Things You Don’t See at Home: Part 2

Tiendas – These are little shops which we might call convenience stores, however, they are nothing like convenience stores at home. Most are so small that you cannot go inside. In fact, many of them have bars across the front and you have to ask for what you want. It is passed to you through an opening in the bars. Others just have a counter across the front. Needless to say, there is no “looking around” to decide what you want to buy. Most tiendas have baked goods, although, how fresh we don’t know, some fruits and vegetables, and the usual junk food.  Some tiendas specialize in baby things, like diapers, some in paper and school supplies, some in plumbing and electrical supplies. As we walk down the street from downtown to our apartment we pass by many tiendas on every block. Some of them are open from early in the morning until late at night. We wonder how much business they do but it must be enough to make a living.

Street Food – On any given day you will see people selling food on the street. Carts loaded with skewers of meat, candy apples, or frozen treats are common sights. There are many events in the squares downtown in the evenings. As soon as things get underway, you start to see people hauling in their little tables, propane bottles, hotplates and big pots of something (we don’t know what!). They are set up all around the square in a matter of minutes, ready to do business. Again, there are carts loaded with skewers of meat and others making cotton candy. Bags of popcorn also seem to be popular. It seems any event is an opportunity to make a bit of money. We’ve even seen someone with a little table and a plate of sandwiches for sale. I suggested to Dave that maybe we could go home and make some sandwiches and set up our own little stand. But he reminded me that we’re not allowed to make any money here.

Babies on Motorcycles – Here it is the law for the driver of the motorcycle to wear a helmet and most do, although not always on their heads. Sometimes it’s on their arm. Passengers, however, are not required to wear a helmet so very few do. We have seen small children and even women holding tiny babies wrapped in blankets on the back of a motorcycle.

Cows Grazing in the City – Across the street from our apartment is a small park. At the back is a chain link fence and on the other side of the chain link fence we often see cows grazing. It appears to be a fairly large pasture area but we are not sure who owns the land or the cows. There doesn't seem to be a barn anywhere or a place to milk the cows. But then on a bus ride out of town, we have seen women carrying their pail and milk stool out to where the cows are to milk them right there in the middle of the pasture. Perhaps that’s what happens here. I guess we’ll have to take a closer look through the fence.

Gaps Around Window and Doors – Here the curtains often blow in the breeze, and that’s with the windows closed. At first we were amazed that we could see daylight through all the gaps between the windows and the wall and that the door to our balcony is a few centimetres from the floor. When we started to realize that winter was not coming, we knew why the holes in the walls were not a concern. With no heating or air-conditioning bills to pay, it really doesn't matter. Occasionally we have to inhale the fumes from vehicles that go by and Dave is kept busy mopping the dust off the floors but other than that, the gaps are not a problem!

Photocopy Shops – These are similar to the other tiendas but their main service is to make photocopies for customers. There is obviously a need, since most people probably don’t have personal computers and printers. But how much photocopying do people need to have done? On our ten minute walk downtown we counted over 20 shops advertising “Copias”. It is hard to believe that all these shops can stay in business when they are so numerous.

Street Cleaners – Loja is a very clean city. The street cleaning here is done by hand like most other things. These men are kept busy all day, every day, picking up the garbage on the streets and sidewalks. Some have a cart and a big broom made out of branches and others just walk along with a bag. The public garbage cans are few and far between so most people seem to just drop their wrappers and bits of garbage on the sidewalk. We wonder, if there were more garbage cans around, would it put someone out of a job, or would people not use them out of habit?

Laundry (and other things) on Rooftops – Everywhere you look over the city, you will see laundry hanging out to dry on the flat rooftops. Clothes dryers are obviously a luxury here. And really, when the weather is always nice, why not hang your clothes outside to dry? There are some roofs that are not flat and have all manner of plants growing out of them. As mentioned in Part 1, there are many dogs around and when they’re not on the street, they’re on the rooftops looking down at us. I just don’t think we’d trust little Ollie on the roof with no wall or fence or anything around the edge!

Venders Outside the School Doors – Here the schools, like almost every other property, have a wall around them, opening right onto the sidewalk. When school is out and the kids start flooding out onto the sidewalk, there is usually someone with a cart, immediately outside the door, selling ice cream treats, little trinkets, some sort of egg white “cones”, and anything else that might appeal to kids. They seem to do a pretty good business and consequently, there is never a shortage of work for the street cleaners either. 

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!

Crossing the Street

As we were walking down the street after an English class, one of the students said to me, “My English teacher told me that in the United States cars stop for people.” I said, “Yeah, in Canada too!” He was incredulous. If you have travelled at all, you will know that only in North America do pedestrians have the right of way. This has taken some getting used to, and crossing the street is still one of our daily challenges!

Since we are here short term we don’t have a vehicle as most of the long term missionaries do. Not only that, but we live in a fairly central location and really have no need for a vehicle. Consequently, we have been walking everywhere we need to go: to school, to church, to Supermaxi, to the market. This then, involves crossing many streets. You really wouldn’t think it would be that difficult.

Many of the streets are one way and some of the intersections have traffic lights. This doesn’t necessarily make it easier since there are no lights for pedestrians. In Canada, if the light is green, you go and trust that if any cars are making a left turn they will wait for you. Here you have to first look in all directions to make sure no cars are going to turn down the street you are about to cross. With no posted speed limits, they can sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. Streets without traffic lights usually have a stop sign. In Canada, even if a car is approaching, you know it’s safe to cross because they have to stop. Stop signs don’t seem to have the same meaning here. It’s more like, honk your horn and go.

One must also be careful of oncoming cars turning right onto the street you want to cross. Signal lights were a great invention but are not to be counted on here. Dave and I stand on the corner watching the traffic go by and one of us will say, “Okay, after that taxi.” The taxi is almost at the corner so one of us (usually me) starts out into the street, only to hear Dave say, “No, he’s turning!” By then it’s too late to turn back so I sprint across. Dave is still on the other side of the street, laughing. In fact, we have laughed at ourselves many times.

We have found that it’s easier (and safer) to jay walk halfway between intersections. That way there is enough time to cross even if a car comes around the corner. If the traffic is piled up waiting for a light it’s safe to walk between the cars. However, you have to check to see that the light is still red, otherwise the cars will start moving. You needn’t fear that you will stop traffic if you step out onto the street when a car is coming like you would at home. In fact, you need to step out before the car is there in order to have enough time to cross before the next car gets there. We are learning this as we watch the locals.

As the days and weeks go by, we are slowly getting the hang of crossing the street. But it seems that every time we think we’re getting pretty good at this, a car comes out of nowhere and we have to make a run for it. As long as we stay focused and alert, we’ll be okay!

Life with Lily

Upon our arrival in Loja we were fortunate to be able to move into the apartment of a family on furlough to the United States this year. The apartment came complete with furniture, linens, dishes, food in the cupboards, and a pet cat named Lily. We found out very quickly that Lily is no ordinary cat.

Lily was obviously used to having the run of the place. I guess we’re just not as tolerant as her owners and we didn’t approve of her jumping up on the table and the counter in the kitchen. Luckily all of the rooms are separate and have doors that can be closed. It’s a bit of a pain opening and closing doors when carrying dishes and food from the kitchen to the dining room table but we’re getting used to it. If a door is left open, Lily is quick to sneak into the room. She can also open cupboard doors and hide inside.

Lily is an escape artist. The first time we left her at home we came back to find her outside. The door was closed and locked. The only way she could have escaped was through the “skylight”. This is a rather amazing feat, considering it’s about 12 feet from the floor. We’ve never seen her do it but we imagine she jumps onto the washer, then onto the water heater and then another 5 feet straight up the wall to the edge of the skylight. There is a significant hole at the side that she can fit through. So far she has not come back in that way. Every night we hear the crash as she goes out and then she meows at the door at some time during the night to be let in. Sometimes she goes out more than once a night.

A few days ago we had been out in the evening. We came home and Lily did not meet us outside as she usually does but we could hear her meowing behind the door. As we got closer to our door we realized it was our neighbour’s door that she was behind, not ours, and our neighbour lady wasn’t home. How she got in there we’re not sure. We’re hoping she hasn’t discovered another way in and that it was through the open door when no one was looking.

Lily is not a friendly cat. For a while I thought we were coming to an understanding and were beginning to tolerate each other. Things have recently gone the other way. We have begun to let her come into the living room when we are there, mostly because she makes a fearful noise when she wants to get in, and I was starting to feel a little sorry for her, being confined to the hallway. (It really isn’t that bad. She has food and water and a towel to sleep on and, of course, the skylight to escape through.) In the morning when we are sitting down to drink our coffee, Lily likes to jump up on my lap. She starts to purr, but then starts digging her claws into me and biting on my clothing. If I try to push her away she jumps at me and bites my arm. I’m glad I’ve always been wearing long sleeves, or I’m sure she would have left a pretty good mark. Needless to say, I’m a little wary of her now and rather than have her climb into my lap I stand up to drink my coffee. Once she’s in the room, it’s not easy to get her out. She has a rather demonic look to her sometimes which makes her more than a little scary.

About three weeks ago Lily got sick. She didn’t eat for three days and was getting very lethargic. I was afraid we’d lose her, mostly because she’s not our cat. And when she was sick, she wasn’t so bad. Dave’s biggest worry was how to dispose of the body if she didn’t pull through. But after three days, she started eating again, and going out for her nightly prowls.

Lily does have at least one redeeming quality. There is apparently an abundance of rodents in Loja. Whether it’s because of Lily that we haven’t seen any or not, we don’t know. But if I had to choose between Lily and a mouse, I’ll choose Lily any day.

Teaching in Loja

We are slowly becoming accustomed to our new teaching assignment. To say it is different from what we are used to is an understatement. Having spent our entire careers in public education we are finding some obvious, and some not so obvious differences, in teaching a small group of missionary children.  

There are a total of five students in our school. Yes, five! There are 3 elementary students and 2 high school students. And how many teachers do we have? Four! I know what you’re thinking, but let me explain. The other couple is involved in other ministries as well, so we have divided up the workload to allow them time for other things. It also gives all of us time for our Spanish lessons during the week. Dave is teaching the elementary math, science and history (and the phys. ed. which happens once a week!)  I’m teaching all of the language arts, both elementary and high school. Even though we only have five students they are at different grade levels, which means preparing multiple lessons. The preparation is essentially the same whether you have one student or twenty-five.

Our day begins at 8:30 every morning. We meet in a room on the top floor (actually, it is the whole top floor) of the Loja Mission Center. We liken it to the old one room schoolhouse, although we are much too young to have experienced itJ The high school students usually work in a small room, off of the larger area. The students work until 11:00 when they have a break. There is a small rooftop area where the kids play. They have learned to improvise and play their version of dodge ball or baseball with an empty plastic pop bottle as a bat. At 11:30 they resume their studies until 1:00 when they are finished for the day.

To be honest, the first few days we really felt like there wasn’t enough to do. When you’re used to dealing with 25 or more students at a time, 3 is just weird! Those of you who are teachers can probably understand. Obviously classroom management isn’t an issue. Class discussions? Difficult. Group activities? Almost impossible. Competitive games and activities? Very difficult. We are having to come up with new ways of doing things in order to motivate students and facilitate learning. Now that we have completed three weeks of school, we feel like we are getting into the groove and can appreciate the differences and the time we can spend with each of the students.

Another big difference is the curriculum. We come from a public education background where we are not permitted to discuss Christianity or try to influence children in that direction. To look at all subjects from a Christian perspective and to be able to talk about it freely is new to us. All of the students have surprised us with their Bible knowledge as well as their spiritual maturity.

We are enjoying getting to know our students and are learning some important things from them. Things like, what to eat and more importantly, what not to eat. Where to find the best pizza, what soccer team to cheer for (depending which student you ask), and how to pronounce things in Spanish. (They love to correct our pronunciation.) They are a wealth of information when it comes to Ecuadorian culture. We hope they will learn as much from us as we are learning from them.