First impressions and Experiences
It is hard to believe we've only been in Cuenca for 1 week! So far we’ve successfully: oriented ourselves to the layout of the city, purchased bus cards and figured out four bus
routes, purchased Ecuadoran phones, found the stores for and purchased school uniforms and a few of the required school text books,
made and arrived at appointments to see 7 different housing options, gotten ourselves to Cajas national
park (see more on this in a future blog), bought veggies and fruit at the market and cooking staples at
the big supermarket, and had our laundry done at the local Laundromat. It has been a busy week with many bus rides and with the kids holding up amazingly well. Here are a few things we've noticed/experienced:
Gabe noticed that there are lots of times (on busses, or when hitching a ride in a minivan full of bananas to get back from Cajas National park) that you don’t have to wear seatbelts. On the other hand we learned that in Cuenca drivers get fined and loose 5 of 30 points on their license if they are pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt.
People here are very friendly and super helpful.
Cuenca has a ton of green space: along the four rivers that intersect the city, but also several small parks in most neighborhoods, with playground equipment. The park in the picture above is right behind the apartment we are renting.
Fruits, veggies and eggs are very fresh. We’ve had lots of interesting fruits. Some (tree tomato, granadilla) we’ve loved. Others we thought were interesting (sweet cucumber or pepino dulce and cactus fruit or tuna) but might not become our favorites.
It is fun to practice Spanish by buying candy at the little store on our block.
If you cook the little red and green finger-sized potatoes they taste a bit like beets. And if you cook them in a chicken stew, the chicken and carrots and broth also taste like beets.
Garbage is picked up three times a week. Recycling happens informally thanks to entrepreneurs. There are little shelves mounted on the street-facing property facades where you can put your garbage so dogs won't get it but the garbage truck can.
When Lucia and Gabe get on the bus and scan their cards the scanner announces “estudiante!” and for Elena and Doug (or any other adult) “Gracias!”. Bus fare is 25 cents. For kids it is half price.
Kids notice and ask about things that are hard to explain: why are there guards in the phone store and banks; why is there barbed wire and broken glass on the top of walls around houses; why are there more germs here? Lots of quick thinking for me and Doug about how to explain realities in a balanced way.
There are lots of foreigners (estimated 5,000) living in Cuenca. But we’ve only seen a few others on the city buses, or outside a few specific areas of town.
Chicken and seafood from the deli or supermarket are expensive. Unrefrigerated chicken and seafood in the market are a little unsettling. Some in our party think its better not to have the food source so clearly identified. I tried to convince Lucia we should get lunch at the restaurant in the photo below. No go.
Favorite foods so far, aside from the special sweet bread (pan) that we all love:
Gabe: Chicken soup
Lucia: Camarones al mojo de ajo
Elena: Fried trout
Doug: still searching
Foods we've found challenging:
Gabe: Papaya. Just doesn't work for him
Lucia: Hamburgers. They don't taste as expected
Elena: Bolon (accent on second o). We think a plantain and cheese mash... but maybe fried in lard? Doug thought it was ok.
Doug: So far so good.... although he isn't eating any more chicken soup made with beet potatoes.
Gabe noticed that there are lots of times (on busses, or when hitching a ride in a minivan full of bananas to get back from Cajas National park) that you don’t have to wear seatbelts. On the other hand we learned that in Cuenca drivers get fined and loose 5 of 30 points on their license if they are pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt.
People here are very friendly and super helpful.
Cuenca has a ton of green space: along the four rivers that intersect the city, but also several small parks in most neighborhoods, with playground equipment. The park in the picture above is right behind the apartment we are renting.
Fruits, veggies and eggs are very fresh. We’ve had lots of interesting fruits. Some (tree tomato, granadilla) we’ve loved. Others we thought were interesting (sweet cucumber or pepino dulce and cactus fruit or tuna) but might not become our favorites.
It is fun to practice Spanish by buying candy at the little store on our block.
If you cook the little red and green finger-sized potatoes they taste a bit like beets. And if you cook them in a chicken stew, the chicken and carrots and broth also taste like beets.
Garbage is picked up three times a week. Recycling happens informally thanks to entrepreneurs. There are little shelves mounted on the street-facing property facades where you can put your garbage so dogs won't get it but the garbage truck can.
When Lucia and Gabe get on the bus and scan their cards the scanner announces “estudiante!” and for Elena and Doug (or any other adult) “Gracias!”. Bus fare is 25 cents. For kids it is half price.
Kids notice and ask about things that are hard to explain: why are there guards in the phone store and banks; why is there barbed wire and broken glass on the top of walls around houses; why are there more germs here? Lots of quick thinking for me and Doug about how to explain realities in a balanced way.
There are lots of foreigners (estimated 5,000) living in Cuenca. But we’ve only seen a few others on the city buses, or outside a few specific areas of town.
Chicken and seafood from the deli or supermarket are expensive. Unrefrigerated chicken and seafood in the market are a little unsettling. Some in our party think its better not to have the food source so clearly identified. I tried to convince Lucia we should get lunch at the restaurant in the photo below. No go.
Favorite foods so far, aside from the special sweet bread (pan) that we all love:
Gabe: Chicken soup
Lucia: Camarones al mojo de ajo
Elena: Fried trout
Doug: still searching
Foods we've found challenging:
Gabe: Papaya. Just doesn't work for him
Lucia: Hamburgers. They don't taste as expected
Elena: Bolon (accent on second o). We think a plantain and cheese mash... but maybe fried in lard? Doug thought it was ok.
Doug: So far so good.... although he isn't eating any more chicken soup made with beet potatoes.
