cultural faux pas!

hey all,

i encountered my first (that i can remember, because i will never forget this) cultural faux pas here in Ecuador...

i slammed a car door!

but it wasn't out of anger, i tell ya. no, it was cos the door didn't close...both times that's right, i did this twice in one day.

it was sunday morning and we were heading off to church in our truck...and i was the last to get in. the door didn't close the first time, so as the truck was going, i opened the door again and closed it a little harder. i guess that resulted in a "SLAM!" and my mom said, "oh, you're very strong," as my sister looked over at me like i just picked my nose or something...

THEN, later in the day, a bunch of us went to a city called Tumbaco to eat some ice cream at this new place that opened up. after, we went to this sports arena to decide if we wanted to skate, bowl, or hit the arcade. well, upon leaving the parking lot to enter the building, i was the last to leave the car, and i closed the car door of Faby's car. it didn't lock (cos you have to hold the handle up, and of course i always check) so i opened it again, locked the door, and closed it a little bit harder - which of course resulted in another "SLAM!" except this time there were 9 people there...5 guys and 4 girls and they all noticed. Faby said, "do you want to break my car?" half jokingly. and then i rememberd the wise words of the Lonely Planet guidebooks - never slam a car door in Ecuador as this is extremely culturally offensive.

Faby later explained that it was ok, cos i was all worried that i had really upset some people. apparently, if you do that, it's a rude gesture to everyone INSIDE the car and OUTSIDE. he said, "maybe cars in Canada, or North America have heavier doors, and are made of a different material...but here, this is my little Suzuki. you have to be gentle."

i know now.

in sports news, my friends and i learned that im quite the competitive air hockey player. we played many games and i hit the puck many times, quite forcefully. i explained that because i'm not allowed to slam car doors, that i would slam pucks :)

in food news...i ate cow feet soup. it's called "Caldo de Patas" and yes....yes i ate it. it was basically the tendon of a cows foot...and for me, it was bad as it sounds. well, actually, asian people might like it...hard core asians...but for me, i can do without it for the rest of my life. it was like eating a piece of wobbly gelatine with no flavour. you guys know that gelatine and Jello is made out of the same stuff, right? well, as the thing sat in my mouth, i thought "this is Jello...this is what Jello is made out of except flavoured orange." the actual soup part was good as it had onions, cilantro, a cream base and a little peanut flavour...but the texture of the foot was just...ick. my family has been wanting me to eat this for awhile. the next crazy thing on the menu is "Yahuarlocro" - blood soup with bits of cooked blood. hey man, im in Ecuador... im gonna be adventurous!

with regards to language, i now know why i understand gringos (white people) better than true blue Ecuadorians. gringos speak with easier spanish...simpler words. i realised this cos this past sunday we had a pastor from the States speak. he used to pastor at my church, Iglesia Evangelica Biblica en El Inca but moved to the States, and is back for two months to work with HCJB. he was born in a city called Cuenca, a little ways away from Quito. anyways, it was the first spanish sermon i understood, because he used simpler gringo-ish spanish! i was quite happy...but am still determined to understand Ecuadorian spanish.

paz, (peace)
dL