Only in Ecuador (or similar South American countries)...

...do they put the drain at the top of our slanted deck instead of at the bottom.

...is the buying, selling or importing of baking soda (even for actual baking) now illegal because it's used to cut cocaine. now how will our cookies rise?

...is ironing kind of like shopping. I say this for a couple reasons. First because we cannot shop here for things like clothes, so we are always looking for new and interesting ways to freshen our wardrobe or find new things to add to it. Clothes here in Ecuador are too expensive and immidiately fall apart anyway. I iron about twice a year in Ecuador. One reason is because no one cares if your shirt or dress has wrinkles in it; they don't even notice. So why waste time ironing? Second, the quality of the iron and board that we found here is so bad, it is a physical struggle to keep the board uprigth and th iron turned on. So, the clothes that absolutley have to be ironed after hanging from a wire on our roof to dry get thrown in a pile to later be discovered during  my bi-yearly ironing spurts. As was the case today. I ironed about 7 items of clothing that I hadn't seen in months. After ironing and hanging them up, i went through them to see what new clothes I now have at my disposal. It is very exciting to shop for new things to wear in the freshly ironed section of my closet. Who needs the Rack??

...are meetings sometimes postponed, shortened or cancelled due to rain. The noise of the rain on the metal roofs make it impossible to hear yourself screaming, let alone a talk or Watchtower study. As was the case last Saturday at the English Meeting. I have a video I wanted to share, but it won't load. Will keep trying.

...do we have to discuss World Cup standings for 5 minutes prior to any return visit, bible study or social event. It is of course customary to ask after the family, the business, etc. But during the World Cup, the order of importance when greeting is as follows: (You will do well to stay on top of it)
1.Good morning, Hi.
2. Did you see Argentina vs Mexico yesterday?
3. How is your family?
4. Let's begin our study.

(speaking of which, and on a serious note, did you all see Spain vs Portugal? good match, eh?...)
...will you hear people comparing their experiences and memories of planes flying into buildings and houses as if they are discussing the weather. (I should devote an entire post to the Quito aiport and why it is so difficult to land in this valley. Only specially certified pilots are cleared to land in the Quito Airport. Random fact for today.)

...people wear turtle necks, sweaters and ponchos all at once on a 100 degree day.

...do the roosters start crowing at 2am and 8pm. I think the equator has something to do with their instinctive abilities being misprogrammed.

...have I gone into a cafe to enjoy a latte, only to leave empty handed 10 minutes later because they couldn't/didn't want to break a 5 dollar bill. Exact change is law here.

...have I had my umbrella stolen right out of my hands.

...have we given talks in the dark, holding a small candle with no microphones

...can you buy dvds before the movie's out of the theater for a dollar.

...can you buy whole, fried guinee pig on the street, fur and all.

...do we make 8 hour days on studies alone.

...do we get laughed at when we say we can't "afford" to go to Galapagos. To which they (through tears of laughter) tell us we're not fooling anyone. "Just tell your papi to send you the $900. What's the problem??" This is a common occurance.

...do foreigners get the express passes to go directly to the front of the line at the Teleferico (we think it's so they leave afterwards with a good, efficient view of Ecuador), while locals have to wait in the two hour line behind the streaming foregners. Dang our resident IDs. This is one time we wish we were identified as foreigners!!

...(only in small foreign language fields where the women are a large army...) ...did we have the Watchtower study directed at brothers, with not a single brother in the audience. The only two brothers there were conducting the study and doing the reading. However, I must say, us sisters had fun with the study. :)