"Un besito, choa choa", things are different here;-)

For awhile now I have been meaning to write about some of the basic interpersonal interactions and the morning ruteine that differ from what I was used to when I arrived.

Simple things, for example arriving at work and greeting your coworkers. At the Habitat office, whoever arrives first has the least amount of greeting to do! When you arrive you may set your things down or make a cup of coffee (more on the type of coffee you are going to drink later!). Then you make a "round" of the office to see who else has arrived... it may be everyone, or a few people. Each person you greet with a "besito" (little kiss) on the right check. If you are male, you greet other males with a handshake. If you are female, you greet everyone with a kiss. If you are already sitting, you can stay sitting and the greeter bends for the "besito." The end of the day is generally the same... although, if you are in a hurry, you may not make a round of the office but rather only give "besitos" to those in your area of the office, or to those you pass on your way out of the office.

Regarding the coffee: this is a painful topic ;-(, as, even though Ecuador is a COFFEE PRODUCING country, instant coffee is consumed everywhere and Nestle is a brand of choice. If coffee is "real", it is called "cafe pasada", literally "passed coffee", meaning that it is passed though a filter. Some Ecuadorians tell me that about 50 percent of nationals will drink "passed" coffee and that the other 50 percent will drink instant. In the Habitat office, we drink instant... and although it was almost unbearable at first I have become used to it! The theory as to why the instant coffee may be popular is that it is a secondary product of coffee, making it seem like a more refined or sophisticated product. Similar to this is the almost exclusive consumption of white rice and white sugar.

When you hear someone here talking on the phone, or in person, to friends, family etc, it is not uncommon to for phrases like ¨luz de mi vida¨ (light of my life) or "mi amor" (my love), to be intermixed in the conversation in reference to the other person. When saying goodbye on the phone, a woman might say "un besito, choa choa!" (a little kiss, bye-bye!).