One Month In

---

So we're now one month into our Ecuadorian sojourn, and yesterday we got our official censo or temporary residence cards from the immigration office. No fewer than five Ecuadorian stamps in our passport later, we're totally legal.

Our little students are both adorable and aggravating. One niña tried to make Christine feel better about her English blabbering by saying (in Spanish) "There is a gringa in my house. She can talk to you." In general, things have gotten easier with occasional missteps, like when Justin tried to take the kids outside to teach by the trampoline or when Christine thought that glue, glitter, and feathers sounded like good materials to make carnival masks (that was messy). They may not have the entire "Old McDonald" song down, but they can totally nail that E-I-E-I-O.

But these are just our mornings in Cuenca. In our afternoons and evenings, we've been wandering around the city, shopping in the markets, meeting new people, and eating lots of ice cream. This week, we both started Spanish classes at the Amauta School. Christine can finally explain what she did yesterday, and Justin is learning to speak in complete sentences again.

So now that we are legal residents, here are a few observations and remarks about our new home:

• We've now met lots of other expats in town. Among them are several baby boomer (and older) Americans since Cuenca has become an extremely popular retirement destination. There are some incredible (i.e. insane) characters among this group. We are frequently referred to as "kids" - ironic considering the age group with whom we are spending the other half of our day.
• Remember those dollar coins that were introduced several years ago? Where did they go? To Ecuador. Ecuador uses US dollars as the official currency with dollar coins more common that single bills.
• We don't know where the change goes. There is a constant shortage. ATMs give out $20 bills, but anytime you use one, people act like you've just tried to buy a stick of gum with $100 bill. If you happen to have a giant jar of change on your desk at home, bring it on vacation in Ecuador.
• There is no enforcement of copyright at all. On every block in town, there is at least one store selling bootleg movies and video games for $1-2. Bad action movies and American comedies are particularly plentiful, but we've found a couple of stores that can only be described as curated with film classics organized by subgenres or by actor.
• No one wears headphones, sunglasses, or shorts (but there are tons of sunglasses and shorts for sale in the stores).
• The "Panama" hat is actually from Cuenca, and there are numerous stores and museums dedicated to the item. However, we have not seen one person wearing one.
• Being "Made in China" is considered a good thing, and there are many stores that note that everything they sell is from there. We're not sure if this is a statement of quality or price.
• The almuerzo lunch specials are the best deal around...soup, rice, meat, salad, juice, and dessert for $2-3.
• The food market is awesome with really great produce.
• The Chicago Pizza Restaurant in town has really good pizza, but there is absolutely nothing Chicago about it. It is thin-crust, New York-style pizza.
• All cheese is queso fresco and all "hot dogs" taste like bologna. Both are plentiful, but disappointing. Our soon-to-be new hobby will be charcuterie.
• We will also need to start homebrewing because Brahma, Pilsner, and Club all taste the same. There is nothing darker or ale-like around.
• Many homes, including ours, do not have ovens. So please send us your favorite stovetop recipes.
• Drivers honk a lot...really for no apparent reason at all.

We're getting ready for Carnival next week. The local celebration is all about dumping water on each other. We've got our water guns and water balloons ready for school on Friday.

---