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Cuenca - it’s like the good ol’ days of the 1950’s
Hola from my little town (400,000 people), high in the Andes (8,200 feet), of a Third World Country (Ecuador, South America).
I’ve heard it said many, many times over the 4+ years I’ve lived here, that living in Cuenca, Ecuador (South America) is like living in the 1950’s. Why?
I’ve heard it said many, many times over the 4+ years I’ve lived here, that living in Cuenca, Ecuador (South America) is like living in the 1950’s. Why?
Is it because we don’t have internet? No cell phones? We watch TV in negro y blanco? We drive 1958 Chevy Station Wagons?
Mom/Dad actually had one of these, same color config, too. |
Or, because we have phone party lines (if you don't know what that is...go ask your mother....or Grandma)?
No, No, No…ummm….and No. We have internet, cell phones, flat screen
TV’s, 911, modern cars, and soon we’ll have light rail.
What does LA6-8991 mean to you? |
Would you believe I actually operated one of these things in a hospital in my home town when I was 19? Do you even know what it IS???? |
Let’s first look at WHO is saying it. In my line of business I’ve met hundreds of
people in the past 4+ years who are either tourists just visiting Cuenca,
tourists who are putting Cuenca to the test to see if it might be a fit for
their retirement, folks actually making the move, or people who’ve MADE the
move and are full-blown expats already.
Secondly, the vast majority of those who’ve moved here
are people born in the late 40’s or sometime in the 1950’s and they’re
predominantly from the United States or Canada.
Without getting out a calculator, that means ages 60 and over.
It’s practically a given when you meet an expat (or
to-be-expat) for the first time, the conversation will include 3 questions;
- Where are you from?
- Why did you move here (leave your home country) slash why did you choose Cuenca, Ecuador?
- Do you like it here?
After a hundred or more of these conversations, it was
very evident there was a lot of commonality in the response,
- United States or Canada
- Pick any 3 of the following:
a. Economic/financial. Can’t afford to retire in XXX and live the way we want to.
b. Frustrated with the government, politics, etc
c. Medical costs (see ‘a’ above)
d. The downward spiral of society (more on this later)
e. The Kardashians (see ‘d’ above)
f. Always being at war(s) (see ‘b’ above)
g. Not going to spend another (expletive) winter (or summer) in XXX
a. People are so kind
b. It’s much cheaper here
c. The weather is mild
d. It’s like the 1950’s
BINGO!!!!
Those who grew up in the very early 60’s or before,
have actually experienced two VERY different worlds in one lifetime. What used to be the standards of society for
many, many decades has been virtually obliterated since then. It’s a shame people born in the 1970’s and
afterwards never got to see the light of what it was like to live ‘back
then’. They only know now. Their standard, their baseline, is NOW, from
which all will be measured in their future.
For example, their baseline starts with ‘never talk to strangers’,
whereas that mentality never existed in the baseline of those raised in the
50’s.
Okay, before your eyes roll back in your head (too
late?) let me share some examples. The
following is a list of observations compiled from my own experience as well as
countless comments I hear from fellow expats. Warning: This article may take 10 minutes to read.
The first few entries, I’ll enter a statement of what it’s like here in Cuenca, then a counter statement about what it’s like today in the USA. Then, I’ll stop making the comparison as you’ll get the idea. Just presume the opposite for the ‘today’ perspective. When you read the list for Cuenca, these are characteristics of what it was like when we were growing up in the 1950’s.
The first few entries, I’ll enter a statement of what it’s like here in Cuenca, then a counter statement about what it’s like today in the USA. Then, I’ll stop making the comparison as you’ll get the idea. Just presume the opposite for the ‘today’ perspective. When you read the list for Cuenca, these are characteristics of what it was like when we were growing up in the 1950’s.
- Cuenca
o
Kids walk home from school alone or with
friends
- Back home today
o
No way in hell. They are to be picked up by parents or escorted
by an adult. NEVER walk alone.
- Cuenca
o
You can talk to strangers
- Back home today
o
NEVER talk to strangers
- Cuenca
o
There are zip-lines in public playgrounds
for kids and young adults to ride.
- Back home today
o
Couldn’t possibly exist without the law
offices of Bernstein, Weingate, Cogburn, Predovich & Associates at the
landing end of the zip-line.
Continuing on....
We make things. WHUH??
Yeah, we don’t get EVERYTHING from China and Japan. We assemble cars,
produce coffee, make TV’s, washers, dryers, microwaves, cooking stoves,
cell phones, and jewelry. Furniture is typically handmade and with REAL
wood. We export fruits, mine gold and silver, and produce our own
electricity from dams.
Love a seque. We also FIX things!!! Huh…get outta here!! Why not just throw them away and buy another? We fix
TV’s, toasters, blenders, cameras. That’s unheard of!! Not when I was
a kid it wasn’t.
Unlike
today, we’re not a UOME society. Sorry, that was an acronym wasn’t
it? You owe me society. The mentality of entitlement. Something the
1950’s generation never heard of. Doesn’t exist here…in
Cuenca…Ecuador…South America.
Most
people here are not in a hurry. They aren’t running around stressed
out because they have to squeeze more into every second of every minute
of every hour of every day. It's about QUALITY of life, not QUANTITY.
We don't get a dozen pieces of junk mail every day.
You can get milk DELIVERED!!
Outsourcing jobs. Oi Vey. Need I go there? Jobs are HERE. Like they were THEN. Not THERE.
This isn’t about criticizing or saying ‘we’re better than they are’. It’s just recognizing Cuenca seems to have those certain aspects of life we used to enjoy when we were (much) younger…and missing those elements in today’s society back home. It’s one of the many reasons so many have been drawn to the lifestyle of Cuenca, Ecuador (South America).
Dano
Patty, thanks for the informative post.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading. We have just passed our 5 year mark of living here in Cuenca -- and still love it!
DeleteWonderful commentary. I am making the leap of faith and moving to Cuenca in Jan, 2016 even though I have never been there. Your post just reaffirms I am making a good move.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you enjoyed the post. Thanks to Dano for his creative writing!
DeleteHope you find Cuenca as wonderful as we do. We've been here for over five years now.
In general I think what you have written is very good and positive about life in Ecuador. But there are some other points to be made as well.
ReplyDeleteI have personally had someone run his car right at me as I stood on the sidewalk. I must tell all here. He did this because I pounded on the top of his car because he tried to force me out of the crosswalk as I was walking across the street. Literally he intentionally drove at me as I was egressing the crosswalk. I am not saying that this happens frequently, but it does happen. There are jerks in every country. Road Rage doesn't exist - well not entirely.
Cellphones when they are lost are rarely ever returned to their owners. I have never heard of this happening in this country as of yet. They are so poor here they look at it as an opportunity to put some money in their pockets. I recently watched a video that showed a person walking on the street and purposefully dropping money on the sidewalk behind them to see what would happen. Not one person returned the money with the exception of a homeless person. And yes, homeless people do exist here, albiet not many. You have to get out and really see the city as it is.
Men pee anywhere they wish. Again this doesn't happen frequently, but it does happen. Just the other day someone was ringing my doorbell. I looked out to see who it was and he was standing beside his car taking a pee. This was an older man in his roughly 40's maybe older.
Drunks are not common but they are here. The police came and took one person away just a few weeks ago, probably because he could not even stand up. The other two in the party were left but told to move on which they did eventually. I have seen drunks walking in the streets quite frequently. About once every 2 weeks. Again you have to get out and really experience the city.
Dogs bark a lot. I am glad I live in a highrise because it distances me from all that noise. And the owners of the dogs do nothing about the noise even in the middle of the night. They don't care that it bothers people.
And on the topic of noise: Many people think nothing of making noise at any time of the day or night. If it bothers other people too bad!
Right next to the building that I live in is a sports area. Sports is great and helps keep people healthy and out of trouble (in some cases). But after they finish playing sports guess what they do. They start drinking and partying up a noise for all of the people who live in the surrounding apartments to enjoy. This is one of the downsides of where I live right now. This partying goes on until about 1am (sometimes later).
So to rain on your parade, but as you paint it, it all sounds wonderful, but it is not always that way.
It's good to hear your point of view. I haven't experienced Cuenca through your eyes, but I don't doubt you at all.
DeleteI know that there are many cultural differences between expats and the locals.
Be careful, and get to know the wonderful Ecuadorians who don't act like the ones that you have described.