Ecuador Day 42

I almost forgot to write the blog post today. But, here we are with a short little update.

Today was a typical Sunday. We woke up and went to church. Church is always uplifting and is a bright spot in the week. Today we had a really good discussion in sunday school that helped put some things into perspective for me. Then, third hour meetings were combined because it is the 5th Sunday of the month. The Bishop of the ward went over the ward mission plan for the year. It was rather interesting and the group had a rather in depth discussion. So much so that the class went over by almost a half hour. Whoa...you don't often see that at home!

I also got the good news that the OSSO house is a yes for Flor and I. We will pay $16 per day to stay there (and that includes food) so that is a great deal. They are counting Flor as half a person basically, figuring that she won't eat that much. HA! What they don't know...we are getting a good deal.

This afternoon was extremely slow and painfully boring. I have nothing to say about it, in fact. You know me-- I tend to get wordy, so having nothing to say is a big deal.

We made homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner since I have been craving that and it was a hit. Why I didn't think to make it any earlier...no idea. Hallie had three bowls full. Do you think she's dying for a good meal? Yeah.The only thing missing was good cheese to go with it. Another time...another time.

A few more Unique Ecuadors for you: (some from Robin and some of ours)
*It is considered rude for the wait staff to bring you your check unless you ask for it and it is also considered rude to put your hands under the table while you are eating.
*Men can pee anywhere they want here (I have mentioned this before, but we have a really spectacular view of this from our window)
*The people that clean the bathrooms at businesses/restaurants don't care if the bathroom is empty or not. They just walk in and start cleaning. Many times there have been men in the ladies bathroom and women in the men's bathroom. You get used to ignoring them and going about your business.
*Drinks are interesting. Juices and milk all come in square boxes and are not refrigerated. The juice is particularly gross (don't know about the milk- I don't drink it). The juice is very syrupy and the flavors rarely resemble what they are supposed to be.
*Cakes, cookies, desserts, etc. are all cooked with way less sugar than we are used to. Things just don't have the same sweet taste.
*It is not uncommon for trucks to drive by in the mornings with whatever product they are selling. They either honk their horns to notify you to come out to purchase or they have someone speaking through a loudspeaker advertising. The problem with this is that the people talking always put the  walkie talkie thing right next to their mouth, use their deepest voice possible, and it seems to be a race to see who can speak fastest. They repeat the same message over and over, so it just sounds like a chant. I really have no idea how anyone understands them.