Our New Apartment

We are now living in a new apartment. After 7 years of living on our own, living with a host family did not provide the privacy, control and quietness in our own home that we had grown accustomed to...so we made the difficult decision to move into our own apartment for the remaining seven months abroad. Without a doubt, having a host family was a very valuable experience as we were settling into Ecuador. To the Cobos family, we owe a great debt for introducing us to the places, the foods and the traditions of Ecuador.

Our new apartment building still provides us some of the same conveniences -- close to school (a 5 minute walk), a supermarket around the corner, and we can speak English with the family/landlords. The family owns the building and a feed store for farmers, so to speak, which is located in the main floor of our building. In the store they sell small chickens, feed and medicines for animals. Out back they keep the chickens, which wake us up each morning. It as if we are living on a farm right in the middle of the city.


Cooking in our own kitchen—a novelty once again after 4 months of being provided daily meals by the house maid/cook in the Cobos home. You might be surprised- what! Not interested in having a maid/cook! Certainly, it made life easy, but we are happy to be wearing the aprons again in our own kitchen. We can cook and eat exactly as we want...which means less meat in the diet. For the most part, our kitchen came furnished (our entire apartment for that matter). But, first thing we purchased for the kitchen – an orange juicer! While here, we must take advantage of a dozen oranges for $1. In addition, Imagine two baskets full of fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, farm fresh eggs for only $5! Fresh fruits and vegetables year round in Ecuador of course! We once saw an orange tree with the fruit from every stage on the tree-- because it´s forever producing.

And, a picture of Ben at our very small dinner table enjoying repe, a traditional soup of Loja, made of mostly green bananas, potatoes, green peas and cheese. With some guidance from our Spanish teacher, Ben made his first pot of repe successfully accompanied with two more Ecuadorian favorites- popcorn (try it on top of soup- it´s a nice garnish) and boxed wine!

And thank goodness we eat mostly dishes of fresh fruit and vegetables because plastics, cans, bottles, etc are NOT recycled. I gringe throwing tin cans, plastic bottles and other "recyclables" in the garbage can. Recycling, once lauded as a sign of progressivism in Loja around 2001, is not in fashion any longer. The only thing that can be recycled here- grande glass beer bottles. Ben doesn’t complain being forced to purchase the grande cervezas in order to do good for the planet. Throwing your trash in a public garbage can…not in fashion either. Bus attendant’s here consider “cleaning out the bus” as throwing trash out the window while moving. Literally! Unfortunately, we have seen it.