Blogs from Historical Center, Quito, North, Ecuador, South America - page 7

Kenny doesn’t realize just how small he his. Kenny starts fights he can’t finish. Kenny has Napoleonic/small dog syndrome. Dachshunds were bred to fight animals bigger and meaner than themselves. OR maybe Kenny just doesn’t like other dogs all up in his biz-ness and when they get inside his American sized comfort zone he snaps at them. Our 13th day in Quito, only our second Saturday, Kenny snapped at an Akita and the 150+ lb Akita snapped back. She attacked his head, separating the muscle and skin from the skull and his right chest area, puncturing his lung, tearing his muscle and dislocating a rib. Kenny was in surgery for about an hour repairing the torn muscle and punctured lung and the surgery required about a 4” incision. I’m writing this entry 26 days after the ... read more

I smiled. I said Buenos dias. I avoided eye contract and then I noticed… Quitoreans are nodders. Solemn, respectful, have a good day, nodders. There are also marked differences between what greetings are actually passed and what we learned in Spanish class. In Ecuador we say chao, not adios, alo (ah-low), not hola and many times people will offer you a simple bien instead of bothering to piece together a buenas noches (or whatever). Not rude, just city people… rushing to and fro with their daily lives. Quito has a population of 2.7 million people… that’s the size of Chicago. Chicago is the third largest city behind New York and LA. I’ve never been to Chicago or LA and Quito is no New York (at over 8 million people), but it’s not overwhelming. The neighborhoods are ... read more

Lessons with the first lady of Quito: I ran into my landlady downstairs and she insisted I see her real apartment so I could visit her whenever I wished. She also insisted that I take chocolates as soon as I entered her apartment, which soon melted in my hand. She mostly insisted that we should setup lessons so that I could improve my Spanish and she could work on her English. Listen here youngsters… a lesson for you… old people are in very the least interesting and if you’re lucky hilarious. Sure she’s lonely and wants company, but this lady is still a big deal in this little country AND she offered to feed me. I adore her already!... read more

This statement is actually true. My apartment is the highest apartment in a five story building, affording me the best views of the old city, Basilica, Parque Ejido, the mountainsides and the suburbs that creep up the mountain offer the most beautiful view a night with thousands of tiny lights notifying the cosmos of life this city. It’s basically a studio with walls and doors, but since my bedroom is the only room of any size (if you don’t count the kitchen and the hallway with the dinning table) I think studio fits better than one bedroom. I have one full bath and one half bath and a BALCONY. It’s not big, but I’m hoping to get a small table and a grill out there. A grill, because it’s fast and easy, but more importantly, because ... read more

My birthday! What a way to celebrate my 32nd birthday and my 33rd year on this planet. My day started out slow, but pleasant. I read birthday cards, checked email and read in the garden of my hotel. Kenny didn’t stand for being left in the room for breakfast so I had to take him with me. Kenny is (as I expected) my international ambassador. Ecuadoreans are OBSESSED with him. Whether the airport, the street or the hotel, people point and rush over to pet him like he’s Elvis. He is mostly indifferent to his new found fame, but I’m sure once he gets settled he’ll lap it up. Just wait until they see him in his “My Momma Votes Obama” t-shirt. Speaking of presidents, I’ll skip ahead to my new landlady. Saint Jacquie had called ... read more