What season is it?

We’ve been in Ecuador for three months now. Shouldn’t the weather be changing by now? It is still exactly the same as when we arrived. The sun still rises around 6 a.m. and still sets around 6:30 p.m. There has been little variation in the temperature, the mixture of sun and cloud has not changed and the amount of precipitation has remained about the same.

At first we were still expecting it to change within a few weeks. It felt like we were enjoying a nice long fall. But towards the end of October, when we started hearing reports of snow and minus temperatures at home, we began to realize that the weather we were enjoying could not be compared to home! We still wear only a light jacket, if any, in the morning and enjoy the intense heat of the sun by early afternoon.

Loja is in a narrow valley between mountains on the east and mountains on the west. A typical day begins with low clouds covering the tops of the mountains on the west. By the time we leave for school at 8:00 the sun is bright and hot. In the morning we may have a little rain shower but it never lasts long. Walking home between 12:30 and 1:00 is sometimes very hot. (Of course it’s all uphill on the way home, so that might have something to do with it.) When we go to our Spanish lesson in the afternoon it could still be bright and sunny but walking home an hour later, it could be raining. It may get cloudy around 4 and clear up again a couple of hours later. Or, everything could be reversed and we could start off sunny and have drizzle by the time we leave for school. You’ve heard the saying,”If you don’t like the weather here, wait half an hour.” Here it literally changes every few minutes some days: from sunny to cloudy to sprinkles of rain and back to sun again. But one thing is for sure: it is never cold!! Lojanos might disagree, as we have seen them dressed in down jackets, toques and gloves! We’d really like to tell them what real cold is!

We usually use the weather as a gauge to the length of time until Christmas. Since we can’t do that here, we have to look at the calendar and it really is just one month until Christmas. Somehow, I think I’ll have a hard time getting into the Christmas spirit this year. We bought two Christmas mugs for our coffee but somehow it just seems wrong to use them in the summertime! There are a few decorations up around the city and our church was already decorated with a tree and lights this morning. But without snow and cold weather, it just doesn’t seem right. So do we miss the cold and snow? Maybe just a tiny bit. But I think it’s just nostalgia and we’ll get over it!

Things You Don’t See at Home: Part 1

Even though we live in a city with many modern conveniences there are just so many things you don’t see at home!

Students in uniforms – On our walk home from school we must share the sidewalk with hundreds of students from many different schools all either making their way home or to school for the second shift of the day. We have never seen so many students in one place. They all seem to converge on the street we take to get home. Between our home and our school we have encountered students from at least 10 different schools, all in their school uniforms. The uniforms are all similar, in that the girls all wear pleated skirts, some plaid and some solid colours, with knee socks and black shoes. The boys wear dress pants with black dress shoes. They all have some kind of a sweater or jacket with the school crest on it. Each school also has their own track suits which we presume are for phys ed.

The goat lady – We live on a busy street where the traffic rarely slows down. This is not so different from a city at home. But what we don’t see at home, walking down the sidewalk of a busy street is a woman leading five goats. She calls as she walks, letting people know she has milk for sale. We have watched her stop at a house across the street where a man brings her a small jar and she milks the goat right there on the sidewalk. He pays for his milk and she and her goats carry on down the sidewalk.

Manual labour - House construction is done much differently here. We have watched with interest as an addition takes shape on the house across the street. Since lots are small, the only way to get more space is to go up. Everything is cinderblock/brick construction. We have watched one of the men throwing bricks one at a time, to someone on the next level. This is after they have carried the bricks up two floors to the current top floor. We have watched the welder standing on a narrow piece of steel as he welds two pieces of framing together. We have watched them haul gravel for cement up to the roof by hand. They fill a pail on the ground and then pull it up two floors with a rope. (We really don’t spend all of our time watching the neighbours. It’s just that it’s all happening right outside our window!)

People riding in the back of a truck – If there isn’t enough room in the cab, just hop in the back. Children and adults alike use this form of transportation. We have seen construction workers arriving at the job site in the back of a truck ready to begin a day of cementing. We have seen sanitation workers, police officers, soldiers all getting a lift to where ever they need to be in this way.

Bakeries and chicken restaurants – Apparently Loja is known for its bakeries and chicken restaurants. You may think you see these at home, but you don’t see four or five bakeries on every block! On our walk to and from school we pass by so many bakeries. It’s hard for Dave to pass by so occasionally we stop for some treats on our way home. We have been told that most of the bakeries actually bake on site. How they all stay in business I don’t know. There are also several chain restaurants specializing in rotisserie chicken: Super Pollo, Sandi Pollo, Pavi Pollo. Downtown they are almost as numerous as Tim Hortons at home. So far we have tried two of the three and found them to be quite good.

Garbage collectors running to do their job – Yes, running. There are four men working on one garbage truck. The truck never stops unless it comes to a red light. The men seem to have a rotation as they run to pick up the garbage cans, empty them, drop the garbage can back on the sidewalk, run to catch up to the truck and hop back on for a few metres. Often all four of them are running to pick up the next four garbage cans. We are always careful to stay out of their way when we meet them. We wouldn’t want to mess up their rhythm.

Fireworks in the square – Soon after we got here there were a lot of celebrations with fireworks going on. We were at the main square one evening when the fireworks were beginning. They were being set off from a makeshift ladder affair, somewhat like a mini oil derrick, right next to the buildings, with crowds of people all around. I think there was a fire truck nearby.

Dogs – Yes, we do see dogs at home, but most of them are in a fenced yard or attached to their owners with a leash. We do see some dogs with leashes, often wearing little sweaters, but by far the majority of dogs we see are without leashes, collars, or owners nearby. They don’t seem to have had a “control the pet population” campaign here. With so many dogs running loose, you can imagine all of the mixed breeds of dogs around. We have never seen so many different and sometimes funny-looking dogs. The other problem with dogs on the loose and very little green space … well you can probably imagine that too. They have not adopted the “poop and scoop” motto here either. So we have learned to keep a watchful eye on the sidewalk as we walk.

Stay tuned for Things You Don’t See at Home: Part 2

The Sounds of Loja

Before coming to Ecuador, we would never have thought about the sounds of a place. But the sounds of Loja are different than the sounds of Rocky Mountain House. Now that we have been here for a little more than two months I think we’ve heard it all. So here are the sounds of Loja:

The garbage truck – You’ve heard about this one before but it still amazes me that a garbage truck plays such a friendly little tune. We hear it every day at all hours.

The gas truck – At first I thought this 6 note tune would drive me crazy if I had to hear it all day long. Surprisingly, it’s one of those things that you seem to block out, like the traffic noise. Jenna, on the other hand, would be singing, humming, or whistling that tune all day! Now that would drive us crazy!

Our washing machine – They do like their tunes here. Even our washer plays a happy little song when the cycle is complete. It’s much nicer than the annoying buzzer on our washer at home.

Horns honking – Okay, sometimes they honk at us when we don’t cross the street fast enough but usually it’s at other drivers. No sooner does the light change to green and everyone honks their horn, as if the driver at the front might not have noticed the change. As also mentioned in an earlier blog, drivers tend to honk and go at a stop sign. Taxis also honk at us frequently, but it’s just a friendly little toot, offering us a ride.

Car alarms – We have never heard so many car alarms! They are constantly going off and no one pays any attention. It’s not a simple alarm but rather a whole series of sounds that continue for quite some time.

Parrots – We only recently heard parrots outside the school. Unfortunately, the sound is not as pretty as the bird and is only somewhat better than the sound of a magpie.

Roosters – Often on our walk to school in the morning we will hear a couple of roosters crowing behind someone’s fence or on a rooftop.

School bells – They aren’t so much bells as sirens. At first we thought there must be an emergency nearby but were told not to worry; it was only a school bell indicating the end of a class.

Venders selling their wares – It is not uncommon to hear people walking down the street calling out what they are selling: anything from candied apples, to brooms and mops, to goat’s milk. The market also gets very noisy with everyone shouting, trying to be heard above their neighbour.

Loud music – You may think you’ve heard loud music but we’re talking rock concert volume everywhere, even in church. When the bass makes your chest vibrate, that’s loud. We have also been in some of the plazas for some outdoor musical events which were at a similar volume.

Noise makers – People here seem to be very fond of loud noises. These sound just like fireworks and go off at all times of the day and night. For what purpose? We’re not sure!