(no subject)
If I die while I'm in Ecuador (which I'm not planning to do), it will be either while I'm crossing a street or because of something I've eaten. I cannot even begin to count the number of times I've almost been hit a bus or a car or a motorcycle or something moving fast that has the potential to end my life. It really can be quite shocking when you are six inches from the street and the trole goes by at about 65 miles per hour playing rudolph the red nosed reindeer. It actually does play that. They have these wierd musical horns that as far as I can tell mean "get the fuck out of the way or I will run you over and keep right on driving I swear to god." Sometimes it's rudolph. Sometimes its camptown ladies. It's always wierd.
I've also noticed that refrigeration isn't real big here. Eggs? We'll put some in the refrigerator, but the rest we'll just leave on the shelf until next week. Mayonaise? If we leave in on the table, we won't have to walk all the way to the fridge to get it. This frightens me. I would rather not contract a foodborne parasite at this point in time. Talk to me in a few months.
Although crime is a problem here, I don't feel particularly unsafe in that aspect. I took a sketchy, unlicenced cab last night because it was rainy and cold, and it turned out he was a better driver and not as expensive as the licenced taxis. This morning, I called for a cab and I clearly saw the driver put what looked like a red sock over the his fare meter. When I asked about it he said, "oh no, you must be mistaken, I don't have a meter." And then he charged me $4 for the $1.50 ride. We also ran into a girl today who warned us about walking through a certain part of town (that we had walked through earlier) because she had just been robbed there at knife-point. She didn't seem upset about it at all. "oh, they just took my money, they wouldn't have hurt me. I think I'm going to go home now." So far I haven't had any experiences like that. So far.
I've also noticed that refrigeration isn't real big here. Eggs? We'll put some in the refrigerator, but the rest we'll just leave on the shelf until next week. Mayonaise? If we leave in on the table, we won't have to walk all the way to the fridge to get it. This frightens me. I would rather not contract a foodborne parasite at this point in time. Talk to me in a few months.
Although crime is a problem here, I don't feel particularly unsafe in that aspect. I took a sketchy, unlicenced cab last night because it was rainy and cold, and it turned out he was a better driver and not as expensive as the licenced taxis. This morning, I called for a cab and I clearly saw the driver put what looked like a red sock over the his fare meter. When I asked about it he said, "oh no, you must be mistaken, I don't have a meter." And then he charged me $4 for the $1.50 ride. We also ran into a girl today who warned us about walking through a certain part of town (that we had walked through earlier) because she had just been robbed there at knife-point. She didn't seem upset about it at all. "oh, they just took my money, they wouldn't have hurt me. I think I'm going to go home now." So far I haven't had any experiences like that. So far.