami-based Ecuadorian consulate, but I won’t. Because, as I tried explaining to my mom and Justin at the time, “Soon, we’ll look back on this experience and laugh.” And that’s exactly where I am now. So they don’t answer their phone, so their website hasn’t been updated in 4 years, so they don’t take appointments. No biggie. At the end of the day (and it was actually, the very end of the day) we left Miami with our visas and Easter baskets from my mom. And I even got a “Happy Easter” from the agent before we left. So all in all, it was a good experience that taught us a little humility, and how to slow down and smell the roses when you’re living in LAT. 

I heard about this cultural difference before going to the consulate and it sure is true. We made the decision to teach overseas and to move to Ecuador knowing that we were going to experience differences in lifestyle and culture. It's one of the main reasons we made the choice to go. This was our first experience with it and it will take some getting used to. I think I'll have a better time adjusting to those changes than Justin and he agrees, but we are ready to embrace the differences and the opportunity to learn about the new culture. We're ready.

Llapingachos

Llapingachos, (yah-peen-GAH-chos) or stuffed potato patties are a traditional Ecuadorian dish. To finally celebrate our new adventure (which was postponed due to the plague we both contracted in Iowa), we wanted to eat Ecuadorian food. Justin, the one of us who cooks in the relationship, found a recipe for these lovely little stuffed potato balls. Little did he know that such a seemingly simple dish would require a great deal of grocery shopping and hours (5 of them to be exact) of preparation. I will now simplify this process for you: First, mash potatoes and season. Next, shape mashed potatoes into balls. Then, stuff the potato balls with shredded white cheese and chopped green onions. Finally, fry them in a skillet and drizzle with homemade peanut sauce (this part sounds weird, but trust me it’s a nice pairing). Oh yeah, and then serve it with a side salad and fried egg. Fried eggs, potatoes, and cheese. What’s not to love here??

When I arrived home from work, I found Justin in the kitchen, wearing his Ecuador World Cup t-shirt, slaving over a hot stove while Ecuadorian street music, yes that’s actually a station on Pandora, played in the background. Two hours later the llapingachos were finally ready to eat and we sat down to our authentic Ecuadorian celebratory meal. We gorged ourselves on these warm and cheesy potato patties, toasted with glasses of Andre, the finest $7 champagne this side of the equator, and shared some of our hopes and wishes for our new home and jobs. It was indeed a lovely meal and a much overdue celebration.

Turns out, llapingachos also make a great breakfast the next day. And a pretty nice lunch the day after that. The recipe is enough to feed a family. For those of you playing at home, I’ve included a recipe so you too can make your very own llapingachos. Salud!

http://southamericanfood.about.com/od/saladssidedishes/r/potatocakes.htm

http://laylita.com/recipes/2008/04/07/llapingachos-or-stuffed-potato-patties/