Bootlegging My Time Here

I need DVDs and some new music here. Just make sure you do not send a package over 3 lbs or the headache I have to go through getting it is now worth it. We have a good video exchange going on amongst ourselves here, but I need some new music at least. I know you are really wondering how I go about obtaining new movies here on my extravagant salary of $5 a day. Well, every legit store here is also a bootleg DVD store. If I need to buy bread or fruit, there better be the Chuck Norris 5-movie set for sale in the back of the store or I begin to question the legitimacy of the store. Is this bread poisoned? Are these really apples I am purchasing? With bootlegs hanging up in the back, I know the answer. Going to the docotr's or dentist's office I better see the diplomas hanging up. The same applies to stores here in Ecuador, except the business owner PhD is a great copy of a new movie. I'll add my mailing address (for now) on the right side of my blog if you do not want me to suffer.

On a serious note, I am fortunate in my education in the States and the travels I have done. I have touched on this before, about the relativity of prices in the United States to here. First let me explain the size of Ecuador a bit. I am no expert, but I will guess that Ecuador is maybe half the size of Pennsylvania. Not that big. However, travel time wise, Ecuador is huge. If you are in the northern Sierra (Andes) in Tulcan and you want to travel down south through the Sierra to Loja- the trip could take about a day. To go from east to west in the country isn't as harsh, but travel time is still intense when you factor in the weaving through the Andes. So why is this all important? In size Ecuador is tiny, but when it comes to travel the country can feel like the size of the United States at times. This makes it difficult for Ecuadorians to experience much of their own country. Many are limited to exploring the local area when it comes to travel. When I go to explain that I have only been to a little bit of the United States, I try to remind them that we are almost on the same page.

Using my photos of my trip to Europe, photos I take here, and Melissa's pictures of Buenos Aires, I can open up a door to the rest of the world for the family. They get a slightly better grasp that the world is different then they thought. A map of the world showing the giant ketchup stain that is the United States and the pin prick of Ecuador. Both of those make it easier showing the scale of both countries. Add in pictures of worldy travels, and the scope comes full circle. I guess I am a good Peace Corps lackee so far, fulfilling the first two goals of the organization through the cultural exchange.