As anyone who has traveled abroad knows, there are always things in other countries that are shocking and are done completely differently than what one might be used to. Some of those things are blatantly obvious, others take some more time to figure out. So far, I have been in Quito, Ecuador for two weeks. Here is a list of some of those shocking things.
1. I unknowingly got rid of a caffeine addiction.
I have been addicted to caffeine for a while. Like many people with caffeine addictions, I would get a headache if I didn’t drink a cup of coffee in the morning. Upon arriving in Ecuador, I was pleased to find out that it was very normal to not only drink coffee in the morning, but again at night right before bed. As an addict, I didn’t think much of it because I didn’t think caffeine had much of an effect on me anyways, and I was right. I was able to fall fast asleep after drinking a cup of coffee at night. My first morning in Quito, my host mom asked me if I wanted coffee with milk or water. I thought this was a little bit of an odd question, thinking these options were not mutually exclusive, but I decided to answer that I wanted coffee with milk. My host mom proceeded to mix a little bit of milk and water and put it in the microwave. She then put the instant coffee on the table and showed me how much instant coffee to put into the coffee cup. I was a little disappointed because I am normally not an instant coffee kind of gal, but I actually really liked it. I proceeded to ask for coffee with milk from then on out. A couple of days later, my host dad asked for coffee with water, and I found out that coffee with water was not instant coffee, but rather drip coffee. I also noticed that if you ask for coffee with water, they don’t add milk to that coffee, so I proceeded to ask for coffee with milk. Right before going to bed the other night, I decided I wanted to mix it up and ask for coffee with water. My host mom asked if I was sure because she said coffee with water normally gives you energy. That was the moment I realized that I had been drinking coffee without caffeine this entire time. Honestly, upon arriving in a new country, you are always extremely tired the first week, maybe longer. The different language, new surroundings, and the long trip make you so tired, why not throw in a caffeine withdrawal?
2. Volcanic eruptions are not a big deal.
During class one day, one of my students announced that one of the many volcanoes nearby exploded. I was freaking out, not in a scared way, but in a wow I’m in a foreign country and a volcano just exploded and I haven’t even seen a volcano before kind of way. My jaw literally dropped when I heard the news, but no one around was shocked or amazed in any sort of way. Some people around me told me that I need to start wearing a mask and a hat because ash was going to fall on the city, and it gets everywhere. However, I did not observe any sort of changes in the environment. I am thinking that is because it rained right after the eruption which might have settled the ashes. Overall, volcanic eruptions are a lot less exciting than I expected them to be.
3. Every bus ride feels like it might be my last.
The school bus system in Quito is very different from the United States. First of all, there are public schools in Quito, but from my observation, it seems like most students go to private schools, and all of these private schools provide their own bussing system. In my own little neighborhood, I count about five different buses that come in the five minutes that I wait for the bus, each picking up only one or two students. Also, the busses are more like big yellow vans instead of the traditional school bus. My bus ride to the school is about forty-five minutes, going from the center of Quito to a suburb outside of Quito called Nayón.
One of the things I have learned about culture in Ecuador is that people are way more comfortable with being close to each other. When walking down the street, instead of moving to the other edge of the sidewalk in order to give as much space possible to the other person passing without actually walking in the street like one might do in the United States, Ecuadorians have no issues with almost bumping shoulders even when there is plenty of room on the other side of the sidewalk. When waiting in line for something, the person behind you is likely going to be breathing down your neck, giving only a couple of inches of personal space. I find this exact pattern to be reflected in how people drive in Quito. Cars and buses stop with only inches of space between them. They accelerate fast and they stop fast. I have never been more grateful that I don’t get car sick in my life. It took some time, but I finally have faith in my bus driver that every time we slam on the breaks or get inches close to the car next to us, we're not going to die.
4. Tomato juice is actually delicious.
Breakfast time is one of my favorite times of the day in Ecuador, that along with mid-morning snack one, mid-morning snack two, lunch, and dinner. The food in Ecuador is absolutely amazing. For breakfast, I normally eat a piece of fruit, a slice of bread or a roll, and drink a cup of coffee and a cup of juice. The juice is always freshly squeezed that morning. One morning, my host mom asked if I wanted some tomato juice. I tend to be a “yes girl,” especially when I am abroad, so of course I said I would like some. It was actually some of the best juice I have ever had. This was not your typical V8 tomato juice, it was sweet and tangy. I asked what kind of tomato they used to make it, and she said “tomate de árbol,” which means “tree tomato.” I have never heard of a tree tomato before, but it is a common fruit here in Ecuador. Suddenly, it makes sense to me how a tomato is a fruit, because this variety is actually really sweet.
There have been a number of other foods that I have had in Ecuador that are absolutely delicious. For dessert after lunch, we often have figs and cheese, a combo that I have never had before, but it tastes great. We eat a lot of boiled plantains which I have grown to love alongside some rice and chicken. We eat a lot of delicious soups with fish, beans, and potatoes. Ecuador definitely makes the top three in terms of food out of the countries I have traveled to.
5. Altitude sickness is a real thing.
Any website about travel to Ecuador will warn you about altitude sickness. Ecuador has the second highest altitude of any country capital in the world, coming in at 9,350 feet above sea level. Personally, I thought that the altitude was just going to cause some extra tiredness to my adjustment the first couple of days. I could not have been more wrong. My first morning, I woke up and got ready for the day and I headed to the kitchen to eat breakfast, feeling absolutely fine, when all of a sudden, I felt like I was going to pass out. I started to feel really dizzy and my heart started racing. I put my head down on the table as my host mom made me some juice and reassured me that this was normal. Altitude sickness is no joke.
6. Guagua = kid, not bus.
Ecuador is my fourth Spanish-speaking country that I have been to. In each country, I have been astounded at how different the dialect of Spanish is in each place. I have a theory that ever since I went to Spain, my Spanish hasn’t actually gotten better with each trip, but rather the local language and/or slang that I use changes. Throughout my time taking Spanish classes at IU, my professors did as much as they could to teach about various dialects and the different words, phrases, and grammatical structures that are common in each country. I remembered learning that the word “guagua” means “bus” in some Spanish-speaking countries like Cuba and the Dominican Republic. I was a little confused when I heard teachers address the entire class as “guaguas.” As it turns out, the word “guagua” in Ecuador means “kids.” There have been a number of Spanish adjustments I have had to make, especially because there is so much influence from the local indigenous language called Quechua. It takes a lot of observation, listening, and patience to figure out what these new phrases and words mean.
7. Teaching in the fog!
Ecuador has so much natural beauty that I have been enjoying every single day. Every morning, I wake up to a beautiful view of a mountain called La Pichincha, which can be seen wherever you are at in Quito. I can see this mountain right outside of the window of one of the classrooms I teach in. It is amazing to me that when there is fog in the morning, the mountain that I can normally clearly see right outside my window disappears with the fog, and then reappears as the fog lifts in the afternoon. I don’t think I will ever get tired of the beautiful views that I see. The mountains and the fog are constant reminders of God’s beauty.
I hope you enjoyed this list of things only a foreigner in Ecuador would notice. As each day goes by, I continue to learn and grow, grateful for each new experience.
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