Oh, Ecuador! Oh, Ecuador...

Now that I've lived in Ecuador for two months, I feel that I'm finally moving pass that initial "Ecuador is SO amazing/ohmigoodness someone please take me home!" phase and am starting to realize what I truly like about Ecuador and what drives me just a little crazy. It can be quite easy to start focusing on the negative the longer you stay in another country, but it's both the awesomeness and the craziness that come together to make living abroad an experience unlike any other. So, for your reading enjoyment, here are a few things that make me smile and say "Oh, Ecuador!" and a few that make me slap my forehead and say "Oh, Ecuador..."

"Oh, Ecuador..." 
(Let's start with the not-so-great things first so we can end on a high note.)
- The graffiti that covers every inch of available wall space in the city. Some of it is art-worthy...most of it is not.
- You're out late partying and your bladder is bursting and you can't find a public restroom? By all means use the street. It's not late and you haven't been out partying but the sidewalk is just so convenient? Go right ahead, buddy.
- I don't live on the coast with swarms of mosquitoes, but if you go for a hike rest assured you will return with a generous helping of insect bites. And, no, wearing long pants will not save you. These suckers went right through the material!
- When you ask a kind stranger for directions and end up on the other side of the city in the complete opposite direction of your intended destination because "the kind stranger" simply told you what you wanted to hear even though they had no clue where you were headed.
- The incessant barking from the neighborhood's dogs at all hours of the day and night. Oh, and the neighborhood rooster who likes to join in the melee (and who, by the way, crows waaay before the sun in rising).
- The dog poop that litters all of the sidewalks courtesy of the huge population of street dogs.
- Which leads me to another thing--the huge population of street dogs. Most of these dogs are so lovely and deserve a good home and it's awful to see so many of them scrounging for food on the streets.
- The concept of refrigeration is apparently not widely accepted. When we finish lunch (or any sort of meal), everything that we didn't eat sits on the stove in a pot (or on a plate on the counter) for the rest of the day...or days. Ants and cockroaches love us.
- The towel that you use to dry your hands in the kitchen is also the towel you use to wipe your mouth, mop up the coffee spill, dry the dishes, and cover the leftover cake sitting out on the counter. I think it gets washed once a week. I think?

"Oh, Ecuador!"
- So, this is what REAL fruit tastes like. Any fruit you can imagine and any juice from any fruit you can imagine is readily available and dirt cheap here.
- The amazing climate. Ibarra is located in a valley and thanks to it location has beautiful weather year round. We only have two seasons--wet and dry--and the wet is barely wet at all.
- I know everyone says this about South America, but everyone says it because it's true. The people here are amazing! It doesn't matter who you are, you're bound to be shown some authentic Ecua-love.
- I love the Ecua-greeting -- hug and air kiss on the cheek. After all, seven hugs a day keeps the doctor away!
- Family is so important here. Ecuadorians are very family-oriented and I love how often they spend time with both their immediate and extended family.
- Being called "mi hijita" by my host mom.
- People can actually dance here!
- I'm finally learning Spanish. It's a process for sure, but I think it's starting to sink in and become usable.
- I have students who actually want to learn. Sure, I've got some slackers, but on the whole my students make an effort to improve their English. It's a refreshing change from most American students.

So there you have it. My initial two-month impressions of Ecuador. I have no doubt that by the end of my year here both of these lists will have grown much longer and changed significantly. But that's all the more reason to write down these things now. I want to be able to look back on these lists in December or January and see just how much my perspective has changed from the beginning.