Living in The Americas

Just after I graduated from college (liberal arts degree in hand) I went to Ecuador to live there for nearly 18 months. I love Ecuador, I love the people, I love Spanish. I love South America. At my current job I get to interact nearly every day with employees in Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru. Having lived in Ecuador means that during these interactions I can use really hilarious slang (though sometimes I've crossed the line not realizing that in some countries funny slang is actually pretty graphic and not to be used with co-workers), that I actually know what Shakira is saying in all of her songs (ok most) and that I have a little more sympathy when our interns (who live in country for about 4 months) write me to tell me all about the happenings in country. This week I've been thinking about living in Latin America and missing it a little. So here is a list of things to miss.

• Collecting banana stickers. Ecuador is home to the majority of the major banana exporters and somehow we found a whole trade of young people who tried to collect as many different stickers which mark the bananas as possible
• Hot Chocolate or Tea and Bread for dinner. I'm not a coffee drinker but whenever we were over at people's house in the evening they would serve us hot chocolate or tea and bread. The tea is amazingly sweet and you dip your bread into your beverage for dinner.
• Bread in general. During one point of my stay in Ecuador I lived above a bakery where they made the most delicious chocolate bread. I think we had at least 3 pancitos every single day (my waist line did not thank me)
• Menestra. I still dream about the traditional bean dish made in Ecuador. I've tried to recreate it here but it's never the same.
• Yucca. We don't eat Yucca too much in the states but there are few things as delicious as the yucca French fry.
• Busses. Here in the states I don't ride the bus very often and my city isn't known for it's all encompassing bus routes but I loved being able to stick out my hand and pick up a bus anywhere as well as being able to get off a bus just by yelling "gracias" and heading toward the door
• Community sports. Every weekday night and all weekend long parks were full to bursting with local futbol leagues, volleyball and other sports.
• The blurred line between church and state when it comes to holidays. Even now I'm envious of our employees who get all kinds of religious holidays throughout the year. Good Friday? Yep. Day of the Dead (today)? Yep. And don't even get me started about how they all get a full month of extra salary for Christmas. Our employees are always shocked when I tell them that we don't have those kinds of benefits here in the US.
• Walking everywhere
• Cars and buses each a memorial to a person's personal design (complete with fringe, lace, and tweety bird stickers)
• Nicknames. I very clearly remember one 9-year old turning to me and asking, "what's my Aunt Negra's name?"
• Most beautiful children in the whole world
• Chickens. This is sort of a love/hate relationship. Once I lived on the second floor and 5 chickens lived in the courtyard below us. I poured water on them almost every day to get them to stop clucking. Funny now, but not funny when it was happening
• Loud Music everywhere
• Ranchera dancing (also kind of a love/hate relationship)
• Fresh Fruit—1 million times better than the fruit here
• How everyone has so many names
  

So what have I missed? What are the best things about living in South America?