NIGHTMARE IN CUENCA: DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

When I first arrived in Cuenca in 2011 there was barely a pulse of a real-estate market in the city.  Generally, somebody new to Cuenca who sought a rental, or a house or condo to purchase would hire a translator for about $7.50 per hour; who would take the prospective buyer or renter to see possible properties and serve as an intermediary between the seller and the buyer, or the renter and the  landlord.  This method is still frequently used in Cuenca.  

Since 2011, however, the real-estate market has also developed.  More real-estate firms have been created, legally formalized, and generally will now charge a three percent commission.  Rules and training, if any,  for real-estate personnel, to the best of my knowledge, is left up to the individual agencies. There are no particular requirements and qualifications that require potential real-estate agents to earn a license of any sort.  

One of the problems in using a real-estate person or a facilitator is that particularly where a property deed is needed, attorneys must be used to protect the buyer's interest.  Attorneys will conduct the search needed to determine the number of deed owners, that all owners are indeed selling the property and sign-off on the property, and that the dimensions of the property being purchased are in fact stated in the deed and are accurate.  The use of an attorney while not required by law is a must when buying property in Ecuador, if one wishes to protect one's rights when transacting real-estate.

Similarly, even a short-term rental should never be transacted without a lease involvement.  Short-term lease rentals become more difficult to transact when the renter is in a foreign country, and attempts to transact a future rental long-distance.  Oftentimes, a lease may not be signed until after the renter arrives in Ecuador.   At a minimum before the renter forwards any money, any rental should involve paper-work which spells out the parties involve, the date of transaction, the duration of the lease and specific time parameters, the rental amount, and specific utilities involved, and whether or not pets are allowed, as well as the names and other information of the individual or lease firm involved.  All of this can be transacted by Internet.  More importantly, if you are using an individual or some type of rental management service be sure that you have access to the name, address, and phone number of the landlord.  If the management service or individual will not provide such information do not use them.  

The landlord information is very important.  It often happens that an intermediary will charge an exorbitant security deposit or will hike up the price of rent whether short or long-term, if they are renting you the property.  This is more likely to happen if you are to make your monthly payments to a manager instead of directly to the landlord.  Such attempts are more likely when the landlord is living in the United States and will often not know that the person or agency representing the landlord is bilking the renters,

This week's post is primarily about one couple who had the misfortune of utilizing the services of one highly unscrupulous agent.  The Nelsons are a couple who are avid followers of my blog post for years, and accredit my blog for a significant part of their allure to investigate Cuenca as a potential retirement site.  No one traveling or moving to Cuenca should have to endure their experience.  If anybody can inform us with the name and possible contact information of the American landlord who most likely has no idea what legal transactions have transpired, it would be much appreciated.  Here is the story in Nelson and Rebecca Ellison's own words.  (The only change I made was to bold face the name of Beth Nielsen Gavilanes throughout the text.):

Nelson Allison and Family

__________________________________

Hi fellow Gringos, my name is Nelson Allison. My wife Rebecca, my two adult sons Ben and Brian and I came to Ecuador for one month in February 2015 for a family vacation and to research it as a possible retirement location.

After arriving to our rental in Cuenca, I could not believe my luck to have rented the one condo in Cuenca where I would fall victim to a woman posing as a professional real estate rental agent who ruined our vacation with threats and attempts at extortion. Her name is Beth Nielsen Gavilanes. She somehow convinced the owner of apartment 13I in the Palermo building to let her list their condo at on HomeAway.com and take the position of managing agent.

Our story is below but is incomplete purposely because of ongoing litigation with Beth Nielsen Gavilanes.

If you have had a bad rental or real estate experience with Beth Nielsen Gavilanes — please post here or email me

at Nelson@parkwaylane.com

We must stop people like her giving Cuenca a bad reputation. Please help! Our thanks in advance to you!

Nelson Allison and Family

__________________________________

Rebecca and I run a small resort of seven log cabins called Asheville River Cabins in North Carolina that we are looking to retire from soon.

One may ask by what qualifications can I make such a statement that this woman was not the professional she claims to be.  Well, for one because I have been a professional real estate broker since as far back as the 70’s. Prior to that, I was a college professor.  I also taught real estate courses as required by the licensing board. I was the owner of The Allison Company, a commercial real estate company in Raleigh, NC and the first to market multi-million dollar office condominium complexes in North Carolina. 

I’m also a graduate of the Realtors Institute with a GRI designation. Rebecca was also a licensed broker as well as an appraiser.  She worked with state government and rose to a position as head of the appraiser section in Asheville, NC.  So yes, we are qualified to make a judgment call on the professionalism of someone who is engaged in real estate rental activities. 

Our opinion is that lack of professionalism is too much of an understatement.  Individuals with her lack of moral ethics should not be allowed to participate in this type of industry.  In the U.S., if she were ever smart enough to pass the tests and get a license she would have lost it for the kind of activities she now engages in. In fact, that would just be the beginning of her problems in the U.S. Where what she is doing is considered a crime.

Extortion occurs when someone attempts to obtain money or property by threatening to commit a harmful action against the victim.  In addition to fines, if a person is convicted of extortion she must often pay restitution to the victim

Extortion is also a crime in Ecuador like the U.S. but only after the act. But attempted extortion is called 'contravención' is a misdemeanor violation of law.

People like Beth Nielsen Gavilanes, must get excited as Ecuador is like the Wild West, and anything goes. For example, her threats and actions made on vacationing families like ours.

 

Since we did not give into her threats of eviction for more money, she preceded to turn off the cable TV and Wi-Fi service to the condo after the first week.

She sent threats saying that if we did not pay extra that she would show up with the Police and evict us. Our vacation was ruined by her actions!

My Ecuadorian attorney presented our case to the Court of Tenancy and won.

 

Special Judgment No. 0140120150062 following [NELSON BURGEN ALLISON] against [BETH ANN NIELSEN GAVILANES  ] from the Court of Tenancy. Below is the Judgment:

62-2015 Cuenca, 26 February 2015. 15h12. SEEN:

BETH ANN NIELSEN GAVILANES in a totally abusive act without legal reason attempted to charge an additional payment after the reservation was made, the verbal contract closed and the payment made.  The refusal of  Mr. Allison to accept the illegality of the demand and make the extortion payment, inspired BETH ANN NIELSEN GAVILANES to implement a campaign of harassing emails. These emails threatened; to cancel the prepaid  reservation and to bring the police to evict his family from the unit. BETH ANN NIELSEN GAVILANES then proceeded to turn-off Internet and cable TV service to the unit. This harassment made for an atmosphere of insecurity and a situation that undermines the peace and emotional stability of the visiting family.

Beth Nielsen Gavilanes was ordered by the court to proceed immediately to restore Internet and cable TV service to the property and to refrain from impeding or interfering with Mr. Allison’s lawful occupation of the property.

What was her response to this Special Judgment?

She did not turn the cable TV or the Wi-Fi back on, and she did not stop with her email threats of showing up at the door with the police to evict us at any moment.

Again, if you have had a bad experience with her; please post here or email me at: nelson@parkwaylane.com.

We must stop people like her giving Cuenca a bad reputation. Please help!

Thanks,

Nelson Allison & Family

  

 

 

 

FOURTH YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF LIVING IN CUENCA, ECUADOR

Fourth Year Anniversary of Living in Cuenca, Ecuador

I cannot believe that with this week of March 9^th, I am celebrating my glorious and fortuitous fourth anniversary of­­­­ my permanent arrival in the splendidly auspicious city of Cuenca, Ecuador.  I know that first sentence reads pretentiously.  Nonetheless, I am in a whoop, whoop, whoopie mood; and I want to shout it from the spectacular Andes mountain tops and have this joyous moment resonate throughout the entire world!  

My adventure began with the initial discovery of Cuenca in December of 2009, and then followed by an exploratory month from early July through the first week in August in 2010.  I recently perused my only other anniversary post which I wrote at the odd 19^th month stage of my life in Cuenca.  Surprisingly, almost all of what I posted at the 19^th month stage is just as true for me about changes taking place in Cuenca then as they are today.  If you would like to read that post, since I don’t plan to rehash the changes I observed at that time, you can click here.

When I first arrived in Cuenca, I had described it as reminding me of life in the U.S. in the 1950’s, especially when I was living in the Italian neighborhood of my grandparents as a young boy.   Older expats who were in their 70’s at that time thought that for them it was reminiscent of life in the U.S. in the 1940’s.  I would not say that either perspective is true just four years later.  So much continues to change. 
Click here.

The thing about third world countries is that they don’t have to go through the evolutionary process of the industrial nations to reach a new peak of modernity.  Technology makes it possible to leap-frog decades in catching up with the older industrialized nations.  Cuenca is somewhere today between the 70’s and the 90’s, and in some respects as with cell phone technology as one example, Cuenca is contemporary, as such technology for the masses did not exist even twenty years ago in the world.  The city of Cuenca is no third world status today.  If people want to really experience traditional Ecuador, they need to do so in the small towns and rural areas of the country.  Better come quickly, because everything due to new highways and mass communications is changing the society very rapidly. 

Today, the simple life continues to dissipate in Cuenca.  I am not sure why it has happened, but I can’t recall the last time I have seen an ice cream vendor peddle down the streets selling his wares from his hot-ice freezer, with its colorful umbrella that protected him from the equatorial sun.  Maybe one has to go to a place like Parque Madre or wait for a festival to see the ice cream man bicycle his wears as a sight that only yesterday was so common on the streets of Cuenca, and such a common site during my own American childhood.

Life in Cuenca for better or worse continues to become increasingly regulated. The young hippies who once brought color to the square at Parque Calderon as they spread their wares out in front of Tutto Freddo’s ice cream parlor and Ramipampa Restaurant and who were as much an attraction for the tourists were forced by municipal officials to abandon the sidewalks.  Hippies are resilient, as some have re-stationed themselves along the escalantes in the Calle Larga area.  The hippies were not the only group in Cuenca affected by new municipal regulations. The indigenous in their colorful dress selling their fruits and vegetables up and down the streets of El Centro from their equally colorful wheelbarrows have also been barred, and now appear primarily around the Mercado of 9^th de Agosto and the other mini-malls in the city.

Noise ordinances have been implemented and tightened.  I am conflicted about many of these new ordinances. When I first arrived in Cuenca, the city and neighborhoods were alive with Latin music.  Parties were going on all night, and that meant the partiers were singing through the night as well in some cases until noon the next day.  I truly loved being enveloped in a Latin culture, even if on some nights I had to close my windows and crank up my white noise machine when I retired to bed around 1:00 a.m.  The people seemed so happy and warm.  Such partying at least outside is rare now.  On one hand, I miss that excitement and the feeling I was in another culture.  Now except for the dogs, oh and our local rooster, the nights are quiet.  Maybe this is something many of the Cuecanos wanted.  Maybe, the quietude is forced on them. I don’t know.  I don’t know who the impetus is behind all these regulations.  I do know that peace and quiet are appreciated, but I also know that Cuenca is not the same lively town it was four years ago, when the vincendarios or barrios (neighborhoods) were alive when I arrived.  It just seems to me to be another indication of the homogenization of cultures around the world into the same bland conformity of behavior, and the need to squeeze everything into a gentrified upper-middle class standard of behavior and appearance.

Driving was absolutely crazy four years ago.  Pedestrians had absolutely no rights.  The drivers were truly “kings of the road”.  Today, and rightly so, drivers are a great deal more respectful of pedestrians.  Speeding has increasingly been minimized as well. As a city with barely a traffic light four years ago, Cuenca officials now continue to frequently add them.  Patrol cars were almost nonexistent four years ago, that’s not the case today.  Very strict traffic laws will usually find a speedster over a fifteen mile limit doing jail time.  Jail time in Ecuador means you better have family or close friends who will bring you your meals and bedding and toiletries.  Some expats still complain about “the crazy drivers in Cuenca”, but only expats from small town America can make such claims today as seemingly viable from their experiences.

I miss the young people who would gather drinking every Friday and Saturday nights in the LaTaberna liquor store parking lots.  They always appeared to be having a blast, and when I walked by, they would often invite me to join them in their not so sober yet endearing manner of join the camaraderie.  I never did, but they, from what I observed, never appeared to cause the security guard any problems that he couldn’t handle. Yet when the party was over, someone had to drive home.  Designated drivers? I don’t know if there were any or not.

Kids and pets would ride in open pickup trucks, and young people would be seen riding by holding on to the sides of cars and trucks as well.  Imagine seeing some dude horizontally hanging on the outside of a pickup truck.  Such sights are rare to see today, as more regulations curtail such activities, and fines are very stiff.  I can’t recall if seat belts are required to be worn in Cuenca, or whether attempts are made to enforce such laws.  Taxis which contain functional rear seat-belts certainly are rare.  Seeing small children and babies in the front without a car seat or protection has been common.  All of these behaviors were common in the states back in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s as well.

I haven’t seen a herdsman herd his goats of about thirty down the street since 2011.  Chickens, ducks, and roosters that would saunter about on the sidewalks of El Centro in front of family homes and in front yards are unfortunately a thing of the past.  (It just wouldn't be dignified, just wouldn't be dignified to see barn animals on the streets of classy Cuenca in this modern day and age.  Geeez!)

Tiendas selling cell phones were ubiquitous back in 2011, but most Cuencanos didn’t have the phones.  Now it’s like everybody has them, no matter what their station-in-life. There are still computer stores with public phone booths and public computers, but even their numbers are dwindling as more people have personal home and cell phone access to the Internet.  

When I arrived in Cuenca, guns and really big guns (Hell, I don't know anything about different types of guns,)  were strapped across the chests of security guards positioned in front of commercial buildings, banks, and in hotels and condo buildings.  The elimination of these guns strapped across the chest or their reduction to small side pistols was probably due to the Chamber of Commerce feeling such sights were not exactly a tourist friendly confidence builder in the safety of the city.  I must admit that I never saw anything like it except when I toured red China in the 1970's were military were stationed every fifty feet in Beiging with a rifle.  Quite frankly, it was dramatic overkill in a city of very low-rate and generally petty-type crimes.

Sometimes after living in a culture for a time, it is easy not to pay attention to things that once seemed novel.  I will need to become more cognizant of whether women especially the indigenous are still wrapping their babies and toddlers close to them in what was a very frequent sight such a short time ago, or if baby buggies and strollers are usurping another tradition in Cuenca.  Only once all last year did I see a teen walking down the street with his arm around his mother's shoulder, which was another fairly and endearing sight that has bit the dust in Cuenca.  Nor what use to be a very common site of men hugging one another in greeting is far less prevalent today.  For me it is sad to see so much of Latin culture become increasingly Anglicized at least in Cuenca.

Unfortunately from my perspective, traffic continues to get heavier on the streets of Cuenca, and can really tie things up on many roadways into El Centro and other outlying streets.  I don’t see this getting any better as long as the middle class continue to expand.  Whether a car is needed or not, the imitation of the Norte Americano life-style requires a car as proof of one’s middle-class status, and demonstrate keeping up with the Joneses”, or maybe I should say in Ecuador of “keeping up with the Alvarados”.  Parking in Chicago now costs thirty dollars a day.  Rates like that would quickly cure the traffic problem in Cuenca, and guarantee plentiful passengers for the new tren via to open in about a year.

Traffic hasn’t been helped by the inordinate amount of road construction taking place.  The building of the tren via across the town, the widening of Ordonez-Lasso west of Hotel Oro Verde, and many other streets and bridges under construction are certainly adding to traffic head-aches.  Delays and frustration can aggravate.  However, the taxi drivers don’t mind the extra fare in longer detours around construction, and they for the most part have the patience of saints.  I am just so glad I don’t need to own a car in Cuenca.  I would go crazy driving in stop-and-go traffic, especially all day long like the taxi drivers.

Inge and Donna – Dog Bitches

There are expat women who are known as the “Happy Dog Bitches”.  This group of ladies devote their time to raising funds for Happy Dogs in Cuenca, which spades and neuters large numbers of dogs each year.  They have been quite successful.  However, what is very mysterious is that all the dogs that were running the streets along the river and most everywhere else have for the most part disappeared over-night.  Dog disappearance doesn’t just happen from spading and neutering, but nobody is talking.  “Beam me up, Scotty.”  Maybe. Yet, I do miss all those dogs.  They never bothered me. They didn’t run in packs except at nights, and only protected their territory. Once walked out of the range of their master's homes, the dogs ceased and desisted with their barking. To see two dozen doggies lying on their sides, basking in the sun along the medians on Avenida Solano, resting by day, so they could keep the humans awake by night was just another one of those touches that increasingly disappears from why some of us came to Ecuador in the first place, to experience something different, to experience life differently from what existed back home.

For better or worse, things change.  They always will.  Nothing stays the same for very long.  Each of us has a benchmark for how we remember the past and all the various people and instances of life who at one time or another where a part of our lives, and each benchmark varies dependent upon the age of life’s participants.

Four years of living in Cuenca with my friends gives us history and collectively shared memories.  I still love Cuenca as much now as I did when I arrived.  I still love as much now the views of the mountains that surround me.  I never tire of the magnificent panoramic visions, awesome depths of layered peaks, and colors of cloud formations particularly at sunset; which I disappointingly never could truly capture through the eye of the lens of my camera.  I still marvel at the sound of the Rio Tomebama especially after a heavy rain as it cascades against the many rocks in the river creating a thunderous sound like the drumming of the spirited ancestors of the indigenous.  More so now than ever, I revel in the beauty of the green belts along the rivers, and the sky line as I walk or take a taxi along Avenida Doce de Abril. The taxi driver worries about the traffic, while I can focus on the view of the Tomebama, the parks along the banks of the river, and the beautiful colonial architecture of the buildings upon the bluff above the river. I still love the smell of the foods cooking in the open markets and prepared by the vendors who populate the street.  The meats on a stick that youngsters and adults grasp from the released hands of the vendors as the broiling comes to perfection; the corn, the humitas, the tamales, the empanadas—all waiting for a taker.  I love the sounds of Spanish as I walk along the streets; the families with their young children on a Sunday afternoon stroll, who are able to enjoy a tranquil day from work without any great expense, and the enticing scents and colors of the veritable splash of flowers in the Santa Carmen flower market.

I very much continue to enjoy my many expat and Cuencano friends.  Some of whom are a part of my life briefly, and others who have been a part of my life since our arrivals.  Friends also provide many small yet memorable surprises in life.  A lady friend who prepared for me the most exquisite salmon dish I have ever tasted.  A friend who just today made for me fantastic home-made sour dough bread; and whoever thought that it would be in Cuenca, Ecuador where for the first time I would hear of and experience eating Dutch babies.  No wonder the Dutch are losing population when they eat their young!  All kidding aside, this dish made from simple eggs, a small amount of flour, honey, generous amounts of melted butter, and a dusting of powder sugar was a marvel.  How did so little in ingredients arise to such a major dish, and provide so much taste?  Frequently there are good times and surprises with life in Cuenca.

If at times, some of these many experiences become commonplace; inevitably, the time comes about once again where I see, hear, and experience with new eyes and new ears.  I remember once again why I love Cuenca, and why I came to make this wonderful city in the Andes my home. That no matter what the ups and downs in my life, I still have Cuenca to see me through and buoy me up.  I am truly fortunate that I am in this place, at this time, and I continue on this journey to see what the next four years of discovery of myself and my life in Cuenca will unfold, and hopefully not unravel, as we both continue to grow and change together.

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CULTURE SHOCK AND THE EXPAT: PART III OF ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS POTENTIAL EXPATS NEED TO CONSIDER

Culture Shock and the Expat

February 27, 2015

 

Cultural shock is something that almost all expats experience to one degree or another.  Cultural shock is relative dependent upon the expats and their previous experience with interacting with other cultures.  Even when experienced expats relocate from one foreign country to another, the transition may be easier, but it doesn’t mean that living in a new culture will not present some significant adjustments.  The greater the disparity between the expat self-identified culture and the foreign culture to be experienced will generally result in greater culture shock as well.  The important thing for someone with little travel or expat experience is to reduce culture shock by doing extensive research about all the logistics to settling in a foreign culture, and to do an intensive study of the newly embraced culture as well.

 

Expats who only worry about the logistics of settling in a new culture, and fail to learn as much as possible about the new culture before they arrive in that culture do themselves a great disservice.  Some such expats are often the people who either planned to live for whatever time allocated by their employment or permanent residency in expat enclaves isolated from the culture at large. Other such expats are people who arrived at their new destinations with enthusiastic intent to mingle with the culture at large, and then discover from the hard work involved in adjusting to a new culture that they settled for much less than their original intentions and simply fell-back on their expat friends for emotional sustenance.  These are the folks who are most vulnerable to eventually returning home and sometimes very abruptly. 

 

 

As I mentioned in the previous post, expats can have much to complain about with justification.  However, most of the complaints seem petty when a particular problem becomes a deal-breaker, and people decide “this is the straw that broke the camel’s back”, and “I am going home”.

I examined some complaints of expats related to Cuenca.  Some of these are valid, at least in the disparity between what they were accustomed to in their native culture and what they may experience in their new foreign culture, and in forming their given rationales and rationalities for deciding to return home.

Number 1:

Cuenca has much in the way of culture and arts, but quality is questionable.  I won’t argue the merits of the comment.  Simply when one is exiting Ecuador and this is their primary reason, did such a person not do their homework ahead of time?  If the quality of the arts in Cuenca is so questionable, where would they find superior arts and cultural venues:  Chicago, the Big Apple, Boston, Washington, D.C.?   If so, then why did these art patrons come to Cuenca in the first place, if the arts loomed so big in the minds of these people as a make or break point to come or to leave?  Had cost of living factors been the reason these connoisseurs of the arts don’t live in the American art and cultural centers; or chose not to be an expat in London, Rome, Florence, Paris, or Vienna?

Cuenca does not offer the museum complexes of these major art centers.  There is no opera company, or professional dance troupe of national stature in Ecuador. The Cuenca orchestra does an admiral job and could hold its own with many regional orchestras in the states, but it is not by any stretch of the imagination on par with the Chicago Symphony or the New York Philharmonic.  

Yet the arts are vibrant in Cuenca.  Many expats with art backgrounds find a very active community with which they enjoy working.  These expats enjoy sharing their expertise, and in turn, learning from the cultural interaction of the South American mind and experience to appreciate what makes the Ecuadorian art forms vibrant from music, to the fine arts, to literature, to theater, and increasingly to film.  While at the same time expat artists share a wider venue that contributes efforts to introduce new art styles to the Ecuadorian artists, and watch to see how Ecuadorian artists may choose or not to incorporate these new styles into a fusion of new art forms that emanate from their new experiences and from what they already know.  What can be more exciting for an artist and for those who have an appreciation of art than to share in an art form that is ever-changing and even impacts upon incorporating South American art designs and structures of thought into the expats own art experiences?

Comment Number 2:

A complaint about living in Ecuador which is shared by a larger number of expats than the first comment is that Ecuadorians will ingratiate themselves to you only to take advantage of you.  

No doubt there are instances of this to one form or another.  It certainly has happened to me.  However, if I am honest about it, I have also let it happen to me.  Don’t think I haven’t done some soul-searching as to what was going on with me at a sub-conscious level that I allowed it to happen.  However, to broad brush stroke an entire nation of people for what a few have done is not only an injustice, but also is more reflective of a superiority attitude that dominates some expat thinking.  Ironically and laughably when such comments are made, is that too many expats are very well aware of the expat charlatans among us who have plied their trade here in Cuenca.  Amazing how people can see these crooks as individuals when they are from their own cultural or racial group, but completely stereo-type a whole group as crooks when it involves “the other”.

Comment Number 3:

Culture Shock

Probably the most legitimate complaint for expats is the “manana attitude” of many Ecuadorians.  That “tomorrow” can mean any indefinite time in the future.  

This is not a serious problem with expats dealing with Cuecanos, for example, who have lived in the U.S.  Such Cuecanos either learned from the Norte Americano culture that if they wanted to keep their jobs they needed to be on-time; and/or they learned that being on time in Ecuador is essential, if they want to earn their living by primarily servicing gringos.  The “manana attitude” is an attitude found “south of the border” and throughout southern Europe as well.

I have one Ecuadorian friend where “I will pick you up at 8:00 p.m. was interpreted by Ecuadorian psychology to mean, “I am to begin to get ready at 8:00 p.m. when my friend arrives.” It literally meant to my Ecuadorian friend that when my friend arrives and while my friend watches television; I will shower, I will shave, I will brush my teeth, I will brush my hair,   I will dress myself, and I will get ready to go out.  Every time we went through this scenario, it was a great opportunity for me to practice almost all of my reflexive Spanish verbs.  It did no good to show up an half-an-hour later, because appointment time did not start until whenever my arrival time began.

Potential expats need to learn that when an Ecuadorian gives an exact time for a social event, that time in reality may not commence  for two or three hours beyond the given time.  Potential expats need to know that Ecuadorian dinner hour, whether at home or in restaurants begins no earlier than 8:00 p.m. and as late as commencing at 11:00 p.m.

  

Expats may be quite knowledgeable of the “manana attitude” before they arrive if they did some research, but knowing about it and experiencing it are two different things.  I didn’t have too terrible a time with the “manana attitude” when I arrived.  As I have often advised my readers: hire a trusted Ecuadorian who can not only translate for you, but also cut through the red tape for you as well.  Things will be much easier when you first settle here if you do.  Increasingly, more expats can also fill this role, or can refer you to a trusted Ecuadorian.

I did not mind standing in line to pay bills, or conduct bank transactions when I first arrived.  I knew what to expect, and I enjoyed watching people in this new culture while I stood in line. I wonder if another group of people have the infinite patience on the face of this earth that Cuecanos have.  It has to be a genetically inherited gene from the indigenous blood-line that has been perfected by generations of cultural inbred habits of patience.  I certainly did not find such patience exhibited by either Brazilians or Portenos (the name for people from Buenos Aires, Argentina) last year when I visited.  

After a couple of years of such patience, and running into line experiences that I endured for an hour to and hour-and-a-half, my type A personality began to emerge.  Actually my type A personality erupted like a volcano,  and laid to waste many hours of meditation.  Fortunately, many such delays can now be handled by electronics with immediate deductions from my bank account. Far worse than standing-in-line in perpetuity and failing completely at navel-gazing in the process is dealing with the government bureaucracy, its ever-changing rules, and its ever-changing interpretations of those rules dependent upon whatever bureaucrat with whom one is dealing at any given moment in time.  Personally, this is the aspect I hate most about living in Ecuador.  It isn't helped by the fact that dealing with the American bureaucracy only compounds the situation.

I lived my full adult life under the pressure of meeting deadlines, of frequently doing things quickly, and of having multiple balls in the air that constantly needed to be balanced.  I am still learning how to get off my “Type A” hobby horse, but I still deal with times that I find myself right back in the saddle again, no matter what strategies I employ.  Being task-oriented and wanting to get everything nailed down does not work well in Ecuador.  The difference now is that I am older, and I don’t handle stress and pressure well like I did when I was younger, and occasionally my Ecuadorian friends are the ones who calm me done and remind me that it won’t really be the end of the world, if things don’t fall into place in just the manner and time parameters I prefer. I am not sure I will ever completely relax, but I continue to find ways to leave lots of time open with less expected to be accomplished on a tight schedule.  How does one learn to be relaxed in the land of tranquilo?  Thank God, at least I know how to cultivate two-to-five hour lunches and dinners with friends.

There is something very beautiful about a culture that can enjoy time, enjoy a leisurely lunch or dinner, and where life is enjoyed in the moment and not rifed with stress.  That is the South American gift to us if we knew how to embrace it and throw off the shackles of our Norte Americano experience.  Unfortunately, even El Presidente has spoken on the need to change the Ecuadorian culture by increasing time efficiency, and therefore, productivity to increase the GDP.  Increased GDP in itself will not make for a happy people, and will primarily benefit the corporations at the expense of the workers.  Not to mention, increased materialism which if the South Americans learned from their northern counterparts doesn’t necessarily produce more happiness either.

I know–everything has its advantages and disadvantages.  Getting things done and counting on people to show at the time or on the day that service people say they will are just as important to a stress-free life as well.  However, I remember how often my work colleagues and I would often take time off from work in the states to be available for a service delivery or Internet installation or whatever, only to reschedule because the delivery time and date were not kept. Or my friends in the states who hired plumbers, electricians, and/or carpenters to complete a remodeling project; only to discover that what was promised in weeks transpired over months.  Why?  Oh the young dude didn't show up as promised on Saturday, because he and his friends were out drinking or smoking pot on Friday night; or his girl promises to ditch him, if he doesn't show her more attention.  Or the carpenter tells the owner what he wants to hear, when he promises that the job will be done in two weeks, but doesn't tell the owner that he also has two other clients he is working for outside of his full-time job which therefore will result in months of delay because he is trying to balance his time among all of his remodeling jobs.  Why do expats forget all of this?  I think sometimes expats forget that everything in the U.S. is not always done efficiently either, and it's easier to focus on shortcomings in "the other".

Ultimately, what can I say, if the “manana attitude” is more than somebody thinks he can handle, then Ecuador is definitely not the place for such people?  Why move to Ecuador and “bitch and moan” during ones entire duration of residing in Ecuador, when one should already know what to expect?

Comment Number 4:

“I can’t live any longer without a Walmart or Costco’s.”  Yes, I actually hear this especially from expat women all the time.  Well, once again, such expats knew before they moved here that such amenities would not be available.  It sure would be nice if expats discovered that their lives were going to come to an end, without the old standbys before they moved to Cuenca or anywhere in Ecuador.  On the other hand, there is no doubt, if one has lived in Cuenca for three or four years, the ever-increasing restrictions to imported items and the huge fees in the way of import taxes has made it even more difficult to import products that are not made in Ecuador.  I would venture that it is only going to get worse in that respect. As oil prices plummet, the national revenues in turn plummet, and the need to keep dollars in the country accelerates.

Comment 5:

Another complaint departing expats have in their decision to leave Cuenca is there is too much rain, too many cloudy days, and the weather is not spring-like.  Well, of course, no one from Portland, Oregon; Seattle, Washington; or Vancouver, Canada thinks Cuenca has too much rain.  Once again, why wasn’t due diligence in research done before a move was made?  Why would someone move here as one person told me because she thought the weather would be more like the tropics?  Or people complain that the on-line magazine, International Living, misled them with the idea that Cuenca is perpetual spring.  Well, it is, if you are from the Northern U.S.  Actually, Cuenca is more like autumn in the Northern U.S.  Too much of especially early spring in the Northern U.S. is generally colder than Cuenca.  Why would one’s research on such an important point as the weather end at International Living?

Comment 6:

Some expats admit that they just can’t adjust to the culture, and want to return to what is comfortable and familiar to them.  While other expats hide such a motive behind the pretext of wanting  to return to family or some other excuse.  Sometimes family and other concerns are legitimate.  Whatever the motive for leaving, it doesn’t really matter once the decision made is for departure.  The person,  couple, or family are returning home, and for better or worse, have no reason to feel like they are losers.  Maybe they have had some or many good experiences; even if in some cases, more due diligence would have prevented them from suffering possible major financial crunches.

So basically, it all boils down for potential expats who are going to make a financially significant move to another culture, which if it doesn’t work out can cost a good chunk of money, to seriously prepare and research extensively before taking such a monumental leap.  If you are young, you have plenty of time to regroup your financial losses and start over again.  However, when you are a senior citizen, the financial losses may never be made up again.  Moving to another culture by wearing rose-colored glasses that primarily envisions an exotic or romanticized adventure can transform into one of the biggest disappointments when intense preparation is not exerted.  Poor planning, a lack of reflection as to whether or not living in a foreign culture and as a minority is right for you, and impulsive decision-making should all be very important points to ponder to the decision-making process of relocation.

If you decide that permanent relocation is not right for you, but you still have a yen to experience other cultures.  By all means travel, spend a few weeks or even a few months visiting other countries and living in other cultures, without making life-changing commitments for which you may be unduly prepared psychologically and financially.  Why you can even come and visit Cuenca.  We'll keep a light on for you, and have a mint sitting on your pillow when you arrive.

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Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: Culture Shock, Expats