Post-Shower Sweat, Toilet Paper, Cell Phones, and Avocados
I’ve been home a few days now and have had some time to reflect on the differences between my life in Ecuador and my life here in South Carolina.
Here’s a quick list of both significant and insignificant (mostly insignificant) observations:
Post-shower sweat. Though Cuenca, my home in Ecuador, is only a couple hundred miles from the equator, it sits in a valley at about 8,000 feet. So it’s not humid. South Carolina in August, I’m here to tell you, is very humid. And I’d forgotten all about what my buddy Miles B. calls post-shower sweat–how you’re covered in sweat just a few minutes after toweling off.
Toilet paper disposal. In Ecuador, the plumbing isn’t strong enough to handle toilet paper, so you dispose of it in small trash cans positioned next to toilets. American plumbing, obviously, is mighty. No trash cans.
Communication technologies, especially cell phones. I certainly missed having digital cable and broadband Web access. But I haven’t missed my cell phone. Man, it’s astounding how many people have got the contraptions here.
Avocados cost about 25 cents each in Ecuador. Here, you’ve gotta shell out a buck-and-a-half for ’em, and they’re small, un-ripe, discolored, and generally crappy.
Watch this space for additions.