#15 Dolla Holla y Montñas

So an ick thing about the city is the potential for crime. However, there are definite ways to keep yourself safe and minimize the loss if anything does happen. For us ladies, what was suggested to us, is keeping our phones and money in our bras. Now if my grandma was reading this, she’d be like, “That old trick?” but hey, it’s our survival skill. Now do I like doing this? Not at all. I don’t like having a phone that close to my body at all with all of it’s harmful waves, and if you have never tried to pay for something with a soggy sweat dollar, then you don’t know real shame. However, this list was born in an attempt to see the bright side of things even when they are not so sunny. Well the bright side of this one? When you come home ick from all the sweat and ready to jump in the shower, it never fails, the pouring out of money that had inevitably been sticking to my body. Hey it’s a stretch, but I do get delighted when I’m like, SWEET I still had 5 dollars on me. Or sometimes ,I don’t know how, I forget all together that I had money in my bra. I can only imagine this is the high that strippers get finding dollars in their underthings. May be a stretch, but on a crummy day, dolla dolla bills ya’ll on the falling on the bathroom floor are all I need to pick me back up ☺

#14 When Machismo = Chivalry

I was attempting to take the machismo that I often encounter that I cannot STAND, that makes it hard for me to leave my house some days and change it into a positive and try to draw some parallels how it can be consider chivalry. But Hablo Serio! Machismo SUCKS and that’s really there is to it. Sorry. I’ll do better next time.

Naranjal

Naranjal, now this is one you may not hear a lot about. It’s a small city outside of Guayaquil where a volunteer I was visiting lived. We were throwing a surprise party for a friend and decided that a hike would be the best birthday present. Naranjal brags of waterfall hikes, that an be physically challenging but worth the trek. I will say I like Naranjal. The city was small, but not campo like I thought. It’s an actually city with stores, cars and even a Tia! (that’s a store that I liken to Walgreens). We had to drive a little ways (in the back of a truck, you already know) to even get to the location to start the hike. It started off chill enough, but soon it became an issue of if we wanted to advance we had to climb ropes to get there. It was crazy and I never thought I was going to be able to climb using the ropes,
but I did and it was great. We swam in the waterfalls and climbed the rocks. Our group ranged from experienced and adventurous to I-just-have-on-street- clothes-and-I-don’t-do-this-kind-of-thing! The experienced helped, us less experienced and we had fabulous time. We rewarded ourselves with ice cream and brownies to close out the birthday and headed home. It was a great day trip and I liked knowing that an adventure like that is only an hour or so away.

#13 Night Rains

Now while talk of the rainy season struck terror in our hearts…tales of flesh eating cricket plagues and 40 days and 40 nights of non stop flood worthy rain…. It a) did not end up being Armageddon end of days b) sometimes the rain could be a joy.

In fact as the rainy season started to taper off in February the rain would mostly come at night. Not only would the air right before a rain be fresh and breezy, but the rain itself would bring some relief to the oppressive head and there is no sound better to sleep by.

My new tradition was when the rain came I would light a candle or incense and go to bed. Best sleep ever. So great, it made the list!

#12 Let The Sunshine

No one let’s the sunshine in like Ecuador booooyyyeeee! Now many days when I’m walking home and feel like I’m tight row walking directly ON the Equator. But really I could be walking miles and miles in the snow or the freezing wind and that would not be awesome. Truth is, I love the sun. I love sunny days, the energy it cooks into your skin and (I’m writing this as I sit DIRECTLY in front of my fan) I prefer the heat to cold. I mean I’m Sunshine Builder! So for those reasons I love Ecuador cause now one has Ecuador beat on the Lettin The Sunshine In!

#11 Condensed Milk

I don’t know what to say about this one, except for I never knew all the uses for Condensed milk until moving here. Sure you can cook with it right? Always an ingredient though. Um wrong. It can go in cocktails, it most Certainly goes on TOP of your snow cone as a frosting….and if you are under the age of 12 and can stomach this, then you’re eating it straight out of the can, drizzling it on your fingers and going to town. My first reaction was yelch! But then I was like…I mean it’s sweet, delicious…yeah why not. One snow cone with extra condensed milk please! ☺

#10 2009 Planners/Agendas/Year at a Glance

I don’t know what to say about this. Except for anyone who I have seen carrying around or in the case of the people I have the pleasure of working with, are all currently using 2009 planners. People on the street walking around, 2009. Some people have 2005, I don’t know if that year there was a planner sale or something, but that’s a whole ‘nother myster. It’s just comical to me, and it’s interesting how I see super professional people with it. So now it’s a game for me and I look for it. I Have finally seen a 2010 or two, but mostly 2009 reigns supreme. I’m interested to see what we’ll be totin next year.