Day to day, there were several regular day things that we did or saw that didn't get much attention, but that probably need to be recorded for my own memory's sake. Here are a few:
➡️the mission house was hot - almost unbearable. We had one oscillating fan that offered some respite, but the air quality never improved. It was stuffy, humid, and always 7 degrees warmer in our bed room than anywhere else in the house.
➡️it was so loud in the room we slept in that the girls all wore ear plugs all night. We were sleeping over a very busy street. When traffic was moving slowly, cars and busses were honking. And at 3am when things were moving quickly, cars and motorcycles would scream down the street. Around 4am the garbage trucks would start their work - every day. Including Sunday.
➡️there are few outlets here. They are on US-style outlets, but most are just 2-prong. But there are rarely more than two per room and the one might be a single near the light switch. Needless to say, people have cell phones charging in odd places and extension cords with multiple things plugged in.
➡️they use the US dollar. And most of our dollar coins end up down here.
➡️the water pressure fluctuates a lot. Sometimes there is almost none. Tough to take a shower with a trickle - just ask Gillian.
➡️no TP allowed in the toilet, so all soiled TP and feminin products go in the trash - often times just a small waste basket with no liner. Yeah, ish.
➡️cold showers. No hot water here. A full week of that and a hot shower sounds really nice.
➡️garbage is everywhere. People literally throw any kind of trash on the ground wherever they are: beach, out their car windows, and into the streets
➡️driving insanity. Just like Janna mentioned in her blog, the driving is organized chaos. The big difference here is that the testing to get your license is very difficult. Josué, 28, still hasn't passed his test. Harrison, failed his while we were here. You need to know many "what if" scenarios.
➡️for example, cars are not allowed to move AT ALL after an accident. They must wait for authorities. This causes massive traffic jams because people are not allowed to get out of the way.
➡️cars of a certain age are not allowed allowed to be insured.
➡️people drink out of little plastic bags. Yes. Plastic BAGS. For example if you wank a coke from a street vendor, he will pour some into a plastic bag and tie it off, sometimes with a straw sticking out. Some of the water here just comes in little bags in place of bottles. And distributors will carry truck loads of bags of bagged water. Where do you think all those bags end up?
➡️we got harassed one day by a drunk man who wanted to help us get our bags into the cars. When we refused him, he went crazy and started swearing and pounding on our car windows. That day we were with Barbara and on our way to teach guitar. She has an old car with no AC and we had all 3 girls in the back seat with a piñata. It was a hot day. When we pulled away from the angry drunk, we didn't get very far because it was bumper to bumper traffic. So he just walked along side our car and pounded on the glass. Barbara and I took turns lowering and raising our windows to let in fresh air. This went on for 20 minutes.
➡️most of what you drink here is warm water. They use bottled water but they don't have the Culligan-style cooling units. Instead they just use a 6 inch tall base that the jug sits on that has a valve. Simple and effective, but not cool and refreshing in the heat.
➡️it is not really all that pretty here. The closest thing I can think of as a reference point is Los Angeles. You know how the mountains of LA are green and kinda brownish? Same here. Also the sky is kinda hazy, smoggy like LA. Every now and then, you catch a view or a scene that is beautiful, but for the most part, it is So Cal pretty here.
➡️people from North America are "gringos" here. You will here them say it to each other as you walk by them. It is not considered a bad word - just a fact.
➡️helmets required for motor bikes but not for bicycles.
➡️the gang fighting here is mostly about vengeance and territory. Very little drug stuff going on here.
➡️dirty place; clean people. The people don't smell here. In fact, we were told that the men in particular are obsessed with being clean, smelling good, and looking good. You have never seen so much hair gel in your life.
➡️Perros, or dogs, are everywhere. And the don't get hit by cars often.
➡️Cristian was shocked that people in the US would moon someone. In fact, it took me a while to even describe it to him. I finally showed him some movie clips. He hated it. "Why would anyone want to do that?" Good question, Cristian.
➡️people wear longs pants and don't sweat. You see shorts too. But it is not uncommon to see people covered head to toe. Even on the soccer field.
➡️they are a good people here. Very relational. They laugh a lot and work very hard. Lots of hand shakes and hugs. Big smiles. We enjoyed our time here tremendously. This part of the world needs some love. We would definitely come back.
No comments:
Post a Comment