Quito - In 5! words

So, I have been having all these amazing trips to the coast, the Amazon and the Sierra, but where have I been when I'm not on these trips? QUITO.

Quito in 1 word:  SUPERMAXI.  This is a store-chain that you can find all around Quito.  It is the equivalent of the food portion of Meijer or Stop and Shop on the East coast.  It is the first place I went to when I came to Ecuador after putting my stuff down in my new room.  It is the place we all go to before a party buy food and, for some, cerveza and Shumir.  It is where we go to between classes in Cumbayá to buy snacks to make it til lunch time (2 or 3pm).  It is the ESSENTIAL stop before any trip to pick up Amor galletas, chifles, chifles del sabor de cebolla y crema, granadillas, mandarinas, bananas, pasta de guayaba, pasas, nueces y galletas de María....ie snacks of all sorts.  It is where Katelyn and I went when I first went to chill at her apartment almost 2 months ago because we wanted to try some "typical food".  It is where we go for basically everything except pan (bread).  That we buy in panaderías.  I could go on for days about the bread there.  It is delicious
 

2 :  Video game - Quito is like Minecraft and Zelda where being out at night actually does change the game.  Unless we are directly planning on taking a cab home, everyday is a race to do things around Quito before sunset so that we can still take the bus home (25 cents compared to 2.50 and up).  I remember 4th of July on the terraza (roof in this case) of Andy's building where we had gathered for hot dogs and rice krispies treats.  How funny that we started partying at 2 and ended around 6:30 or 7.  It really does change things living in a city that is very dangerous at night. 

3 :  Getting a taxi.  After sunset in Quito, the TaxiMetro (taxi meter) shuts off and the price to take you from one place to another is completely up for grabs.  In other words you have to bargain with the taxi driver for a price that you think is reasonable.  This is an extremely easy place to get ripped off as a gringo/a.  I know of many friends who for one reason or another don't feel comfortable bargaining and end up paying quite a bit more than they have to to get home at night from parties etc. 

From what I've learned from advice from parents, getting a taxi with some business women yesterday to split the cost and from friends, this is how to get the price you want:  First, be familiar with how much it would cost during the day.  For instance if I wanted to go to Río Coca area it will probably cost me 1.50 with a moderate amount of traffic during the day.  Second, understand that in many many cases they are going to rip you off with the first price ESPECIALLY if you look very gringo either in appearance or dress.  Third, proposition a portion of that cost that you would be very happy with if you got (for Río Coca perhaps ask for 1.50 or 2) with the understanding that it is night time and every taxi will cost more at night.  Fourth, either the taxi driver agrees (nil chance), smiles and laughs at you for thinking he might actually accept that (common), he propositions another price between the original and yours (most common), or he maintains his previous price (rare if you say yours emphatically).  Fifth, if he laughs at you, raise the price a little and say it with confidence and if you're a woman, a little bit of "but I'm a poor girl in a lonely word"attitude (if you see me in real life ask for a demonstration haha).  If he propositions a lower but still to high price, raise your price a little but don't give in.  If he maintains his previous price and it is rediculous, find another taxi.

Also, be careful when you choose which taxi to get into.  Taxis that are fully registered with the halo, orange sticker on the side and the orange plates are probably the safest.  However, you will find "taxis" that are probably fine to use (if you are a burly looking man) that are just everyday cars with a piece of paper tacked on to the window that has TAXI written on it in permanent marker.

4:  Women and the bus - Twice in the past few days I have been helped by women watching out for me.  I wouldn't have experienced this if I hadn't gone out on the town by myself a couple times.  Wednesday night, the day before the last day of school,  around 8pm I decided to go to Quicentro to see if I could buy some hilo cerrado.  Hilo cerrado is a type of string that is waxy and used for all sorts of crafts including macrame and bracelets and is what my hair wrap is made of.  Unfortunately it is very hard to find because it is sold in Brazil and I don't think they make it here in Ecuador.  That aside, I went to the bus stop, at which point it was already dark, to catch a bus and two women were standing close together that looked like they were headed home from work.  They were very cautious with me (being a woman alone out at night, but they didn't know that I lived the next block over) and were constantly monitoring each other's backs for ladrones (thieves).  After waiting a while I asked them if they were waiting for a bus - obvious - but I wanted to make sure.  We immediately got to talking and they were very friendly and, again, I passed as being from Ecuador for the first part of the conversation but then I stumbled on a couple words and they asked where I was from.  They offered for us to wait together and if the bus didn't come in 5 minutes we were going to catch a taxi to head to the Ecovia line (sort of like the metro but with buses and above ground) / Quicentro.  So we waited and no bus came and we hopped in a taxi together and split the cost.   (They had a very interesting way of dealing with taxis...asked him to bring them to Quicentro and then at the end paid them the cost of a little more than Taximetro...without bargaining or talking about the money at all.  It was a short trip though.) 

The second time, today, I was on the Ecovia line to go to the market in the Mariscal (like Otavalo but a little smaller) and it was as usual on the bus: packed.  How many people can you fit on a Quito bus?  15 more...always.  If you think CATA gets packed, whooooo - I practically didn't need to hold on because everyones' bodies acted like buoys in the water. Of course, this offers the perfect opportunity for a ladrón because everyone is so packed that no one notices when someone's hand is touching their back... side.... under the arm... purse... inside their purse - stealing their stuff.  I was too busy counting the stops and watching my bag to notice anything until the lady next to me looked at me pointedly and mouthed "ladrona!".  I still didn't see anything, kudos to the ladrona for being so subtle, but after she got off at the next stop the lady who warned me told me that she started to reach around towards the other lady's purse.  Luckily it wasn't an easy target and she got off without taking anything. 

I was touched by some of the cariño I saw from Quiteñas this past week.

5 :  Ladies Night in the Mariscal.

Honestly if you can put on your "street face" and take precautions to avoid dangerous situations, you should have relatively good luck with security.   All of the scary security aspects of Quito aside,  one of the favorite pastimes (is that the right spelling Ella??? :D ) of gringos and ecuatorianos alike is to go dancing. 

The Mariscal is barrio in Quito that is purely night life.  At the center is Plaza Foch which is the meeting place for all night bars and clubbing etc.  And boy are there a lot of different places to go out!  The crazy thing they have here is Ladies Night where women get in for free and drinks are not just discounted, they are free, and if you go to certain places they are very strong too.  Bungaloo has a very interesting system where men are actually not allowed in until 10pm when the free drinks are over.  Another place offers a free bar with the purchase of a 5$ entrance fee. 

Probably the weirdest system I've ever seen though is in Epica.  Epica is actually not in the Mariscal but on the other side of the park from where I live.  With Epica on Ladies Night, all people get in for "free".  You must enter and leave with your group of people though because everyone goes on one card.   With the card guys get 2 free drinks each (which were weak from what I heard). Women (and guys the bouncer knows) get free drinks I believe until eleven on the second level.  So you dance the night away and when you leave is when they get you.  The group that you came with, that you also have to leave with, has to use that card to leave.  On it is the time you arrived and the number of males and females in the group.  If the group arrived before 11pm, then the women can leave for free but the men have to pay I think 12$ each.  Maybe that happens are discotecas in the US, I don't know but that system of getting people on the way out I thought was super strange. 

All in all, Quito is a city of many experiences.   From the calls of all bus drivers - "Suba, suba, suba, Río Coca, Granados, Suba, suba, suba!!", to dealing with taxis, to the differences in the lives of my two host families (my real host family and my friend Andy's host family), to the jugglers at all the semaforos who are really quite talented.  It is all very much like a strong wave.  You have to jump on.  Everyone is pushing everyone either for a little more space or a little more money and it takes standing tall (which really isn't that hard because the average height must be something around 5'2-6" for guys and 5'0" for girls) and having a careful to not get swept under.  The rest of Ecuador is different, as you already know :)

Con cariño,
María Elena