Brian and Sarah in Ecuador

 First of all, I am by no means an expert.  I have asked around to different people, and gotten different answers.  If I find out later, the information I have received is false, I will go back and correct it.  This is what I have gathered so far. The area I live in is pretty safe.  Many reasons for this are explained in the previous post.  The bottom line is that the area, due to it's location brings in money - not just from the Ex-pats, who are carefully vetted, and must have a certain income to live here - but from the wealthy people in Quito.  The mayor is very pro-active - when a couple of people were shot in broad daylight, response was swift - he immediately flew to Quito for more National Police, which were expediently granted.  The irony is Quito is becoming more dangerous, and not granted this protection.  Cuenca, a mountain city of about 300,000 also has a pro-active mayor, and probably the largest concentration of ex-pats.  P...

 I actually started this blog post on Ecuador and law and order.  However, as I set out to explain what we have learned so far, and how Ecuadorians utalized (or don't) their police force, it was becoming a lecture on who lived where and why, which explained police presence, and sometimes lack there of.  And since where ex pats in particular live is in part influenced by climate, I thought I would just start there.  So that will be this post, and the next one will be law and order. Where we live, in Manta, it is a drier micro desert climate.  Within miles of the city is a rainforest, so this changes rapidly.  Other coastal towns see quite a bit more rain.  There is a definete trade off to this - Manta does not have a lot of green spaces, and the mayor is trying to change this by building a large urban park, but this has only been announced a month or two ago, so it has barely broken ground.  However, there are a lot of sunny days, and we are told w...

 Life has developed more of a rhythm, and although it is very pleasant, it is not as exciting to write about.  Since I am not working, I am doing most of the housework, meal prep, and walking the dog.  It seems like I am frequently doing one of these things, and much of the rest of the time is spent studying Spanish.  After being here a little less than a month, I am about at the level of a second year high school Spanish student, which means I can say only basic things, mostly in the present tense.  I take Spanish lessons three times a week, spend at least an hour a day on Duolingo, in addition to reading the Bible.  The Bible is giving me the most assistance in grammer structure, beyond present tense.  On Sundays I go to mass.  The litergy is at least consistant, and I am learning the prayers.  It is slow going.  Even the Lord's Prayer took a week or so, and I don't really have it memorized.  My goal is to be conversational within...