Cultural Superstitions

Superstitions: Ecuador

When I was in college, I did a summer study in Ecuador and Peru. In Ecuador (Quito), I lived with a host family. A husband and wife owned the house. They had grown children and grandchildren who visited frequently. This was a well-educated family, probably upper-middle class. The husband was a doctor.

I went to the ocean one weekend and found some seashells. Oh, they were gorgeous! I placed them on the dresser in my room so I could admire them daily. Until the lady of the house noticed them there and freaked! Bad luck to have sea shells in the house! Find a new place for them immediately!

So I took them outside and placed them on a ledge or something, only to discover the next day that the grandkids had found them and after playing with them, had scattered them all over the tiny yard.

New plan: I stashed them on top of the carport roof where they were both out of sight and out of reach of the grandkids.

Next day: The man of the house backed his car out of the carport, out the driveway, into the street, and BAM! was struck by an oncoming vehicle.

Day after: I found a new place for those seashells.

Awassa, Ethiopia

Superstitions: Georgia (republic of)

Walking barefoot on the floor will freeze women's ovaries.

Drinking cold water or eating ice cream may cause sore throats.

Most illnesses are from a "change in the weather."

American superstitions

Salt kills.

Bottled water is better than tap water.

It's important to take vitamin supplements.

Coffee dehydrates you.

Your body needs 8-10 glasses of water per day.

Rootless Relocation, Part 1a: Where?

One spring day

One afternoon this past spring, sitting on a marshrutka traveling from Rustavi to Tbilisi, I thought:  

To Tbilisi from Rustavi via marshrutka

If I want, I can spend one year in a different place in the world for the rest of my life.

Really slow travel. 

Between Lalibela and Addis. Ethiopia

 
So where will I go?

You'd think the first question would be, where do I want to go?

But it's not. Here are some questions that come before:

What do I want?

Climate, geography, culture, vibe, demographics, recreation, access to local, regional, international transportation, access to family/friends, challenge ...

What do I need? 

Income opportunities, cost of living, standard of living, access to health care, access to internet, level of perceived safety ... 


Are there deal breakers?

Too hot/too cold, too big/too small, too homogenous, no nightlife, community's politics, human rights, crime rates, language, too remote/not remote enough ....


What destinations are on my general list of places to explore in the future?

For example, here are places that are on my current list. Some of I've been to before and others are new to me:

• New Mexico
• Mexico 
• Colombia
• Guatemala
• Ecuador
• Ethiopia
• Yemen
• Syria
• Iran
• Libya
• Rwanda

For me, at this time, the primary drivers telling me where to live next are:

Access to family. I feel the need to be within fairly easy access to/for family for the next one or two years. I define "fairly easy" to mean within a day or two's drive or a flight less than eight hours. The flight also needs to be reasonably economical.

Climate. Not too hot and not too cold.

Geography. I want to be close to mountains.

Cultural and language diversity. I want to be able to continue with EFL and also to enjoy intercultural experiences.

Money. The cost of living must be relatively low and there must be income opportunities.


The need for family access rules out all but:

• New Mexico
• Mexico

I could make a weak argument for Guatemala, if I were interested in living in Guatemala City, but I'm not. I'd want to live near Lake Atitlan, which knocks it out of the accessibility category, both in terms of flight costs and multiple-transport transfers. Quito, Ecuador, a beautiful city and perfect climate, wouldn't be too terrible for flight time, but the cost would be prohibitive.


So between New Mexico and Mexico, which? 

See Rootless Relocation, Part 1b: Where?
 

Oh, The Pre-First Solo Trip

1985. Ecuador.

I studied in Ecuador and Peru the summer of 1985. I made a few forays out on my own. An excerpt from my trip journal on one such journey:

Wednesday, Aug 7

…. Writing in a bus again, this time to go to the ruins near Cuenca called Inga Pirca.

… arrived in Cuenca after 5:00 this morning from Macas. The trip went fast and on the bus we had: a meowing cat in a bag, squeaking guinea pigs in a sak, a squawking chicken riding on top, the ubiquitous lumpy white sacks in the aisle, and we plowed through the night to the strains of Michael Jackson’s Thriller.  …

I’m not sure where or what I’m going to do after going to Inga Pirca. I might spend the night in Cuenca, or I might just hop a bus again to Riobamba. At some point I need to take a shower, though, and wash my hair. I also need desperately to get to a casa de cambio to change some money.

Later – I am in a hotel room in a small town called Canar. It is a hole; but at least it’s a bed that looks fairly clean. The bathroom, if you can call it that, is the pits. I don’t know how I’m going to take a shower and/or wash my hair. Actually, a shower is impossible, as there is no shower.

Inga Pirca. Photo courtesy of Cayambe

Anyway, I went to the town of Tambo, where I was then to catch a camioneta to the ruins. After some waiting around, I finally got up to the ruins by way of a truck with a tall and deep wooden bed. It was like climbing onto a very tall horse to get in. The ride was spectacular – a 9 km bounce up the mountain. I loved it. The ruins were very interesting – an old castle built by the supposed last Incan. Not as extensive (quite small) or as meticulously constructed as Macchu Picchu, but very picturesque. What really attracted me were the people and the scenery. My gosh, the people were so friendly … While waiting in a nearby village, 2 boys raced up the road on their horses, laughing and urging the animals on. It was great. In Tambo, before I left for the ruins, 4 little girls attached themselves to me and we had an exciting little conversation. They were so shy and giggly. One of the questions they asked was whether I had a kitchen.

I think Tambo and the ruins with its bordering village is probably the best place I’ve been in Ecuador. I’m so glad I decided to go!

At about 4:00 or so, the camioneta returned to pick up passengers and I was among a group of schoolchildren who had spent the day there. They shared candy with me, and on the way back, they sang songs on the truck. It was so bitter cold with the wind whipping and the mist covering chill above us – but how exhilarating and enjoyable the ride was!

On the way, we picked up another gringo – a guy from England. It turned out we were in similar circumstances – short on cash – and we hitchhiked to Canar. It was raining a little, and we had walked at least halfway, when a small camioneta picked us up …

The bank in Canar was closed, so the British guy (still don’t know his name) showed me his hotel and offered to lend me the money til we get to Banos. He said there’s definitely a place to change money there. So he’s given me 500 sucres til tomorrow. The hotel room I’m in costs 150 sucres. Cheapest so far – all the way around....

 

A note about Riobamba - my host family "mother" was originally from Riobamba. My host family "father" said that everyone in Ecuador joked about people from Riobamba. I wonder if that's still true.