OK, so I fell off the horse a little. It wasn't my fault, I've been going non-stop since Cuenca with classes and the Fiestas, and of course, the boy. He's really great, and looks forward to meeting both of you. Although he's already afraid of Dad. Can't imagine why.
Have I ever told you guys that people in Ecuador don't believe in waiting in line? When you get here, you'll see what I mean. You'll be standing there in a line one day, and you'll realize that although there is a flurry of activity in front of you that you aren't moving. What happens is that the people (once the realize that you, the ignorant tourists, are actually waiting in line) just walk to the front of the line. Now before you get all worked up about it, you have to realize that people (as a rule) don't mind. If you get butted-in-front-of, it's because you a) didn't try hard enough, b) you were oblivious and therefore didn't really want it bad enough anyway, or c) you were "doing it wrong". "Doing it wrong" is defined by not guarding your place, not trying to cut in line yourself or generally abiding by North American rules of courtesy. Although it still gets to me sometimes, after a little while you get used to it, and begin to abide by their rules. T. has even cut in front of a nun at the post-office. (T.: "She was doing it wrong!) Seriously.
Have I mentioned that we have chickens in the front yard now? They were bought from the market as chicks a few weeks ago, and they are growing really fast. I think they are likely to be Christmas dinner. My host mom asked me if we keep chickens like that in the United States. So I thought about it for a moment. Do we keep chickens in the front yard of a relatively nice apartment building smack in the middle of the nation's capital? "NO! IN MY COUNTRY THAT'S CALLED A HEALTH CODE VIOLATION!" I naturally didn't say that I just related that in the U.S. most of our food comes processed, packaged, treated and chemically cured. And it occurred to me that maybe chicken-in-the-front-yard isn't so unhealthy after all. At least this way, we know how they were fed and raised.
part 2
: :
life in two languages
|
){kind=link}