1.Chickens, especially roosters. Does anyone remember when Chik-Fil-A was starting out. There was a billboard with a cow holding a sign “Eat mor chikin!” Those words never rang more true until I got here in the campo. 3 a.m. 3:07 a.m. 3:13 a.m. You get the picture. Roosters crowing, or as everyone here likes to claim “Cantando (singing),” is the main reason I have not gotten a good night's sleep in two months.
2.Camionetas (pick-up trucks as buses). I might get death threats by fellow Peace Corps volunteers for uttering these blasphemous words, but the greatness that is a camioneta ride has lost its appeal to me. Crowded. Not being able to sit. Rain. Unreliable schedules. I could probably make another blog entry on things I do not like about camionetas, but I will leave it at that.
3.Ants. When Frosted Flakes (the real deal) and milk cost a day's pay, you would be upset too if you found hormigas destroying your treasured box of cereal. The subsequent purchase of a can of Raid eats up another day's worth of pay. It seems to be a losing battle, since any dead insect seems to attract another swath of ants.
4.Ecuadorian communication skills or lack thereof. Sure, there is a language barrier that I have not fully overcome. However, when I understand directions I have been given clearly, I do exactly what I am told. When I got back from a two hour hike to someone's farm and wait for a camioneta for three hours all I got was, “No one told you to wrap those mazorcas in paper?” Unfortunately, all they told me was to make sure the mazorcas of cacao got there the same day. Oh well, I did not lose sleep over that one, but more incidences like that have occurred a few times to make my list.
5.Machismo. This one isn't that funny and I will probably talk about this more in depth in a future entry.
This quote on a wall in Atacames sums up how you overcome the negatives:
“I discovered that the good humor, the optimism and the faith can overcome the pain.”
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