禁漫天堂

Well beside the fact that nothing works I'm pretty happy.聽 Quito is beautiful and the people are wonderful.聽 However, they just hooked up the water heater, I just subscribed to the internet (TVCable), and I bought a brand new local brand refrigerator (Ecasa) and none of them work.聽 The water either burns or freezes.聽 I subscribed to 50m turbo internet but it is only fast enough to send emails without attachments.聽 And it has been a month and I am still waiting for my chicken and ice cubes to freeze in the Ecasa freezer. Attempting to adjust.聽 聽I have time.

Welcome to Ecuador!聽 隆Bienvenido a Ecuador!

JadeRiver wrote:

they just hooked up the water heater, I just subscribed to the internet (TVCable), and I bought a brand new local brand refrigerator (Ecasa) and none of them work.聽 The water either burns or freezes.聽 I subscribed to 50m turbo internet but it is only fast enough to send emails without attachments.聽 And it has been a month and I am still waiting for my chicken and ice cubes to freeze....

Waiting is the wrong strategy.

Go back to the appliance store, or call on the phone if your Spanish is strong enough, and make them send out their warranty repairman.聽

Internet in Quito... If you did not sign a multi-year contract with TVCable, switch to CNT Internet for high quality video through a CNT phone line.聽 You will need an Ecuadorian ID card which you get as part of the residency visa process.聽 NetLife may also offer good Internet though it is not available in all parts of the city.

Get proactive !

cccmedia

Already done.聽 Ecasa (refrigerator) service and TVCable on the way.聽 No waiting here.聽 I'm a proactive guy.聽 聽I asked the Ecasa people to hurry before my chicken spoiled.

I do not yet have my ID card.聽 No choice but to wait for that.聽 I have a one year contract with TVCable.

98% of the time we're happy in Ecuador. The other 2% is complete madness trying to deal with issues (cable/internet/water) and other things. The trouble comes mostly from the language barrier. No matter how proficient I seem day to day, when a crisis strikes I still panic. It's hard not be happy in such a beautiful place, with such friendly people and a life where I can pretty well do as I please.

Mark Twain once said, 鈥渆very time you want to use the word 鈥榲ery鈥�, substitute it with 鈥榙amn.鈥欌�� I am very/damn happy here. As JadeRiver and PEI Red pointed out it鈥檚 the people. I鈥檝e traveled a lot, lived in a lot of places, and if people in general (entire world) were like these people, Ecuadoreans, I think we would have a more pleasant society. I know there is a lot of paperwork here, a lot of it, I had to sign like 4 papers today to collect delivery of my desk. I have no problem with that because it鈥檚 the norm and not discriminatory.

What I like most about Ecuadoreans is that they are very flexible, negotiable and that essentially translates to fair. I know another member has indicated otherwise in another thread, and I find that unfortunate.

Ecuador has exceeded my expectations. Beautiful country. Beautiful people.

I am extremely happy in Cuenca. Every day I wake up looking forward to new adventures and interacting with the local people. All of my needs are taken care of from maintenance to healthcare. Someone else always works on my behalf to solve any problems that may arise and it may surprise you to know they are all native born. I am treated with respect by locals and the government. Most will bend over backwards to help. I will die in Ecuador with dignity and all my gringo friends feel the same way.
Viva Ecuador !

I liked Carlmiller1944 post because it further emphasized the people of Ecuador and I would like to expand on my previous post. I think despite our deficiencies as foreigners like lack of language or fluency we are still able to fit in. I know this is also true for certain areas in certain countries but it鈥檚 definitely not the norm worldwide. I have never been more certain than these past couple of weeks that I will call Ecuador home one day. And it鈥檚 a great feeling that it's developing that way, and this hope is attributed to my interactions with Ecuadoreans.

There鈥檚 humanity here. This is a friendly, non-racist, non-violent society. But I don鈥檛 even want to get into that, although that is a part of why I am happy here. My emphasis is more on the micro aspects of relationships, like patience, and these folks have a lot of patience. This in itself is an awesome virtue, and honesty too, which is even greater.

I am sharing my perspective; everyone has a story to tell. I鈥檓 basing this on people I鈥檓 close to and those I interact with. Are there conflicts, yes there are, are there bad people I鈥檓 sure there are, but having lived here a year, and starting out with Spanish at almost zilch of which is the biggest obstacle to making Ecuador home, Ecuador and Ecuadoreans will meet you half way if you are sincere. And please don鈥檛 confuse what I鈥檓 writing here which is about personal and casual relationships with business interactions (example: landlords) or otherwise.