Wednesday (Miercoles)…3 Noviembre
Fiesta (Festival) is “finally” over and things are back to
normal…well normal for Cuenca. Getting back to Fiesta
one more time (uno mas tiempo)… on the last day and…
solely by accident…I met my friend Charlie in Carolina’s
bookstore and…being that neither one of us had any
plans and…being that we were a half block from the
upper end of the “Escalante” (stairs)…we decided
(especially since I haven’t absorbed the experience) to
take in the last day of the “Fiesta Flea Market”. This
market incidentally… had been going on for the
duration of the holiday.
Now I really had no thought what-so-ever of buying
anything…but as luck (?) would have it…I happened
upon a stall that was selling…and I’m at a loss for the
Ecuadorian word…”western” (sombrero?) type hats.
One caught my eye and well…you can guess the
outcome!
If by some ridiculous chance you have not guessed…
well I did end up acquiring un sombrero. The hat in
particular is all leather with very good workmanship
and fits just right. The cost…asking price was $35.00…
agreed price after some friendly bantering ended at
25.00 bucks!
Now for a little bit…the final price was bugging me a
somewhat…as I remember seeing a decent hat in Corral
Hypermarcado (large market akin to Target). However…
as I needed to do a bit of shopping in this store…
I expressly took a close look at the hat in question.
The price…$2.95 [two dollars and ninety-five cents].
Yes…you read that right however…although it looked
good…it was in deed of very poor quality and…made
entirely of the "V" word...as in vinyl.
This knowledge…definitely took the “sting” out of my
previous uncertainty.
Friday (Viernes)…5 Noviembre
As for mi nuevo departemento (my new apartment)…the
“dust has just about settled”. Everything is working but
with one exception and that unfortunately is the Internet.
Apparently…the building has wi-fi but… this is all
private. So mi amigos…I’m left with one option…
that being…to get “my own” Internet directly into my
apartment.
Now getting this service in EC is “not” the same as
you’d expect in the states (what a surprise...huh?).
If I understand correctly…I first need to open a bank
account as Etapa (the provider)…takes their monthly
payment (around $28.00…for decent speed) directly
from my new bank account (this by the way…is a
good thing as it’s much easier this way).
Unfortunately...I’ve been told that this process takes
a “few” days (keep in mind that "a few days" here in
Ecuador...well can mean just about "when-ever"!
Once this is done…I need to physically go to Etapa
with the above bank information...my proof of
residency...[Cedula & Censo]…the deposit
(see above) and a copy of a utility bill from the
“apartment owner”. Once “all” this is complete I
will once again be joining the ranks of the
“connected populace”.
You can be certain that…an E-mail will be
forthcoming regarding this little “new” adventures’
completion.
Sunday (Domingo)…7 Noviembre
”Greetings and Salutations”….
Buenos Dias…as it’s early Sunday morning and as I
just finished a nice home-made…all-American breakfast…
I thought I’d fill in some blanks concerning life in
general…specifically in Cuenca. What brought me to
this point…was the act of having breakfast with my
friend “R” yesterday.The reasoning behind this…was
due to happenstance within the place that we had said
Desayano (Breakfast). The meal in of itself…
(excluding “R”s company) was nothing earth shattering
or for that matter…. memorable. In fact…before I
started this “blog” entry…hard as I tried…and to no
avail…could I remember what the meal consisted of.
No…what prompted this tale…happened post-meal.
You see…as we were leaving this little Colombian
restaurante…both myself and ”R” (she speaks Espanol
quite well)…struck up a conversation with the new
owner (apparently he bought out the old owner…
due to said owners health situation…as he returned
to Colombia for treatment). Anyway… this is when
“it” actually sunk into my dense brain [after all this time
in country]...that the “it”...I’m alluding to is…the subtle
yet important differences between this country…and
most likely all of South America…and the North
American way of life.
At it’s most basic level…I’m talking about the simple
(and polite) way of greeting…well “anyone”.
Getting back to my breakfast! After having a brief
conversation with the new owner and while making
some small talk…it was finally time to take leave.
Now…think about this...
In North America (especially the U.S.)…one would
pay the bill and…leave the premises. Actually (and
I’m guilty of this too)…one may pay the bill and
before leaving…(remember you already left a
[probably too generous] tip)…proclaiming a sincere
“thank you” to the wait-person etc…rather than the
other way around. Weird…huh?
Here in Cuenca...just the opposite (and “zero” tip
expected).But…I’ve sidestepped the real purpose of
today’s “rant”. That is simply this…
“Day to Day Living and Then Some”
Here in the midst of South America…one expects
propriety! What I’m referring to is the act of…either
meeting someone on the street or entering a business
etc. A friendly “Buenos Dias”…”Buenas Tardes” or
“Buenas Noches” greeting would be exchanged…
depending on the time of day. This versus (if any at
all) in the U.S. where “slang is king”…a greeting
may sound something akin to this...
Hey…how are ye doin?…Nice to see ye!...Yo!...
What’s happinin?...See ya!…Take Care!…or just a
plain “nod” (with or without a smile). The list...
as one can imagine…can go on…and on...and on!
I just mentioned “on the street”! These “personal”
greetings also extend too a “physical greeting” where
hugs and…a sort of “cheek-to-cheek faux kiss” is
exhibited. Incidentally…this greeting is “not”
relegated to specific sexual rules. The greeting…is
quite common between men and woman…
woman and woman and “not so common but is in
evidence” within two men greeting each other.
It should also be noted that a “hug” type greeting is…
while not a highly common occurrence…is
acceptable. A hearty handshake between the male
population is also common.
Now please keep in mind that all of the above are my
own personal observations…i.e …
a fairly Nuevo (new) Gringo.
Earlier I mentioned “tipping”…or should I say the lack
of it. Although things are changing a bit…leaving a tip
in an Ecuadorian restaurant is “not” expected.
However…leaving “small” loose change is appreciated.
Unfortunately…and this I can only point to our [U.S.]
upbringing… brain-washing…extravagance…
what-ever…as we not only tip “everywhere”…but over-
tipping is not uncommon in the states.
One thing that was drummed into my head by Expat
articles as well as other Expats here in EC is that one
does not “tip”!
That said...I can understand that there will be those of
you who may come for a vacation and/or look-see”…
and bearing in mind your habitual tipping…
If you feel you must tip…then the “rule of thumb”
is 10%...but keep in mind these few paragraphs…please!
One other item to keep in mind is the use of Half Dollar
coins and/or One Dollar Coins are in “daily” use and
are “very” commonplace…so be careful.
(a) tipping was and is “not” expected (especially
Taxi Drivers). NOTE: …my own observation…
when it comes to cabs [and I don’t take them often]…
over the past year or so (I’m told)…quoted rates have
increased somewhat do in large part to the drivers…
having had a taste of tips and …not getting said tips
as a rule…have caused this mini-fare hike! It should
also be noted that even though most cabs are licensed
and metered…one would be hard-pressed to see
evidence of “any” meter in “any” cab. I have actually
seen a meter (in plain site)…one time and one time
only and…obviously…not used!
One more item regarding “tipping”...
As many of you are aware…before my moving to
Ecuador…yours truly…for three (3) years lived in
Thailand where there is a saying which is…
“Same Same”. Personally…I have expanded on this
saying to: “Same Same But Different”…which as
you may have ascertained…refers to this countries
“way of life”. That said...here’s the rest of my...
“tipping” commentary.
There are numerous Norte Americanos…who
because of their “lack” of International travel…along
with (in most cases) a life’s worth of day to day
living in their “familiar hometown environment”…
are so accustomed to tipping…well they can’t help
themselves…as it’s almost second nature to them.
The problem then (and again because of the
Gringo’s general good nature) can become one of
open resentment by "some" of the “host” countries
population…”if” in fact the...now expected tip
does not materialize.
I’ve always tried to remember the tried and true..
“Same Same but Different” adage…as it helps
one remember that we’re...
“not in Kansas anymore”.
Smile and the World is Brighter
Hasta Pronto
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