Things We Knew about Quito But Forgot until Just Now

(From day one of Quito — June 28th)

• Cab drivers routinely run red lights at night.
• Sinks come equipped with a separate hot and cold tap even though the hot tap never works.
• The occasional 5:00 am dog barking session can last more than 30 minutes.
• The beds are too short.
• On Sundays, the only places populated by people are the malls, the churches, and the parks.
• We speak Spanish with strong accents.
• The pollution turns your boogers black.
• If you’re not walking with your husband, you will get cat calls.
• There’s a home remedy for everything.

It’s strange to be back, but not as strange as I thought it would be. The strong midday sun, the smell of the pollution, the uneven sidewalks, the dirty dogs that know how to cross the street, the bus routes, the disregard for pedestrians, the traditional food, the kick-ass fruit – all of these things were pretty familiar to us, and though we got far fewer compliments on our Spanish this time around, we still felt like we were medio-Ecuatoriano.

More to come. . . .