Things I Learned In Ecuador, But Wish I Hadn´t

Ecuador is a great country, but somethings take a little getting used to. These are the hardest lessons to learn, so far.

Lesson 1 - Toilet paper does NOT go in the toilet. In Ecuador (and many other South American countries) the sanitation system isn´t robust enough to handle toilet paper. So in most restrooms (both private and public) there is a little trash can or box to toss the used toilet paper into. This is sort of disgusting, but aparently you can get used to anything.

Lesson 2 - Bugs and geckos are a fact of life. The bugs are plentiful and often blood-thirsty, but it´s the geckos that surprise you. I share my hotel room with Drew and a family of suicidal geckos. The geckos keep the bug levels down, but they also throw themselves off the ceiling with frightening regularity. Usually, they land on Drew right before he falls asleep.

The mosquitos aren´t too bad right now, but the sand flies are a problem. However, South American sand flies have nothing on New Jersey sand flies. Down here they just turn your legs into swiss cheese. In Jersey they do that and then take your wallet. So really it isn´t too bad.

Lesson 3 - Hot water is the world´s greatest luxury. Whoever invented the hot water heater should have been awarded the Nobel prize. You don´t realize how nice a hot shower is until you go two weeks withough one. Supposedly, our hotel has hot water, but there has been a mysterious lack of it over the last two weeks. It turns out that the hotel´s neighbor/local drug dealer was using all of it every morning to wash his dog.

Lesson 4 - Instant coffee is a sin. Ecuador produces some of the best coffee in the world. You just can´t get it down here. Ecuadorians drink instant coffee (usually with milk) and will actively shun the real stuff if its available. So if you ever want to give up coffee just come down to Ecuador. Finding real coffee is a challenge and it requires great sacrifice. The nearest good cup of coffee is about two miles away, so every few days I walk to the restaurant just to remind myself what it tastes like.