The days are rushing by, blurring together. My life in Ecuador is feeling normal now, with a regular schedule and structure and classes (both as a student and teacher) and friends and coworkers. We work really hard, for little money. But I try not to think about it... I try to think that our "earnings" lie in the fact that we can live here, legally, and enjoy a country and culture other than our own. Many people do not get that privilege, ever, and I am thankful to our current employers for helping us be here.
Speaking of being here legally, we went to the visa office in Cuenca on Friday. We were tired and hungover, and definitely dreading going back to La Oficina de Migración after our horrible, horrible experiences in Quito. Our fears were unwarranted, however. And boy were we grateful. We had a name of a man we were supposed to talk to, and neatly packaged manila envelopes with all the paperwork our school had prepared for us. We walked into the clean--and dare I say, even pleasant-- office building, finding it nearly deserted. Asking the guard where we should go, he politely directed us to the rear of the office, where Visas Para Extranjeros was printed on the door. We walked right in, sat down, and were immediately helped by two workers. After a few questions and some computer work by them, we were directed to the next room where we paid. Five minutes later we were given our receipt, which we took back to the workers, who promptly printed our visas, stuck them in our passports, and we were on our way. Legal until February 2011. Increíble! That process took us an entire WEEK in Quito of going back and forth, and spending hours and hours for each visit (compared with less than 1 hour), and cost us $230 for 3 more months (compared with $80 for a full year). Unbelievable.
We did have a small hiccup when trying to get our censo or our Ecuadorian ID card-- we walked past the office and got a bit lost (my fault) and when we finally found it, we found out we had arrived during their 3 hour lunch break. Must be nice! [Oh and thanks, employers, for informing us of their hours!] We did find a nice Chinese owned vegetarian restaurant nearby, however, where we enjoyed an almuerzo of squash soup, lentils in peanut sauce, rice and fried eggplant [Qie Zi!!]. Yummmmm. We might have to revisit when we return this week to get the ID cards.
So there you have it. T and C are settled into EC life, legal until next February, and eagerly awaiting a string of friend and family visits, starting in 8 days!
Life is busy, but good. What else could you ask for?
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