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Many months ago, Cuenca´s Internatioal Living rep reprimanded me on expat-blogs because he thought my pursuit of dried split peas was a reflection of my inability to adjust to this culture.

The reality is, split peas was only one of many items I have had to do without. Other deprivations included,

1. Four pound bags of frozen, boneless chicken breasts @ $2 a pound that I could throw on the George Foreman grill.
2. Marie Calendar frozen dinners and pot pies @ $2 a piece.
3. Frozen petite peas
4. Ground Turkey that I could freeze in indiviual portions.

The key characteristic of all those items was my ability to freeze them, including the split pea soup.

About all I could find in the frozen food section that I knew what to do with is french fries.

Anyway, all of those products have been essentially replaced with lentil beans and blacks beans that I could in a pressure cooker. 

Here is a photo of lentil beans in individual containers ready to go into the freezer:

Nards Barley wrote:

[img align=C]http://littlegreenseed.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/darwin_adaptability1.jpg[/url]

Many months ago, Cuenca´s Internatioal Living rep reprimanded me on expat-blogs because he thought my pursuit of dried split peas was a reflection of my inability to adjust to this culture.

I would not say you are avoiding the local culture by looking for a particular food item, especially something natural, so organic.  Are you also not adjusting by not attending Mass?  If you drive, must you pretend it is Death Race 2000?

I am in the process of buying a house, near Rio Tarqui, not too far from Mall Del Rio. While I mostly like it, and probably won´t chicken out by the end of the weekend, part of me thinks it is a stupid idea, that it will easily be robbed or subject to home invasion, that I am paying gringo prices, etc, etc., etc.

I got all weekend to change my mind, so we will see what happens.

Best of luck, whatever your decision.

Nards Barley wrote:

[img align=C]https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTLAGXIxlRa6P7Gd57pk_tsNxn-2FNnLdhErZwunF69I-3RPDKK[/url]

I am in the process of buying a house, near Rio Tarqui, not too far from Mall Del Rio. While I mostly like it, and probably won´t chicken out by the end of the weekend, part of me thinks it is a stupid idea, that it will easily be robbed or subject to home invasion, that I am paying gringo prices, etc, etc., etc.

I got all weekend to change my mind, so we will see what happens.

Neds, you are a deep and thoughtful person and I like your posts.

We all do the best we can with the information we have available at the time, and we try to make the best decisions with what we have to work with....I hope your choices result in a positive outcome.....

I wish you the best on your Ecuador home purchase and your future.

Nards Barley wrote:

[img align=C]http://littlegreenseed.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/darwin_adaptability1.jpg[/url]

Many months ago, Cuenca´s Internatioal Living rep reprimanded me on expat-blogs because he thought my pursuit of dried split peas was a reflection of my inability to adjust to this culture.

Do you think someone who brags that he eats at MacDonalds' as often as possible is demonstrating an inability to adjust to the culture?  By patronizing such places is he not trying to change the culture?  Why not let MacDonalds fail like they did in Bolivia?

mugtech wrote:

Nards Barley wrote:

[img align=C]http://littlegreenseed.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/darwin_adaptability1.jpg[/url]

Many months ago, Cuenca´s International Living rep reprimanded me on expat-blogs because he thought my pursuit of dried split peas was a reflection of my inability to adjust to this culture.

Do you think someone who brags that he eats at MacDonalds' as often as possible is demonstrating an inability to adjust to the culture?  By patronizing such places is he not trying to change the culture?  Why not let MacDonalds fail like they did in Bolivia?

Maybe, and maybe just likes McDonalds' hamburgers.  McDonalds', Burger King,KFC,Subway etc are going strong in Quito and Guayaquil.  Bolivia is very heavily indigenous with very different taste.  Comparing the two countries is apples and oranges. Actually there is a Colombian burger chain (in Quito I know for sure), El Corral, that is much more expensive than either McDonald's or Burger King. And does a good business with Ecuadorians. 

Cultures, like people, change and evolve.

El Corral probably serves "food" ... 

   Carlos  "ElGringoComedian"

Good luck on the house purchase or not situation, Nards. Decision making is sure a roller coaster ride, at least for me...

Ronkgoff wrote:

If you are near Cuenca you are welcome to a meal at El Duende.A small cafe above Tomebamba river.If interested email.

When Ron mentioned El Duende I thought to myself "where the hell is that"? While I don´t go to all the eateries, I normally have heard of all the eateries that expats frequent, and that one didn´t register.

So, today on the way into el Centro, I spotted it. There always seem to be restaurants opening and closing at that spot, so we will see how it does. I think it is a vegetarian restaurant based on a sign I saw. I will have to try it sometime. Hopefully they are on their game when I go, because I can make or break a restaurant with one of my reviews.

Nards,
I am sure that you have made a much thought out decision concerning the purchase. You will not chicken out. How cool to settle into your own little nest.
Now, my humble abode does not garner the " high class " locale as yours,but we will get together  and bemoan how we spent " gringo dollars" and over paid. It's what we do.
Congratulations!
You have my info.
Stay Well,
Neil

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Nards,
I am sure that you have made a much thought out decision concerning the purchase. You will not chicken out. How cool to settle into your own little nest.
Now, my humble abode does not garner the " high class " locale as yours,but we will get together  and bemoan how we spent " gringo dollars" and over paid. It's what we do.
Congratulations!
You have my info.
Stay Well,
Neil

I didn´t chicken out, so the only thing that can upend the purchase now is fraud, which I am not ruling out since my wire transfer still hasn´t been deposited in Bank Pichincha, although the money is gone from my account in the states.

I have a lot of gripes about the place I am buying, and I still have a lot of money to spend on basic things like mirrors for the bathrooms and bars to hang towels on. And unlike you, I have to buy a water heater and gas tank.

I look forward to checking out your place next week.

Nards,
I hope this helps alleviate your concerns. I think my wire transfer took like 5 working days to hit my attorneys account.
I'm sure it will turn out alright.
I still need all the bath accessories also. I bought one set, and hope to have it installed this Saturday. Also, some extra lighting. Have you noticed they don't do much in the way of lighting here? My old eyes need light to function.
Hang in Pardner.
See you soon.
Neil
Ps. does San Sabas sound like a doable meeting point. Perhaps some breakfast, or coffee?
PPs. Home Vega has a decent sale right now on bathroom sets.

ZenSPIKE wrote:

Nards,
I hope this helps alleviate your concerns. I think my wire transfer took like 5 working days to hit my attorneys account.
I'm sure it will turn out alright.

Well my dinero showed up. Not at Bank Pichincha, but back at my money manger Vanguard. The wire failed due to bad data, probably a bad swift code for a U.S. intermediary bank that I gave them.  Since my money is not in a bank, a wire requires an intermediary U.S. bank.  Vanguard thinks it is the responsibility of Bank Pichincha to provide a "swift code" for the U.S. bank while Bank Pichincha says they don´t have one to give me.

In any case, I am now transferring the money to my U.S. bank account and will reinitiate the wire from there. Will see what can go wrong after that.

I'm sure it will go smoothly through your bank. Or..... am I?
Still no internet after 2 months of manana. And so it goes.
Stay Well,
Nags

Hi Everyone,

We are retirees considering moving to Cuenca. I volunteer a lot and one of my volunteer activities is tutoring adults in ESL - English as a second language. I love it and wonder what opportunities there are to teach or tutor adults in English?

We speak Spanish, so that won't be an issue for us.

This "non-blog" is really interesting. Thanks for all the info.

Suziee

SuzieeQ wrote:

what opportunities there are to teach or tutor adults in English?

I would imagine there are lots of opportunities, especially as a volunteer.

I would post a free ad in the GringoTree.com or GringoPost.com since they probably have more readers than my non-blog, at least for now.

Nards Barley wrote:

I would post a free ad in the GringoTree.com or GringoPost.com since they probably have more readers than my non-blog, at least for now.

Now that Sir is an example of positive thinking!
Stay Well,
Neil

ZenSPIKE wrote:

I'm sure it will go smoothly through your bank. Or..... am I?

Well the money was transferred to Chase bank, and today I am online, enter all the information to make the wire transfer, hit the execute button and I get the message "you have exceeded the allowable limit for a wire transfer", although nowhere do they specify what the allowable limit is.

I call up Chase and they tell me there is a $20,000 limit per wire transfer, unless I go to a branch of the bank in person.  Fed up with wire transfer process, I went down to Bank Pichincha and wrote a check for the amount of the purchase and tried to deposit it with a teller. They told me it exceeded the allowable amount without manager authorization. So I meet with the manager who asks me for a printout of a bank statement to verify the funds are available.  I go home and do a print screen of the account activity and take it back to the bank manager. She accepts the check, I ask for a receipt and she tells me she will email it to me later.

So this where I stand at the moment.

and probably if you did the same thing tomorrow with different people, you would get a different result.

Did you go to the office in Centro, close to Parque Calderon on Simon Bolivar? Was she a very attractive lady, first desk on the left at the top of the stairs? She's worth the excuse to go back if so.
You'll get it done, just Ecuador style/ time frame.
Best Wishes,
Neil

Yeah Gerry,
They told me to come back in 2 day's for my debit card. On the 3rd day < I thought I was getting smarter > I show up, and they tell me one week from my being a day late. Curses, foiled yet again!!!!!

The powerless will wield whatever power they can muster ...  It's the same everywhere, I guess!

   Carlos   aka "ElGringoBueno" 

PS  BTW, if you think "bureaucracy" is a nasty word, try running an organization [or dealing with one] that has tens of thousands [not even a big organization in modern terms] or more employees who show up everyday with no rules to guide/contain them other than "git 'er done, pardner" ...

PPS  Having said that [and having audited many a large corporate bureaucracy or large governmental agency] I can certainly "feel your pain" ... 

Sounds like any government on the planet...

I would suggest that not all governments are the same ...

Some are worse than others ...

   Carlos   aka  "ElGringoBueno" 

PS  Without going into "all 9 yards" of this fabric, some are also better than others ... 

PPS  BTW, we all have some blame in this regard.  For example, how would you expect bureaucrats to act if every little thing they do and touch is scrutinized and publicized to the MAX by people with an axe to grind [and a paycheck to cash]?  Think US of A, FoxNews, O'Reilly? etc.  Oftentimes they are simply reacting to pressure [warranted or otherwise] and want to keep their job and the public's trust.  They can't win, but they can certainly lose ...

PPPS  In Ecuador, it would appear that not nearly as many folks make a living off of trashing other people in the press.  Also, I am quite sure that my personal "flashpoint" in dealing with government's processes will ease up quite a bit once I am in the enchanting land of Ecuador.  At least as soon as these clowns get MY pensionado visa and credula issued!  Just kidding, of course ... 

"No worries. The Frugals will help you rent a decent apartment like this one they listed today."

Hi Ned - and Others,
I've read about the Frugal Family and their "$300 Cuenca Rentals," where for a set fee they will find you a rental unit to meet your stated specifications. I am wondering if this is a service that we should continue. Are they a good source of a good variety of decent rentals. Our goal isn't "super-cheap." We don't want/need fancy, but do we want decent and reasonable monthly rate.

It seems that they don't want to entertain questions from folks unless we've already given them our $337, so that makes me leery. For example, I was hoping to ask them if they could specifically help us find a place that will accept our cats?

Not knowing native Cuencanos, it seems that having an advocate (other than real estate agents) to help us get a place might be helpful. Would you suggest using $300 Cuenca Rentals or know of anyone else who would be a good source of rental information?

Enjoying this ongoing thread/blog very much!
Rose

Oh my goodness, You opened a can of Frugal worms for Nards! I did use their DIY guide to Cuenca and found it very helpful.

MNRose wrote:

Would you suggest using $300 Cuenca Rentals or know of anyone else who would be a good source of rental information?

Ask them if they have a list of people you can contact who have used their services.  If they don't then I personally would keep looking. I also would ask if you use their services and they are unable to provide said apt...is there any refund.  Doubt it, but worth asking.

Some people I know have come here and rented a furnished apt for a few months while looking for a place of their own.

Mike

Good advice on asking for references, Mike. Yeah, what we've planned on doing is what you mentioned - to get a furnished place when we first get there, then figure out whatever best avenues we can take to find our permanent place. What most concerns me is the fact that we will be coming with two beloved cats. I know that's really going to limit our choices for short-term (certainly I hope) furnished rental. What do you think of our chances considering the cats? Sure would welcome any ideas/insights, Folks! Gracias!

MNRose wrote:

What do you think of our chances considering the cats? Sure would welcome any ideas/insights, Folks! Gracias!

Not real sure about cats, but I have heard of people who brought cats and got places.  Not tat that is very helpful in identifying a place to rent.  Just that it can be done.  Sure others can tell you more.

Mike

It might help you to pose this question on the Facebook Ecuador EXpat site. I saw a discussion recently about apts and pets.

MNRose wrote:

"No worries. The Frugals will help you rent a decent apartment like this one they listed today."

Hi Ned - and Others,
I've read about the Frugal Family and their "$300 Cuenca Rentals," where for a set fee they will find you a rental unit to meet your stated specifications. I am wondering if this is a service that we should continue. Are they a good source of a good variety of decent rentals. Our goal isn't "super-cheap." We don't want/need fancy, but do we want decent and reasonable monthly rate.

It seems that they don't want to entertain questions from folks unless we've already given them our $337, so that makes me leery. For example, I was hoping to ask them if they could specifically help us find a place that will accept our cats?

Not knowing native Cuencanos, it seems that having an advocate (other than real estate agents) to help us get a place might be helpful. Would you suggest using $300 Cuenca Rentals or know of anyone else who would be a good source of rental information?

Enjoying this ongoing thread/blog very much!
Rose

I really don't know much about the Frugals rental business apart from what I see on their blog. I was wondering myself how they operated. So for a fee of $337 they help you find a place to live? Is that a lifetime membership fee? Are you required to lease the properties for a fixed period of time or does it depend on the property?

I think it might be worth it depending on how long you stay at the property and depending on the flexibility of the terms. Maybe ask them for a reference or two.

I wish cussing were allowed on this board, because Banco Pichincha emailed me today to inform me that my check deposit for the house purchase I was trying to do was rejected due to its size!

Oh well, I will take it as sign that it wasn't meant to be. I guess if I want to buy something in the future, I will increment the bank balance little by little.

That is truly amazing...weird and bizarre...nut just amazing.  Like you can be too rich or too healthy...KBO as Churchill used to say

FUBAR comes to mind.  What is the upper limit of an allowable amount?

As a form of consolation, they said I could deposit half that amount with a check and deposit the rest with a wire transfer.

mugtech wrote:

FUBAR comes to mind.  What is the upper limit of an allowable amount?

Well, since I wrote a check for $123,000 I guess $60,000 since they said I could write a check for half the amount of my check.

Of course I would still need to do at least 3 wire transfers given the limits imposed by Chase.

A weird week with strange happenings.  Since Sunday I have had the worst bout of diarrhea since I was in Guatemala years ago.  I think it was from some bad "Loja" tamales I bought from a restaurant on Grand Columbia. The natural medicine gringo practitioner gave me some horse pills to take that contain essentially a digestible form of chlorine crystals, like they use use to clean swimming pools.

Two days ago my electricity went out, although I am not sure when exactly it happened.  I thought it was because I was 3 weeks late paying my electricity bill, but after flipping breakers all day we are starting to think it is something else. So I have set up my computer over at my neighbors and go over there when I need to. Supposedly the building administrator is going to send a tech to my apartment today to do some tests.

Yesterday my real estate agent knocks on my door.  I essentially had blown her off since Monday and figured the house purchase was cancelled. But then she starts telling me she had called Bank Pichincha and spoke to my manager because she knows her mother, and learns the problem with my deposit was a mistake and now it had been accepted. So today I am meeting with the seller later today and my agent to possibly sign some papers or something. I am not sure if this is a good thing that I am back in business or a bad thing. Time will tell.

Whoa, listen to the juju here. Sounds like you are ridding yourself of the "old stuff" and opening doors to something new and hopefully better. Good luck Nards!