Life-Altering Decisions

There are many huge, complex decisions one must negotiate while building a life in a new culture. The personal and intellectual growth that comes from figuring out who to trust, what to love, and where to go is interesting and important. But that's not what this post is about. Instead, I want to explain instead some of the small, trivial decisions which actually occupy my brain most of the time:

Ordinary view in Ambato

Issue: Long, crowded bus rides.
Options: 1.) Stand. 2.) Sit. But, with the person who didn't get a seat's crotch in your face, trying to inhale shallowly through your mouth, since the crotch in question is radiating a dead-animal-esque odor.

Issue: Laundry.
Options: 1.) Wash by hand in concrete pit. Pros include a bit of exercise, saving $5-$10, and the satisfaction of knowing you are capable of being like all the locals. Cons include the sneaking suspicion that nothing actually gets that clean, a backache, and clothes that (without the heat of a dryer) always fit awkwardly loose. 2.) Take to laundromat. Pros include ease, fresh smells, and the shrinking power of a dryer. Cons include having to carry your laundry several blocks to a laundromat that is only open 1 in every 4 times you go, while locals chuckle at your inability to wash by hand, and the loss of $5-$10 (which will buy several multiple-course meals).

Terrible Brazilian telenovela I was once addicted to.

Issue: Entertainment.
Options: 1.) Purchase a TV, entertain yourself, and submit to the 4 ridiculous telenovela-filled stations since there's no cable hookup in your apartment. 2.) Don't purchase a TV. Perhaps enhance intelligence by reading a book, but lose touch with local/regional news, and- bummer- the internet isn't fast enough to stream video.