A Gringo and his Translator came to visit

Meet the Gringo and his Translator

Tomorrow marks the end of Hannah and Eric's stay in Ecuador. They've pretty much been the perfect houseguests, praising my cooking, doing the dishes, being great company...yes, I'm bummed to see them go. Having these "newlyweds" in Quito with me has renewed my appreciation of the city, and perhaps deepened it altogether. Hannah and Eric are eager to learn about a place and their excitement about most things Ecuador made me kind of proud of this place I am currently calling home. Observing Hannah chat up so many of the locals has inspired me to do more so myself. Too often if I don't understand a cab driver or the woman doing my pedicure I go a bit mute rather than asking for them to repeat what they said or changing the subject to something I may have a more robust vocabulary around. These two's presence here has also pushed me to take advantage of some of the city's perks and tourist destinations such as Mitad del Mundo where you can stand in both the northern and southern hemispheres at the same time. More than anything, I think I have just enjoyed having my world from the States bridged with my world from abroad.

As we were chatting about this blog entry, we were trying to come up with a super creative way to share their stay. A spin on the Newlyweds game show? A choose your own adventure? Jeopardy? Quirky things about Quito for 300, anyone? As it stands, I had my fair share of vino tinto anoche and Hannah and Eric have been bopping around the country for the past two weeks, so we're a bit fried today. Below is an interview with my first visitors, though, where you'll find out more about their stay and their perspective on Ecuador.

What Ecuadorian tradition do you think the United States should adopt?
E: The New Year's celebration in general. Hannah chimes in her agreement here. The tradition they speak of is the custom of burning a straw man called an Año Viejo in the street. H: While the New Year's celebration is violent, it has nice symbolism. So you write down the things from the past year that you want to be done with, things that aren't serving you anymore. Then you reflect on the things for the upcoming year that you want to come into your life. It feels richer than just making a New Year's resolution for some reason. E: It was also funny when the guys dressed up as women and stopped cars in the street for money, but what I liked even more is when the kids pulled a rope across the street so that cars couldn't pass until giving them money.

What is a vivid image from the trip that you will remember for years to come?
E and H together: El Diablo cascada in Baños. After pausing for a moment of reflection, they continue. While staying in Canoa we watched the tide coming in and as the water was approaching we took in the sight of thousands of red crabs scurrying across the beach to find safer sand.

What is one new word or phrase that you have learned? 
E: With a giant smile, and before Hannah can open her mouth, exclaims, Batido! Batidos are essentially fruit smoothies, though we would all argue the fruit in Ecuador makes these fruit frappes superior to what we can make at home. 
H: Largàte. It means "get back." The phrase is derived from the reflexive verb largarse which is a colloquial way to say "leave." What we have to sensor here is that Jorge, the driver from Manta to Canoa, indirectly taught Hannah this phrase while translating Linkin Park lyrics. Suffice it to say, there was more to the phrase than just "largate." 

What should gringos be sure to do when they visit? 
E: The dishes at Jamie's place. Eric chuckles at this, as do I, while also considering how lovely it's been to cook for my friends without having to do any clean-up. 
H: Hike in Metropolitano. Buy fruits and vegetables from Jamie's admirers in the fruit market. Bring good walking shoes.
E: Eat as many fresh fruits as possible. Cyclopaseo. That was awesome. That was really cool. Each Sunday Amazonas, one of the larger roads through the city, shuts down on one side so that bikers can ride from Centro Historico in the south of the city through the Mariscal (Gringolandia) past Parque Carolina and continues north out of the city. 
H: Time your trip so that when you are enjoying the beautiful weather in Ecuador, you will also be missing 20 below back home in Minnesota.

What is your most memorable South American misadventure?
E: We really didn't have that many misadventures.
H: Misadventure Hannah states pondering. We shouldn't say we haven't had any or else our return travel could get messed up.
E: Well, we could say our flight to Manta. H: One, it was a really early flight. We sat on the tarmac for 45 minutes, the plane didn't pass the safety check, then we had to de-plane and no one knew what was going on. Then they got a new plane, but still no one knew what was going on, but eventually we made it. Par for the course, my friends, par for the course. What could an acronym be for Tame, the airline we flew to Manta? Eric and Hannah play with some words. They come up with Time of Arrival Mostly Estimated. 

Here's a million dollar question: Where do you think all of the change in Ecuador is stored? (A bit of background for you: Whether you are at the grocery store, paying to go into Mitad del Mundo, or getting a coffee at Juan Valdez, the business expects you to have exact change more or less. Where can one get change in order to have smaller bills to use? Mystery to us, but one is often met with a scowl when trying to pay with a $10 or $20 bill.)
E: With Juan Valdez. Whoever he is, wherever he is.
H: I think it's underneath the decorations the cab drivers put on their dashboards.

What is the most interesting conversation you had with an Ecuadorian?
E: I really enjoyed talking with Jorge. H: It was truly a half Spanish half English conversation. E: I would also say Jose, who lived in Shakopee and worked at Valleyfair and let us use his phone.

What is something you learned about your spouse during the past two weeks?
E: Hannah is very good at making small talk with street vendors, taxi drivers, and people on planes. She's received a dozen compliments on her Spanish.
H: Eric is not afraid to try to speak Spanish even when he knows very few words. Here Eric reflects on his personal pride of ordering coffee at Juan Valdez in Spanish. 

What are Jamie's best qualities as a hostess?
(As an aside, Hannah and Eric have hijacked Jamie's blog at this point).
H & E:  Jamie is generous, patient, flexible, up for anything,  a great cook and an exceptional conversationalist.  We are already planning our next adventure with her (Machu Picchu, Summer 2015).  We love you, Jamie. Thank you for making our trip amazing -- we look forward to reflecting back on our adventure with you 30 years from now.  Keep up the good work in Ecuador.