Electric Shower

As we mentioned before, hot showers are a rarity here. We still aren't sure whether this is due to a lack of resources or a lack of will. We do know that most Ecuadorians take pride in not caring about hot showers and telling stories about how cold the showers were when they were kids. It's their version of the "uphill both ways in snow" story.

In some homes people have installed a "calefaccion" ( I think ) which runs on natural gas and heats only the water lines it is hooked up to. This is considered the higher end of water heating systems.

In our house, and much more commonly, each bathroom is equipped with the device pictured above. These are referred to as "electric showers" because they heat the water right before it hits your head through the magic of electricity. Some people also refer to these as "suicide" showers. I think (hope) this name is based solely on appearance. If you look closely, that is indeed a 40 amp breaker inside the shower and yes those are wires with electricity in them.

This crazy thing is that it actually works some of the time. The only real problem is that they are very sensitive to water pressure and flickering lights which are both commonplace here. You have to be ready to adjust at any moment.

Mucho progreso

There are a few things that we are becoming accustomed to in Ecuador.

1) lukewarm showers with minimal water pressure
2) dog feces on the sidewalk--not a good idea to walk without watching your step
3) always carrying toilet paper in our pocket-- never leave home without it
4) only very cold water in the sinks -- good for a refreshing facewash in the morning
5) wearing school uniforms everyday
6) mucho car honking --it's the alternative to stop signs
7) fireworks to celebrate EVERYTHING

We can't believe its been over a month since we arrived in Loja. The weeks are moving quickly, and we are making progress in setting up our living space. We are also falling into the routines of our life here in Loja. We found a Spanish teacher for twice a week. We were given a table & chairs for the kitchen -- perhaps next, cabinets and a countertop. As for now, we prepare dinners in the family's kitchen. It seems they have enjoyed the variety- tacos, stir fry, spaghetti, and coconut-peanut sauce. We started a routine of walking around the city trail or "sendero" in the late afternoons to counter the caloric intake of our Ecuadorian diet. In addition, being able to climb up to our 3rd floor apartment without heavy breathing is progress. Don't forget- we live at 6800 feet!

Nightlife in Loja

Nightlife in Loja begins around 10pm or later which is hard for a couple of old farts like us. The scene varies from dance clubs (discotheques) to pool halls to karaoke bars. There is also usually a live band somewhere on Saturday nights. This Saturday night we joined some other Americans to hear a Funk/Reggae band at Casa Tinku. The Bob Marley covers were popular and the music was typical of something you may find in the states. On almost every table the patrons sat with a jarra (pitcher) of Canelazo , a spicy hot sugar-cane liquor with cinnamon. And, the way for enjoying it is to pour a small cup and pass it around the table. Our experience with Canelazo...it is strong and should only be sipped slowly. Besides the Canelazo, beer is probably the most common drink. There are really only two brands; Pilsener and Club. One is bad and the other is slightly worse. Chilean and Argentinian wines are expensive. Cocktails are common too but, as you may know, ice cubes are an American thing.

We have made contact with the Peace Corps network here. A former Peace Corps volunteer who lives here with her Ecuadorian husband and child has taken it upon herself to organize gatherings. They actually own a rather large bar in Loja, and you can see the American influence such as ice cubes in the drinks, hand dryers in the bathroom and the wall of 30+ American beer bottles.
Most of the Peace Corps volunteers here are around our age and from Washington DC, California and Tennessee. The Peace Corps volunteer from Tennessee was disappointed to find that I didn't share his passion for Tennessee football. He travels from his small village (about 4 hours from Loja) just to check the internet for sports news. Now we have a few young friends to spend time with and a cell phone to keep in touch, but we really need some Ecuadorian friends to practice Spanish.

Viva Guayaquil!

Our first three day weekend to celebrate the Independence of Guayaquil, Ecuador. On Thursday evening there was an incredible fireworks display and concert in the park. We watched the fireworks safely from a distance, but friends tell us that it is not unusual for Ecuadorian crowds to be within feet of large fireworks. It fits with our observations of men welding with no safety googles, small children riding "shotgun" on motorcycles with no helmets, or deep holes in the center of the sidewalk with no warning tape...Ecuadorians prefer to live on the edge or rather prefer not to take life so seriously. As one of our new friends put it "It makes you feel alive." That is of course unless "it" kills you.

For the three day weekend, we headed to the town of Zamora, about a 2 hour bus ride from Loja. The scenery was beautiful...lush green hillsides and many waterfalls. The travelling was pretty smooth despite ongoing road construction and a few massive mud slides over the road. The only other obstacle was a big fat pig running down the middle of the road. This owner failed to have his pig on a leash, like the one we witnessed in town.


Zamora is a very small town tucked into the mountains, and hotter and stickier than Loja given its lower elevation. As we were standing in front of a restaurant looking perplexed around lunch time, two friendly Ecuadorian girls decided to step in to provide some assistance. Given we understand minimal Spanish at this point, they were better able to communicate with us using hand gestures and the basic Spanish of a 2-year old. They pointed us in the direction of some good restaurant options and local attractions. Later, we were stunned to spot a white guy wearing a bright orange D&M Coffee hat...yes, from Ellensburg no doubt! Unbelievable! He was in Ecuador on a mission project.

A highlight for the weekend included a swimming pool and water slide at the hosteria--an Ecuadorian style resort, I suppose. Watching Ben cruise down the waterslide over-and-over again and cast a large grin as he splashed into the water causing torpedo size waves...made me laugh until I cried. Another highlight was definitely bird watching. We hiked in Podocarpus National Park, a known gem of southern Ecuador for bird watching. Bird watchers might be jealous of the Andean Cock-of-the-Rock we witnessed. This bird puts safety orange to shame. Can't say that the domesticated Macaws and Parrots at the hosteria waking us up at 4am were a highlight, however. Nor the shared drain of the excitement when Uruguay kicked the winning penalty kick against Ecuador in the soccer game. No World Cup for Ecuador this year. Big disappointment.

A family birthday party for the 7 year old of the house was Sunday night. Like most 7 year olds, he requested a pizza party. There is actually some good pizza in Loja. Surprising the birthday boy with a slam dunk of his face into the side of the birthday cake...maybe a tradition we should adopt.

Rain And Sun

Almost everyone we meet here tells us that Loja has all 4 seasons in one day. In general, the morning is a bit foggy, then a nice burst of hot sun for a few hours, then some wind, then some Seattle style drizzle, maybe a Florida downpour then usually some more sun and a dry evening. You get the idea. Its impossible to predict and but we're getting used to it. This week there were two consecutive gray, cold and rainy days which had us worried until people assured us it was very unusual. It's nice to have the sun back. We celebrated with ice cream in the park yesterday. Ecuadorians seem to love ice cream. There aren't ice cream trucks here, just ice cream carts attached to bicycles.

Last weekend, the family that we are renting from, invited us on a day trip to Vilcabamba. It's a beautiful small town about 40 mins from Loja. Here, you ARE supposed to drink the water, the "fountain of youth." We read that back in the 1970s there was some 800 people over 100 years old. Hence why it is now known as the Valley of Longevity, and not surprisingly many "gringos" have made it their home. Our hosts told us of some private "American" city nestled down a long dirt road where no Ecuadorian's are allowed. Can't vouch for that. We did see a bunch of dirty hippies playing bad guitar in the town square. Vilcabamba abuts one of the largest National Parks in Ecuador and has a great scenic and mellow vibe so we hope to make it back there many more times. On this trip, we also had our first taste of raw sugar cane juice (picture included) at a small road-side shack. Although tasty, it proved unfortunate when it showed up again later in the week. Over the weekend, we also were excited to find our first hiking trail leaving from the city traversing through a park to a beautiful view of the city and surrounding mountains.

Monday we started our full schedule of teaching. Getting up at 6am isn't so difficult when the sun has already risen. We are thankful that that will never change. The SEI school is within our block, so its a fantastic morning commute. We are at school from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. All families enjoy lunch together at home, as do we, and follow it with short nap. According to our hosts, siestas don't happen in Ecuador, but all businesses seem to be closed until about 3:30. We have also been helping out in the afternoons at the "Speak-Up" program (extra English classes for all ages). We are teaching teenagers, just for the next few weeks until they find more English teachers. We desperately need the time for our own Spanish lessons and lesson planning for the mornings. We have benefited, however, from the teenagers advice about restaurants and nightlife.

Ben started coaching baseball this week as well. Everyday he takes a different group of 8 to 9 year olds to experience the great American past-time at a nearby dirt soccer field. Its's basically mayhem, but they seem to like it. Not speaking the language makes instruction more difficult. We'll have to get up to speed with that in the coming months.

Tuesday the Cane juice struck back with a vengeance. Since Ben was the one that had to help the doctor (our host) finish a liter of it, he also felt the wrath. Wednesday was officially his first sick day from school. Fortunately, lots of water and some Immodium cleared things up and by Thursday he was back in action.

Last night, we experienced nightlife in Loja with the son and daughter of the people who have provided us the apartment. They are roughly our age and brought along their significant others. Although our Spanish did improve after we loosened up with a few cervezas, they were actually interested in practicing their English ( oddly enough, none of the locals want to practice broken Spanish). At dinner, we learned that steak and eggs is an Ecuadorian specialty. At the restaurant ( which was full of young people) a live band played "romantic" music and at times the entire restaurant was singing along. After dinner, we learned that discotheques are popular, involve very loud music and salsa dancing. It was a good time.