Quirky Ecuador

So, there are some things here that are not good or bad, just different. I don't want this post to come across as a whiny complaint of my new country, just some observations (okay, some of them are more annoyances, I'm human and opinionated and it isn't all puppies and sunshine here). I will follow up this list soon with some equally complimentary observances, of which I have many:

• This is my favorite and I’ve been meaning to share this excerpt from our orientation guide regarding local addresses in Quito for a while:
  “Finding an address in Quito can be a bit of a challenge as there are 2 systems for numbering a house or building. Some addresses will have just a number which indicates how many meters the building is from the main road.  A building may also have a letter pre-fix.  This letter indicates the quadrant of the city (N, S, E, W).  This letter will be followed by a number, which indicates the number of blocks from the closest main road, there is then another number which is the distance from the last intersection.  Ie: the address – Whymper N28-42 y Ave. Fco. Orellana indicates that the building is on the street named Whymper, is in the northern quadrant, the 28^th block from the closest main road, and 42 meters (more or less) from the last intersection which would be Av. Fco. Orellana.  Some buildings may show both systems of numbering”  Got it?!?! Clear as mud.
• After spending YEARS happily adopting and adjusting to the growing green movement in America- reducing, reusing and recycling, I have landed back in the '70s. Seemingly, no one here is worried about their global impact. Despite my best efforts, I can not avoid the daily consumption of many plastic bottles and have no resources to recycle them. Litter is more abundant then I’d like to see.  Automobiles spew gross black fumes at their whim etc.
• The security here is intense.  We have four keys to get from the street into our apartment and our landlady is planning on adding another lock to our door!  All homes are surrounded by high concrete walls topped with barbed wire, electric fences, or straight up broken glass embedded in the concrete, none of which are visually appealing. We have a private security guard posted on our street from 8:00 am – 8:00 pm.  His name is Marco and he is awesome and helps out with other things like getting our water jugs and gas refills.  I’m sure this need for personal security is rooted in a cultural history of instability, civil wars and uprisings, but it’s taking some getting used to.  Back in Warwick we barely locked our door for the last 10 years and no one had high concrete walls surrounding their property.
• I had anticipated being disturbed by the local street dogs here, but I think I’ve come to terms with them. For the most part, they seem content with their lives.  They appear well fed, docile and free to roam their chosen neighborhoods.  What I did not anticipate are what I am calling, the “Yard Dogs”. Related back to the high level of security, you don’t actually see these dogs for the most part, but you hear them. They are posted as additional security behind the compound walls and you get a nice little jump when walking by and they start barking at you and poking a paw under their fence.  In my (silly American) mind, they are begging to come out for a walk with me and interact with the world they are cut off from!  Every time Maia and I are out walking, we wake up entire blocks of yard dogs as we stroll along.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this list soon!