I've learned to expect an approaching empty taxi to honk at me, and just shake my head "no" as they get close...."gringos" are almost a sure-fire fare for the taxi drivers.
The other morning when my alarm clock went off, I turned over, thinking, "can't the people in this neighborhood learn how to turn off their car alarm before it goes off?" It took a while for me to realize this was not another neighborhood noise to ignore, rather my alarm to get up.
I found out that one of the five year olds in my class is actually eight years old! She has said she is eight since I got here, but I didn't believe her as she is the same size as the five year olds in the class. She has a younger sister who is five, but is not in school --- she'll probably end up being like her sister and older brother: 3 years older than the other kids in their class.
I don't look twice now when walking down a residential street in the center of Otavalo when I see a woman sitting in front of a barbeque grill blocking the sidewalk, cooking meat for sale! Anyone can set up anything to sell. I pass one woman regularly who sits inside the entrance to her house, selling Quibolitos, the little cakes cooked in the banana leaves!
Small change is required to buy just about anything. Unless you go to the right cash machine, all you will get are $20 bills. When most of the things I buy, for example bottled water or snacks, cost less than $1, the merchants won't accept the $20. In fact, I've learned to not even use a $5. Even in restaurants, getting change for a $20 is near impossible. You see employees running from their place to another, asking for change! It's a constant challenge to have all of my money in $5 bills and smaller. It just seems so strange that businesses don't have much cash on hand to give change.
Although my spanish is getting better, it still sucks. Here is how I know. In early December, I ordered a 'coca-cola zero' and got a glass of rum! In late December I ordered three sandwhiches (the other gals were joining me, they weren't all for me!), and got four sandwhiches. In Cuenca in January, I ordered two scoops of ice cream - and got them in two different cups, instead of one. So the damage is getting less and less with my mis-orders... Now, if I could just understand the answers to questions I ask in spanish!
I don't gag any more when looking at the kids with their noses running down to their upper lips. The other day, one of the kids pulled my kleenex packet out of my pocket, so I gave each kid one of the kleenexes. They unfolded them and played with them for a few minutes,and then the girl with the snottiest nose asked me "what is this for?". (They are used to me giving them toilet paper to use for their nose, and this was quite different.)
Barney is alive and well here. I had this picture taken for you, Derek, cause I know how much you love listening to the DVD I got Cameron!
It's amazing to me how much the women from the campo (countryside) carry in their beautiful white lace and embroderied blouses! You see women reach into their blouses and pull out wallets, things wrapped in cloth, sacks of things, etc! Also, I see women with various things on their heads. Sometimes I think they just take anything they are carrying to cover their heads from the mid-day sun, and other times I think they chose to carry the extra sweater, etc., on their head instead of wrapping it around their shoulders or waist.
And finally, I love that I can sit here in this restaurant for hours, when I just order a drink, or a snack, and they don't mind my taking up a table on a Friday night!
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