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