Ya Mismo

There is a term here in Ecuador, “ya mismo,” which is simultaneously great and the bane of my existence. Literally translated, it means “already the same.”*  In reality, though, it is used to express an indefinite amount of time, anywhere from minutes to days. It can also be used as a sort of polite way to brush someone off. For example:

“When will the food be ready?”

“Ya mismo.”

Inerpretation - Anywhere between a couple of minutes and a couple of hours.

“When will you be arriving to the party that started two and a half hours ago?”

“Ya mismo.”

Interpretation: - They’ll probably show up by the time everyone else was just considering leaving.  Usually this is really annoying, but if the party is dying because it has run out of food/drink, and the latecomer brings more, this could be a good thing**

“When are you free to come over for dinner?”

“Ya mismo.”

Interpretation – I’m too polite and nonconfrontational to say no outright, but I don’t really want to.  Think of one person saying “we should get coffee some time,” and the other person politely agreeing but specifically avoiding making an actually plan to do so.

I like to think*** that “ya mismo” harkens back to a time before most people here had a clock in their home. When people arose early to tend to their crops before the heat became oppressive, and afternoons were spent trying to stay in the shade, perhaps in a hammock, and that the days sort of blended together. Couple this with a lack of energy from what probably was an inadequate diet, and it really was all the same if some things happened immediately, or in a few hours (days?), or in some cases, didn’t happen at all.

I hope you all have enjoyed reading this entry. I’ll be sure to write again. You know, “ya mismo.”

* The word “mismo” means “same”. The word “ya” can either mean “already” or “soon” or “about to.” How the same word can mean something that is about to happen or has recently happened is beyond me,

** The latecomer never actually brings anything, but hypothetically, I suppose it’s possible.

*** I like to come up with completely unsubstantiated, romanticized theories of how certain aspects of Ecuadorian culture developed.  I realize that this is incredibly patronizing and borderline racist.

Moving

This weekend I’ll be moving into a new apartment. It has 3 small rooms, is entirely made of concrete, and I couldn’t be more excited.  I told my host father Thursday, and he seemed typically indifferent, but I haven’t told my host brother who I’m anticipating will be upset. It’s in Ciudadela Las Mercedes, which is the neighborhood with the school that I work at, and is 5 minutes closer to the municipio where my office is. This may not sound like a big deal, but I’m hoping that it means the difference between arriving at work dry or soaked in sweat, though during the warm season I’m sure there will be little difference.  It’s also close to a tienda that sells choco-bananas which are exactly what they sound like and cost 10 cents. The only downside about the new spot is I’ll no longer be living half a block from the empanadas that I can only describe as deep fried chicken potpies.

My rent is going to be $80/month, which is $10 more than the Peace Corps allots for people living at my level. It’s pretty common, though, that volunteers living in small cities are stuck paying a little bit out of pocket, so I’m actually pretty pleased about the price. As of right now, I have acquired a gas tank, stove, mattress with bedding, fan, plastic stools, and small pull out couch. All of these were purchased/gifted from other Peace Corps folks who are leaving. My landlord is also letting me borrow a dresser/armoire that she didn’t use. Thus, I’m doing well from a budgetary standpoint, having $360 left of the $465 settling in allowance that Peace Corps gives us.  I’m in the market for a used refrigerator, but so far I haven’t found one, and the cheapest new mini-fridge around runs $210.  Other than that, the main costs I’m anticipating are going to be outfitting the kitchen, buying a couple of chairs, and buying wood and a circular saw.

Wood and a circular saw? Yes, that’s right. One of my goals is that by the end of my service I’ll be more self-sufficient. You know, in a prepared for Peak Oil, Armageddon or the Zombie Apocalypse sort of way.  Along these lines, I’ve decided that making my own furniture is a worthwhile endeavor. I’ve picked out plans for a table and some shelves that I’m going to build, and if that goes well who knows what else I’ll be inspired to do.  It’s time to put that Williams Middle School Tech Ed training to the test.  I’m also planning on painting the walls in at least one of the rooms, though I feel like I’ll be worse at that than I am at making furniture. 

Almuerzo

I've realized that if I were to view this blog as a place to write summaries of what I've been doing, I would never feel inspired to write anything. Thus, I'm going with a topical approach from here until I decide not to. Today´s subject: lunch.

In Arenillas, and I imagine in most places in Ecuador large enough to have a restaurant, yet too small to have fancy restaurants, you have as best I can tell two options for lunch. More often than not I go home and prepare it myself. I could go on about how how it´s great to have that break in the middle of the day and the value of family mealtime (though not the case in my host family), but this post is really meant to be an ode to option #2, the Almuerzo. Almuerzo is both the Spanish word for lunch, and the name of the style of meal. All almuerzos consists of two courses; some kind of soup, followed by a plate thatis half filled rice, plus your meat and some kind of salad. They also come with a cup juice, or two if they´re especially awesome. Yes, that's 5 items. In short, if you're like me, and have learned to embrace rice, they´re about the best thing ever, and will most likely be the only balanced meal that you eat on that particular day. Sadly, my go to almuerzo place just raised its price this week from $1.50 to $1.75, making it no longer both the best and cheapest option, but now just the best.

What makes a good almuerzo place? I´m glad you asked. Number one, they have the day's choices written. There's nothing more disheartening than having to pick from Cuerito (pig skin) and Guatita (cow stomach), and not being able to leave because they already served you your soup.  Second, they give you your meal quickly, not waiting until you've finished your soup. This is critical, as it allows you to add half of your rice to your soup, or more if there is nothing on the plate that mixes well with it. Usually the meat is in some kind of sauce or the salad is something more than shredded lettuce, and this isn´t an issue. I said I embrace rice, but I'm not crazy enough to say that a pile of plain white rice is riquisimo (delicious) as some Ecuadorians do. Third, the ají has to be good. Ají is the homemade hot sauce that sits on the table at every restaurant here. It varies from tasty and tangy to unpleasantly spicy depending on the establishment, and, as a last resort, can be eaten plain with rice in order to give  the rice some flavor.  Fourth, the two cups of juice is a sure crowd pleaser. Almost all juice is make by sticking fruit, water and sugar in a blender and straining the results. One with each course please. And for the love of god, make it cold. The juice is such a crucial part of the almuerzo that it is even included in to go orders, in which case it is put in a plastic bag.

Drinks that come in bags will be the subject of a future post.